Variations on a theme of Airbnb have been providing a raft of opportunities for startups, one of which is House My Dog. Launched in 2014, the company is building an online community that connects dog owners with vetted dog sitters who’ll care for the pets while the owners are away.

House My Dog is growing fast and now provides its services in Ireland and the UK, with over 12,000 users signed up. Based in the NDRC accelerator in the Digital Hub, the startup was founded by brothers Timothy and James McElroy. Igor Ferreira joined the team in 2014.

Prior to their startup, Timothy (28) worked in the finance industry in Dublin and Prague, as well as with a VC firm in Berlin. James (25) graduated from DIT in 2014 and went straight into building House My Dog with his brother.

Commission

Users sign up through the firm’s website, then enter details of the dates they’ll be away. They can then browse through the available dog minders, who will put the dog up in their own house while the owner is away.

Sitters charge from €14 to €30 per night, which is paid by the dog owners to the company. House My Dog forwards the payment to the sitters after deducting a 15% commission.

In Association with

House My Dog’s most active markets are in Dublin, Cork, Glasgow and Manchester, and most users of the service and sitters are women aged 25-40. James McElroy says the vetting process for dog sitters involves various assessments and home inspections. He adds that less than 20% of dog-sitting applicants make the grade.

The McElroy brothers have drawn down funding from Dun Laoghaire LEO, Enterprise Ireland, the NDRC and private investors for their startup. The company has four full-time staff and James says that talks are ongoing with private investors to raise a €500,000 seed round.

He adds: “One of the biggest challenges was trying to source a lead software engineer. Having a good CTO is very important, but trying to get one on board can be difficult when the likes of Google and Facebook are also constantly looking to fill engineering positions.”

Photo: Timothy McElroy (right) and his brother James