Vancouver-based GoFetch, an online pet sitting marketplace, has just closed a $1.4 million seed round from an undisclosed group of Canadian VCs, angel investors, and follow-on investors. The company also announced its official launch in Toronto.
GoFetch, which calls itself “the Airbnb for your dog,” allows dog owners to connect with people to care for their dogs. Dog owners can discover, book, and manage personalized care for their dogs, and access pet insurance for all services booked through GoFetch, secure online payments, sitter ratings and reviews, personalized chat, and official government verification for sitters and walkers.
Willson Cross, co-founder of GoFetch, said it is launching in Toronto because it is a market “where the so-called ‘humanization’ of pets is a growing trend,” and that the city has high spending trends on companion animals like dogs.
GoFetch plans to use the funding to accelerate product development and grow its platform across Canada.
“With this injection of capital, we can accomplish our goals quicker and focus on winning the Canadian market.”
– Willson Cross
“With this injection of capital, we can accomplish our goals quicker and focus on winning the Canadian market,” said Cross. “[The funding] gives us the ability to increase the speed of our technological development, introduce new product offerings to the market, and invest aggressively in customer acquisition and brand.”
GoFetch also plans to expand into markets like the United Kingdom, the US, and Australia, but said it will hold off until it raises a Series A later in the year.
“The humanization of pets is a powerful trend and we see strong opportunities in the pet services space globally,” said Paul Ratchford, co-founder of GoFetch. “We are focused on solving real world problems for pet parents in an innovative manner.”
Along with the funding, GoFetch also announced the launch of the GoFetch Scholarship Fund, which will provide students with up to $1,000 in funding towards their education.
“The GoFetch mission of making dog ownership simple is tightly aligned with our GoFetch Scholarship Fund initiative,” said Cross. “We believe that not only are we working towards our company’s mission, but also doing our part as a Canadian company in funding student learning the skills needed to be successful in the Canadian workforce.”
GoFetch currently has 15 employees, most of whom are coders that are focused on refining its platform.