What I Learned From Narrowing My Business Focus

You may have read my update where I shared that in July, we made the difficult decision to say farewell to our dog supplements line, including Pup Sup, our personalized all-in-one supplement. While this decision now allows us to laser focus on our business’ technology products moving forward, it was indeed bittersweet to part ways with our long-time loyalists, to whom we provided thousands of servings each month.

Now that we’ve had three months of full-focus on building out DIG’s tech offerings, I want to share a few insights that I’ve gained from scaling back our supplement business.

THE IMPORTANCE OF REFLECTION

Because we were building out multiple products at once, I didn’t often make time to sit back, reflect, and appreciate the deep impact our supplements had on the lives of so many pets (and pet parents). Looking back, I’m honored that DIG played a role in helping improve the health and wellbeing of so many pets, given that DIG was inspired by my 10-year journey in trying to address my dog Sammy’s unexplainable digestive issues.?

• Teddy was one of our earliest Pup Sup customers beginning in January 2020! He initially needed support for his digestive and skin issues. When Teddy experienced a sudden shoulder injury, his dad was desperate to provide him additional support. Luckily, his custom PupSup offered the ability to add the perfect level of joint support he needed to be at his best. Not only did PupSup improve his mobility, it also improved his appetite, convincing his dad to remain a long-time customer!

• Pineapple, a rescue pup in Brooklyn, began taking Pup Sup in July 2020. Pineapple's mom learned that she had a congenital heart condition and wanted to help support Pineapple's heart health. With the all-in-one PupSup, this was easy to accommodate, along with the joint and skin support that Pineapple required. Pineapple's mom was thrilled to find us, as she had hit a dead end trying to find a supplement that addressed her various health needs.?
• With a history of stomach sensitivities, leading to frequent tummy troubles, Hugo's parents were hoping to find a supplement that would support Hugo's digestion. Once Hugo started PupSup, his parents were ecstatic to share that Hugo's stools were finally consistent! With his digestive tract under control, they took advantage of the customizable PupSup by providing Hugo with preventative joint support.

As we now shifted focus, I am taking the time to reflect on the highs and lows that come with building a business, taking stock of where we are and where we want to be, and what I can learn to help propel our mission forward.?

WE WERE ABLE TO HONE OUR [NOW] KEY OFFERING

By simplifying our product selection, we were able to go really deep on one “thing,” rather than keeping several nodes humming. We took a more manual approach to building products: user first, not technology first. We took a few steps back and started with the pet parents' needs, and then searched for the solution.?

We often get attached to our first idea, and often, our first idea isn’t our best. It’s human nature to default to a known solution rather than a novel or optimal way of solving a problem.

While it's natural to rely on historically proven solutions, ones that may have used in the past and have known paths forward, it's easy to become blind to the fact there is a more efficient and effective way to solve a problem.

To get past your first good idea to the truly great idea, you need to recognize the signs of fixating on your original idea, and work to create opportunities and an environment for exposure to new ideas that frankly may be better.??

In building our supplement business, we realized that pet parents often struggle to know what’s going on with their pets, and therefore what’s the best action plan. Hence, what emerged was a more effective way to get to custom insights and solutions – a way to use images and derive health insights at the tap of a button.

A NEW-FOUND FOCUS

The decision to focus solely on our technology products has helped us quickly scale our capabilities, helping exponentially more users through our partnerships than we would be able to alone. As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to get into the mindset of thinking about all that you are leaving on the table by narrowly defining your product offering – doubly so when you are building alongside an incredibly capable team!?

However, this can lead to confusion when pitching your business, especially as a startup with limited brand recognition. Despite editing presentations and pitches to focus on the most relevant offering to the group I was presenting, I’d inevitably be met with, “But wait, you also do X?”? We simplified our marketing message, making it easier to understand what “we do.” By doing less, we actually were able to do much more.

We simplified and streamlined many aspects of our operations. We were able to get much closer to our users and future clients, gaining a better understanding of their needs and goals, iterating faster.

The team’s laser focus has led to better solutions and more enterprise re-engagements with our existing clients. It cleared space for us to focus and optimize our efforts on our core offering, building out our existing offering that offered the highest value. I’m proud to share that by focusing, DIG has already surpassed our 2023 supplement sales projection in recurring licensing revenue alone.

Reach out to me if you are a commercial lead looking for a fresh way to engage with your user base, or an innovation lead looking for a better way to help digitize your pipelines and roadmaps.