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DogVacay is one of the fastest growing tech companies in Los Angeles. From April to October 2014, the dog hosting site has doubled its bookings, growing from 500,000 to over 1 million in total. And that’s saying something, because the hot startup began less than two years ago.
Back in 2012 when DogVacay started, dog owners had just a couple choices. You could hire a dog sitter via a site like Craigslist or you could take your dog to a kennel. After a bad kennel experience DogVacay founder and CEO Aaron Hirschhorn figured there had to be a better way.
[ibimage==33856==Medium==none==self==ibimage_align-left]“I returned from a vacation back east with my then fiancée, only to be greeted by an outrageously expensive kennel bill and two disoriented dogs hiding under our furniture,” said Hirschhorn. “It was a terrible experience for us, and more importantly, a terrible experience for our dogs.”
Naturally, Hirschhorn and his fiancée set about solving the problem themselves.
“We decided to open our home for dog boarding, and watched over 100 dogs in eight months. The experience not only helped pay for our wedding, but proved that home dog boarding was a superior alternative, wanted by traveling pet parents everywhere,” said Hirschhorn.
Since then, the Santa Monica-based DogVacay joined startup studio Science Inc., and has raised $22 million and grown to over 65 employees.
Key to that growth has been a personal touch dog owners weren’t finding at kennels. DogVacay spends enormous amounts of time vetting dog sitters, training its customer service representatives and adding features that build trust with dog owners.
Of the dog sitters that apply to be listed on DogVacay, only 15 to 20 percent are accepted. In total DogVacay has approved 20,000 hosts. The review process is thorough, including a phone interview, reference checks, onboarding calls and online video training.
All dog-sitters on the site are subject to public customer reviews.
“All reviews under five stars are immediately followed up on,” said Hirschhorn. “Trust is the very foundation of our business, as choosing where to leave your four-legged family member when you travel is a very emotional decision.”
The effect has been to assure pet owners of a service better than the typical cold kennel and more professional than asking your neighbor’s kid to watch your dogs.
DogVacay makes money by taking a 15 percent cut of every booking, but despite that fee the site can be quite profitable for dog-sitters. Hirschhorn said, “our top hosts are making close to six figures annually.”
Those dog sitters get the backing of DogVacay's vet insurance, facilitates a daily photo of the hosted pet and has 24/7 customer support.
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DogVacay's customer service department
“Customer care comprises more than half of our staff — it’s important for us to staff our team with dog lovers who understand the importance of quality service,” said Hirschhorn. “With so many great companies hiring in Los Angeles, we’ve been fairly fortunate that our unique business tends to bring the right people to us, because our mission really resonates with them.”
A good idea, bound to good customer service was likely to take off, but DogVacay clearly couldn’t have grown so quickly without a big infusion of capital.
“The right investors opened up huge opportunities for us,” said Hirschhorn. “I have more of a business background, so working with investors like Science really helped with things like quickly designing the website and making product and tech decisions — it allowed us to get out of the gate fast.”
For a company that is less than two years old, has tens of millions of dollars in funding and already has over 65 employees, there is no doubt things are moving fast.
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