In this episode I’m talking to Diana Akelman, a pet tech entrepreneur who founded PetPocketbook. Her app helps pet sitters and dog walkers run their business so they can focus on what they’re passionate about – caring for pets.
I was interested to learn that Diana has been working on this business for 10 years and the app is still invitation only. We talked about how important it is to stay persistent and never give up on your dreams. It can take years to find the right people to bring your vision to life, and then years beyond that to get feedback from customers to fine-tune your product into something that’s functional, looks good, and helps people.
I also enjoyed hearing Diana’s story of going from dog mom to human mom and the challenges that came with that. She’s passionate about bringing attention to the fact that we shouldn’t be expected to swoop in and instantly be super moms – or super bosses or super dog moms. This whole journey can be scary. Diana points out that often the scariest part is the unknown, so she’s a big believer in doing a lot of prep work.
Listening to her story, I saw a lot of similarities between how she prepared to run a business, how she prepared to be a dog mom to her Siberian Husky Remington and how she prepared to become a mom to her daughter.
As we near the end of the year, I’m excited to share that this podcast will be hitting 250 episodes at the end of December. I need your help to put together a best-of episode! Please reach out and let me know about your favorite podcast interviews and moments.
PetPocketbook App Helps Dog Walkers and Pet Sitters
Diana Akelman is the founder of PetPocketbook, an all-in-one software platform that gives you everything you need to run your dog walking or pet sitting business. Her journey in pet tech began with her now 7-year-old Siberian Husky, Remington. In preparation for bringing a new puppy into the family, Diana met a lot of local pet professionals and was surprised to discover, that in an era where there was an app for everything, most pet care businesses were still running their operations on pen & paper or Excel spreadsheets. So PetPocketbook was born.
Now their team of 7 (mostly based in the greater Boston area) serves dog walkers and pet sitters across the U.S., Canada, and Australia. In addition to Remington and PetPocketbook, Diana is now also mom to the sweetest 15-month-old baby girl named Josie; and with the help of her pack, she’s learning the ropes of balancing life in this new role.
OVERVIEW OF THIS EPISODE:
- What made Diana decide to start her business
- How the onboarding process works with PetPocketbook
- The first position that Diana hired for
- The challenges of creating a brand new app
- How the PetPocketbook team is structured and manages itself
- Relying on a support system to weather the tough times
- Diana’s experience adjusting to being a mom while running a business
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
- NAPS
- Tinyhood
- Dog Meets Baby
- Episode 152 // Double Down on Your Niche in the Pet Industry with Michelle Stern of Pooch Parenting
WHERE TO FIND DIANA:
- Website: www.petpocketbook.com
- Instagram: @petpocketbook
- Facebook: @petpocketbook
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