Petbulb, a new mobile app for pet owners that will launch soon on the App Store and Google Play, is looking to turn the tech startup funding model on its head. Rather than court venture capitalists, Petbulb plans to leverage the strength and passion of the pet owner community with its “Petbulb Advisory Group”.
The company will give stock options to pet owners who sign up for the group via email prior to the app’s official launch. Advisors will collectively own 5% of Petbulb. “For us, having the Petbulb Advisory Group is true ‘capital-in-kind’.”
“At Petbulb, we believe pet owners can and are already making the world a better place,” says CEO and Founder Paul Ikhane. “We believe they are an uncommon breed, that is why we are passionate and devoted to creating a community where we can learn and support each other, share our fun and exciting moments with our pet family with people who understand, and a community through which we can save on vet bills, pet health insurance and pet care with exclusive group deals.”
Members of the Petbulb Advisory Group will serve as “ambassadors” for the app. They will enjoy early access to the app and all of its features, and their input will be pivotal in how Petbulb evolves. Everyone in the Petbulb community will benefit from the money-saving specials on pet products and services that won’t be available anywhere else.
Core features of Petbulb include the “Pet owners profile” and up to “3 pet family Profile” associated in the pet owner’s account; a “Support” post to request for advice or tips from the community; the ability to post videos and pictures, and add comments to both; a chat tool to connect with other pet owners anywhere; a local deals section full of offers unique to the Petbulb community; and a familiar social component where members can send and accept friend request, follow others and be followed.
Petbulb’s founders have some ambitious plans for how to make the app even more useful. The company hopes to add a tool that will allow owners to monitor their pets from anywhere. Looking beyond the technology, Petbulb intends to work together with organizations that save animals from needless euthanasia, as well as fight to protect wild animals from poachers. In the long term, Petbulb has an eventual global expansion in mind, which will bring all the world’s pet owners, animal lovers and activists together in a diverse digital community.
Petbulb has already committed to pledging 1% of its profits to charity. The company has also signed a partnership with Toronto Animal Services. For more information please visit http://www.petbulb.com/
About Petbulb
Petbulb is a Social + Deals Mobile App for Pet Owners founded by Paul Ikhane and Margaret Nieradka. Petbulb helps Pet Owners with similar pets, breed or interests to Connect, Network, Share information and fun and Save on Pet Expenses through pet deals.