Whistle (company) facts for kids
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Pet devices |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founders | Ben Jacobs (CEO) Kevin Lloyd (CTO) Steven Eidelman (COO) |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
|
Key people
|
Ben Jacobs, CEO |
| Products | Whistle Dog Tracker (GPS device) |
| Parent | Mars Petcare |
Whistle Labs Inc. is a company based in San Francisco, California. It is part of Mars Petcare, a big company known for pet products. Whistle makes special devices that pets wear on their collars. These devices help pet owners keep track of their pet's activity and where they are. Even animal doctors and researchers use these devices to learn more about pets.
Contents
How Whistle Started and Grew
The Idea Behind Whistle
The idea for Whistle came from Ben Jacobs, who later became the company's first CEO. He worked with pet-care companies and saw a need for better pet monitoring. He teamed up with Steve Eidelman, who became the Chief Operating Officer (COO). They researched the pet-care industry together.
Founding the Company
In 2012, Ben and Steve, along with Kevin Lloyd (who became the Chief Technical Officer or CTO), officially started Whistle. They began with 20 employees. The company received $6 million in funding to help them get started. Some of this money came from important people, including a former CEO of Mars Petcare.
First Products and Partnerships
Whistle's first product came out in 2013. It was an activity tracker for dogs. It helped owners see how much their dogs exercised. In February 2014, Whistle made a deal with PetSmart. This meant Whistle devices would be sold in all PetSmart stores. They also worked together on advertising.
Helping Veterinary Research
Whistle also started working with veterinary schools. They used the data collected from the devices for research. For example, in 2014, the University of Pennsylvania used Whistle data. They studied how chronic pain affected dogs. Researchers at North Carolina State University also used the data. They studied epilepsy in dogs. Whistle also has a group of veterinarians who give them advice.
Growing and Joining Forces
In January 2015, Whistle bought another company called Tagg. Tagg also made pet tracking devices. This helped Whistle improve its products, especially with battery life and location tracking. By 2015, Whistle had sold 100,000 devices. The company had about 40 employees.
Becoming Part of Mars Petcare
In April 2016, Mars Petcare bought Whistle for $117 million. Mars Petcare is a large company that makes many pet products. It is a part of Mars, which is famous for food and candy bars.
Whistle's Pet Products
What Whistle Devices Do
Whistle makes devices that pets wear. These devices help owners keep an eye on their pets. The Whistle Activity Monitor is sometimes called a "Fitbit for dogs." It tracks how long, when, and how hard a pet exercises. This information can be sent to a phone app or over Wi-Fi.
Finding Lost Pets
Whistle also makes a GPS pet tracker. This device helps owners find their pets if they get lost. It can also send an alert if a pet's behavior changes. For example, if a pet starts sleeping less, it might mean they are feeling anxious.
Different Models of Whistle Devices
The GPS and location tracking product was first announced in May 2014. In February 2017, Whistle introduced the Whistle 3. This model was smaller than earlier ones. It was made for smaller dogs or even cats.
Whistle later released Whistle GO in 2019. Whistle GO is an improved version of the Whistle 3. Its main features include GPS location tracking. It also monitors a pet's health and fitness. Whistle GO has a better battery life. It also gives more health information than the older models.
