They say that if a business idea does not solve a painful or sensitive problem, it will not succeed. We react most strongly to what is emotionally close to us, to what we are responsible for. One such area is pets. This is something Jelena discovered when she built a digitised pet-sitter platform and solved one of the most pressing challenges faced by pet owners.

The idea took shape before the pandemic, when Jelena — an active traveller with a pet of her own — would have to ask friends and family to look after her animal whenever she went away. According to her, the pandemic actually gave her the chance to think the idea through carefully, without rushing, and to test it, understand what needed improving. "The beginning is never easy and you should not expect implementing an idea to be quick or simple, especially because this is a service directly tied to a sensitive area — we can only leave our beloved pet with people we trust, and building that trust naturally takes time," the founder of Petsy, J. Liaudinienė, said in a press release.

Many changes have been made from the platform's first version to today. Jelena explains that the very beginning required patience, since back then all administrative work was not yet digitised — when a pet owner's request came in, every sitter had to be called individually by phone. Some days that meant dozens of calls and a huge amount of time spent. Another challenge before the booking process was digitised was a lack of accountability from sitters or owners: with no real sense of commitment to accepting and completing a booking, a cancelled reservation meant all effort was wasted.

The platform was refined and effective solutions were found. Now, booking the service simply requires entering a date and filling in a questionnaire with the key information a sitter needs to know about caring for the animal. Potential sitters receive the information and, if they accept the offer, a reservation is created. Digitisation is inevitable in Liaudinienė's view, because it streamlines the entire booking and service process, optimising the flow of sitters and bookings across the system. Today you can see the details of every booking in real time, and a sitter for your pet is found within a day — sometimes faster.

As technology advances, human connection will remain the priority

"It is understood that a pet is not an object — we are talking about a logical system tied to a human factor. You are handing over your beloved companion, who has their own character, so every sitter must know the most important information before accepting a booking. Sitters must sign a contract, know their responsibilities and fulfil them. Distrust was felt more from the owners' side, so the main goal from the very beginning was to create a system in which both parties — sitters and pet owners alike — feel safe. We devote a great deal of time to vetting sitters, and we want to make the process as simple as possible for owners when filling in the questionnaire and placing a booking," says J. Liaudinienė.

As one of her nearest goals, Jelena highlights the ability for pet owners to communicate directly with their sitter, sharing impressions and updates on how the animal is doing. Under the platform's rules, anyone wishing to register as a potential sitter must be of legal age. It is also an opportunity for people who live alone and love animals — a chance to help out and have some company for a while — or for children who want to find out whether they are ready to take care of a pet, although in that case the questionnaire must be completed and responsibility assumed by the parents.

Jelena emphasised that developing this idea brought together technology, personal vision, a passion, a love of animals and a real market need. Starting any venture requires curiosity, persistence and simply the constant drive to move forward — to believe that you will succeed, especially when examples around you show that the service or product is genuinely missing. So the key is not to give up, not to surrender, but to keep trying.

Digitisation is essential, but first it pays to critically examine your mistakes

Jelena is convinced that digitisation is inevitable in every business, yet when starting to develop your own idea it is important to have a vision: how will technology make the system more convenient for the user? To reach a wider audience, we must adapt to the modern person's life — innovative, fast, convenient — and you can begin without large investments at all.

"The starting point is a person devoted to their idea, because it is precisely from analysing the mistakes of the first years that we can prepare ourselves for the introduction of technology. Before digitising the platform I did everything by hand, because only in that way could I fully understand the user journey, investigate errors, reactions and emotional friction points. The first years of a business should be seen as an investment — a period when we give our energy and time and shape the vision of how modern solutions can be introduced to simplify processes," J. Liaudinienė concluded.