Interesting Journeys into Petpreneurship: Nadia Leguel

Welcome to Part Nine of our series on Interesting Journeys Into Petpreneurship! In this episode, Roch CEO Guise Bule talks to Nadia Leguel, Founder of WagIt, your one-stop-shop for locating dog-friendly spaces and services in the UK.

Drawing from her extensive experience in hospitality tech, Nadia offers a fresh perspective on the rapidly evolving world of canine hospitality. Her mission? To bridge the gap between dog lovers and businesses through education, training, and open communication.

Bule: Did you always want to work with animals when you were younger?

Nadia: I always loved animals, but I never thought, you know, many years ago, What could you do for work with animals? You could be a vet or you had kennels or there was no other job. So, my thought was like, I'm going to make loads of money and have dogs. Yeah, that was a good plan.

Bule: Yeah, it's a good plan! You know, it's interesting because back then, I mean, we're perhaps showing our age a little bit, but even five or six years ago, many of the jobs and industries and many of the jobs and startups that exist in the pet industry couldn't have existed 10 years ago. There wasn't space for them, right?

Like you say, you had a choice of being a vet or working on a farm. There were barely any groomers. I mean, dog groomers were for like people who had show dogs, weren't they? ... That's booming at the moment. God, it is. We know our friends at WagIt! are doing a handsome job of connecting dog owners to groomers there. Quick name drop. I interrupted you. Carry on.

Nadia: No, but I think that dog groomers are still not as valued as they should be. They're like second vets really, because they look after your dog in the same way a vet would, but there's still a lot to work on that.

I think in general, everyone says, you know, the pet industry is booming, but I still think we're miles behind, like miles behind America, Germany... I think America is doing all the innovative stuff, right? Like there's nail salons for dogs, there's, you know, groomers. And as I said, as you said, there's a huge industry.

But I think Europe is the one which was ahead because, I mean, I'm Italian, and I used to bring and my friend used to bring her dog to the cinema. You took your dog everywhere. No one cared. You can bring a child or an animal and they don't care. It was part of the family. 

Bule: And that's really interesting you say that! I often thought some places in Europe are more dog-friendly in general than the UK and America. You know, like Hungary is like that. Many parts of Germany.

Nadia: Yes. Welcoming, yes. The only thing is their rules are very lax. So they don't have microchipping or there's lots of stray dogs and stuff like that. But when it comes to a pet owner, they have a lot more choices than we have in the UK. And that's why when I moved here from Italy, I was like, what is going on? I'm like, why can't I walk into a restaurant?

Bule: Where are you from in Italy originally?

Nadia: Central Rome

Bule: Okay, so very cosmopolitan northern Italian. Is the south of Italy as dog-friendly as the north?

Nadia: Yeah. They just think like, well, if you're a paying customer, why do I turn you away? Why? Doesn't make sense. They're not explicitly dog-friendly and making a big deal out of it....it's naturally dog-friendly.

Bule: So, let me get this straight. You're an Italian. You came from an incredibly naturally dog-friendly place. You came to London, England, and you think, what the hell?! I can't do anything with my dog. 

Nadia: Well, not quite when I entered England. When I came to London, it was because I started working at Open Table. And I started working in online reservations and when I was the first salesperson there many years ago, I was networking in hospitality. And then I decided to get my dog. 

Bule: How long did you work in that tech side of the hospitality space?

Nadia: 20 years

Bule: Wow!

Nadia: Yeah, I mean, I just thought online reservations and technology was going to be the way forward to communicate with businesses. And of course, it is now, but when I started, restaurants didn't even have websites. But yeah, it was a very educational experience for me. You have to tell restaurants, this is the way forward. And like with everything in technology, there's people who adopt early and then people who will always think this is never going to work.

Bule: Were dogs any part of any of that in any way?

Nadia: When I started, no. Like, I didn't have dogs on my radar in London. I'd see a few and I think, cute! But I didn't actually acknowledge how few dogs there were in restaurants until I got a dog.

Bule: Right, you know then. And tell us about your first dog?

Nadia: So, Lola, of course, if you know, it's still quite sad for me, but she was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I got her 13 and a half years ago. I had literally just saved enough on Open Table money through their shares and I put a deposit down for a flat. Got a dog. I was happy.

Bule: Well done!

Nadia: Yeah, So I was really happy. And then I realized how difficult was life for the dog. You were trying to go to restaurants and bars. And, you know, like people would organize stuff. And I was like, what do you mean? I can't bring Lola. And they're like, no, the restaurant doesn't allow it. I was just like, what? I don't understand what you mean... I was just like, oh my God, how is this so difficult?

You know, and traveling was an issue. I have a trick that I use, by the way. So I do it whenever I go around the world. If you use it, the phrase is 'It's better to beg for forgiveness than ask permission.'

Bule: So, let's just take a snapshot. That was 13 years ago? I bet you've seen things – the perception of taking dogs to bars and restaurants – you've seen it shift tremendously.

Nadia: So obviously lockdown was a big, big change. But even before that, I remember I moved from Open Table to a company that is now TripAdvisor. And we did a doggy branch campaign and it was...I pushed so much. And it was the most successful one they've ever done.

But I think companies were still a bit so-so. One of the concerns that a lot of companies are having is 'we don't want to be too dog-friendly because otherwise, people who hate dogs won't like us.' It's not true! For example, there's a big chain of hotels in the world that is dog friendly, but they don't advertise it because first of all, they're not really dog friendly. They're more dog-tolerant.

You know one of the things WagIt is definitely trying to address is there are a lot of restaurants and probably hotels where the owner is a dog lover, tells everyone we're dog-friendly! Then, they go on on their yacht or take the helicopter somewhere and the staff are like, yeah, but we don't know....so when you turn up, they're like, sorry, no.

