Million Dollar Idea: Dog Dating App

Profitable apps to start if you love dogs

Jen Glantz

Sep 22, 2021

This Week: We are exploring the odd jobs you can do if you love dogs.

If you are more of a cat person, I still think you’ll dig the gigs below. But chances are you know 1 or 875 people in your life who love love love dogs. Send them this. They will adore you forever.

Today, we’ll chat about entrepreneurs who started apps in the dog space that are worth millions. On Friday, I’ll share odd jobs hiring right now that pay you to spend quality time around dogs.

Know someone who’d get a kick out this newsletter? Share! Share! Share

When I first Googled this I was honestly hoping to find dating apps for dogs. Imagine, creating a profile for your pup and then scoping out other neighborhood dogs to connect with for playdates, dog park meetups, and play sessions?

Well, those apps used to exist.

There was one called DogDate where you could find “dates” for your dog, but it’s pivoted to become an app that helps you find local dog events.

Then there’s TwinDog, where you can create a profile for your dog and swipe left or right to find them playdate matches. From the reviews, it looks like it’s not as good of an app as we’d all want it to be.

So is there an opportunity to breathe some life into this dog dating app space?

Yes, there really is and it could be worth millions of dollars.

Why?

Reason #1: A dog boom!

The pandemic made a lot of people decide to get a dog (including me! I got Goofy in March 2020 when we all thought the world was shutting down for JUST TWO WEEKS). Over 13 million households got dogs in 2020. There’s a boom!

Whenever there’s a big surge, there’s opportunity. People started dog food and clothes businesses. Nobody started a dating app for dogs.

Reason #2: It’s hard to make dog friends

I live near a big park in Brooklyn so it was easy to make dog friends. But my pals who live in other parts of NYC, or the world, found it hard to meet other dogs that their dog clicked with and wanted to play with. Dogs need to socialize and having an awesome and localized app can help people solve that big problem.

Reason #3: It’s fun

I would honestly have a blast making a profile for my dog Goofy and swiping on the app. This would get me to use TikTok less and this app more.

How would you create it?

You’d have to make an app (details here), create a fun and funky brand, and spend some cash getting users (Google ads, PR, marketing, social, etc.). If done right, this could go viral and then you’d have a low cost for customer acquisition - which is a dream!

Here’s how you’d make the big money:

You could make the app free and have paid upgrades for people who want to make their profile look better. Advertisers would pay you to show ads on the site. You could have partnerships and affiliate deals with brands too and make cash. You could even sell products. If you have 10,000 users, who each spend $100 a year on app purchases (affiliate links, ads, products), you’d make one million dollars.

There are over 470 million dog lovers. You could make this happen.

Dog Apps Making $$$$$

Digg Dating App

It’s a dating app for humans who love their dogs. You don’t have to own a dog to be on the app, you just have to love the fluffy animal.

According to a spokesperson for the app, over 100,000 people have already turned to Dig to find love.

Users on the app also get exclusive "daily deals" from pet businesses, like discounts on BarkBox, and also get "tips and tricks of the day" from pet experts.

How does this app make money? Potentially from partnerships with brands, affiliate codes, ads, and selling data to pet brands.

I interviewed the founder of Digg on my podcast right here.

Good Dog App

An app that pairs people looking to get a dog with available dogs. Good Dog is a marketplace that pre-vets breeders, shelters and rescues and centralizes the dog-search process.

The app raised over $6 million.

So far, Good Dog showcases pups from more than 1,000 responsible sources across the U.S. Before adding a source to the platform, Good Dog’s team uses its own proprietary standards to ensure the source cares for its dogs in a way its advisory team has determined is acceptable. That entails making sure the source cares for each dog’s respective health needs, socializes them properly and houses them in safe environments.

Good Dog makes money by charging a fee (around $100) once you’ve decided to go ahead and get a dog. Good Dog does not charge breeders, shelters or rescues.

Puppr App

An easy-to-use app that helps you train your dog. It’s taken off, especially during the pandemic, when people needed training help and could not access in-person help.

How does it make millions?

The complete lesson pack, which includes all "current and future packs," is only $13.99 which is a bargain when you compare that to the cost of a full set of obedience classes.

You can spend more, though, if you want to upgrade to Puppr Premium option, which comes in at $9.99 a month or $95.99 per year. That option gives you all of the training packs and adds the aforementioned chat access where subscribers can work with Carson for additional training advice.