Entrepreneur Kirsten Brand was hoping for a life-changing investment for the Sharks when she introduced Pawnix on Episode 15 of Season 13 of ABC’s “Shark Tank.” The problem of loud noises scaring and petrifying dogs is one that pet owners have always struggled with. However, Kristen seemed to find a solution by simply turning the concept of noise-cancelling headphones into a unique headgear for dogs. The product sounded quite interesting, making us want to take a detailed look at the company. Well, here’s what we discovered.
Pawnix: who are they and what do they do?
Kristen Brand completed her college education at Michigan State University before taking a design and manufacturing role with Cactus Corrugated Containers. She even served as a carton design specialist and senior structural designer at Graphic Packaging International and has over eight years of experience in the packaging department of Mars Petcare US.
An animal lover, Kristen loves her dog very much. However, her dog was always afraid of loud noises and even ran away during a fireworks display. Although the dog was fortunately rescued, the problem gave Kristen pause, and she was surprised to find that there were no readily available solutions. Also, based on statistics, the number of cases of lost dogs increases dramatically on and around July 4th, while thunder phobia and storm anxiety also seriously affect them.
Kristen used many methods to calm her dog down, but her efforts were mostly in vain. However, she suddenly got the idea to use her noise canceling headphones on her dog, and surprisingly, it seemed to calm him down. Excited to have found a solution, Kristen went through many prototypes before coming up with her own variation. Pawnix is ​​a headgear specially designed for dogs with built-in noise canceling headphones. Usage is also quite easy as you simply slide the device over the dog’s head before turning it on.
Where is Pawnix now?
Although Kristen launched Pawnix in 2017, she began actively seeking investors in 2020 and launched a Kickstarted campaign. Unfortunately, the campaign fell short of its goal, but it did raise north of a few thousand dollars on Indiegogo. Upon its release, Pawnix became hugely popular and Kristen even traveled to set up pop-up booths in different locations in hopes of spreading the word and increasing her customer base. Right now, Pawnix has quite a following on social media, and the company prides itself on assembling every product by hand in the United States.
The Pawnix noise canceling headphones now come in four different sizes for different races, while customers can also choose from several bright colors. Additionally, each headset will set you back $199 and can be purchased directly from the Pawnix website or online retail giant Amazon. It’s amazing to see Kristen thrive, and we hope success never eludes her, in the long run.
Read more: Round 21 Shark Tank Update: Where’s Round 21 Now?
