How DogPack Grew to 1.5M Users Before Making Revenue

At MGS Canada, DogPack Co-founder Dov Punski shared how the team built a global dog community with over 1.5 million users across 20 countries and 14 languages.

At MGS Canada, DogPack Co-founder and CMO Dov Punski shared the raw, behind-the-scenes journey of turning a simple idea into one of the fastest-growing dog communities in the world. From growth hacks to investor wins and marketing lessons, this talk is a must-watch for founders, marketers, and early-stage investors.

🎥 Watch the full video on YouTube:

From Facebook Groups to 1.5M Users — How DogPack Scaled a Pre-Revenue App
Talk by Dov Punski, Co-Founder & CMO, at MGS Canada

Introduction and Thank Yous

Hi everyone. My name is Dov Punski, co-founder and CMO of DogPack App. Before I get into it, I just want to thank Jeet and the whole MGS team for inviting me and giving me the opportunity to speak today.

I also want to give a quick shoutout to my wife, Sarah, who joined me on the trip to Toronto and helps with marketing. Hitesh is here as well, our head of marketing, and Zed, who is our CRO.

How It All Started

DogPack was founded by myself and my three brothers—and of course, our dog, who played a big part in the idea. The app started as a way to check into dog parks so people could see who was there before going.

Before DogPack, I was a full-time dog walker, walking six or seven dogs at a time. People would constantly text me to ask where I was. I always went to the best parks and had a well-behaved group, so everyone wanted to join me. But answering constant messages got tiring.

So I thought—what if there was a better way to organize dog meetups? What if you could check in to a park, get notified when your dog’s friend is there, or avoid dogs they don’t get along with?

Building the DogPack App

The first thing you do when you open DogPack is create a profile for your dog. It’s like Instagram for dogs. You upload a profile photo, write a short bio, and optionally include breed, age, and other details. Most users fill this out completely.

Once you’re in, you can see your followers, who you’re following, and your badge collection.

One of the most popular features is our social feed. People love posting pictures of their dogs. You can like, comment, share, and even filter the feed by dog breed or location. For example, you can see only Golden Retrievers if that’s what you’re into.

Another core feature is the DogPack map. It shows dog-friendly parks, trails, cafes, shopping areas, groomers, trainers—basically any dog-friendly place. Each location has its own page with reviews, amenities, and a micro-community of followers. People can post photos, chat, and tag features like off-leash areas or swimming zones.

Businesses can also join. Whether you’re a groomer, trainer, café, or pet store, you can create a profile, post updates, list your services, and appear in filtered searches. It works just like a personal profile, with added business tools.

Lost and Found Feature

My personal favorite feature is the Lost and Found. Unfortunately, dogs go missing every day—especially during fireworks or thunderstorms. With DogPack, you can post a missing dog alert in less than a minute. Add a photo, contact info, and location, and it goes live.

Once approved by our team, we send a push notification to all users within a 10-kilometer radius. It’s our most-opened notification by far. People always want to help. It’s a core part of our mission to build community and trust.

Earning Badges and In-App Rewards

Nearly everything you do on DogPack earns you badges—whether it’s gaining followers, getting likes, or checking into dog parks. These badges give you Treats, our in-app currency. You can redeem Treats for real prizes in our store, powered by pet brand partners.

So in short, DogPack is what you’d get if Google Maps and Instagram had a litter.

Our Current Metrics

Today, we are a team of 40 people. Twenty of us are based in Jaipur, India, handling development, QA, and project management. The other 20 are in Canada.

We now have over 1.5 million users, with 400,000 monthly active users. We are live in more than 20 countries and 14 languages. The map includes over 150,000 dog-friendly pins and more than 30,000 registered businesses.

The Early Days: Scrappy Facebook Growth

In the beginning, we were completely bootstrapped. I went to dog parks to promote the app, talking to dog owners one-on-one. Honestly, it was discouraging. People looked at me like I was selling a pyramid scheme—even people I knew didn’t bother to download the app.

Then I posted about DogPack in a Montreal Facebook group. I’d been a member for a while. That post got around 100 likes, but more importantly, we saw 10 to 15 installs right after. We had no tracking back then, but we knew those installs weren’t coming from the parks.

That’s when we leaned in hard.

At our peak, we ran 10 Facebook accounts—mine, my brothers’, my mom’s, my dad’s, my sister’s, even an old friend’s. We joined local community groups, breed-specific dog groups, travel groups—any group we could get into.

We found the sweet spot: 10 posts and 10 new group joins per account per day. That gave us about 100 posts a day across all accounts. Most responses were positive. Some were skeptical.

Sometimes people called us out. One guy noticed that one of our accounts used a different dog name in a similar post. He said, “So which is it—Jazz or Benny?” Another replied, “Bro gets called out every time and still does it.” But we didn’t care. We saw the installs coming in. That’s all that mattered.

Over ten months, we gained 50,000 users from that strategy—without spending a dollar.

Our First Investor and the Power of LinkedIn

At that point, we had spent around $50,000 of our own money on development. Between the four of us, it was manageable, but we knew we’d need more to scale.

We were rejected by at least ten investors. Then my brother Ari posted a LinkedIn update celebrating the 50,000-user milestone. That same day, an investor messaged him.

