By Allan Maurer
ORLANDO, FL—Social networking has gone to the dogs…and cats…and birds. Orlando-based Petentials is raising a $500,000 round to grow its social networking site aimed at all pets—via their owners. “It started as a pet-dating site,” says co-founder and Director Darren McDaniel.
Informally founded in 2005, the site launched officially in the spring of 2006. McDaniel says the company bootstrapped funding initially and has already collected some pre-release revenue, but is has begun its first raise.
McDaniel, a sociologist and a filmmaker, says the idea for Petentials evolved because he noticed how his pet loving friends and relatives exchanged pictures and stories about their pets and even tried to hook up their pets with each other. He explains the genesis of the idea this way:
“”The idea stemmed from discussions I’d had with my friend, Rob, about his neighborhood cat (whom he’d named “Garage Cat”) and conversations I’d had with my sister and brother-in-law about their neighborhood cat, Sidney.
“Rob had sent me accounts of Garage Cat’s activities as well as the occasional picture. Meanwhile, a mere 50 miles down the road from
Garage Cat, my brother-in-law had built a custom “cat house” for Sidney.
“When he and/or my sister emailed me a picture of Sidney standing proudly in front of her house, it sparked an idea. I forwarded Sidney’s picture to Rob and asked him to show it to Garage Cat…to see if Garage Cat would be “interested in” Sidney. (After all, she was a home-owner.)
“I’m not sure if Rob ever showed the picture to Garage Cat, but I am sure that I knew then that I owed it to Garage Cat and Sidney to use this inspiration to bring “Internet dating for pets” to the world.”
Discussing this with his friends, now partners, Kia and Michael Misowitz, he says, “We decided there was an opportunity to address most of the needs of pet enthusiasts online.”
The site invites those pet enthusiasts to adopt the persona of their animal companions, submit photos and videos, and participate in the usual set of social networking activities.
People create an account as the human guardian of their pet(s) and then speak in the pet’s voice. “People have a way of expressing their pet’s personality,” McDaniel says. “I have a friend with six cats. She attributes a different religion to each for very specific reasons,” he says.
“We’re also going to have our own videos,” says McDaniel.
The company hopes to make money from advertising. “We have the opportunity to address very passionate niche audiences,” he says.
The site is also developing a marketplace. “We’ll sell our own quirky merchandise and other animal products that are fun or unique that you might not find at your local pet shop.” Ultimately, the site will offer premium subscriptions, but is currently free, he says.
The site is complete-creature-friendly. “We welcome all breeds and species,” says McDaniel. “You can have a stuffed rabbit toy. We’ll let people make their own definition of what a pet is.”
The original idea of Internet dating for pets is still a part of the concept, he notes. “It’s a social networking model where people can find animals for adoption, breeding, or play dates at the park,” McDaniel explains.
It will also allow people to form groups, from those who use the same pet groomer to those with the same breeds and so on.
The company plans a site update over the next four to five weeks. Chances are, it’s going to be the cat’s meow…
On the Web: www.petentials.com
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