In the relaunched issue of Pet Industry News, we shone a light on those within the industry that had made a difference or excelled in their chosen field in our 30 Game Changers list.
Nominated in that list was Mike Frizell, Co-founder and CEO of Pet Circle, who started the company with James Edwards, who is now Head of Data Science.
Pet Circle has been widely recognised for its success, winning awards including SmartCompany’s Smart50, the NSW Telstra Business Award for Fastest Growing Start-up; and it has been consistently rated as a top pet store by Canstar Blue.
The company recently secured $125 million Series C funding, becoming Australia’s latest billion-dollar-valued ‘unicorn’ company.
Pet: What led you to a career in the pet industry?
Frizell: It was two things that pushed me towards a career in the pet industry.
Firstly, when I left my old career in finance and was looking for a business to start, I decided I wanted to solve a real need for people. I looked at the pet industry in 2011 and could see that eCommerce could make caring for a pet better and easier, plus I knew people who would value this service – the prime candidates being my parents.
The second thing that pushed me into the pet industry was that over the last few decades the industry has proven to be very resilient and has performed well in good times and bad.
These two things combined pushed me towards starting Pet Circle with James, my co-founder.
Pet: What is your proudest achievement so far in your career?
Frizell: The proudest I get is when our customers just take the time to say how much they value what Pet Circle does for them. I truly just want to make sure pet parents can find the products or advice they need to care for their pets in the best way possible and when we have done this for a customer, that makes me very proud.
Pet: Do you have any goals or plans you would like to achieve in the coming year?
Frizell: I think we need to get much better at helping pet parents understand how to best care for their pets, their specific pets, and discover with confidence what they need. We will be spending a lot of time on this problem this year.
Pet: What impact do you hope to leave on the pet industry?
Frizell: Our aim for Pet Circle is to become the best pet company in the world, so we would like to help evolve the pet sector and create a better world for pet parents. We will do this by continuing to make it easier for pet parents to learn about how to care for their pet and stock the widest range of products best suited to their specific pet. If we can’t find a suitable, quality product, we’ll then make it.
Pet: How does it feel to be nominated in Pet Industry News’ Industry Game Changers list?
Frizell: Pet Circle and I wouldn’t be here today without our team. James and I set up Pet Circle to be a game changer in the pet industry, helping pet parents get the best products for their pets as simply and conveniently as possible. It has been a long journey over the past 11 years, but we wouldn’t have become a unicorn company delivering to pet parents across Australia without the passion and dedication of our amazing team.