from the first line of the new product to its public opening
Sowapi Pet care platform
Raise money on a product people can use.
Sowapi connected pet parents with sitters. Its founders wanted to raise on a larger idea: an AI companion for the whole life of the animal, from health to bookings and budget. We audited what existed, built the new product, tested it in the market and prepared everything investors would look at.
In figures
12 weeks1
27,0002
pet parents in the existing base (context, not our result)
Sources
- Sowapi code base and launch date, April to July 2026
- Sowapi, public figure on sowapi.com
The situation
An existing app that had cost a lot for what it gave, a new idea to raise on, and several proposals on the table.
The founders came with their pet sitting app and a broader ambition: a companion that follows the animal’s health, gives recommendations, books a sitter and keeps the budget. The app had been built by a previous provider at a high cost for the result. Other firms had already sent proposals.
Raising on the new idea required more than a deck. Investors would want a product they could use, signs that pet parents wanted it, a brand that held together, and answers to a technical due diligence.
Around the company
Pet care platformSowapi
Key actorThe foundersA written audit, a phased plan with a checkpoint at each step, and a product in service.
Key actorInvestorsA working product, a deck, a financial model and a technical file where every claim can be checked.
Key actorPet parentsOne conversation for sitting, health reminders, budget and the nearest vet.
SittersRequests, card authorisation and payout in one sequence.
Vets and care professionalsFound nearby by the companion when a pet needs them.
What we decided
A few choices made the difference. Each one came with its reason.
- 01
Audit everything before proposing anything.
We reviewed the previous app, the previous provider’s work and the requirements behind the other proposals. The founders decided with the evidence in front of them.
- 02
Raise on a real product.
A new foundation, built in phases with a checkpoint at each one, so investors could try the product themselves.
- 03
Test the idea in the market first.
Marketing actions on the existing base and a measured funnel showed where demand is and where it is not, before money is raised to scale it.
- 04
One brand, one fundraising kit.
A new brand and design system, drawn with a designer, carry the product, the emails, the deck and the data room, so everything an investor sees tells the same story.
What changed, actor by actor
| Actor | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| The founders | Several proposals to compare and a previous build they could not judge. | A written audit, a phased plan with a checkpoint at each step, and a product in service. |
| Investors | An idea and a sitting app. | A working product, a deck, a financial model and a technical file where every claim can be checked. |
| Pet parents | An app for finding a sitter, and nothing else. | One conversation for sitting, health reminders, budget and the nearest vet. |
| Sitters | Bookings and payments handled outside the app. | Requests, card authorisation and payout in one sequence. |
| Vets and care professionals | Invisible in the product. | Found nearby by the companion when a pet needs them. |
The work
Raise on a real product.
Web app
One brand, one fundraising kit.
Documents
Real deliverables. Figures and personal data removed or replaced.
How it runs
What now runs on its own, and the detail behind each decision.
ProductThe companion
Pet parents and sitters talk to one assistant. It finds a sitter, books and takes the payment, keeps the health calendar, tracks the budget and finds the right vet or care professional nearby. Bookings follow a strict sequence from request to payout.
ProductA new foundation, decided on evidence
The existing app was reviewed component by component. The new platform has its own database and reads the history of the former one through restricted access that hides personal data.
GrowthLaunch and measurement
A new public site readable by search engines and AI search tools, the existing base split into segments by country and activity with their own reactivation approach, and every step from the site to the first booking measured.
Brand and contentBrand, voice and production
The companion was named and given a tone of voice written with the founders. Seventeen transactional emails in two languages, the deck and short brand films come out of the same design system.
Process automationA platform that follows up on its own
Scheduled tasks handle health reminders, booking deadlines, payment authorisations, sitter payouts, nudges to inactive sitters, budget alerts and data retention. A conversation that needs a person is handed over with its history.
FundraisingThe fundraising kit
Deck, financial model, investor pipeline and a six-document technical file that answers a fund’s checklist point by point, each figure with its source and date.
Tools and stackRuby on RailsReactTypeScriptPostgreSQLOpenAIStripeGoogle PlacesNext.jsMJML
The brand system
Colours
- Aubergine#3C0A2EPrimary, brand hero
- Lavande#B5A8FFSecondary
- Mint#A6F0B8Joyful accent, parents
- Bubblegum#F4A8C8Signature accent, sitters
- Fond#F4F2F2Canvas
- Bordure#E8E4E6Borders
Typefaces
- AaSowapi 0123456789
- AaSowapi 0123456789
- Soft: aubergine and lavender, warm photography, a bubblegum halftone signature.
- Direct: condensed capitals for titles, short sentences everywhere else.
- Joyful: mint, yellow and bubblegum as accents, never as decoration.
Sowapi design system v3, reconciled with the tokens in production.
Your company at the same stage?
Tell us what you want to solve. We read every request ourselves.
Request an introduction