Discovery
Business Management
Entrepreneurship
Co-founder
2019
Have you ever had an idea that tugged at your mind, over and over again? I did. Still do. For years I dismissed that idea and put it to the back of my mind. But in 2019, I decided it was time to address this idea head on. Following the Lean Startup Method, this simple idea turned into a 170+ discovery interviews, a real business model, competitive analysis, and culminated in a 2nd Place finish at EntreFest 2019, a state-wide pitch Competition.
Due to an unfortunate incident when my wife Jen was young, she was been left with an unending fear of watching our black Lab/German Shepherd, named Kira, run out of our yard and get struck by a vehicle in the street. It’s a gruesome thought, yes, but it’s also a very real concern. So when we bought our first house as a newly married couple, Jen was adamant that we needed to find a solution to calm her fears. So, we did our research and identified the top three solutions:
A physical fence would be perfect. It would guarantee our dog would not move past the boundaries set for her. However, as a young couple not far removed from college graduation, spending $1500-3000 for a physical fence was simply not in our budget.
This solution was both cheap and simple; tether a long line near the back door and allow Kira to venture as far as the line lets her. Yet, we agreed this would still limit Kira’s freedom. Our goal was let Kira step outside and feel the freedom and ownership to walk around her personal kingdom. Feeling the consistent tug of the line would never give her this freedom.
The Invisible Fence, which keeps your pet inside a boundary line through training and electric shock when passing over that boundary, seemed to be our best option. While we were uneasy about the shock, we were convinced that this solution would give Kira the most freedom at a price that, while expensive, we could still afford.
So we purchased the Invisible Fence and hired a certified trainer to train Kira on her new boundaries. During initial Invisible Fence trainings, the dog needs to feel the shock in order to know what it feels like and what the audible beeps are warning her about when coming close to the boundary. This did not go well for Kira. In fact, the first time she got shocked she ran to the center of the yard, laid down, and was visible shaking. The shock traumatized her so greatly that neither the trainer nor I could get Kira back up and willing to train. In the end, the Invisible Fence didn’t work for us. We couldn’t stand to see our pup so scared to explore her surroundings, especially when we intended for the opposite result.
A simple, portable, and humane pet fence solution.
Throw away the need for a shock collar. With only a mobile app and smart collar, Boundry’s proprietary training plan will train your pup to stay within their boundaries, using only positive reinforcement techniques. With our precise geofencing technology, you can take your pup anywhere and be confident that they will stay safe in your preferred boundary.
In the past 6 months, we’ve conducted 170+ in-person interviews and online surveys. Our research groups included a wide range of participants from the tech-savvy 25 year old to the retired teacher. Through these interviews, we were able to identify our core differentiators and our biggest challenges.
24-35
Single, no children
Dog owner
Visits family and friends often
Suburban home with no fence
Tech-focused
Progressive Values
Using the mobile app, simply draw the area on the map to create a boundary. Save multiple different boundaries so you can take your pup with you!
When your doggo reaches the boundary, the device on the collar will notify them with a painless auditory signal. How does the dog know what the signal means? That’s where our proprietary training comes in.
Follow our step-by-step, interactive training plan developed by certified dog behaviorists who specialize in positive reinforcement, a proven training method of rewarding animals for doing what’s right, not punishing them for doing something wrong.
You’ll teach your dog to understand the signals they are, and what they should do when they hear it.
Our industry-leading location technology allows you to track your pup’s activity in and outside of the boundary.
Get boundary breach notifications, find a lost pup, and feel safe knowing where they are.
The lightweight device sits on your pet’s collar, and aids you in training, communication, and location tracking.
