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Wag!, an LA-based dog walking app, has announced a seed round of $2.45 million. Launched in January out of Los Angeles, the app has proven to be a success amongst dog owners and will be expanding its services to San Francisco.
The seed round was led by Freestyle Capital and other participants including Greylock, Crunchfund, Dave Morin's Slow Ventures, Social Leverage, and RRE. The funds will be used to continue the company's expansion to other major US cities.
The app prides itself on its safety and punctuality. First time users of the app can schedule a “meet and greet” with their new walker ahead of time. Dog walkers can be scheduled regularly to fit a busy schedule or requested at least 30 minutes in advance. The walks can last up to an hour and walkers are fully trained, background checked, insured and bonded.
To ensure the dog’s safety, walks can be tracked through GPS in real-time and a “report card” is delivered through the app at the end of each walk including a picture, map of the walk, and behavior report. Currently the cost is $20 per dog for each half hour walk with an additional $5 per dog in the same household. And for every mile a dog walks with Wag!, ten cents is donated to the Best Friends Foundation.
“We like to think of ourselves as the Uber of dog walking,” Founder Josh Viner said in a statement. “Essentially, we have placed a trusted and insured dog walker in your pocket, and for the first time your dog has its own app on your phone.”
Wag! was created when Viner, a tech entrepreneur, had hesitations in owning a pet given his busy schedule. Viner’s history in consumer tech allowed him to begin production on the app. He eventually reached out to Jason Meltzer who had years of dog walking experience in Los Angeles through his company, Surfdog LA.
"This is just the beginning,” said Meltzer, Wag!’s co-founder and Chief Dog Officer, in a statement. “We’re on our way to improving the lives of millions of dogs and dog owners.”
