Me and Mellisa connected online as we both share similar values according to the love for dogs and the environment.
When I saw her product, I fell in love as this was exactly what I needed: a Doggy Anchor for my wet pooches while I am out in the ocean - surfing. Doggy Anchor as well as our drying coats are made from RPET - recycled plastic.
So here we are, Doggy Anchor story - check it out, you might get easily inspired <3
1. Can you tell us about your start-up and what inspired you to start? (what you do, how it came about etc.
Doggy Anchor was created out of necessity for me, as a mother of 2 small children, a beach lover and wild dog mumma! There was no solution when it came to keeping my dog Lulu safe and in one place when we would hit the "leash only" beaches. We spend a lot of time at the beach and Lulu always comes with us. Unfortunately for me, that meant my family got to enjoy their day, swimming, running, playing, while I was always left to hang on to Lulu to stop her chasing after the other kids, dogs and birds on the beach. Doggy Anchor was born. I used my background in fashion design, the practicality of being a mum and the need for something strong for Lulu, to help create the ultimate beach bag. My love for the ocean helped solidify that the material I wanted to use to create it, would be out of discarded plastic bottles that were headed for landfill, or worse, the ocean.
2. Can you tell us about your Founder journey? (what were you doing prior, how/why did you become a founder etc.)
Prior to founding Doggy Anchor, I was travelling around Australia after selling our hospitality and retail business. My husband and I wanted to take our camper trailer around Oz and explore for 12 months and give our kids an epic experience that we knew would benefit them and us as a family. On the road, while living in South Australia is where we added Lulu to our family! It was on the road and living in a small coastal town of Port Lincoln, where my love for the ocean and its conservation really grew. Having such an active, water loving dog like Lulu, really was the catalyst for my idea and I also knew I wanted to start my own business that I could do from home.
3. What advice or tips & tricks would you give to other founders? (finding community, accessing resources, production etc.)
Do your research. It becomes quite expensive fast when you put time and money into ideas or businesses that you either eventually give up on or cant proceed with, because you didnt do the research first. Get as much feedback from friends and family as possible too. They can see things that sometimes you miss or have a great addition or small change worth taking into consideration before executing your final product. Spend the time and money in the development process. It will be worth it in the end. Doggy anchor took many, many prototypes and testing before I got it right and I still think it will continue to evolve and improve.
4. Where can people find you/how can they support You? Do you have anything upcoming that we can share with our audience?
Supporting small businesses is so important in this climate, especially brands that are taking the environment into consideration. By choosing to support, share or follow my journey and telling other dog lovers about Doggy Anchor, you are helping bring awareness to recycled plastic materials and the need to move away from single use plastics.
If you are interested in getting one of the Doggy Anchor check it out here.
