Working Like a Dog
IF YOU OWN A DOG OR CAT, it’s safe to assume you own the cutest one on the block. At least that’s the assumption Westport native Todd Thedinga’s making with his 3-year-old company, A Dog’s Life. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based business makes all-natural and organic dog treats (called Real Dogs), catnip (called Real Cats) and now wine (for you, not your pet) with your cat or dog’s mug on the label—all you need to do is upload a photo on the company’s site, adogslife.net, and the company will ship right to your door. A lifetime entrepreneur (his first business started in his parents’ kitchen while attending Bedford Middle School), Thedinga, 37, has learned starting a business is just as much about follow-through as it is the idea. While you can find his products at Whole Foods in both Westport and Greenwich, Thedinga does business nationwide in more than 2,500 pet boutiques and natural grocers. Here, Thedinga dishes about growing up in Westport, the highs and lows of being his own boss, and dog ownership. —As told to Nicole Gull
GETTING STARTED
Several years ago, I was working at Disney doing strategic planning in Burbank, Calif. I wasn’t very fulfilled. My role was to work on long-range planning issues for TV animation. It seemed very academic. There was still a big trend for user-generated content in media so I had this idea of user-generated packaging. I was interested in the pet space. I felt the packaging fell into one of two categories—very corporate and very mass-produced or it was really quaint and cute in a jar with a bow. I also happen to come from a completely dog-obsessed family and there are a lot of dog owners in L.A.: It’s kind of like Warren Buffett looking at legs when he bought Gillette, thinking they all needed to shave at some point. I figured all I need to do is sell my dog treats to my neighbors. So I started doing research and cooking in my kitchen. I only had one flavor: organic chicken and barley biscuits. Eventually I got my health permit and applied to sell at the organic farmer’s market. I’d get up at 6 a.m. Sunday morning and go down to the market, set up my booth and pray to God that no one from Disney would ever show up. Thankfully, it never happened.
TAKING THE LEAP
At the first trade show I went to I was standing there at my booth and stores were coming by and they’d say, “What is your product about?” And I’d say, “It’s this new great line of organic pet foods and they’d go okay fine, whatever.” But then I’d say, “You can get your dog’s photo on the package.” And they’d go, “Wait, what? How?” I realized that was my thing—getting the consumer involved. People smile when they look at their dog’s picture. Then they whip out their cell phone and show you photos of their dogs. That’s the connection I’m going for. Then the Web site went up. The first dog photos that went up were from everyone I knew. And then one photo went up and I didn’t know that person; that was a really cool feeling. I started to approach a few local pet stores. The first few were like, “We’d love to help you out but I already have a lot of treats.” Finally when the stores reordered the third or fourth time, I decided to take the leap. I started in 2007. The progression was the chicken and barley biscuit, then I added three more organic flavors. And then with the second bunch in ‘07—just as the economy was tanking—I did a natural line. Everything in that line is human-grade and wheat and corn-free but it isn’t organic. Then came organic catnip in late ‘07 and then in late ‘08 came the jerky treats. A couple of months ago we launched the wine. Now the site says pet products and people products. The thought behind it was that we have a strong gift business and wine makes a great gift.
MY DOG’S LIFE
When I started the company, I had the dog I had in college. Cody was a black Lab. He’s still on the “About Us” page. Todd and Cody: That was one of the names I was kicking around. Cody lived to a ripe old age and died a year into the company. I was so busy and I’m not the type to immediately go out and get another dog. So there was a year I didn’t have a dog at all. It was really awkward at that point because I was like, “Well I’m in between dogs.” You could see people thinking to themselves, “This guy is such poser. He probably hates dogs.” So Walter was our next dog. My fiancé Claire found him on Petfinder—a Dachshund. He’s awesome. He comes into work. I don’t know if it’s because he’s so short but he loves to get as high as possible. We’ll be stacking boxes in the warehouse and if the boxes are positioned just right he’ll be on top of the boxes.
SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR
My parents got numb very early on to me doing all kinds of random stuff. I think they probably got a kick out of it. For my first business, I’d type up these menus—we had an old IBM. This was when I was in middle school in Westport. It would print out on one of these old dot matrix printers. I called it the Riverview Eatery. I’d give it to my siblings the night before and they’d check off what they wanted. I’d make them breakfast and I’d charge them. I was providing a service! My cost of goods was zero. It didn’t last that long because I had problems with collections from my siblings. Then in high school—one of my oldest friends from Staples High School and I—we bought a small window washing company. That is probably when I really got my entrepreneurial fix. It was so much fun. My friend that started the business with me worked at Stew Leonard’s in the BBQ department. I was working at Peter’s Bridge Market at exit 17 off 95. I don’t even know what minimum wage was back then but we figured if we washed one house a week we’d be just as well off. That business was called Blue Duck Home Improvement. I did that all through college in the summers and then the year following college. I’m back a few times a year. My folks live about a mile from the sound; every day we walk with their Labs down there. Even though I live a few blocks from the other ocean, there’s something about the Long Island Sound that feels like home to me.
LESSONS LEARNED
Entrepreneurship is about taking risks but it’s also about mitigating risks. The second one is not as sexy as the first and everyone wants to hear the story of the guy or gal who mortgaged his or her entire house and it worked. But the vast majority of businesses out there lend themselves to experiments. You can do the equivalent of going to the farmer’s market on the weekend. And your idea will change. That will absolutely happen. Just try to come up with experiments that don’t bankrupt you; your spouse will like that too. It’s 99 percent about execution. I wouldn’t worry about someone stealing your idea. I’d worry about the process. What makes it work is getting people their products on time, consistency—all the really boring stuff. That’s what makes a business happen or not.
HOW I DID IT
The hardest thing is that I have to wear so many different hats and there aren’t enough resources. At Disney I just called the 24-hour help desk. Now there’s nothing. From answering the phone, to packing up boxes or setting up a trade show booth, there’s just not enough time. When you work for someone else, at the end of the day, the buck doesn’t stop with you, even if you’re in a high position and you take pride in your work. It’s not the same level of work. It all goes back to Blue Duck. I’m used to dealing with customers who demand a high level of service. And it’s important to me to deliver on it. As the company grows, that’s difficult. This weekend, I probably called 150 people back to answer their questions. When you are customer-obsessed, you’re growing and you’re not selling a low-end experience, you need to be able to sleep less or have a really good system to take care of people. Are people going to keep ordering? Did I make them happy? What are new products that would make people happy? I’ve found that if you lose sleep over customers—and not competitors—and you figure out how to meet their needs, you’ll do okay.*