A 20 Year Success Story...

Issue #89

August 6th, 2024

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Quick Hits:

🍫 Official unofficial doguast is here and See’s Candies wants to celebrate some shelter dogs.

😳 Apparently dog treats are becoming so tasty, that some humans are eating them now.

🏄 Surfs up dude! 15 surfing canines showed up to compete at the World Dog Surfing Championship

📊 Online pet care retailer Chewy(NYSE: CHWY) dropped 4% 

⚽️ “They’re not just pets, they’re teammates” Nulo is highlighting pets during these Olympic Games

🐈 Meet Audio, this cute cat was born with a rare genetic mutation that you definitely do not see every day.

This week we caught up with Amy Nichols, the Founder and Principal of Aiery. Amy has a wealth of experience from her 20-plus years in the pet industry. She is the founder of Dogtopia and has worked extensively in the non-profit sector.

What made you decide to leave your job in telecom, go into the pet space, and launch Dogtopia back in 2002?

It was a really interesting and defining time for me. I had met my future husband and was planning our wedding. I found the corporate bureaucracy frustrating and suffocating, and a business idea had been brewing in me since working at a pet store in high school. I had a very clear vision of how my passions could meet opportunity. I didn’t want to sell pets or keep them in isolated kennels — I wanted to give them the chance to play in a safe and social environment. Though I was unfamiliar with it at the time, I used a sort of Ikigai method. I loved it, I was pretty sure I would be good at it, there was a need for it, and I was convinced people would pay for it. Plenty of naysayers did not see that vision, but I was confident I could create a profitable business that made a real difference in the lives of pets and pet parents.

When we decided to buy a home together, I put my little house on the market. Selling that house gave me enough cushion to quit my job and pursue my dream. If I were to launch Dogtopia in 2024, I would leverage advanced technology for operations and customer engagement, utilizing technology from some of the very companies I now advise and work with. I would also place a stronger emphasis on sustainability, eco-friendly practices, and tools to make better use of the space.

You approached 13 different banks until eventually, one gave you a $75,000 loan which was about half the money you needed to open your first location. Within 9 years, you had a 23-store franchise chain generating $11 million in revenue and a mid-six-figure profit. What do you attribute this growth to?

Starting and growing a business is a fascinating journey. At the time, it often felt like progress was slow, but looking back, everything happened so quickly! I was resilient, tenacious, and curious, always believing there was an answer out there—I just needed to find it. The answers did come, often the hard way. As I developed and refined the business model, I built on those successes. I also established company values early on.

These values were created to help employees understand the "why" behind our operations, standards, and customer service. When we began franchising, these values continued to serve us well, acting as a foundation for our commitments to our franchisees, guiding our collective efforts, and ensuring consistent quality across the board.

"I wanted to be near where people work and not near where people live." How did you get this insight and was this implemented in every franchise location?

The idea to locate Dogtopia near workplaces instead of residential areas came from really understanding our customers' needs. People wanted a convenient place to drop off their dogs during their workday without it making them late for work. We focused on the main routes into the city, making drop-off and pick-up as easy as possible. DC is notorious for its traffic, so we used "lower your stress and commute with your dog!" in a lot of our early marketing. This strategy was a hit and was rolled out to all future locations. As we grew, we used sophisticated real estate software to analyze drive times, traffic patterns, and area-specific characteristics when advising franchisees or adding new corporate locations.

You sold Dogtopia back in 2015. How did your life change after you sold the company?

Selling Dogtopia was a significant transition. I started Dogtopia before I had my children and viewed the company as "my baby." So much blood, sweat, and tears went into building it, making the decision incredibly tough. It felt like letting go of a part of myself, but it was the right choice for me and my family at that time. After selling, I had more time to explore other passions and business ventures. I could finally pursue the many personal development and leadership courses available through my YPO membership, which I had never been able to fit into my schedule before. It was a period of personal growth and reflection, allowing me to recharge and refocus my professional ambitions.

Why did you decide to go into the non-profit world, and how is it different than the for-profit?

The newfound personal development time was great, but I really missed working with and for animals. My decision to enter the non-profit sector was fueled by a desire to give back and make a positive impact on a larger scale. At the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), I was able to use my entrepreneurial skills to drive meaningful change on significant initiatives like the Animal Care Expo and our website for animal welfare professionals, humanepro.org.

