An Airbnb for Dogs Gets $3.4 Million in Funding • Hacker News Board

Re: An Airbnb for Dogs Gets $3.4 Million in Funding

#51

Post by melarobi » Mon, Apr 09, 2012, 11:44 PM UTC

aaronblohowiak wrote: post #33

jaredsohn wrote: post #30

One thing that differentiates this from AirBnB (besides being for dogs) is that they are booking locally. This means that once owners find a place that they like, they are likely to try to book the same place multiple times, assuming availability. Also, it makes it more likely that people might try to make future transactions directly without using the site, unless booking through them provides value beyond discovery…

> it makes it more likely that people might try to make future transactions directly without using the site If they make life better for the host, this shouldn't be a problem -- "oh hey sally, glad to hear you and spot are doing well, we'd love to have him stay with us. just go online and you can find all our availability and we'll see your reservation right away. call us back if you have any problems."

I agree this is a risk in the business model. However, given how annoying it can be to coordinate schedules, an online scheduling feature could be useful enough to bring them back to the site. (And if your preferred sitter isn't available... you'd need the site for a new one.) I guess it depends on the extra perks of the site vs the cost of use ie. the percentage of revenue Rover keeps for themselves. I'd pay $2 just to avoid a chain of emails asking what day/time works best for any calendar event.

Re: An Airbnb for Dogs Gets $3.4 Million in Funding

#52

Post by jordanb » Mon, Apr 09, 2012, 11:57 PM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #4

To preempt an impending flood of "bubble!" babble: It may surprise you how sensible this business idea is. As someone who has had to alter vacation plans due to (reluctant) dog ownership: dog boarding is very expensive, and commercial dog boarding facilities are not great, requiring careful reviewing and inspection before selecting; even then, your preferred venues are likely to book up exactly when you want to be ou…

Yeah I'm not a dog owner but I've had to watch dogs for desperate friends before, who find themselves having to take sudden trips without a way to care for their dogs.

Actually, the more I think about this, the more it seems like an incredibly good idea. To be honest, it even seems to avoid some of the negatives inherent in the airbnb model (nobody's going to turn your dog into a meth lab, for instance).

Re: An Airbnb for Dogs Gets $3.4 Million in Funding

#53

Post by jordanb » Tue, Apr 10, 2012, 12:02 AM UTC

justincormack wrote: post #20

Despite all the people saying this is not a bubble, it is. Small businesses like this would not have got money a while back. This is not a technology business, it has no first mover advantage, it does not require large amounts of capital to make stuff, maybe it will take off as a product category, but without a bubble it would not get $3 million, or indeed want that amount, being the sort of business you would grow o…

$3.4 million is pretty chicken-shit to invest in a business. I know a brewpub that opened with more than $2 million and being a restaurant, it doesn't' have near the upside potential.

Re: An Airbnb for Dogs Gets $3.4 Million in Funding

#54

Post by melarobi » Tue, Apr 10, 2012, 12:06 AM UTC

georgemcbay wrote: post #47

rprasad wrote: post #39

I can totally see them getting their a$$e$ sued off for skirting kennel licensing laws. There's a reason that kennels are expensive: they have to take steps to make sure their pet hotels are safe for pets, and more importantly, that they have taken appropriate measures to prevent the transmission of diseases. Describing this as AirBnB for dogs is very accurate, as it has many of the same problems. It's only a matter…

"It's only a matter of time before someone's dog dies and the first thing the mainstream public hears about this site is a horror story." Unfortunately this is the first thing I thought when reading about this. The story of the Airbnb-using lady whose apartment was trashed by a bunch of meth-cooks is likely to look absolutely quaint when compared to the first Rover.com horror story.

I love this idea. Yet, if I were the founders, this is the issue that would keep me up in the night, not just for what could happen to the pets, but for what could happen if a dog bites a child. I don't think the site is for every pet owner, but with a $4 billion US market in pet services and plenty of pet owners who hate kennels, I think there is sufficient demand to make this a success. It will be interesting to see how they offset the risks.

Re: An Airbnb for Dogs Gets $3.4 Million in Funding

#55

Post by melarobi » Tue, Apr 10, 2012, 12:12 AM UTC

ig1 wrote: post #43

justincormack wrote: post #20

Despite all the people saying this is not a bubble, it is. Small businesses like this would not have got money a while back. This is not a technology business, it has no first mover advantage, it does not require large amounts of capital to make stuff, maybe it will take off as a product category, but without a bubble it would not get $3 million, or indeed want that amount, being the sort of business you would grow o…

Marketplace businesses tend to be natural monopolies, so there is in fact a strong first mover advantage. Once you become the dominant marketplace in a category it becomes very hard for someone else to displace you (look at craigslist, ebay, etc.) I'm guessing a significant chunk of that 3m will go towards marketing.

