Finance executive followed her ultimate passion: safe transport for pets

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We love our pets and want them to be with us when we travel or move. But when transported badly, pets can be traumatized, lost or even killed.

Dacia Rohlehr, a former corporate finance and management consulting executive living in Toronto, wanted to solve this problem. Today she is the founder of Paws en Route, a company that offers air transport for pets and operates in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. The firm offers door-to-door service from anywhere around the world and mainly transports cats and dogs, but they’ve also carried geckos and rabbits.

Rohlehr began her career working for the Bank of Montreal in money markets and also consulted and did finance work for PwC, IBM, Deloitte and others. Then she ran a boutique management consulting firm. During this time her investment portfolio grew significantly so she didn’t need to liquidate everything to start Paws en Route.

Rohlehr, who grew up in Guyana and Ontario, was given a strong message from her parents: “If you are working for someone else you will never really see the benefit of your efforts. Make your own business a success.”

She listened to them!

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born in Guyana, the only English-speaking country in South America, just north of the Equator. When I was little we flew all the time to visit relatives in Europe and North America. My parents eventually became unhappy with the political situation in Guyana and wanted to move, and they asked my older sister and me where we would like to live. I said Canada!

We moved to Ottawa when I was seven, but we found it to be way too cold. A year later we relocated to Brampton, a suburb of Toronto, which while not exactly tropical was at least warmer than Ottawa.

Did your parents pass along any money messages or advice about how to become successful?

My mom was a journalist and my dad had a successful engineering business and was building a major road between Guyana and Brazil before migrating to Canada. My grandfather also owned many businesses, so I grew up in a very entrepreneurial environment.

My parents gave me a strong message: “Educate yourself first. From there, make sure you get the right experience. Pick the right company, get a solid foundation, then build your own business. If you are working for someone else you will never really see the benefit of your efforts. Make your own business a success.”

You enjoyed a 10-year-plus career in the corporate world before becoming a founder. What type of work did you do?

I followed my parents’ advice to “educate yourself first.” I hold a bachelor of commerce and finance degree from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and an international MBA from Institut Superieur de Gestion – Grand Ecole in Paris. I worked for the Bank of Montreal in money markets for a few years, and for over 10 years I did consulting and corporate finance work for PwC, IBM, Deloitte and the Ontario Financing Authority. Then I co-founded and successfully ran a boutique management consulting firm for 11 years.

What motivated you to start Paws en Route?

My golden retriever Liam was 10 in 2016. We were up in cottage country and Liam caught some sort of virus and became very sick. He couldn’t move by the time we got him home. I took him to an emergency clinic near our house in the west end of Toronto, but they said he needed to go to the Veterinary Emergency Clinic downtown. I didn’t want to delay Liam getting treatment while I searched for parking downtown, and no taxis or Ubers were willing to take him. I had to scramble to find a neighbour who could drive us. Time was of the essence.

The pet industry was a $104 billion market in the U.S. alone in 2020, and pet transportation is virtually untapped. I left my job and started my learning curve.

Dacia Rohlehr

I would never want anyone to go through what I went through that day, and sadly Liam didn’t survive. This horrible experience made me realize clearly that there was a gaping need in the marketplace – pet transportation for any pet, at any time, in any place.

How did you get started with your big idea?

I continued working at my well-paying full-time consulting company (where I was a co-founder) while I started the business. I did tons of research for two years asking people what they would like to see in a pet transport service, and I knew there would be huge demand based on the trend of both spending more on pets and humanizing them as part of our families.

The pet industry was a $104 billion market in the U.S. alone in 2020, and pet transportation is virtually untapped. I left my job and started my learning curve by actually providing a service based on the expectations of pet owners. They want high quality service and drivers who are knowledgeable, experienced, focused on safety at all times, who demonstrate care and respect.

What is your secret sauce? How do you compete in the pet transportation industry?

We hire people who love pets. Many have worked in the pet industry and are now retired or staying at home. Part of our secret sauce is that lots of retired police officers and EMS (emergency medical services) pet lovers want to drive for us.

We see our drivers as true guardians of pets. We know that unlike Uber or Lyft, in the pet transport business you need more than just tech … you need a human touch. Our app took more than a year to build. We released it in January 2021, and fortunately we got a lot of publicity on launch.

Our sales tripled by our fiscal year-end of January 2022, and we have more than tripled over the last year. It has definitely helped that I have a background in finance and consulting – all along the way I knew that I had to do what I always told my former consulting clients to do and get it right for the market.

I am the majority owner of the business; outside investors hold only about 1.5 per cent. My goal is to bootstrap and grow the company as much as possible now, so that when I do raise capital it will be as non-dilutive [i.e., at a great valuation] as it can be.

What comes next for Paws en Route?

Two million pets travelled in North America last year, and 4 million travelled internationally. About 160 airlines offer pet travel, and this market is growing. We have now pivoted our offering to include both ground transportation and air transportation, and via our network of global experts we will offer door-to-door service from anywhere around the world. We have formed partnerships with all the major airlines and our vision is to support all elements of pet transportation from one country to the next so that pet parents don’t have to worry about a thing. This includes locating dog parks, dog food and local vets.

What’s in your investment portfolio?

I bought seven residential and other properties throughout Ontario 15 to 20 years ago, and the real estate part of my portfolio has grown significantly. I am a big believer in diversification, but since I’m so busy running my own company I outsource the management of my fixed income and equities to a discretionary money manager at a big Canadian bank.

I also own some income-generating assets, such as a whole life policy that appreciates every year, and various equities, including banks, pharma and tech.

Fortunately I grew my investment portfolio before starting Paws en Route. This gave me a great foundation, and although my business was financed through my personal investments, I wasn’t in a position where I had to liquidate everything.

What advice would you pass along to the next generation of entrepreneurs?

My advice is two-fold. The first key thing is to maintain a balanced life and make sure that health is No. 1. Founders have a tendency to put in seven days a week of work and this can be incredibly stressful. To succeed you need to be around! Eat properly, work out and take time with family and friends.

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The second important thing is to always be willing to learn, no matter how old you are. Learning allows you to make key decisions in your business. Don’t believe you know it all! It pays to know your environment and learn from people and the industry.

And be ready to make changes. Looking at trends and making this recent pivot in my business to covering air travel as well is a great example. As an entrepreneur it is important to understand that where you start may not be where you end up.

Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Writer Barbara Stewart is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 30 years of investment industry experience. She spent five years as a foreign currency trader, more than two decades as a portfolio manager for high-net-worth entrepreneurs, and for the past six years she has been performing interview-driven research for financial institutions around the world.  Barbara is a keynote speaker for CFA Societies, banks, stock exchanges and industry conferences globally, and she is a columnist for CFA Institute and Canadian Money Saver magazine. She is on the advisory board of Kensington Capital Partners and also is the Ambassador for the Kensington Women’s Forum. In addition, 13 years ago Barbara saw a need to challenge outdated financial industry stereotypes and share positive messages about women and money. Today, Barbara is recognized worldwide as one of the leading researchers in women and finance. Her Rich Thinking® global research papers quote smart women and men of all ages, professions and countries and are released annually on International Women’s Day, March 8. To find out more about Barbara’s research, visit www.barbarastewart.ca.

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