“Pet Industry is not even an industry yet” These are the words said by one of the investors to Shruthi at a Networking event when she expressed her interest and confidence in the pet industry. That’s when she realized the brutal reality of the world and decided to take a step further in doing her best.

Shruthi is the founder of Floap – a pet tech platform for pet parents and pet care businesses across India to connect and help each other.

Reminiscing The Childhood 

Shruthi’s love for pets evolved gradually since childhood. “I was a single kid who grew up alone, which helped me realize the value of a sibling. Also that I never had the security of a sibling, so finally I planned on adopting a pet dog.” Said Shruthi in a candid chat with Kenfolios. 

When she was trying to adopt a pet, she realized that the pet industry is extremely unstructured, and that it urgently needs to evolve. It was extremely saddening for her to “buy” a pet while so many of them are looking to be adopted and find good homes.

Remembering her childhood, Shruthi said, “I grew up in a time when having a single kid was not the norm, also since I am a girl, there were enough number of people suggesting my parents to have another child, expecting it to be a boy.” Even if your family is against such mindset, it’s the society that nails the thought in your head. “When they asked my father to have a boy, he said I’ll raise Shruthi like a boy, and thankfully, he has been very true to that!” Shruthi exclaimed with a joyful smile.

Shruthi was an exceptional student and that is the reason everyone around expected her to become either a doctor or an engineer, though that wasn’t her true calling. So, in her engineering entrance exam, she decided to skip answering most questions. “My father got the answer sheet and he saw that I didn’t write anything meaningful intentionally, that’s when he realized I don’t want to pursue engineering.” Said Shruthi. She worked in the corporate sector for 6 years before starting her venture. 

The Urgency Of ‘Floap’

In today’s generation, it is extremely rare for a couple to have more than one child. This encourages the adoption of a pet so that the single child doesn’t feel lonely throughout his/her childhood. Floap offers a varied range of services, from pet walkers to vets, from pet stylists to spas. Everything that a pet needs is right there on the platform. 

“The pet industry in India is not organized, and that’s why investors were skeptical in the beginning. Fortunately, a few experienced people believed in the industry’s potential, and Floap got funded in the first six months of its operations.” Shruthi shared her experience.

Charlie the brand ambassador and reason behind Floap, her husband Nithin along with the entire team of Floap has been a great driving force for Shruthi. She particularly expresses gratitude to her husband, friends and family, her investors and the entire team for believing in the idea of Floap and its purpose of doing something for the pet fraternity. 

Floappers And The Culture:

Shruthi says the culture at Floap is very simple and open. Trying to put a label to it is complicated and as long as the core values of trust and honesty are nurtured, the culture evolves. The average age of Floap team is 24 and the only prerequisite is that everyone in the team are pet lovers. Shruthi believes that a positive attitude and the willingness to try new things define the team. Mistakes are just something to learn from and not dwell over. The team calls themselves Floappers and says that designations are just for the business cards. The young team’s dream is to make Floap the go to place for pet parents and build a community of like-minded people. 

Floap in the next five years

The founder of Floap wishes to replace the whole world for pets with Floap. They want to be associated with every house and individual who have or love pets. To add, Shruthi says, “We want Floap to become a household name in India within the next five years.”

Final Words Of Wisdom 

On being asked about her success mantra, Shruthi said “Don’t be an entrepreneur because you’re bored of your 9-5 job. Don’t be an entrepreneur to compete with Amazon/Flipkart, while it is a great dream to have, one should also know what their purpose is. Success and Failure is subjective. One needs to define what success means to you, it isn’t something to be set by others, and money is a by-product. Entrepreneurship is a responsibility towards self, team, partners, customers and building an ecosystem at large.”

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