User ratings, if done correctly, will make the site "sticky", so if they build their user base fast enough, they could have a first mover advantage. Even so, social networks supposedly have a first mover advantage and even those die off as improved user experiences are presented. It sounds like several of these dog sites have launched in the past few months, and the winner will be the one that makes the best user experience while building volume of users with polished profiles and ratings that seem real and credible.

Re: An Airbnb for Dogs Gets $3.4 Million in Funding

#56

Post by Retric » Tue, Apr 10, 2012, 12:28 AM UTC

justincormack wrote: post #20

Despite all the people saying this is not a bubble, it is. Small businesses like this would not have got money a while back. This is not a technology business, it has no first mover advantage, it does not require large amounts of capital to make stuff, maybe it will take off as a product category, but without a bubble it would not get $3 million, or indeed want that amount, being the sort of business you would grow o…

The first mover advantage in this case is simply the network of people that sign up + lot's of reviews. The barrier to entry is how many other people want to get into that market.

Re: An Airbnb for Dogs Gets $3.4 Million in Funding

#57

Post by Retric » Tue, Apr 10, 2012, 12:32 AM UTC

justincormack wrote: post #38

enjo wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree with almost all of that. It's not a technology business? Is airbnb? You need a way to connect folks who are willing to board dogs with those who need boarding. How do you do that without technology? The bulletin board at your supermarket isn't going to make it happen. It may not be particularly novel technology, but that sure as hell doesn't matter. first mover advantage: I personally have no idea if any o…

Airbnb is not a technology business. The internet is simply one of the major marketing and communications channels we have now, that does not mean that all businessess that use it are tech companies. Dog kenneling businesses did not get millions of pounds in equity investment based on very small revenues and the idea in the past. They self funded and grew. This is a less capital intensive way of providing the same se…

I am willing to be many Dog kenneling businesses started with a business plan and a loan from a bank. When you get down to it 3.4 million is not that far above what it would cost to open a mid sized dog kennel and operate it for a while until you can build up a decent customer base in many parts of the country.

Re: An Airbnb for Dogs Gets $3.4 Million in Funding

#58

Post by Danieru » Tue, Apr 10, 2012, 12:38 AM UTC

buu700 wrote: post #48

briggsly wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Que? I would love to find some sweet old lady to watch my dogs for free rather than pay $25-50/night to board my dog in a box not much bigger than my CPU. I would pay a nice commission to the site to connect me with such a benevolent, non-crazy old lady such as this (if it does in fact exist).

a box not much bigger than my CPU Somehow, I don't think any dog would survive in such a box...

I'm sure you could do it. The trick would be finding the right frequncy to push them in at so they don't get stuck. I think I read somewhere that the resonating frequency of the average dog was ~2GB.

Re: An Airbnb for Dogs Gets $3.4 Million in Funding

#59

Post by pbreit » Tue, Apr 10, 2012, 12:42 AM UTC

enjo wrote: post #31

justincormack wrote: post #20

Despite all the people saying this is not a bubble, it is. Small businesses like this would not have got money a while back. This is not a technology business, it has no first mover advantage, it does not require large amounts of capital to make stuff, maybe it will take off as a product category, but without a bubble it would not get $3 million, or indeed want that amount, being the sort of business you would grow o…

I disagree with almost all of that. It's not a technology business? Is airbnb? You need a way to connect folks who are willing to board dogs with those who need boarding. How do you do that without technology? The bulletin board at your supermarket isn't going to make it happen. It may not be particularly novel technology, but that sure as hell doesn't matter. first mover advantage: I personally have no idea if any o…

I disagree with pretty much all of it, too, but mostly with "it has no first mover advantage". In fact, the first to get traction in this type of category (two-sided marketplace, reputational) gains a massive, probably monopolistic, advantage.

Re: An Airbnb for Dogs Gets $3.4 Million in Funding

#60

Post by biot » Tue, Apr 10, 2012, 12:49 AM UTC

mechanical_fish wrote: post #44

biot wrote: post #3

Next up: Baby.com. When you go on vacation and don't want to take your infant child, just check out a few profiles, pick one, and drop your baby off at the stranger's house. All members are community vetted to ensure quality care. Was your experience less than satisfactory? Simply "thumbs down" the user's profile and write a review to let other members know.

Do you come from a society where people don't use day care? This sounds like a potentially great idea for a Facebook app, actually: Install the app, and it searches your social network for local friends-of-friends who have advertised baby-sitting services and have been hired at least once by one of your friends. Then the app helps you to direct-message the sitter, as well as some of the sitter's customers that it kno…

There's a huge difference between someone operating a daycare and "Airbnb for Babies". What you propose could be fairly decent and avoids the "handing your baby over to a stranger" problem, which is something that "Airbnb for Dogs" would need to overcome as well.