Giving Back to Man's Best Friend: How Chris Dennis Was Inspired to Start His Small Biz

Throughout his career working in pet food sales, Chris Dennis always put his heart and soul into helping animal shelters out. When he realized that big companies aren't doing enough to give back to local humane societies, he decided to put his industry experience to use by founding GivePet, a business that makes all-natural dog treats. For every bag that’s sold, he donates 10 treats to shelters.

We spoke with Chris about hooking up with new retailers by traveling state to state and why he wishes he’d started his company much, much earlier.

Take it away, Chris!

Name: Chris Dennis

Business: GivePet

Started: May 2016

What inspired you to create your business?

My sister owns an animal rescue center in Texas and she encouraged me many years ago to get involved in the pet industry. I took her lead and answered an ad for a job in pet food sales and have worked in the field for more than 16 years now. I’ve also been involved with many local animal shelters and helped renovate a dog park, so I understand how reliant these types of organizations are on donations.

I saw a disparity between the profits of big companies and the needs of rescue facilities. At a sales meeting once, the firm I worked at said it wanted to introduce a program that gave back to shelters. I followed up on the idea a few times, but finally they said it was too cost prohibitive. 

I knew these larger firms were run inefficiently and wasted a lot of resources, and I realized they weren’t really trying to work it all out the way that I'd hoped. I wondered if I could start my own business and give back at the same time by operating in a lean and efficient way that reduced waste. I survived about ten rounds of layoffs with the company I was at, then left for a job at a smaller pet brand, where I worked for almost five years.

Ultimately, I didn’t want my fate to be in someone else’s hands. I decided to start a dog treat business that donates to shelters. 

I started planning my new business on the side. My goal was to accomplish something each week so I could make progress. It took more than two years, but finally I was able to quit my day job.

GivePet is distributed in about 11 states and contains all-natural ingredients that are made and sourced in America, except for our chickpeas and lentils, which come from Canada. There’s no added salt, sugar or grain, and it has a high protein content. 

I give retailers 10 treats for every bag sold to donate to a shelter of their choice on a quarterly basis. I wanted to give something tangible instead of the proverbial dollar, where you don’t know exactly what it’s put toward.

What was the exact moment when you knew your business was going to work?

The company that distributes my products invited me to a large trade show in mid-April and said I could sell to their accounts. I needed retailers to love the ingredients, packaging and the donation aspect. If I sold them on two out of three, I knew I’d get placed in their stores — but I’d have to differentiate myself. 

At first, I could see them roll their eyes and think, "Not another treat company!" But once they heard my story and saw my packaging, they thought it was awesome. I sold retailers on all three points! 

It was that first experience at the trade show that told me GivePet was going to be a success.

How do you price your products?

I did competitive analysis for several months and wrote down the details of every treat out there — including price, whether it was grain free, packaging sizes and so on. I roughly knew the distribution costs of each product, so I calculated competitors’ retail margins. I wanted to be at the same price point and still be able to donate products.

Yet, I know now that I still didn’t ask enough questions. I didn’t know that my distributor built in more of a margin for businesses that exclusively sold treats. If I were to also sell pet food, the margin they factored in would have been lower, which threw me off in the beginning. 

There was no way to find this out through my initial research, so I had to re-evaluate over time and make price adjustments.

What is your most effective means of getting new customers?

I’ve been traveling with my distributor’s sales staff to help acquire new independent retailers for the past six weeks. My distributor sells within a band of about 14 states, and I think I have my product in 11 of those. 

There are 10 salespeople calling on stores within those areas every day, so I want them to hear me sell my product and make sure they’re well informed. That’s what I’m in the middle of right now, before I try and get creative to gain more accounts. I need more infrastructure in place before someone can buy a bag of treats and have them shipped through my website.

If you could go back in time, what’s the one thing you would do differently when starting your business?

My only regret is that I didn’t start the business five years sooner. I didn’t push myself enough in the early years.

How do you juggle other responsibilities and interests outside of your business?

I’m very task-oriented. I write down my goals each day and try to accomplish as much as I can. 

I enjoy time with my family. One thing that’s nice about working from home is that I can finish up some jobs while I’m spending time with them. My kids also help with small projects, and I get their opinions on things. They pack samples for new retailers and events, little stuff like that.

What would you like to learn today from a community of other small business owners and self-employed professionals?

I’ve had interest from outside investors who would like to help me grow the business. 

Does anyone here have tips for how to go about this? What are some of the pros and cons of accepting outside funding if I want to take my business to the next level?

Now, it's time to share *your* story with us in the comments below!

Have you been in a similar position to Chris, and have you accepted outside funding or talked to investors about helping you grow your business?

Share your stories and experiences with us below! Can't wait to hear your take on this topic. :-)