| Tell us about your company: |
| At This Dog’s Life, we’re building the category leader in biotics-driven dog wellness. Our near-term focus is oral care with our first portfolio brand, Bye Bye Dog Breath, built to lead the $2B category by targeting periodontal disease — the #1 health issue in dogs – at the root cause, not symptom masking, utilizing pre-, pro, and postbiotics along with natural ingredients for whole-mouth health. Our platform provides optionality to extend across the gut, skin, and brain with the same microbiome foundation. |
| What inspired you to start your business? |
| My former dog Bentley. He had horrible dental disease, and I had no idea. It wasn’t until he was a senior dog, and he started not enjoying treats and eating food was a struggle. Unfortunately, he was too old to go under to get his teeth professionally cleaned, meaning his last years were painful — for both of us. When he passed, I started researching oral care and learned that it was the number one health issue in dogs, and by age three, 85% of dogs have some form of periodontal disease (i.e. dental disease). That means dogs could be suffering from this silent epidemic for the majority of their life. We are looking to change that by providing holistic oral care solutions, starting at stage zero: the microbiome. |
| What are your proudest achievements so far? |
| Honestly, still being here! For startups, you go through so many ups and downs, changes in business models, and shifting priorities. It’s a tough career path, but very fulfilling. Other wins I am super proud of include our customer loyalty, how much we have changed dogs’ lives all over the country, and building the best products on the market. Because of that, we sold out on Chewy within three days of being on there, our Amazon subscription rate has grown 600%, and now Petco wants us on their platform. |
| What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs: |
| You can always go bigger. Start small — be it one channel, one product, one customer base — and really get to know the specifics and the ins and outs before you expand. |
| Please share a memory or thought about your alma mater: |
| Pushing me outside of my comfort zone. My background is in marketing, and the program I got accepted to at NYU was Business and Economic Reporting track at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. It was excruciatingly difficult for me. I had to learn many new skills, and while I thought I may go into PR after graduation, I fell in love with journalism. And those skillsets transition into building a company where quality, efficiency, and safety are the pillars. I obsess over data, fact-check everything, ask endless questions, seek input from experts across disciplines, and can separate marketing claims from concrete evidence. |
Alumni Emporium 