How Anna Zege Built Groomit

Issue #36

December 12th, 2023

Quick Hits:

🐶 How was your dog walk today?

🇩🇪 Who imports the most pet food?

🇺🇸 The Dog Gurus Business Breakthrough event will be held in April

👽 If humans disappeared what would happen to dogs?

🐕 Regulations could be coming to the dog-walking industry

• Antelope - Their latest acquisition is US pet food maker My Perfect Pet.

• From the Holland Road - John A. Van Den Bosch Co., a five-generation family-owned distributor of pet food products was just acquired by a private equity firm.

• New CFO - Chewy Names David Reeder as their new Chief Financial Officer.

• Chewy Pharmaceuticals - Chewy pet pharmacy is on pace to “bring in $1 billion a year” based on their last 12 months.

• Welsh Welsh - The Welsh brand, Burns Pet Nutrition, was just acquired by Assisi Pet Care Group.

• General push - General Mills, the food behemoth, is furthering its push into the pet food industry.

• Chile dawg - Pawer, the Chilean pet tech startup, just closed a $100k investment.

This week we interview Anna Zege:

Born in Minsk, Belarus, and raised in California and New York, Anna graduated from New York University, with a magna cum laude degree in economics. 

Anna began her career in wealth management and real estate. She also modeled with ID Models and Boss Models, one of the world’s largest modeling agencies, before founding her own business. 

In 2017, Anna co-founded GroomIt, an online service offering in-house, on-demand pet grooming services in New York City and 33 other cities around the country.

The mobile pet care market is expected to exceed $1.2 billion by 2030, why do you think mobile grooming has become so popular in recent years?

The whole pet grooming market is currently 6 billion. By 2030 it will be about 10 billion. It’s growing at about 7 percent annually. There is no other consumer retail sector growing so fast. We offer both mobile van grooming and in-home grooming so it’s not just the mobile grooming we focus on. Link

There are several reasons grooming and pet care is seeing such a steady rise in recent years. The humanization of pets has become extremely popular and people are waiting to have kids later or not at all. Pets are treated as family members and there’s an increasing growth in pet ownership. Another factor is the awareness of the pet’s health. Grooming isn’t just making the dog look pretty. Grooming is focusing on the importance of the well-being of the pet. There are many reasons to groom such as a dog’s hair can trap bacteria, grime, and allergens and by giving your dog a bath it will help avoid all kinds of diseases.

If your dog is neglected and their hair is matted, it is not only painful for the dog, but it can be dangerous. There are many health issues it can cause such as mites, worms, flea infestation, and other parasites. Matted fur doesn’t allow air circulation to the skin which can cause fungal infections. Another thing is animals can rip off their nails while running and hurt their paws. It is essential they get groomed and have their nails clipped to avoid this. During the groom, the groomer can also notice anything suspicious like bumps or lumps, and can be a source of preventative care.

What is the hiring process for groomers?

We vet every single groomer and do a background check. We make sure to watch them do grooming and do in-depth interviews with everyone on our platform. 

Unlike the average mobile grooming van, you do in-home grooming as well, why did you decide to go that route?

It all honestly started because I had a need for a 4-pound Yorkie I got that I am extremely obsessed with. She’s very fragile and means everything to me. I don’t let anyone except my mom watch her and didn’t want to leave her with strangers at a grooming salon. You can call me a paranoid crazy mom but if something ever happened to my dog, I don’t know what I would do. I love her so much and want to see what’s happening to her at all times. I couldn’t risk a groomer mishandling her or hurting her by keeping to collar on too tight or hear her crying. I felt she’d also be more comfortable if I was around. She’s a diva and deserves the best care that I will happily provide. 

Where have you seen the most success with customer acquisition?

We get customers from SEO, social media, and referrals mostly.

You are currently operating in 15 states, how do you scout for new markets?

 We look at average household income, the percentage of household pets in the area, and if we can get a good supply of groomers for that area.

• Helping cats poop - A new probiotic was just unveiled.

• Globetrotters - Traveling alone can be difficult, so this guy decided to bring his 3 cats, Sponge Cake, Mocha & Donut along for the ride.

• Cat of the Year - Taylor Swift was just named Person of the Year, but her cat decided to join the party.

• Mandy Moore x Purina - Mandy Moore helped Purina Cat Chow Celebrate 60 years.

• New Study - The suspected link between cats and schizophrenia could be real.

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3 key insights from Anna Zege

You raised 234k from 99 investors through crowdfunding, why did you choose that initially? How did you find the process of crowdfunding vs a traditional raise? Have you raised any money since?

We first tried and thought it was a good idea to do crowdfunding. It wasn’t the best experience. We never had a “traditional raise” with a venture capitalist or private equity firm. We have raised additional funds through friends and family. 

What were some initial things you did to validate that indeed there was market interest in this service?

We looked at the market overall and saw its rapid and steady growth. We also saw people were willing to pay for the convenience of in-home and van services. It was quickly validated in practice. 

You launched 6 years ago, what were one or two of your biggest hurdles and how did you overcome them?

Groomer recruitment and creating awareness. I think we still struggle with it to this day but less so. There is a cost to both and it needs to be justified.

• Cassava - The root vegetable could serve as a healthy fiber alternative for pets.

• Sea Fresh Express - North Coast Seafoods launched Boat to Bowl™ Cat Food.

• Europe’s biggest - Omni, the plant-based pet food brand, just launched in Fressnapf - Europe's largest pet retailer.

• Chew it up - Butcher’s Naturals has expanded to all Walmart locations throughout the United States.

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Finally, What do cats like to eat for breakfast?

 Mice Krispies.

See you next week!

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