Today, a special Q&A with Michael D. London, CEO of Bow Wow Labs. For more than 40 years, Michael London has invested in and built companies from startup, to maturity, to exit. In all cases, these companies have become more than an investment, and London has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of his companies. His varied businesses represent different industries and business models, but every one reflected London's life-long commitment to delivering true value to his customers. Another cornerstone of London's philosophy of investing in and building businesses is his commitment to attracting the very best investors, senior management/employees and strategic partners.
London is perhaps best known for cofounding The Headquarters Companies (HQ) in 1967. Today HQ is an international executive suites company that has fulfilled Mr. London's original vision with over 1,000 offices in 700 cities and over 100 countries around the world. In 1983, the company was successfully sold to a Fortune 500 company. Today, it is a billion dollar + company.
London's other companies included Initials+, a retail/catalog manufacturing company; Carcub.com, an automotive service company that helped consumers buy, finance, insure, maintain and sell their vehicles; and Wall&Main, a privately held company that crowdfunded itself and provided travel reward packages to backers. London has raised more than $400 million in debt and equity for his companies over his career.
Tell me about your business:
The team at Bow Wow Labs is made up of a diverse group of men and women on a mission to keep dogs healthy, happy and safe with products and services that make life easier and fun for dogs and their owners. We offer innovative products that build lasting bonds and we do it all in the name of creating happier dogs with empowered owners, maximizing the enjoyment of having a dog while minimizing many of the risks dogs encounter in everyday life.
I understand you have grown explosively, why?
We have gone from $5K a month in sales in our first month (Nov 2018) following a very successful top 10 (out of 600) pet industry Kickstarter campaign to $470,000 in December of 2020 (essentially 26 straight months of record sales month over month) because we have great products that keep dogs safe and healthy. More people are at home, pets are a real source of comfort and stress relief, and dogs are getting us through it. So, there are more dog owners, people are spending more time with their dogs, and they are more aware of keeping their dogs safe, healthy and happy.
How?
Great products that really provide solutions to real needs.
Great team made up of seasoned entrepreneurs and company builders.
Great plan and execution of the plan.
What part did PR play?
PR is always a critical part of successfully launching a new brand and products into the market. We have a great PR team with deep experience in the pet industry. Top hits include features on The List (Emmy Award Winning Newsmagazine), Chewy, Daily Mail TV, Pawp, KDVR Fox 31's "Colorado's Best," Dogster, WLNY/CBS "Lifestyle Today," and Good Day PA's National Love Your Pet Day segment.
What's your view of the importance of PR?
Marketing is the overall umbrella with advertising and public relations within. Advertising is the paid side and PR is the earned media side. In marketing, historically you have to reach people seven times, in today's world, where people receive 1000s of messages a day, it's now twelve. Public Relations is a cost effective way to get these brand touches in, in a targeted way.
Where is the business going?
We expect to build a $100M+ business in a relatively short period of time with great products under the umbrella of our Bow Wow Now umbrella, which you can think of as "Amazon Prime for Dogs" — great products, services and benefits.
What role do you see for PR in the future?
Very Important and will be even more important in the future. We will continue to reach our targeted publics with PR strategy as we grow the business.
How does the Bully Buddy work?
Dogs can now enjoy a custom size bully stick without the hazard of choking thanks to this one-of-a-kind device. Bow Wow Labs, Inc., the makers of innovative products to help keep dogs safe and healthy, launched their company in November 2018 with the Bully Buddy and their line of premium Bully Sticks. Bully sticks make for a fun and beneficial treat for dogs because they encourage your pup's natural instinct to chew. The Bully Buddy is a durable, easy-to-use, veterinarian-vetted device that tightly secures bully sticks, preventing dogs from choking on the tail-end of the treat. It's a light-weight device and is BPA free and dishwasher safe.
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EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
