Waggel is a pet “insurtech” company, that Andrew Leal and I founded in 2018 as a response to a problem: pet insurance just wasn’t working for pet owners.
We wanted to cut the crap from stuffy, confusing and dull pet insurance to offer more transparency – creating a simple, easy to use, enjoyable product which empowered the new generation of pet owners to live life worry-free to allow them to make the most out of their relationship with their pets.
Pet insurance has gotten stuck in a vicious cycle – the market has developed so that there isn’t much separating the different offerings, and only price has become the main differentiator.
We wanted to do things differently and ensure customers received not just a simple, affordable and lifelong policy, but also got continuous value for their monthly fee through additional benefits. At Waggel, we provide a rewards program with exclusive benefits on hand-picked products, services, and experiences. We also offer free consultations with a dog behaviour specialist, a nutritionist, free video calls with vets – as well as monthly discounts on products and dog dentists.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
Before Waggel, I appeared as a contestant on BBC’s The Apprentice, and was chosen to appear on the show with my business plan for my first venture – Kibble, a dog training and fitness tracker app.
Whilst the show was beginning to air and I was busy fundraising for Kibble, I met Waggel’s Co-Founder Andrew. Neither of us, had any past insurance experience, but what we did have was a shared love for our pets, and a belief that the pet insurance world could be changed for the better, and so we changed it.
As pet owners ourselves, Andrew and I know that great happiness can be found in the unconditional love that forms the relationship between pets and people. Nothing should stand in the way of this, even though pet ownership can be stressful.
This led us to create a simple, enjoyable pet insurance product that reassures a new generation of pet owners and helps build their confidence to empower them to live life with pets worry-free.
Waggel’s purpose as a company is to ensure that nothing stands in the way of the joy a pet brings. We want to make pet owners lives easier and infinitely enjoyable – that is why you can get a quote within 30 seconds that explains in simple language what you’re getting for your money.
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What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?
My advice would be to find something you are passionate about, identify a problem within that industry and invent a way of solving that issue. The more passionate you are the easier it is to put in the hours and work to make it better.
However, I would stress that the planning stages are the essential part of developing any start-up – you need to ensure you are taking all the right precautions and have the right support in place to guarantee your business develops from an initial idea to prototype and finally a successful start-up. There is no need to rush – as this is where problems can stem from.
What can we hope to see from Waggel in the future?
Waggel has grown by 734% in the last year and continues to go the extra mile to provide the best pet insurtech experience around, however looking forward, we plan to continue to deliver on our promise of making insurance really simple and transparent. Trying to build up more trust in the general insurance category.
