Rover.com is an American company which operates an online marketplace for people to buy and sell pet care services including pet sitting, dog boarding, and dog walking. Rover.com was founded in 2011 in Seattle, Washington and is formally incorporated under the name A Place for Rover, Inc. The company serves as a broker and takes roughly 22% of each transaction booked through its site.
As of September 2016 Rover.com was valued at $300 million.
History
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The concept for Rover.com was initially presented at the Startup Weekend contest in Seattle, Washington in June 2011, and was the contest's first-place winner. Greg Gottesman, a managing director at Madrona Venture Group, was among the team of software developers and designers who proposed the idea of an “online matchmaking service connecting pet owners in need of pet care with individuals who might want to take care of a canine companion for a few days.†Gottesman shared the idea with Aaron Easterly, a 15-year tech veteran with a focus on online marketplaces. Easterly became CEO and Gottesman became a board member. Rover.com first began connecting pet owners and sitters in Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, then expanded to all 50 states in 2012.
On March 29, 2017, Rover.com acquired DogVacay in an all-stock deal. At that time, it was reported that total bookings on the combined sites amounted to $150 million in 2016, of which they kept about 20% in commission fees.
Financing
Rover.com's first round of investment funding was secured in April 2012, led by Madrona Venture Group. Additional capital was secured in February 2013, from The Foundry Group. In July 2013, Petco announced an investment in Rover and a business partnership for cross-promotion with Petco’s stores and website.
In March 2014, it was announced that Rover.com had raised an additional $12 million in funding led by Menlo Ventures, with Madrona Venture Group, The Foundry Group, and Petco. One year later, in March 2015, it was announced that Rover.com raised a $25 million funding round led by Technology Crossover Ventures.
Rover.com received $40 million in investments in October 2016 and another $65 million in July 2017, led by Spark Capital.
In May 2018, Rover.com raised another $155 million funding.
Services
In 2011 Rover.com began by offering dog sitting and boarding services and over the next four years expanded to offer dog walking, doggy daycare, and drop-in visits. The site also hosts caretakers for other pets like cats, horses, and lizards. In 2017 Rover.com began its Quick Match dog walking service, enabling owners to instantly book a dog walker.
Rover.com takes a percentage of each booking made on its site, from 15% for dog sitting/boarding services up to 40% for its Quick Match walking service.
References
External links
- Official website