Ilana Mobely-Karcinski and Kelly Nova pitch Fairytale Pet Care, their franchised service that lets you include your pet in your wedding, in Shark Tank episode 1505. The two friends came up with the idea for the business while working at a hotel in Tampa. The hotel hosted a lot of weddings and they thought it would be fun if dogs could be included. In 2015, they started offering their service in Tampa.
Base pricing starts at $600. That includes 3 hours of care for 1 pet with transportation included. Additional pets cost $200 per pet and each additional hour over 3 is $100 per pet. The service includes “professional pet care providers, coordination with your vendors, a black/white tuxedo bandana or faux floral collar, a black leash, a black harness rental & for each pet and an in-person meet & greet before the wedding, if requested.” They give back too: both women volunteer in local pet shelters and they’ve donated over $20,000 to local shelters too.
The women are in the Shark Tank to pitch their franchising business. They began offering franchises in 2022 and currently have 4 locations: Tampa, West Palm Beach, Las Vegas and Pittsburgh. The cost to start a franchise is $22,400-$37,800. This includes 2 days of traaining in the Tampa office and 1 day at a wedding event. They also manage a franchisee’s website & SEO. The women want a Shark’s help expanding the franchise side of the business.
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Fairytale Pet Care Shark Tank Recap
Ilana and Kelly enter the Shark Tank seeking $75,000 for 10% of their company. Picture this: you’ve planned your wedding, set the guest list and realize your most important guest needs someone to transport them to and from the venue, pick up after them and maybe even escort them down the aisle. That’s where Ilana and Kelly come in. They roll a video of dogs at weddings and the Sharks chuckle. They’re the crazy dog ladies that started the wedding pet care industry.
Back in 2015, they noticed weddings had a major problem. Your pet should be part of your special day, but the logistics are difficult. They take care of absolutely everything so the wedding couple won’t have to. From round trip transportation, attire rentals, to coordinating every last detail, they make sure your wedding day can be your dog’s best day too.
Let’s Hear the Details
Mark thinks it’s a great idea. The ladies hand out wedding cake and say they want to talk business. Ilana and Kelly have been best friends since they were 13 years old. They grew up together, they were college roomates and they both ended up working for a national hotel chain. They spent a lot of time talking about what path their lives would take. Then a lightbulb went off: they had friends and family and couples at the hotel struggling with what to do with their dogs at weddings. That’s how they came up with their service.
There is a 3 hour minimum which costs $600 for 1 dog and $100 for each additional hour. They started in Tampa where their headquarters is. Now they offer franchises. For one franchise territory it costs $12,500. Ilana and Kelly get 9% royalties on gross sales. In 2022, they sold 14 territories which includes 4 locations. In 2022, Ilana and Kelly did $123,000 in sales for their area. Margins are 70%. They utilize social media and say weddings and dogs are “Tik Tok gold.” Their first franchisee is in Las Vegas and doing $2200 per month after just 9 months in business. Robert says that isn’t a full time income. The new franchisees have about $80,000 in combined sales.
Who’s In?
Robert thinks it’s too small; he’s out. Lori thinks it’s clever and creative but she thinks it can’t be huge; she’s out. Mark says he has a concern, it’s not a big enough number for him; he’s out but he likes the idea. The ladies talk about how they’re involved with animal shelters. Barbara says they haven’t articulated how they vet their people. Ilana and Kelly accepted 4% of their applicants: They wanted to make sure they were stable before they grew. Kevin thinks the numbers aren’t big enough and franchisees can’t earn enough money. The ladies say it’s a lifestyle business for animal lovers.
Barbara likes that they are growing slow and she thinks there’s a huge market for dog lovers who want to make a part-time income. She offers $75,000 for 25%. Kevin says he loves death and weddings. He offers $75,000 for 33.3%. They counter Barbara at 15% and she says no. They counter again at 20% and Barbara goes to 22% – they do the deal!
Fairytale Pet Care Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. The first re-run of this episode airs in May, 2024 – about 6 months after the initial air date. At this time, there is no evidence the deal with Barbara has closed. At this time, it doesn’t appear they’ve sold any new franchise territories.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on Fairytale Pet Care & Ilana Mobely-Karcinski and Kelly Nova as more details become available.
