As many Australians will know, finding a rescue pet can actually be hard work. Sometimes they’re too big, too small or just living too far away. Also, there are a lot of apps and websites you have to spend time trawling in a bid to find “the one.” Basically, it’s just like dating but without sex because, well, that’s illegal and really not okay.
But the pet rescue dilemma is something keenly understood by Ben Burton, who on Tuesday, took his app Zeppee onto Shark Tank.
"With 250,000 animals being put down every single year, we realised there was a whole demographic of people unreached; the people who do 95 per cent of their browsing on a mobile phone," Burton said.
By design, Zeppee is eerily similar to Tinder and it's not an accident. After all, why swipe for a date when you could swipe for a four-legged best friend who will greet you at the door each day? The conversation will be better, the chemistry amazing, and the only downside is you will always have to pick up the bill.
"The rescues upload the animals, the user then downloads the app for free and is presented with the nearest relevant animal, closest to furthest away," Burton explains.
"They can swipe left to see the next one, swipe right to save it to favourites. It makes it less like buying a table or a car off a classified website and more like meeting your new best friend."
Listen: Shark Tank judge Naomi Simson shares the reality of starting a small business from home. Post continues...
Honestly, of all the apps I've ever downloaded in my life, this is surely the one I need the most.
Sadly, the sharks felt Burton's app was a creation that wasn't really needed (something I obviously could not agree less with) and the entrepreneur failed to strike a deal. But that's not stopping anyone from downloading it anyway.