Even when restaurants and bars want to be dog friendly, they're often let down on the ground by the staff who aren't trained and just unprepared to deal with it.

Bule: So you've spotted a problem here. You've spotted a widespread problem. But that's a big difference from spotting the problems of saying, you know what, I'm going to start a business and solve it. How did you approach that? How did that happen?

Nadia: First of all, I was I was very frustrated that Lola couldn't go with me and there was nothing online. I approached a couple of, you know, big industry names, and they said: 'Just do it!' I found a couple of people who had backed me and yes, started the business. I set up the whole website and launched it with less than 10k.

But then, well, during lockdown, it was tricky because I couldn't sign up restaurants. Everyone was shut. Then I naively went on Dragon's Den and got a lot of, you know, obviously, it was great for marketing-wise. Fantastic getting on a major national television exposure to start up. It's a major thing.

Though, I thought I was going there for a business meeting. And then I realized I was on a show. I mean, they just drag you in and throw you on. An hour and a half in there without a break or anything. And they just ask loads of questions. And what you see is obviously nine minutes.

Bule: So hold on, you're in front of the dragons for over an hour?! And they're just recording and they selectively take bits of that hour and cram it into nine minutes?

Nadia: Yeah, I thought you go out, give them nine minutes, and see you later and go back. Oh, no, I wish. You're in front of them for an hour. Over an hour, I think. But the thing is, you know, it was good for the business. And I think when you have a start-up, you just have to think about what's best for the business.

Bule:  So that was really the first launch exposure. How did you grow it? How did it go the first year or two?

Nadia: The first year because of lockdown, people couldn't book. So we didn't get many bookings, but we got lots of people visiting, commenting... We created a really strong community. And then after Dragon's Den, we started getting venues wanting to sign up, which was great. And that's when we started really growing. It was all organic.

You know, we didn't spend almost anything on marketing. But I think the dog community is great in that way because there's a lot of word of mouth. I compare it to what I was watching during lockdown, which also inspired me. I don't know whether you've ever heard of Yoga With Adrienne or Joe Wicks as well. They created communities through exercise. Yoga is a bit like a cult, isn't it? You see yoga. Yoga people talk to yoga people. And she created a community because yoga lovers talk to yoga lovers.

It's a bit like dog owners. You see another dog owner in the park. You talk. So it's quite an easy way to create that. It's not like other channels. And so that worked out really well. And yeah, the first-year traction was good. We got, you know, first round of investment. Then I think we came out of lockdown but restaurant and hospitality were really suffering. It wasn't a happy place.

Bule: No, it wasn't

Nadia: And I think their expectations for that was that suddenly boom! everyone would go out again. But people enjoyed staying home, more had dogs... people just naturally went out less. So I think the hospitality industry had expectations, which, you know, didn't happen.

Bule: How long have you been going for now? Been fighting for four years?

Nadia: Yeah, four years.

Bule: Has it been a steady success story of growth?

Nadia: It's been steady. I felt the acceleration should be bigger because we have the community, we have the venues. We launched the loyalty scheme, hoping that will help get people to book, to come back to our website. So it's growing, it's growing at a good pace, but I think at the full year mark, we should accelerate considerably and, you know, start adding, as I said, the loyalty scheme, more promotions, etc.

Bule: You know, I'd actually say you might have been a bit early with your business four years ago because now is when all of the canine hospitality is just blowing up. We're just starting to see it blow up.

But anyway, have you been seeing a tangible difference? Have you been converting bars that weren't dog-friendly before into dog-friendly establishments?

Nadia: I have! I'm like, you know, dog owners don't want to bring their dogs on a Saturday night to your busy pub or restaurant anyway. So why don't you just allow lunchtime? And then you'll see how good customers they are. You know they'll come back. So yes, there have been a few that have changed their policies.

The ones that make me laugh the most are the ones who say, yeah, only small dogs. And I'm like, you know, that bigger dogs are normally quieter than small dogs. And they eat more food! If you sell them a plate, it'll be worth more money. It's all about education. And yeah, I keep talking. I feel like I keep telling restaurants just why are you cutting down this marketing channel?

Bule: Last couple of questions. What advice do you have for aspiring petpreneurs?

Nadia: Do research because some things have already been done and have failed. That doesn't mean you can't do them again, I mean, you know, Uber wasn't the first...OpenTable wasn't the first. But it doesn't mean you can't do them, but you have to find a better angle because it's difficult to monetize pet businesses.

So the advice is do lots of research, network your heart out, talk to as many people as you can, talk to as many dog owners as you can. Be sure of yourself.

Bule: Yeah, I like it. Now, this last question is what we call the shout-out question. Are there any pet startups or businesses you like out there you think we should have a look at?

Nadia: Well, I know you've already spoken to Chloe at Tuft, she is obviously, one of my favourite startup founders in the industry, I know her well.

I love Butternut Box! I knew the founders when they started. It's like HelloFresh for dogs. And then there's another lady who does broth bone broth for dogs. She's a fantastic woman. She's a dietician and she uses it for health. I tried to launch it for humans. No one cared. She launched it for dogs and she's gone really well! I wouldn't say no one cares, but you know the difference.

Bule: Fantastic, and that brings us to the end of our conversation! Nadia thank you so much for coming on and talking to us, your business is awesome and we all love your work here at Roch, its been wonderful finding out more about you.

Nadia: You are welcome, thank you for inviting me on!

This concludes our interview. Please do give Nadia and her business on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook, and check out some of the other Interesting Journeys Into Petpreneurship that we have published on other founders.

If you would like to be interviewed about your business, please get in touch!