Pet Startup Pawp Wants To Take A Bite Out Of Chewy

The New York-based startup, Pawp.com, launched its website Monday, after two months of beta testing. It bills itself as “the most human pet brand” and says its goal is to become a “trusted adviser” that can recommend vets, groomers and other service providers to pet owners, as well as sell them.

Pawp.com is a tiny newborn pup, with $3 million in seed funding and eight employees, but its founders believe they can compete with the big dogs and win the trust of millennials, the largest and fastest growing population of pet owners.

Millennials, said 27-year-old CEO and cofounder Marc Atiyeh, don’t want to be given thousands of choices for pet food, or beds, or dog groomers. They want, he said, to be steered to the best choices by someone they trust.

“There’s a deep lack of trusted advisers in the space. And that’s really what we’re trying to so,” said Atiyeh.

Atiyeh and Pawp cofounder Andrew Malek have experience at digital platforms that scaled and then were sold. They both worked at Paribus, a company cofounded by Atiyeh’s brother. It created a price-tracking app that got refunds for consumers, and was acquired by Capital One. They then helped grow Clarity Money, the personal finance app that was acquired by Goldman Sachs.

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