MAX-BONE, PARISA FOWLES: The Unleashed Designer
As design-forward, modern-day consumers, we want to purchase products that appeal to our emotions and personal space. However, when it comes to shopping for your pet, your options are pretty limited as far as design and aesthetics go. Like many of us, this is something dog owner Parisa Fowles-Pazdro struggled with, which led her to launch Max-Bone, a direct to consumer lifestyle pet brand.
When Casper, the mattress company, launched dog beds back in 2016, it made its decision solely based on data. At the time, the data showed that the majority of folks in New York owned a dog rather than having a baby. Fast forward to today and the pet industry is a booming one, currently valued at $75 billion dollars. We were able to visit Parisa Fowles-Pazdro, founder of Max-Bone in their Hamptons re-tail (see what I did there) location to chat shop.
“I had never grown up with a dog and had traditionally been very scared of them. It wasn’t until my husband Max got me an English Bulldog, Macintosh, that my world was transformed both personally and professionally,” said Parisa.
Parisa was born in Iran and fled the country at a young age due to the revolution. As a result, she grew up in Sweden with Swedish values and aesthetics. “My parents always wanted me to become a doctor of some sort, so I entered the world of Dentistry and eventually moved to London to work in this field. However, I hated it. I hated the blood, saliva and literally the entire process!” Parisa said. Random fact: apparently dentistry is classified as one of the top 19 jobs where you are most likely to kill yourself. Eek! No wonder Parisa wasn’t having fun.
Life Before Max-Bone
Believe it or not, Parisa actually had a prior brand called Max Fowles back in 2008. “My husband was a big believer in me and encouraged me to quit my job and start a fashion line. Even though I didn’t have any background in fashion, I was able to put the supply chain together and ended up moving to NY and then LA as London didn’t have garment manufacturers readily available like the U.S does.” This totally explains the dominance of the fintech startup scene in London as most fashion and CPG brands probably have a hard time setting up shop!
Under Max Fowles, Parisa bootstrapped the company and was the only employee working full-time. “We sold high-end fashion clothing such as leather jackets and got orders from Moda Operandi. Even Vogue had written about us, but as the company scaled, the margins didn’t make sense. So in 2010, I decided to close the business.”
The Aha Moment
“When Macintosh entered my life, everything changed.” It was 2015 and Parisa was looking to purchase a dog bed, but was left with very limited options. “I realized that there was nothing in the market available that could hold up to the style, quality and aesthetic modern consumers such as myself were looking for.”
As a designer with a well-decorated home in LA, Parisa started contacting manufacturers to design her own dog bed, but unfortunately, Macintosh would end up peeing on it, destroying the $2,000 creation. “He also shed like mad, so I started putting a jumper on him for our car rides. Slowly, I started to build out his wardrobe and created a dog clothing collection by streamlining my production process where each product is made in-house versus running around to different vendors to retrieve snaps and buckles. Unlike humans, dogs don't complain about fit! I also had all of the PR contacts from my last company which allowed me to successfully market this new collection.” Parisa realized the potential and growth in the pet sector and decided to officially launch Max-Bone in 2016.
“We cater to all dog sizes.”
When it comes to marketing today, it is all about the collaborations, or collabs, as the cool kids say. COL-LABS! (Ok I’m done now). This tactic helps spread awareness and reach new customers. In the past, Max-Bone has created a capsule collection with Disney in addition to collabs with Illesteva, Wag, Rover and 11 Howard. It has also been endorsed by celebrities such as Kendall Jenner, Reese Witherspoon, Lena Dunham, Beyonce, Selma Blair and more.
Max-Bone also believes in retail as a customer acquisition strategy and has engaged in multiple seasonal pop-ups over the years in locations including NYC, LA, the Hamptons and Aspen to cater to their prime customers. “I believe in organic growth and executing a D2C model where margins don’t get cut by the wholesaler.”
On Finding An Investor
As a second-time founder, Parisa knew that she didn’t want her latest business to be bootstrapped and instead preferred to take external funding via strategic investors. “I find that the network strategic investors bring is more important than the money. Money is widely available today, but I look for investors who like to get involved, come up with new ideas, and have PR connections or contacts that can help grow my brand.”
The Advice
Today, Max-Bone’s product line has expanded to include pet grooming, treats, accessories, clothing, and toys. Their price point starts at $14 for a toy and ranges to $300 for an XXL dog bed. When it comes to launching a D2C pet company, Parisa shares her advice with us:
Create something that is missing in the market, but has demand. Do your research to figure this out and when you do, act fast. Don’t wait too long!
Learn quickly from your failures and understand the value of money.
Try to streamline your production process for efficiency.
Don’t buy into your own press. True success is what occurs behind the balance sheet.
Create a business that has the margins built-in from day one or you will not be profitable.
Do you feel awkward that your fur baby is walking around naked? Yes, it’s a thing! Visit Max-Bone to provide your pet with elevated, high-quality products and join the tribe of celeb parents.
Photo courtesy of Max-Bone.
Written by Alysha Malik.