Sure, the latest initiatives from the Teslas, Apples and Googles of the industry tend to dominate the tech news space — and with good reason. Still, the big guns aren’t the only ones bringing innovation to the sector.
In an effort to highlight up-and-coming startups, Built In is launching The Future 5 across eight major U.S. tech hubs. Each quarter, we will feature five tech startups, nonprofits or entrepreneurs in each of these hubs who just might be working on the next big thing. Read our round-up of rising startups from last quarter here.
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In 2020, Daniel Miyares and his partner tried their luck at adopting a dog. Miyares said he submitted over 30 applications but only heard back from shelters informing him that he was on a waiting list. That experience sparked the idea for PetPair, which hopes to revolutionize the pet adoption process.
“Our frustrations were not unique. While well-off adopters in San Fransisco and New York City began turning to breeders, 1.5 million pets were euthanized or died in care at shelters that year simply because shelters could only service local demand with local supply,” Miyares told Built In over email. “My co-founder Aanandh Chandrasekar and I realized we had discovered a huge consumer pain point and a massive chance to do good in the world.”
Founded in 2021, PetPair is a three-sided marketplace used by animal shelters, fosters and those looking to adopt a dog. PetPair works with organizations and volunteers to find fosters, but any user can sign up on the company’s website to foster a dog. Once they’re in possession of the four-legged friend, fosters are tasked with creating content such as photos and videos of their foster dog and uploading it onto the PetPairs platform along with behavioral information and other data about the animal. This information and content are then used to match the dog with people looking to adopt. Users wanting to adopt can search PetPair for available dogs.
In a few years, we see PetPair maintaining a community of fosters — numbering in the tens and hundreds of thousands — providing homes for millions of pets each year. We’re growing our foster network in Texas and beyond.”
The startup itself is based in Austin, but PetPair’s dogs are available for adoption nationwide and PetPair will safely transport them to their adoptive homes.
“A huge component of what we’re solving at PetPair is the stark difference between local supply and demand nationwide. We make the safety and happiness of the furbaby our top priority, transporting animals across the country with vetted transportation providers who pass our rigorous safety tests,” Miyares said.
Since launching, PetPair has raised $1.2 million in funding across two pre-seed rounds. In that time it has also helped several shelters unlock more capacity to take in additional pets by finding homes and fosters for dogs that would otherwise wait in a shelter to be adopted.
With the new capital, PetPair looks to continue expanding its platform and network of shelters and fosters both in Texas and nationally. PetPair also looks to use its platform to provide pet owners with product recommendations for toys, foods and other products.
“In a few years, we see PetPair maintaining a community of fosters — numbering in the tens and hundreds of thousands — providing homes for millions of pets each year. We’re growing our foster network in Texas and beyond,” Miyares said.
