With a one-stop-shop for your pet’s needs, Shruthi Nithin is changing the game with For Love of All Pets

Need someone to look after your dog while you are away? Or maybe you need to get your new puppy trained. Whatever it may be, For Love of All Pets will connect you to the right people to help you and your pet out.

Having never grown up with pets, Shruthi’s love of animals came much later in life. Now as the parent of three-year-old Charlie, her golden retriever, Shruthi says it has always been a struggle to find the right information and services for him. To overcome this pain point, Shruthi decided to establish For Love of All Pets (FLOAP).

FLOAP is a liaison between pet parents, and people who provide pet high quality pet services. The online portal collates a wide range of premium services that have been verified through in-person visits, telephone calls, and reviews by existing customers.

Through FLOAP, Shruthi hopes to make pet parenting easier, streamline the pet service industry in India, help people experience the joys of being among pets, and build a sense of community.

"Pet parenting is challenging at every step, especially with busy schedules that make it difficult to do everything by ourselves. With FLOAP, one can easily overcome the struggle of finding the right information, getting multiple references, and engaging in random social media conversations," says Shruthi.

FLOAP conducts an awareness programme called ‘Pet Talks’ where experts address pet parents about topics like animal therapy and nutrition. Through Pet Talks, pet parents can also exchange experiences, tips and tricks about taking care of pets. FLOAP also partners with Animal Angels Foundation, an NGO which focuses on Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT). The startup also offers subscription packages to make it easier for pet parents to avail the services they require regularly.

Ringing in revenue

FLOAP works on a transaction and subscription-based revenue model for its core business. While they have been successful in finding an alternate revenue stream through Pet Talks, Shruthi says they will need capital support in order to scale.

“Finding the right investor with passion in this space is important. We are bootstrapped at the moment but are in talks with a few investors who have shown interest,” she explains.

FLOAP is currently Bengaluru-specific but plans on expanding to three or more cities by the end of 2020. Chennai, Delhi, Gurugram and Mumbai are at the top of its list.

The FLOAP team, including Shruthi, is made of three key members - Vinoop Ramesh, whom they call the 'voice of FLOAP' and Nanda Hiremath who looks after the operations.

Making tough decisions

Shruthi still finds it challenging to make balanced decisions. She says there are a lot of things she would like to just do out of love for animals but is limited by resources.

“To find that point where I’m doing what makes me happy and what is right for the business, while also focusing on the long-term vision, is not easy. Pet parents and pet service providers have started to place a lot of trust in FLOAP, and we do our best to live up to their expectations. Yet, saying ‘no’ to something that doesn’t fit our business goals is a tough choice,” says Shruthi.

Starting simple

Shruthi began working in sales and marketing during her undergraduate days. She worked in the corporate sector for six years, with her last assignment being with GE Healthcare in Bengaluru, as its Marketing Manager. She worked there for close to a year before deciding to take the plunge into entrepreneurship.

Also read: This mobile app connects animal lovers across India, provides real-time help to strays