The video interview - Produced by Influence Media.
Many startups want to change the world.
It’s no different for PuppyFat, the brainchild of Hull based entrepreneur Mike White.
But where a lot of people see changing the world as taking over the world, for Mike White and PuppyFat it’s about serving the needs of just one international community.
It’s a philosophy that’s proven successful for this local C4DI startup, particularly during a period which has seen demand for their service increase exponentially.
The startup, whose app helps dog breeders manage day to day activity, are now serving customers around the world and have recently joined the Nestlé Purina accelerator, hoping to take the company to the next level in the pet care market.
We caught up with Mike to learn about the problem they’re solving, the power of small communities and why you should really get to know your customer.
The vision: Helping people responsibly and ethically breed dogs
‘Breeders, particularly dog breeders, have next to no technology available to them… These are the people that bring the dogs we love into the world.’
We’re chatting to Mike in the C4DI boardroom, light flooding the room as it reflects off the Humber below. Team Influence Media have brought a furry friend of their own, who’s happily plodding around the room as we talk.
Despite how vital they are to dog lovers around the world, Mike says breeders ‘are a very underserved, undervalued part of the pet market’ and don’t necessarily have the resources they need to make their job, and lives, easier.
Whilst pet owners have an array of technology, apps, and devices available to them, the same cannot be said for breeders.
A role which requires keeping track of and handing over a lot of data is largely done with the help of pen, paper and Excel spreadsheets (we don’t hate Excel, honest…).
PuppyFat solves this by acting as a ‘comprehensive breeder management platform’. It helps with record keeping; managing waiting lists, dog pedigrees, and more, as well as allowing breeders to plan ahead and ‘press a few buttons to send your records as one batch’ to licence inspectors and new owners.
Pictures by Influence Media.
PuppyFat and the Pandemic Puppy Boom
The need for an app like this increased dramatically during Covid-19.
The pandemic brought with it the unexpected side effect of an increased demand for dogs. The furloughed and the home-workers alike suddenly craved a little companionship and man’s best friend seemed to be the obvious solution, despite the inevitable lack of thought going into the responsibility of owning a dog. Bad actors too would see this as a profit making opportunity.
‘[Covid] has put considerable pressure on the people that have always been breeding and have been breeding responsibly, because suddenly you've got people entering the market that are not, as responsible, not as clued up on what to do and when to do it.'
Whatever you think of knee-jerk dog purchases, the existing community of responsible dog breeders now had a lot on their plate, not to mention an influx of not-so responsible breeders. Mike was aware of the need ‘for supporting those that are responsible when breeding dogs and doing the right things.’
One of the goals of PuppyFat is to provide technology that can help people take on this role ethically and responsibly, keeping on top of legally required documents and procedures.
Digital has a solution no matter the industry
A clear advocate for all things digital, Mike believes ‘COVID really highlighted why we need a digital solution. And why paper isn't sufficient anymore, particularly when you're talking to people remotely.'
The need for digital products is about more than just admin. The ability to communicate remotely was something thoroughly tested by the pandemic.
This business was ready for such a change and PuppyFat have ultimately prospered out of what has undeniably been a difficult time for many.
PuppyFat was already a global business so remote communication was welcomed by Mike. ‘We're dealing with customers all over the world anyway, it's just even easier now to jump on a zoom call than it ever was.’
It’s also changed how he does meetings in the UK. ‘People are expecting that you're going to jump on a zoom call, whereas previously, I may have had to get in my car and drive for hours to go and meet someone’. Not only is this a welcome change for time poor businesspeople like Mike, but it’s also not bad for the environment.
Screenshots of the PuppyFat app from their website.
The underserved breeder community
Even before the pandemic, it was a community of people from all around the world that inspired the business.
Mike worked in the veterinary and agriculture space for 10 years, before PuppyFat, often selling physical products to breeders. ‘PuppyFat was born out of an identified need… Selling physical products to these guys really made me understand the market.’