I was also fortunate to help guide and support groundbreaking programs like Spayathon for Puerto Rico and the Shelter Pet Project. It was incredibly fulfilling work, and a phenomenal learning experience. The non-profit world required a different approach to resource management, stakeholder engagement, and performance measurement, focusing on maximizing donor impact rather than profits. I had the additional pleasure of working alongside amazing people making huge strides for animals. 

Last year, you became the CEO of GoDog, another successful and fast-growing pet hospitality brand. What made you decide to go back into the for-profit sector?

Returning to the for-profit sector with GoDog was driven by my passion for innovation and the booming pet care industry. GoDog offers a range of pet services, including boarding, daycare, grooming, and a membership-based dog park and bar. With a strategic investment of up to $50 million, we had an amazing opportunity to scale the business through franchising. It was exciting to work on new facility designs and service models that enable pet parents to spend quality time with their dogs. I think we’ll see continued growth in these “third spaces” for pets and pet parents, and I look forward to enjoying them with my pups!

What is a scrappy entrepreneur story (or two) that you have from when you started your business?

When building out my first Dogtopia location in Tysons Corner, VA, I decided to act as the general contractor to save on costs. I thought, “how hard can it be?” Well, I quickly learned it was very hard, time-consuming, and inefficient. I had to handle everything from county permits and construction inspections to managing a variety of subcontractors.

One major issue was the flooring company falling behind schedule. With days left before our grand opening, they still hadn't finished our lobby or the dog “lounge” for senior dogs. They managed to finish the lobby, but in the lounge, they had started tiling in the middle and there was about 18” of unfinished floor around the entire room. I remembered the stockpile of dog beds that I had sewn while planning for the business, so I spread them along the entire perimeter of the room. It covered the ugly concrete, made the room look cozy and cute, and no one was ever the wiser. 

What were some of your "best" mistakes? (Mistakes that either were a blessing in disguise or that taught you something meaningful?)

One of my "best" mistakes led to the creation of K9 Support, a 501(c)(3) organization. A couple of years into Dogtopia, I read an article about military K9s and their crucial roles in the Middle East—keeping troops safe, detecting bombs, and serving as sentries. However, these brave dogs were carrying out their duties without access to essential supplies like medical e-collars, tug ropes, heavy-duty toys, and goggles to protect their eyes from the sand.

After reading that article, I couldn't stop thinking about the dogs we cared for at Dogtopia and how these military dogs were like their brothers in arms. I knew this cause would resonate with our pet parent customers. I tracked down the sergeant mentioned in the article and asked what they needed. He sent me a thorough list, and I emailed all our customers with a call for donations. Within three days, our lobby was completely filled with donated supplies. The response was amazing, but we now had to figure out how to ship several hundred pounds of supplies to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Going old school, I thought of all the fundraisers we did as kids. Dogtopia couldn’t bake cookies or make lemonade, but we could wash dogs! The event got picked up by The Washington Post, a few local news stations, and even CNN. I was blown away by our customers' generosity and enthusiasm for the cause. We shipped the supplies, and that event became the foundation for K9 Support. We turned it into an annual event, and our franchisees participated as well. The program eventually expanded to also help local police K9s and to cover the training expenses for service dogs supporting veterans with PTSD.

Tell us more about Aiery, your new agency.

We opened our metaphorical doors in January of this year and have been thrilled with the positive response and outreach. We've had the pleasure of working with a diverse range of businesses—everything from Point-of-Sales systems looking to innovate and grow, to a pet parent app that tracks your dog’s walks, a new dog training concept creating a “third place” for you and your pet, and even pet product development with professional athletes as investors.

The biggest surprise has been the number of international entrepreneurs seeking guidance and support. The US really sets the standard for innovation in pet care, and it's been fascinating to learn about the fast-growing pet industries in Brazil, India, and across Europe. It’s a fantastic opportunity to use my experience to help guide them away from some of the mistakes and fumbles I’ve made, all in the furtherance of the human-animal bond across the world—and that makes my heart very happy.

What's your favorite quote?

"The best way to predict the future is to create it." This quote has always inspired me to take proactive steps toward my goals rather than waiting for opportunities to come my way. There's never a perfect time to start a business; the important thing is to take that first step and then the one after that, and so on.

How can readers reach out to you for consulting services, and where can they find you online?

Readers can reach me through my consulting company, Aiery LLC. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn. Let's work together to transform the pet industry - build bridges between the non-profit and for-profit worlds, achieve tremendous success, and further the human-animal bond together. 

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