After Nursing a Sickly Adopted Dog Back to Health With a Family Bone Broth Recipe, These Sisters Launched a Thriving Pet Nutrition Company to Help Others Sue Delegan, co-founder and CEO of Brutus Bone Broth, explains her journey as a pet nutrition entrepreneur and why giving back to the community is so important.
By Dan Bova
In this ongoing series, we are sharing advice, tips and insights from real entrepreneurs who are out there doing business battle on a daily basis. (Answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.)
Please give us the elevator pitch of your business.
I'm Sue Delegan, co-founder and CEO of Brutus Bone Broth, a woman-owned and founded family business committed to pet nutrition and giving back to the community. My sister, Kim Hehir, and I were inspired to share our family's bone broth recipe credited with prolonging the life of my senior rescue dog, Brutus. We wanted to make nutritious dog-friendly bone broth accessible to all pet parents.
What inspired you to create this business?
Our business began with our beloved Brutus, who we adopted when he was a 6-month-old puppy. When I first saw him, he slowly started wagging his tail with his head down. It made me stop in my tracks. I walked over to him and started petting him. He had no fur on his face or chest (he had mange) and was bigger than the other dogs — about 6 months old and 40 lbs. I knew we needed to take him home because no one else would. Despite a very challenging start to his life, we were able to nurse him back to health using our family bone broth recipe. Brutus lived a long and healthy life until he was almost 14 years old, which is far beyond the typical life expectancy for a dog of that size. We set out to share our family recipe with other pet owners who, like us, were wishing for a way to help their dogs live longer, happier lives. After receiving praise and countless stories of dogs' improved well-being, we wanted to make our delicious, nutritious recipe accessible to all pet owners and we founded the business in 2017.
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Please tell us one "holy @#$!" moment in your entrepreneurial journey.
When we first launched, I was overseeing 200,000 units of packaging from Sweden — the gold standard of sterilized packaging — to New York. Then we found out we were missing a word on our packing. It said "with glucosamine" (which is the cartilage-building supplement for joint health) but New York state regulations required it to say "with added glucosamine." We were faced with losing $125,000 worth of materials and product. But then our holy @#$! moment became our a-ha moment. We came up with a solution to a sticky problem: stickers. We printed stickers that covered up the words "with glucosamine" with the Project K-9 Hero logo promoting our philanthropic partnership. Although our launch was delayed by a month, we ended up saving an incredible amount of time and money had we scrapped it and started all over.
What's your advice for entrepreneurs looking for funding?
The biggest piece of advice I can give is to evaluate all of your funding options. So many fellow entrepreneurs think they have to raise equity, but there are so many other forms of capital. We got a SBA loan, a line of credit with our bank, and also got a grant. This has allowed us to retain our equity and still grow. So many other founders give away their companies and end up with unfavorable terms because they didn't know they had options.
What does the word "entrepreneur" mean to you?
To me, "entrepreneur" is synonymous with "collaborator." Launching a business is not a solo endeavor, and it truly takes a village. While I had the privilege of partnering with my sister, and earlier on through this process with our dad, I've learned when to ask for support and how to tap a larger network. Especially as female founders, it's so important to hear from others on what has led to their success and share our expertise with the next wave of entrepreneurs. Growing a team you believe in goes beyond a hiring process, and requires an extraordinary amount of trust and vulnerability. The company you keep impacts your actual company, and those dynamics ultimately lead to productivity and profitability.
Related: How to Manage Cash Flow for Your Home Pet Business
What is something many aspiring business owners think they need that they really don't?
While other people's input can offer helpful perspectives, the only thing you need is to trust your gut. We received a lot of advice about only selling in boutique pet stores because it would be "crazy" to try to start a national brand. But we wanted to help as many pet owners as possible. Advice can often be so helpful, but sometimes you have to take it with a grain of salt. I would encourage aspiring business owners to stick to their guns on making major decisions that impact their business and target consumers.
Is there a particular quote or saying that you use as personal motivation? Explain how it inspires you.
Our dad used to say, "If it was easy, everyone would do it." It sounds cheesy but it's 100 percent true. Even though entrepreneurship is not always easy, you have to fully believe in your product and be passionate about it. When you have your doubts, that passion will help you push through.
Related: 5 Ways to Expand Your Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Business