And they’re based all over the world. ‘The need is global, and the product is global.’ PuppyFat now has customers in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada as well as the UK. They want to serve non-English speaking countries too. ‘The only thing holding us back from being truly global is a lack of translations. But it is only a matter of time.’
And at only 3 years old, with a fairly small team, we think they’re doing pretty well.
The power of small communities
PuppyFat is a classic case study on the power of small communities and networking when growing a business.
When I ask what has most contributed to the growth of the business, the answer is clear; ‘word of mouth’.
‘[The breeder community] is such a networked community; probably more than most. It’s akin to people with a niche hobby. They know everybody else who’s really into it as well.’
‘Some people search the app store going, ‘is there anything for breeders? Oh wow, there is. That’s a surprise.’ But then, most people found us because they’ve been recommended. Which is pretty cool.’
They found this out from a survey they did and it’s no surprise.
‘The community has powered the PuppyFat app and platform, and the roadmap all comes from the community.’ This community may be small but for a business like Mike’s that’s exactly what you want.
Word spreads fast in small networks and if the product is solving common problems, it won’t be long before a lot of people are talking about it. The focal point of this global community has for a long time been a Facebook group of over 900 breeders.
Whilst Mike would like to bring this into the PF platform in future, allowing them to share records, tips and updates in a secure environment, he admits the Facebook approach has worked pretty well so far.
It’s testament to closed interest-based groups on social media being a potent marketing tool, when used well.
You don’t need a big reach to market your product successfully, just a small, like minded and dedicated set of folk with a shared complaint that you can answer.
And there’s another community, a little closer to home that has also had a big impact.
C4DI – where great minds meet
Another key part of the business’s growth is the influence and help of C4DI.
When the business started it was just an idea. There was no question that Mike would need help with developing and creating the digital platform itself.
‘Being locally based the C4DI stood out as the place to go to meet our developers and to get our prototypes off the ground and to get assistance with our messaging and our marketing.’
This has proven to be a wise decision as it was here that Mike met lead developer Chris Hill. He’s been pivotal in getting the app off the ground. Mike also recognises it’s about more than just getting someone to build it.
‘We definitely needed the technology expertise, not only the actual programming to build the application itself, but also the general expertise and advice from developers here, giving us inspiration on what is possible.’
It’s typical at C4DI and the interest-led events that occur in the building, that minds meet, and expertise is shared. All this has helped to form the app in a way that wouldn’t have been possible had he decided to create it away from a community like this.
As Mike says, it wasn’t just the technical side of things but design and marketing/copywriting expertise that he found at C4DI. ‘There’s a connection to a wider business ecosystem as well’, he says of the Barclays connection and advice from Cambridge Judge Business school and Codebase in Edinburgh.
It was also a C4DI connection that introduced him to the Nestle Purina accelerator program. The ‘super exciting’ program is a 6-month accelerator which will help them further hone their purpose and long-term vision for the product.
Look at them go!
Safe to say it’s an exciting time for Mike and the PuppyFat team and there’s clearly plenty more to come.
Mike recognises ‘there’s still certain problems that we’re not solving for breeders’ and is keen to continue updating the platform to ensure it truly is as comprehensive as possible.
Serving the wider pet market and integrating everyone into the same ecosystem are other goals for the future. For now though he’s happy with serving breeders, the community that inspired it all in the first place.
One of the big lessons he’s learnt in business is to ‘understand your customer on a personal level. Not just who they are, but what they feel, what motivates them, what values they hold. That stuff sounds vague, but it’s actually how the product makes them feel that prompts people to take action.’
It’s certainly the case that Mike understands his customer. Mike says that ‘what gets me out of bed in the morning is being able to solve a problem that means so much to this group of people.’
Unsurprisingly, he’s also pretty in tune with the dogs themselves. The blond Cavapoo in the room can't keep her paws off him.
Interview by Tim Goodfellow and Influence Media