This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Daniel Haarburger, founder and CEO of Woof, a dog toy startup that experienced 6,000% growth from 2021 to 2023 and saw $40 million in revenue in 2024. The piece has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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Before I started Woof, I was doing design and licensing for other companies. I had what we like to call mailbox money coming in from inventions I’d developed, which was really nice, but it was frustrating not to be able to control the way that the products were brought to life. I thought I could innovate more effectively if I had greater control of the storytelling, marketing, messaging, customer education, etc.
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