“Tomorrow’s results are the cumulative effect of yesterday’s efforts.” – says Sara Sobania, a graduate of the Young Entrepreneurs Succeed program! and Mazovian Startup, and today also… co-founder of SUPUPPY, a company creating supplements for dogs. Get to know her story!
Sara, you have recently started your own company – SUPUPPY. You create supplements for dogs, which prevents your pets from living a healthy life. Please tell us what exactly you do.
That’s right, on a daily basis I run a startup that aims to support caregivers in taking care of their pets’ health. Supuppy are natural supplements for dogs in the subscription model, created by nutritional experts and tailored to the needs of four-legged pets.
The basis of our product are tested ingredients of trusted origin, a combination of scientific achievements with contemporary challenges of balanced animal nutrition and the conscious community that we create together with our clients. We believe that the synonym of proper supplementation is systematicity and taking into account the individual preferences of dogs. When developing recipes, we use the experience of specialists in fields such as animal dietetics, animal behavior, veterinary medicine and biotechnology. Our mission is to support owners in taking care of their pets’ health and ensuring the stable development of their dogs.
Currently, we have two supplements available for sale with the highest quality ingredients (so-called Human Grade): Hau to relax for calming and immunity and Hau to shine for healthy skin and shiny fur. Both products are in powder form, which makes them convenient to administer with food, and dogs appreciate their taste. Additionally, the composition does not contain any unnecessary fillers or artificial ingredients.
The main sales channel for our products is our website – a place that provides caregivers with all the necessary information about the safety of supplements, composition and dosage. We are the first in Poland to offer subscription sales because we want supplementation to become a ritual that meets the individual nutritional needs of dogs and provides comfort for all caregivers. This is possible thanks to cyclical deliveries, easy change of orders, full transparency of composition and a proven supply chain.
Poland is becoming a leader in the development of the e-commerce industry in Europe and, according to the latest research, as many as nine out of ten Polish Internet users now buy online. In Poland, the digital sector is developing very quickly, and the value of the Polish e-commerce market is expected to reach up to PLN 162 billion by 2026. source
What were your main motivations and inspirations when choosing this particular path for your business?
It all started with the dog I adopted – Zosia, and actually with her recurring health problems. I was looking for solutions in supplements and, to my surprise, I did not find any product on the Polish market that would support her dog’s development in a trusted and comprehensive way. What I lacked in the available offer was information about the composition, the source of the raw materials and the effectiveness of the ingredients. Countless visits to vets, hours spent searching for the right product and growing frustration led us to Supuppy.
In between visits to veterinarians, my partner, Kasia, and I worked on examining the current condition of the dog supplement industry in Poland and at the same time checking whether the reality was the same abroad. The desire to introduce a new standard of dog prevention to the Polish market is one of the main motivations, but there is also another one, strictly related to my personal need.
development and setting challenges that bring specific business value to the world. For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to entrepreneurship, solving problems and wondering how something can be done differently, that is, better. And in such developmental circumstances, I met Kasia, because we participated in one course completely by accident and, as it later turned out, we started a joint adventure of developing our own venture.
Kasia supports Supuppy in experience design, strategy development, and marketing research. I take care of the operational and management area, the community and relations with business partners. In this short time, we became finalists of the Mazovian Startup program, and after a 4-stage recruitment, we were selected as one of 138 startups from 35 countries for the Huge Thing acceleration program co-created with Google For Startups.
What were your main motivations and inspirations when choosing this particular path for your business?
It all started with the dog I adopted – Zosia, and actually with her recurring health problems. I was looking for solutions in supplements and, to my surprise, I did not find any product on the Polish market that would support her dog’s development in a trusted and comprehensive way. What I lacked in the available offer was information about the composition, the source of the raw materials and the effectiveness of the ingredients. Countless visits to vets, hours spent searching for the right product and growing frustration led us to Supuppy.
In between visits to veterinarians, my partner, Kasia, and I worked on examining the current condition of the dog supplement industry in Poland and at the same time checking whether the reality was the same abroad. The desire to introduce a new standard of dog prevention to the Polish market is one of the main motivations, but there is also another one, strictly related to my personal need development and setting challenges that bring specific business value to the world. For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to entrepreneurship, solving problems and wondering how something can be done differently, that is, better. And in such developmental circumstances, I met Kasia, because we participated in one course completely by accident and, as it later turned out, we started a joint adventure of developing our own venture.
Kasia supports Supuppy in experience design, strategy development, and marketing research. I take care of the operational and management area, the community and relations with business partners. In this short time, we became finalists of the Mazovian Startup program, and after a 4-stage recruitment, we were selected as one of 138 startups from 35 countries for the Huge Thing acceleration program co-created with Google For Startups.
These experiences gave us a lot of new perspectives and new skills, which we have been using to develop Supuppy from the very first days.
It doesn’t matter if it’s about our own business or anything we care about – everything that has some value requires effort and work.
Have you always dreamed about it, or did the idea arise spontaneously?
I have always dreamed of working with dogs, but it was learning about the startup ecosystem that guided me to start my own business. Dogs have always been present in my home and for as long as I can remember, we have treated pets as full members of the family. I love being among them, learning empathy and carefree joy, but I also understood how important conscious prevention and learning how to be a responsible caregiver are. The idea was born spontaneously, but not by accident, because every previous attempt to build my own company led me to the path of the pet care industry.
What does your job look like on a daily basis?
Maybe it doesn’t fit in with my work, but an integral part of my mornings is coffee and a walk with Zosia, which allows me to recharge for the surprises and tasks of the day. I usually start the day by planning what needs to be done and how to fit everything into one day.
