SwiftPaws with Meghan Wolfgram, Founder, feature 107 of Together Talks

KLS
Feb 27, 2024
8 min read

Updated: Apr 14

"Together Talks" feature 107: SwiftPaws presented by KLS, freight company

Some Background on SwiftPaws

Today's edition of "Together Talks" campaign, KLS had the chance to interview SwiftPaws and Meghan Wolfgram, Founder. SwiftPaws® is a health and wellness lifestyle brand for pets. They believe pets deserve to live their very best lives and they make beautifully playful products that help them do just that! They are a team of passionate pet-people from across the USA with headquarters on the east coast of Central Florida.

Their flagship product, SwiftPaws Home allows you to create the best game of chase ever in your very own backyard. It’s easy to setup, and perfect for people with busy schedules that still want to give their pet great healthy exercise while having fun. Pet owners, industry professionals, and most importantly the animals themselves LOVE SwiftPaws.

Sit back and enjoy, while your best friend gets dog-tired with a two-minute game of capture the flag.

Hobby -> Professional -> Commercial

Meghan graduated from college in 2011, she decided to take the summer to relax before looking for a job. A self-proclaimed "crazy dog person" she was doing dog agility training at the time. She asked one of the trainers what other dog sports there are to do and she was introduce to Lure Coursing. She described it to us as chasing after a squirrel in the back yard. She went down a rabbit hole trying to learn more about it. At the time there was nowhere in Florida that offered it and being a competitive sport it was only inclusive of specific breeds of dogs. Over a decade ago the equipment used for these events was between $4,000-7,000.

Meghan told us that her Dad is very handy and she asked him if together they could make a modified version. Together over the summer they worked together formulating their configuration. As a last hurrah before looking for a job Meghan organized a BBQ and invited all of her agility friends. The premise was to let them run their dogs on the machine they had created. In total 60 people showed up and at the end of the event asked when the next one would be. This idea sparked a once-a-month fun run activity to offset the cost (fun fact they still hold this event to this day!). This sparked an idea for Meghan, "What if we made a more professional, streamlined, and commercial grade product for fun, not competition?"

In 2012, SwiftPaws was officially launched. In the same year the American Kennel Club was founded. At the time SwiftPaws was the only machine that provided running for all shapes of dogs. It was a perfect fit for the American Kennel Club. It also helped that their machine was half the price of other professional grade equipment on the market. It soon became the fastest growing K9 sport in the world. From 2012-2019, SwiftPaws ran over 50,000 dogs across their machines. Fast forward to 2018 and there was becoming a large audience and presence that consumers wanted a model to be used at their home. Meghan came to the realization that if she didn't produce the product for consumers, someone else would. They made a pivot to focusing on the consumer model. Meghan bought out her business partner in 2019 as the company was growing faster than they had anticipated and was no longer the hobby they both originally signed up for. In the 7 years of focusing on professional side, they made over 100 commercial machines. Their first batch of home machines for consumers was 1,000 machines. Meghan shared with us that today 90% of their business is consumer.

We asked Meghan the meaning behind the name. She told us she was sitting at a friend's house trying to figure out what to call her venture. She wanted it to imply you're going to run around, an active name, and something you could buy the domain name of. She wanted to make sure if starting a business there wouldn't be any future hiccups as she looked to expand into other states and potentially nationwide. She landed on SwiftPaws and used her own hand drawn logo until 2017 when she sourced an artist of which the current logo is today.

Stubbornness

"I believe my best quality as an entrepreneur is I am too stubborn to let this go."

That was how Meghan summarized her journey so far. Her company started as a hobby and then a need, but when she held that first community event she didn't envision it would become a business. Building something that didn't exist gave her flexibility to create everything from the ground up. She was able to focus on quality and durability including assembly in the US in her hometown even. As the company grows she sees the brand becoming more well-rounded. Another great attribute she possesses is she can speak directly to her customer base, she understands crazy pet parents, because at her core she is one too.

Meghan explained, "Pet care is changing and becoming more mainstream. I'm the first to admit if the slightest thing is wrong with one of my dogs I run straight to the vet, but I won't take myself to the doctor. But it is becoming more evident that pets need something to keep their brains and bodies engaged and that is what we have provided." As SwiftPaws continues to grow, she wants to make sure they don't lose sight of the things that are important to their customers. Always being willing to listen and understand the customers wants and opinions has allowed the company to expand the way that they have so far.

