Brothers Built a Business After the Tragic Loss of a Family Dog. The Pet-Saving Product Made Nearly $100M Last Year: ‘Light Bulb Went Off.’
Innovative GPS collar addresses pet safety, aiming for $140 million in revenue this year.
auto_awesome
Halo Collar, co-founded by brothers Ken and Michael Ehrman, combines GPS technology with pet safety solutions. The Plano-based company is projected to generate $140 million in revenue for the year, indicating robust growth in the pet sector.
Why It Matters
The strong projected revenue growth signals a potentially lucrative market for multi-unit operators considering investments in innovative pet safety products, which may reshape unit economics in this category.
Ken and Michael Ehrman have successfully launched Halo Collar, a GPS-connected pet safety product, born from a personal tragedy when their niece's dog was killed after escaping an invisible fence. The Plano, Texas-based company is projected to reach annual revenues of $140 million this year, reflecting significant growth from nearly $100 million last year. Ken Ehrman emphasized the urgency behind their innovation, stating, “It was a real tragedy. My niece was 11... they had just rescued Ruby a year earlier.”
The Ehrman brothers recognized a major flaw in traditional pet containment systems: once a pet escapes, there is minimal recourse to retrieve them. With approximately 10 million pets going missing annually, the brothers aimed to create a solution that would utilize GPS technology to alert pet owners about their animals’ location continuously.
Ken Ehrman's extensive background in the Internet of Things (IoT) sector provided a robust foundation for the business. After graduating from Stanford and founding I.D. Systems, which publically traded on NASDAQ, he combined his experience with that of his brother, Michael, also a Stanford alumnus. Together, they founded Halo Collar in 2018, leveraging contacts in the manufacturing field, particularly with Quanta, a Taiwanese intelligent asset-tracking manufacturer. This partnership allowed them to streamline hardware development while maintaining hands-on involvement in the design process.