As usual, I check e-mails and start packing orders that customers placed after 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. so that the packages reach their pets as quickly as possible. Mondays are a time for me and our small Supuppy team to look at the bigger picture and define initiatives for a given month or week – it may be developing a new idea, ways to reach new customers, promotional campaigns or upcoming collaborations. Despite the startup madness, this form of organization helps make activities a little more orderly and coherent. The remaining moments of the day include setting up campaigns, creating posts, contact with clients, meetings with behaviorists or clinics willing to cooperate… In short, a lot of interesting, creative work that keeps us moving forward.
Your story of how to start your own business is very inspiring. First you said YES! entrepreneurship by expanding your competences in this program, and then you chose Mazovian Startup, thanks to which you spread your wings. Please tell us what your situation was like before joining the programs implemented by the Youth Business Poland Foundation?
Initially, I associated my future with journalism, but as I gained knowledge and used it in practice, I realized that this was not exactly the path I wanted to take. From the first year of my studies, my brother, who runs a marketing agency, gradually introduced me to work. It quickly made me realize that marketing would be my professional choice at this point. For this reason, I took part in the recruitment for the Erasmus program, thanks to which I had the opportunity to further acquire marketing secrets, and in Spanish.
After returning from Salamanca, I started studies related to UX Design, thanks to which I met Kasia – co-founder of Supuppy and my personal friend. When taking part in the Design Thinking Moderator course, we were randomly assigned to one group and it stayed that way. The trainer suggested that we submit the project developed during the course to a start-up competition. Of course, at that time we had absolutely no knowledge of what exactly a start-up was and what such competitions involved, but it was the trigger for action. That’s how we found YES and thanks to the inquisitive questions of Adrian, the President of the YBP Foundation and mentor, and the support of the entire team, we found our way to further develop our business ambitions.
What did your participation in YES! programs give you? – Young Entrepreneurs Succeed and Mazovian Startup?
Huge opportunity to develop and find your own path. It was during the program that I met many founders whom I still support and model my activities after. Networking is a really powerful tool that can significantly speed up certain processes in a start-up and open many doors.
Tomorrow’s results are the cumulative effect of yesterday’s efforts.
What has been the greatest difficulty for you so far in developing your own business?
Maintaining a healthy balance between work and everything outside of it, i.e. private life. I think about Supuppy all the time. This is often due to the fact that it is not easy to part with a laptop. Our customers really appreciate direct contact, so orders placed at 10 p.m. or messages at 11 p.m. are responded to almost immediately. Parcels are packed immediately after paying for the order, and I don’t think anyone waited longer than 30 minutes for a response from us.
However, the opportunity to run Supuppy gives me such joy that being in the so-called “action” brings a smile to my face and a feeling that what we are doing makes sense. We receive lovely messages from customers, photos of bowls licked to the last crumb and their relaxed dogs, which previously reacted to everything with fearful barking. It gives me such satisfaction and drive to work that it’s hard for me to switch off or simply not think about business. I think many founders understand this challenge and also face the issue of maintaining balance.
However, I believe that just as there is time for intensive work, we cannot forget about our own health and regeneration, because without it we can quickly exhaust ourselves. Every strong business needs a committed entrepreneur, but without health you cannot build strong businesses.
When you think about a breakthrough moment in developing your business, what comes to your mind first?
A working website. Supuppy has been growing since April 2021, at the end of 2022 we already had ready products with our original recipe, tested in laboratories, approved by biotechnologists and a website with many errors that slowed down our processes and suspended promotional campaigns. It was only in May that we could afford to spend again, which was to build the store from scratch, and I consider May 16 as the day when we could rearrange all processes and move with double strength.
What are your future business plans?
Certainly, further development of Supuppy and constant learning will allow me to achieve this. As we grow, we want to be able to take care of as many dogs as possible (not only in Poland) and be able to address their problems with appropriate supplements.
What do you think most determines your success when starting your own business?
Determination and support of people smarter than ourselves. I think that without these two aspects, neither huge financing nor a unique business idea will bring fulfillment or success. I try to focus as much as possible on our next goals, so that as many of them as possible will be successful and on learning lessons from experiences or experiments that may not have turned out to be entirely successful. This is the only way to gain the ability and knowledge to act further and smarter. You must always have curiosity to ask questions and check what works and what doesn’t work, as well as humility, because without it
it is easy to fall into stagnation – and as we know, in a dynamic business environment there is no room for passivity.
Or maybe you have a “recipe for success”? What advice would you give to yourself who is just starting your own business?
I think that the lessons learned over the last few years could easily fit into several volumes of a book, but I personally feel that the most important thing is discipline and determination. It doesn’t matter if it’s about our own business or anything we care about – everything that has some value requires effort and work. It is impossible to build a sensible business in a month or to strike a chord in the minds of customers with one marketing campaign. Tomorrow’s results are the cumulative effect of yesterday’s efforts. Some stages cannot be skipped, but you can go through them smarter and this is where patience and perseverance are key.
The second ingredient, which Kasia and I consider crucial, is putting aside the ego and thus perfectionism. Better done than perfect, as they say. It may sound trivial, but excessive perfectionism can slow down many processes and
miss out on opportunities. It’s worth admitting to yourself that you don’t know and taking action to find out. Many things in business are done for the first time, but the first time doesn’t mean you can’t do them best. The best teacher is action and curiosity.
You can find Sara and Kasia’s company here: https://supuppy.com/
The article was created in cooperation with the Youth Business Poland Foundation.
