Don’t tell my parents but having a pet as your companion is one of life’s greatest joys.
I would know, I used to have 15 cats before moving out of my family home. They filled me with warmth and were always there whenever I needed comfort or a distraction.
That said, having a furry (or scaly) “baby” comes with its own set of challenges as well. One of the most notable challenges is finding someone to take care of them whenever you’re away.
You can’t just trust anyone to look after them. Each pet has its own specific needs and preferences, plus not everyone is equipped to take care of them. Although family and friends can help occasionally, it’s not a long-term solution.
This is where platforms like Godpawrents come in. And unlike other pet-sitting services available in Singapore, this new platform claims that it won’t break the bank.
Why? Because they’re offering the lowest fees in town with a mission to make affordable pet services the norm.
A service for pets and people
Launched not too long ago in March 2024, Godpawrents is the brainchild of first-time entrepreneur Maurice.
It’s a free-to-use pet services marketplace that helps pet owners find pet sitters who are “godpawrent-worthy”. A simple way to think of it is that you’re an employer (platform user) looking to offer someone (godpawrent) a job.
“We’re HR helping with the screening and users are the hiring managers,” Maurice quipped. The process is pretty similar to recruiting a new employee as well.
By browsing Godpawrent’s website, you can look up the type of service you want based on location, experience level, and availability. There’s also a chat feature that lets you learn more about the godpawrents before arranging a meeting.
Once you’ve narrowed down a few candidates, you can arrange an in-person meeting with them. This is preferably done at the pet-sitting location to assess if they’re a good fit for your pets.
When you’ve decided on your godpawrent, then you can proceed to make that reservation. “Book only if you’re comfortable. There are no obligations,” Maurice reassured.
You’re all set after your booking is secured via online payment. It’s that simple. By having a meeting prior to booking, you’ll be eligible for the Godpawrents Guarantee. This helps protect your booking against last-minute cancellations. It also gives you extra 48-hour protection to ensure that everything’s in order before payment is released to the pet sitters.
Is it that different from others?
That’s what piqued my curiosity too, especially since Singapore doesn’t lack such pet service platforms.
“Competitor platforms charge a much higher platform fee of 19% to 25%. This means higher pet services costs as pet sitters will charge a higher price to cover these fees,” Maurice spoke from experience.
Back in 2022, he began pet-sitting as a side hustle, but it wasn’t long before he realised just how high the fees were. After paying the platform fees and transportation costs, he only gained about $S7 per hour.
“No matter how many jobs I took, I had to pay the same high fees. It felt like there should be a cheaper and fairer way to do this.”
It was during this time that the 42-year-old retiree learnt that pet abandonment had been on the rise. SPCA’s 2023 Annual Review found that animal abandonment increased threefold compared to 2022.
This was driven in large part by the rising costs of pet ownership, including pet services like boarding and grooming.
So Maurice took it upon himself to change that by bootstrapping to creating Godpawrents. All for the sake of lowering pet service costs and helping reduce pet abandonment.
It’s both affordable and fair
It’s not just about charging pet owners less, either. By halving the platform’s fees, Godpawrents also enables pet sitters to earn more.
Maurice shared that this is possible because he leverages existing, low-cost infrastructures. One example is the platform’s use of Singpass to instil trust in customers and other pet sitters. Singpass prevents users from creating multiple Godpawrent accounts too.
At the same time, Godpawrents uses only PayNow as its available booking method to reduce payment charges. “As our goal is to provide affordable pet services to more pet owners, we are prepared to accept lower margins and instead rely on high volume,” he explained.
Regarding the platform’s service fees, each godpawrent can set their own rates after factoring in the 9% to 12% platform fee. On average, the cost for a one-hour visit is $S20 to $S40, whereas a one-hour dog walk is $S15 to $30.
They’ve so far onboarded almost 300 godpawrents since launching a few months ago. Most of the pet sitters tend to be those with more pockets of free time, like retirees, homemakers, and university students.
Regardless of their backgrounds, the pet sitters typically are pet parents in their own right. A number of them are even volunteers at animal welfare groups and zoo interns.
“Sometimes we also see godpawrents who recently lost a pet,” Maurice shared. “They’re looking for pet companionship but aren’t yet ready to commit to another pet of their own. They have a lot of love to give, but need more time to grieve.”
Big goals and bigger ambitions
Starting an online marketplace as a non-tech person has been quite challenging, though.
Maurice shared that he had to rely heavily on his consumer marketing experience at FMCG brands like Pantene and Johnson’s Body Care.
But having worked as a pet sitter exposed him to the realities of this industry and helped him figure out the user journey. His own experience as a cat dad to Pookie, his adopted fur-son of the past seven years, allowed him to put himself in the shoes of pet owners too.
These combined with his determination to change the market are what made Godpawrents a dream-turned-reality.
Another challenge has been driving awareness of the brand, a common pain point of new businesses. Beyond digital marketing, he’s attended pet events like the recent Singapore Pet Festival to reach users.
“I’m not particularly extroverted, so it has been personally challenging to front the brand and engage users. So I would say, surviving the three-day event has been a personal achievement!” Maurice exclaimed.
“We’re continually improving our user experience and [aiming] to reach more pet owners in Singapore.”
With big ambitions of being the number one pet-sitting platform in Singapore, Godpawrents still has quite a long way to go. But the goal certainly seems attainable with Maurice’s enthusiasm and determination.
- Learn more about Godpawrents here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Singaporean startups here.
Featured Image Credit: Godpawrents