What are some insights into the strategy or vision at Austin and Kat?

Pros

Clear Mission: We're all aligned on this—helping pets lead better lives. Our company's mission isn't just a tagline; it's the heart of what we do, and it shows. Quality Products: Our supplements are top-notch. We use premium ingredients and rely on evidence-based formulations. Trust me, the reviews we get from customers are amazing and it's a real lift realizing that what we do helps dogs (and cats) Inspirational Leadership: Kat sets the tone for the company. Her resilience and commitment are energizing for all of us and over time the management team have grown from pretty disorganized to getting their ducks in a row. Great Team Dynamic: We're a close-knit team, and the morale is better than ever. Any hurdles we've faced, we've overcome together. And let's be honest, who wouldn't want a workday filled with passionate pet discussions? Work-Life Balance: Yes, it gets busy, especially since we're a growing startup. But the flexibility offered here is invaluable.

Cons

Every company has its growing pains. We had a phase where the team dynamics were off, and setting up the new facility was honestly brutal at times but that's behind us. We've filtered out the noise and are focused on the mission again.

Advice to Management

Kat, you're doing a great job steering this ship. Don't second-guess yourself based on the opinions of a few. You've built something amazing here, and we're all eager to see it go to the next level.

Pros

Great mission: we're here to help pets. We do things properly and don't take short cuts. Awesome products: our product reviews say it all. We've built a reputation making the best supplements for pets because we start with the best ingredients, have formulations that use leading science, and care about all our customers. Inspiring (female) leader: not sure what is wrong with some of the down comments by people especially calling out the lack of women in management when Kat's the founder and namesake. Enough said. Brilliant team: the people here are honestly really nice to work with and cohesive. Problems are solved, the territorial nonsense we experienced in 2020 has gone and we're back to doing what we do best and helping customers. Startup life: work can be intense, so there are busy times, and in COVID as a smaller company it's been a little scary, but on the flip-side we're given a lot of flexibility with time off.

Cons

Any company will experience growing pains, have some questionable hires, and then have to choose the right path and culture . For a period of time there were staff that didn't belong and brought an unbelievable amount of negative energy. We're a small team and the adage "a few bad apples" sums things up, but once they left things got way better and morale was restored.

Advice to Management

Thanks for working hard on your mission to make the best supplements that help pets and their owners. Plus your continual efforts to make this a great place to work. It's not easy as a company grows rapidly. Stay passionate and remember we're here because of you and the reviews our customers give us. Advice to management (esp Kat): you're nice but don't let people bully or gaslight you. Haters gonna hate but once you realized how bad things were you acted to get them out. From all of us left, thanks for not letting their narrative drain more life out of us. Next time perhaps move faster and believe yourself.

Pros

Clear Mission: We're all aligned on this—helping pets lead better lives. Our company's mission isn't just a tagline; it's the heart of what we do, and it shows. Quality Products: Our supplements are top-notch. We use premium ingredients and rely on evidence-based formulations. Trust me, the reviews we get from customers are amazing and it's a real lift realizing that what we do helps dogs (and cats) Inspirational Leadership: Kat sets the tone for the company. Her resilience and commitment are energizing for all of us and over time the management team have grown from pretty disorganized to getting their ducks in a row. Great Team Dynamic: We're a close-knit team, and the morale is better than ever. Any hurdles we've faced, we've overcome together. And let's be honest, who wouldn't want a workday filled with passionate pet discussions? Work-Life Balance: Yes, it gets busy, especially since we're a growing startup. But the flexibility offered here is invaluable.

Cons

Every company has its growing pains. We had a phase where the team dynamics were off, and setting up the new facility was honestly brutal at times but that's behind us. We've filtered out the noise and are focused on the mission again.

Advice to Management

Kat, you're doing a great job steering this ship. Don't second-guess yourself based on the opinions of a few. You've built something amazing here, and we're all eager to see it go to the next level.