Rover was conceived by Greg Gottesman after he had a negative experience at a kennel with his yellow Labrador and thought there must be a better care option.[9][10] In June 2011, Gottesman pitched the idea at Startup Weekend in Seattle, Washington;[1] He subsequently co-founded the company with Philip Kimmey.[11] Aaron Easterly, another co-founder, became CEO later that summer.[12] In December 2011, the Rover.com website launched and the business began local operations.[12] In April 2012, the startup raised $3.4 million in an investment round led by Madrona Venture Group.[13] By July 2012, services were available in 40 states.[14]
In July 2013, Petco announced an investment in Rover, and a business partnership for cross-promotion with Petco's stores and website.[15] In March 2014, Rover raised an additional $12 million in funding led by Menlo Ventures.[16] One year later, in March 2015, it was announced that Rover raised a $25 million funding round led by Technology Crossover Ventures.[17] By that time, Rover.com featured 25,000 pet sitters across all 50 states.[18]
By 2017, Rover's services had expanded beyond dog sitting and boarding to include dog walking, dog daycare, and drop-in visits, as well as caretaking services for cats and other pets.[19] On March 29, 2017, Rover acquired DogVacay in an all-stock deal. At that time, it was reported that total bookings on the combined sites amounted to $150 million in 2016, of which they kept about 20% in commission fees.[20] The deal allowed Rover to expand its operations into Europe.[21] In 2019, Rover formally expanded its services to include cat care,[22] and in 2024 acquired Cat In A Flat, a cat-sitting service marketplace based in London.[23]
Rover became a publicly traded company via a special-purpose acquisition company in August 2021.[24] In November 2023, Blackstone announced that it would acquire Rover for $2.3 billion.[25] The acquisition was completed in February 2024.[26]
Claim of negligence
In September 2020, a woman's dogs went missing for three months following a Rover visit. The sitter who had been watching the dogs was still accepting new clients and available on Rover while the pet owner was searching for her dogs. The Rover user asked for reimbursement and for the sitter to be removed. Rover responded by asking the user to reach out to Rover's team to review the case.[27]
↑ Albert-Deitch, Cameron (25 April 2017). "This Founder Turned Doggy Daycare Into a $300 Million Business". Inc. At the Startup Weekend event, when veteran venture capitalist Greg Gottesman told the story of his dog Ruby–a yellow Lab who had gone to a kennel and returned with kennel cough–Kimmey thought it was 'heartbreaking.'
↑ Radnovich, Connor (12 July 2012). "Dog owners go online to find alternatives to kennels". Seattle Times. A couple of years ago, Greg Gottesman found that his yellow Labrador Ruby Tuesday had a cough and scratches after staying in a traditional kennel. Gottesman thought the poor treatment and $50 per night price tag created an opportunity.
↑ "This Founder Turned Doggy Daycare Into a $300 Million Business". Inc. 25 April 2017. Gottesman, a partner at Madrona Venture Group, had different ideas. Impressed by Kimmey's performance, Gottesman called the budding engineer that following Monday asking if he wanted to spend the rest of the summer working on the project in a corner at the Madrona offices. 'Had Phil Kimmey had a full-time job that summer, Rover.com would not exist,' Gottesman, 47, insists. 'And millions of dogs would be the poorer for it.'
↑ Radnovich, Connor (12 July 2012). "Dog owners go online to find alternatives to kennels". Seattle Times. Since its launch in December, Seattle-based Rover.com has approximately 10,000 hosts and sitters registered in more than 40 states ranging from certified dog trainers to prospective dog owners. The Seattle area is its largest market with more than 700 hosts and sitters.
↑ Albert-Deitch, Cameron (25 April 2017). "This Founder Turned Doggy Daycare Into a $300 Million Business". Inc. The business model remains essentially the same; in the past four years, Rover.com has added three additional services beyond dog sitting and boarding–dog walking, doggy daycare, and drop-in visits where sitters visit pets during the work day. The app also now hosts caretakers for other pets like cats, horses, and lizards.
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