Episode #371: Dan Rubenstein, PUPS Pet Club, CEO and Founder

HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

Dan Rubenstein is the CEO of Pups Pet Club, a pet care company with five locations in Chicago and Brooklyn. He has over 20 years of experience in the space, and is passionate about providing the best possible care for dogs.

Dan took an interest when he had to find care for his dog while he was working. He eventually found a service that took his dog to a park to run around, but they didn't listen to him when he said not to take his St. Bernard out in hot weather and--very sadly--his dog Sidney ended up in the hospital and passed away. :(

This motivated Dan to start his own, best-in-class, pet care business for many reasons, not the least of which was to make sure something like this never will happen to anyone else. Today, Pups Pet Club (which officially started in 2015), is a highly successful venture with five locations and many more planned. He attributes their success to their focus on taking care of dogs, their people, and their technology. He believes that the pet industry has potential for much more growth. "People seek out the best when it comes to their dog. They spend on them like they spend on their kids. Everything else is secondary to dogs and kids. And so if I'm looking at a marketplace and I see a really weak competitor, then I either want to look at making an acquisition play for that competitor, or putting a store fairly close to them," he says.

Their fifth store opened in Jan 2021 and because of Dan's business savy, they were able to emerge from COVID stronger than when they went in. He states, "Williamsburg is really the relaunch of me personally in pet care in New York and of course, the introduction of the Pups Pet Club brand in the area. This brand itself . . . is the best, most evolved platform that I've started, operated, and managed. And that's because I'm smarter and more experienced than I was before. I'm a better manager, and I understand exactly what it takes to build this business quickly and do it so that we don't compromise any value for our customers, we don't compromise the quality of care, and we certainly are focused on taking care of our people too, which is a big part of our business. . .when I was with them, Accenture taught me 'People, Process, Technology."

In this episode you'll hear:

1. What inspired Dan Rubenstein to start his pet care business.

2. How has the pet care industry changed over the years.

3. What sets Pups Pet Club apart from other pet care businesses.

4. Dan's plans for expansion for the brand. Connect with Dan here. Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here.

Click here to download transcript.