Rover.com, an online website matching Seattle dog owners with nearby pet sitters, launched this week. The site is the brainchild of Aaron Easterly, former Entrepreneur in Residence at Madrona Venture Group, General Manager of Advertising Strategy and Monetization at Microsoft and a General Manager at Microsoft, according to his LinkedIn profile page.
Easterly shared, “It is a big opportunity, and it is one of these incredibly large industries that is fundamentally broken. Between kennels and private dog sitting, it is a $6.5 billion to $8 billion industry, just in the U.S. and it has a huge rate of dissatisfaction.”
Easterly shared in a Geekwire.com interview that no one has established an online market where pet owners can communicate and arrange visits from pet sitters. “The real thing is trying to find a home from someone who knows what it means,” said Easterly.
Once logged in, pet owners select the size of their breed and filter results by pet care either in their home or the home of the potential sitter for hire. Rover.com will earn a 15 percent profit on all transactions received through its website. Easterly is also considering expansion across the country in the early part of 2012.
The business startup has been housed in the downtown Seattle offices of Madrona Venture Group the past few months and now has a few employees. The venture capital firm recently invested $250,000 into Rover.com.
The startup has been kenneled in the downtown offices of Madrona for the past few months, and now has grown to a handful of employees. The Seattle venture capital firm recently invested $250,000 in Rover.com, which is planning to raise more cash. Easterly hopes to find a “middle of the road” point between kennels and doggie retreats with this service.
For more information visit www.rover.com.
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