Within one week, we closed a $1.2 million seed round at a $6 million valuation—still pre-revenue.

Paid Ads and City-Level Targeting

Once we had funding, we kept posting on Facebook, but we also started experimenting with paid ads. We micro-targeted cities like Toronto, Montreal, and New York. Even smaller towns with 100,000 people.

We would spend $150 a day on a city, and it worked well—but only for a short period. The performance would drop after a week or two, so we’d shut off the ad and move on to another city. It was effective, but not scalable.

Scaling with UGC Campaigns

That’s when we pivoted to UGC—user-generated content. We hired small creators from Fiverr and Instagram. These were not big influencers. We paid $70 to $120 per video.

We gave them a simple formula: start with an exaggerated dog-related problem, then position DogPack as the solution. Always show the DogPack map in the video.

One of our creators made a yoga-themed video with her dog. It performed extremely well across Italy, France, and Germany. Another video from a Spanish creator went viral across Latin America.

We always provide scripts in multiple languages so we can mix and match video clips. It’s cheaper and more effective than traditional influencer campaigns.

Mistakes and Lessons Learned

Not everything worked. We spent $7,000 on a mascot costume we named Bubba. It flopped. The only feedback we got was that it looked like a furry.

We tried QR code signs in Quebec parks, but we got a warning from the language police for having English-only text.

One influencer quoted us $25,000 for a single video, with no ad rights. We walked away. Instead, we focused on smaller creators with fair pricing and no usage restrictions.

Raising Our Series A

Eventually, we closed our Series A: $8.6 million USD at a $40 million valuation.

There was no inspirational LinkedIn post this time. It took nearly a year of effort to secure that round.

At this point, Facebook was no longer viable. We had warnings from Meta, and we were tagging DogPack in all posts, which raised red flags. It was painful to let go of what worked, but it was time to evolve.

What’s Next for DogPack

We’re still pre-revenue but not for long.

We just launched Version 1 of our Marketplace on our website. It’s designed for small pet brands to sell niche products to our audience. We’ll soon expand it to include services like training, walking, and grooming.

Version 2 will launch in-app in the coming weeks.

We’re also working on Snapchat-style filters for dogs, including face swaps with owners. And we’re releasing an in-app photo challenge game where users vote on themed daily uploads—like Tongue Out Tuesday or Halloween costumes.

We plan to partner with brands to sponsor these competitions and increase retention while building monetization.

Closing Thoughts

DogPack has grown from a local dog park idea to a global app with over 1.5 million users. Our path wasn’t smooth—Facebook bans, costume fails, and plenty of trial and error—but it’s been worth it.

We’re building a real community, and we’re just getting started.

Thanks for listening.

It All Started at the Dog Park

Before DogPack, Dov was a full-time dog walker. He kept getting texts from friends asking which park he was at so they could join. That’s when the idea hit: what if dog owners could check into parks and see who was there in real time?

From that small pain point, DogPack was born. The app now lets users create dog profiles, share photos, find dog-friendly places, track lost dogs, and connect with others at local parks. But the real story is how they built such a large user base with no revenue and no paid promotion—at least at first.

The Facebook Growth Hack That Built a Movement

With limited resources, the team went all in on Facebook. They used ten personal accounts (including their mom’s, dad’s, and even an old friend’s) to post in local pet groups every day.

This grassroots strategy brought in 50,000 users in under a year without spending a dime. Some users called them out, but the installs kept climbing. That traction led to a LinkedIn message from an investor and a $1.2 million seed round at a $6 million valuation—all before revenue.

Ads, Microtargeting, and UGC That Actually Worked

Once they raised money, DogPack launched a hyper-targeted ad strategy. They focused on small cities, spent just $1.50 per day per location, and kept campaigns short and nimble. Results were strong, but not scalable long term.

That’s when they leaned into user-generated content. By partnering with small creators around the world, they built relatable, entertaining videos that hooked viewers with exaggerated problems and positioned DogPack as the solution. These low-cost videos performed well across languages and regions and became their most reliable source of installs.

What Didn’t Work

Not every tactic was a win. A $7,000 mascot costume was a total flop. Printed posters got banned by Quebec’s language authority. One influencer asked for $25,000 for a single non-boostable video. But every miss helped refine their approach.

Series A, Product Expansion, and the Road Ahead

DogPack eventually closed an $8.6 million Series A at a $40 million valuation. Today the app boasts:

Over 1.5 million users
425,000 unique monthly active users
Availability in 20+ countries and 14 languages
150,000 dog-friendly locations and 30,000 registered businesses

Now the team is focused on retention and monetization. A new pet product marketplace just launched on web, with in-app integration coming soon. Upcoming features include dog-friendly filters, a daily photo competition game, and new ways to engage and reward users.

Why This Talk Matters

This is not just a startup success story. It’s a rare, honest look at what it really takes to scale a community-first app with no revenue, no brand awareness, and no paid media team. From posting in local Facebook groups to building a global platform, DogPack’s story is a case study in creativity, persistence, and smart adaptation.

🐶 Watch the full talk on YouTube
🌐 Explore the DogPack App

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