Meghan told us that having your own business is so humbling. But she is grateful for what this journey has given her, "This is the coolest thing I have ever done in my life. I get to play with dogs all day, but it is way more than that. I used go out and explore how could a pet's life be better, but now I get to do that for work and help others in the process. I couldn't imagine doing anything more fulfilling." She also mentioned the incredible people she has been fortunate enough to meet along her journey. One recent victory was getting nominated for an award from Purina. She explained how getting to be in the same room with companies she grew up utilizing their products or admiring from afar, goes to show how far she and SwiftPaws have come.

Core Values

As the traction continues to build at SwiftPaws, Meghan wants to maintain their vision and staying true to who they are. She reflected on having appreciation for getting to talk about this doing various interviews discussing specific topics. One aspect that she constantly evaluates is the option to go international, and she asks herself, "Is it detrimental to our consumers to hold on to this core value?" She believes that staying true to who they are is who they want to be and why they remain assembled in the US.

Currently it is 9 weeks from start to finish for their product. Meghan mentioned that summertime and holidays are their big seasons. She mentioned that there is anxiety to some degree and while it can be good, it shouldn't be the only motivator. The company has financial challenges and that resulted in Meghan not taking a salary until 2020. But despite the challenges she has faced it is her passion for the company that keeps her going. Meghan explained how she maintains her vision, "I don't get too terribly excited over any one win and can't get too low. Understanding as the Founder I have the most to gain and most to lose, I have to stay even keel regardless of what is happening. The world will be here tomorrow, just have to stay the course."

Shark Tank

In 2022, SwiftPaws was featured on Shark Tank. Meghan considered it one of their big wins. However she shared the feedback, "They thought the business was really cool, but the product wasn't affordable enough." Meghan spent the last year redeveloping from the ground up to be close to half the price of what it was prior. This led to creating her "battle cry" for 2023, Meghan explained, "Shark Tank was this biggest high of 2022. We could've floated on that to be honest. After it aired I thought what are we now. We were on Shark Tank, what are we doing now. We were essentially a $500 dog toy and couldn't even get into retail. So my battle cry for 2023 was 'Battery Free 2023'!" Meghan explained that 80% of their warranty problems and costs were due to lithium batteries. Meghan was on the quest to create a more affordable option and the quickest way to do that was to convert it to a wall adaptable charger. In addition to that they even built an app to accompany their new line of products.

Meghan once again iterated how important it is to listen to what your consumers are saying. The transition to the new product configuration resulted in decreasing the manufacturing process from 19 steps to 4 steps. Meghan partners with a local organization that employs handicapped adults for work, which this made it all the easier to continue to support them. The new design also resulted in the product being 1/5th the previous shipping size which is a huge difference in the B2C world. Remarkably once they announced the changes they had 1,000 preorders, Meghan had her proof of concept.

Meghan explained how she reflects on running her business, "People fantasize about running your own business. You think about the reward, money, success, or the promise of reward. But during the lowest of lows you're thinking of survival. And what got me through those periods was I can't imagine doing anything more than this. My north star is pet happiness = people happiness and that message is my bigger purpose.

Next Phase

Meghan shared with us that her goal for this year is to turn a small profit. She wants to not only continue to scale, but double their current sales and production. While she is in growth mindset she wants to be very weary of "shiny object syndrome". They have developed time and a substantial investment into Chase, their newest product, and want to see it through before moving onto anything further. Meghan said that the quote is it takes 10 years to build an overnight success. Her episode of Shark Tank was a decade into her career. She wants another 10 years doing what she loves (sounds like a good where are they now check-in a decade from now!)

Another aspect that Meghan is so proud of within her community is becoming an educator in the space. They are launching the initiative, "Play Well", which consciously provides mental and physical health. It is proven that healthier people live longer lives. This is in part the future of SwiftPaws, you don't have to spend a dollar to take your dog for a fun walk. But this community will have the ability to share what is cared about, pet wellness. They will continue to make high quality made in the USA dog toys, but want to ultimately inspire anyone who sees SwiftPaws to try and encompass the overall goal of "Play Well".

Piece of Advice

The conversation with Meghan ended with her sharing her piece of advice:

"Early on, my career started at 21, I didn't earn salary until 2020. TI constantly had to tune in with myself if I was falling behind with peers. I wasn't to contributing to a 401k, so I'd ask myself is this something that is still worthy? I ultimately took it year by year. My take is people and especially young people, there is an opportunity to chase something and it is really amazing to do so while not have things that tie you down whether a mortgage or car payment. That is the time to explore and discover yourself. The repercussions of failure when you’re young are at a much smaller scale. Be sure to always check in with yourself, as quick as willing to start something be just as quick to walk away. Be real and honest."

Visit Swift Paw's website to use the coupon code below!

KLS15 ---> 15% off

In Closing

KLS wants to thank Meghan Wolfgram, Founder, of SwiftPaws for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!