Wag! tried to be Uber for dog walking. SoftBank invested $300 million at a $650 million valuation. Three CEOs quit in three years. Dogs got lost. Walkers got bitten. The company went public via SPAC at a fraction of its private valuation. Turns out connecting strangers with other people's dogs is more complicated than connecting strangers with other people's cars. The dogs don't rate their drivers.
Founded
2015
HQ
San Francisco, USA
Total Raised
$400 million
Founder
Jason Meltzer, Joshua Viner
Status
Public (NASDAQ: PET)
Website
www.wagwalking.comTHE ORIGIN STORY
Jason Meltzer and Joshua Viner founded Wag! in 2015 in Los Angeles.
The premise was straightforward: busy pet owners could request an on-demand dog walker through the app. A nearby walker would arrive, take the dog for a walk, and the owner could track the walk via GPS in real-time.
The app included features pet owners loved: GPS tracking, a report card with photos from the walk, and the ability to request the same walker again. It felt like progress for an industry that had run on Craigslist ads and neighborhood flyers.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
Wag! is a marketplace that takes a commission (typically 40%) from each walk, sitting, or boarding booking.
Walkers set their availability, owners book through the app, and Wag! handles payments, insurance, and customer service.
The company expanded from walks to sitting, boarding, training, and wellness services. Premium subscriptions offer discounted rates for frequent users.
THE PRODUCTS
On-demand dog walking with GPS tracking and photo reports. Dog sitting and boarding through vetted caregivers.
Dog training with certified trainers. Wag!
Premium subscription for discounted services. Wag!
Wellness for pet health monitoring.
HOW THEY GREW
On-demand convenience was the initial hook. Just like Uber made it easy to get a ride, Wag!
made it easy to get a walk. The app expanded from LA to major cities across the US.
SoftBank's $300 million investment in 2018 was supposed to fuel national expansion and international growth. It mostly funded promotional discounts and a Super Bowl ad.
THE HARD PART
Trust is the fundamental problem. People trust ride-sharing because they are in the car with the driver.
With Wag!, a stranger enters your home and takes your dog without you there. Multiple incidents of dogs being lost, injured, or stolen created terrible PR.
The SoftBank money came with SoftBank-level growth expectations that didn't match the reality of a local services marketplace. The company burned through cash on expansion before achieving unit economics.
Three CEOs departed in rapid succession. The management instability reflected deeper strategic confusion about what Wag!
actually was.
MONEY TRAIL
Seed
2015 · Led by Various
$2M raised
Series C
2018 · Led by SoftBank Vision Fund
$300M raised
$650M valuation
SPAC
2022 · Led by CHW Acquisition
$200M raised
$350M valuation
WHO BACKED THEM
Wag! raised over $400 million, with the lion's share being SoftBank's $300 million investment in 2018 at a $650 million valuation.
The company went public via SPAC merger in 2022 at a significantly lower valuation.
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