Why I Started a CBD Company For My Dog

I am not a natural born businessperson. While other future entrepreneurs my age were starting lawn care businesses or selling their beanie babies on eBay, I was forcing my family to attend my art show where I priced my paintings “$10 or less.” Needless to say, my 10-year-old self could have really used a manager.

So it came as quite a surprise when I, Chelsea Rivera, co-founded a CBD business. I didn’t go to business school (liberal arts for me) and my podcast library is less “Entrepreneur on Fire” and more “My Favorite Murder”. However, looking back over the past 2 years, amazing, it just makes sense that Honest Paws has reached the level of success it has.

While my business sense was lacking, I had one thing in 2016 that got me up first thing in the morning and kept me up late at night: drive. No, not drive to start a business. Drive to find a cure for my dog’s epilepsy. My dog, Baby Rose, is my everything. She’s seen me graduate high school, move across the country (twice) and even saw me through my harem pants phase. Needless to say, this dog has truly taught me what unconditional love is.

When BR developed seizures, I was determined to find a solution. After a few visits to the vet, I knew I didn’t want to go the conventional medication route (too many side effects). Instead, my non-stop Googling led me to CBD oil.

Within weeks, Baby Rose stopped having seizures. I was amazed. There were no side effects, no downside. Just immediate relief from what had been plaguing my sweet pup for years. Now, 2016 was pre-Farm Bill so while CBD was popular in certain regions, it was by no means the explosive market it is today. This led to the idea that would become Honest Paws.

Remember how I mentioned that other aspiring entrepreneurs were selling their beanie babies and starting lawn care businesses? Well, my brother, Erik, was one of those kids. Erik was always hustling as a teen which is why no surprise that 20 years later, he was an internet business guru who surrounded himself with some of the brightest, accomplished people in the game.

After presenting my case study, we went to work to develop what would become Honest Paws. We started product development in 2017, launched in 2018, got onto shelves in 2019, and are currently in the process of extending our product line to better serve dog moms and pet parents in the US and beyond.

On a daily basis, I live in the content world – whether that is our blog, our YouTube channel, our emails, guides, etc. We use content to provide value to our customers. There is a lot of confusion surrounding CBD and its capabilities, so we strive to combat that confusion through the free flow of information.

However, it takes so much more than a solid content strategy to grow. We are a remote team which means that we have the ability to recruit the most talented person for each position. Because, ultimately, location doesn’t matter. It’s through clarity of goals and empowerment of each team member to make their own decisions that we’ve been able to serve our customers and experience amazing growth in such a short time period.