BarkBox

BarkBox, Inc.
Type of business E-commerce, subscription service
Headquarters New York City, U.S.
Area served USA and Canada
CEO Matt Meeker
Employees 350
Website www.barkbox.com
Launched December 2011 (2011-12)

Bark & Co. (BarkBox) is a New York-based provider of dog products and technology known for its monthly subscription service BarkBox, which has approximately 600,000 monthly subscribers.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] The company also operates the dog-themed content site BarkPost, the photo-sharing app BarkCam, and BarkBuddy, a "Tinder for Dogs."[8][9][10]

History

The company was founded in December 2011 by Matt Meeker and others.[1][2][6] Prior to co-founding BarkBox, Meeker co-founded the social networking site Meetup.com.[1][7][9]

The company rebranded to Bark & Co. in April 2013 after raising $6.7M in venture funding.[6][9][11] The company surpassed the $25 million revenue run rate the same year.[11] Bark & Co. received an additional $15 Million in Series B funding led by Resolute.vc, along with RRE, BoxGroup, Lerer Ventures, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, Slow Ventures, Daher Capital, CAA, Vast Ventures, and City National Bank in 2014.[3][4]

Forbes Magazine named BarkBox as the one of the top 20 companies to follow on social media.[12] Bark & Co. launched BarkCam in early 2014, a photo sharing app which operates as an "Instagram for dogs" and their owners.[10]

Products and services

  • BarkBox, is a monthly subscription service which caters to dogs and “dog parents.”[9]
  • BarkPost is a dog-themed content site similar to BuzzFeed's “Cute” section.[7][13][13] The site has over 3M unique visitors each month.[11]
  • BarkCam is a photo-sharing app, similar to a dog version of Instagram, available for iOS.[10] Users can choose from a variety of built-in sounds, designed to grab the pets' attention, which users activate by tapping the camera shutter.[3] Users can then add text, filters, stickers and chat bubbles to the photo to share on social media platforms.[10]
  • BarkBuddy is similar to a "Tinder for dogs," as users can swipe left or right depending on their level of interest in the dog.[8][14] The free app, available for iPhone and Android,[15] is designed to match humans with dogs up for adoption at nearby shelters, and users can filter choices by gender, location, activity level, age, and size.[15] The app is connected to rescue centers and shelters across the United States and Canada, and there are approximately 300,000 dogs in the database.[8][14][15] The app sources many of its adoptable dogs from the pet adoption website Petfinder and from Bark & Co’s personal network of shelters and rescue organizations.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sarah E. Needleman (22 March 2013). "Are You Ready to Go From Founder to Top Dog". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 Sadie Whitelocks (19 September 2013). "Mail dogs CAN get their teet into!". Daily Mail UK. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Sarah Perez (11 July 2014). "Doggie-Focused Bark & Co (BarkBox) Raises $15 Million Series B". TechCrunch. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  4. 1 2 Dan Primack (14 July 2014). "Deals of the day: Mylan finds its tax inversion partner". Fortune. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  5. ↑ Sheila Marikar (11 July 2014). "Turning 'Likes' Into a Career". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 "BarkBox Founder Matt Meeker is Building A Community for Man's Best Friend". The Huffington Post. 28 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 Alyson Shontell (10 July 2013). "BarkBox Generates $1 Million Per Month, Wants To Become A $5 Billion Company in 5 Years". Business Insider. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Laura Stampler (20 May 2014). "Sick of the People on Dating Apps? Now There's a Tinder for Dogs". Time. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Lauren Drell (20 August 2013). "Top Dog: BarkBox's Mission to Reinvent the Pet Industry". Mashable. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Karissa Bell (Jul 16, 2014). "BarkCam Helps the Pet-Obsessed Take Better Dog Portraits". Mashable. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 Erin Griffith (Oct 25, 2013). "Mock all you want: Barbox is laughing all the way to the bank". PandoDaily. Retrieved Jul 28, 2014.
  12. ↑ Ilya Pozin (6 March 2014). "20 Companies You Should Be Following on Social Media". Forbes. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  13. 1 2 Jillian D’Onfro (Oct 2013). "BarkBox Adds Media-Maven and 'Dog Parent' Cathie Black TO Its Board". Business Insider. Retrieved Jul 28, 2014.
  14. 1 2 3 Kelly Faircloth (May 27, 2014). "There's Finally a Tinder for Adoptable Dogs". Jezebel. Retrieved Aug 6, 2014.
  15. 1 2 3 Amy Eley (May 29, 2014). "Tinder for dogs? BarkBuddy app matches pet lovers with local rescues". Today. Retrieved Aug 6, 2014.
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