Sometimes, people just try to tear you down 😓

“If they're not calling you crazy, you're not aiming high enough.” - Alex

While many people start a business to fill a gap in the market, some of us do so to address a pain point we’ve personally experienced.

When that’s the case, there tends to be a lot of passion and motivation involved too.

But what happens when this “passion project” becomes our only hope for income? Do we hunker down and try to do it alone? Or do we recruit our best friends and create a dream team that can’t be stopped?

Annamarie Mazza, co-founder of LootPaw, opted for the latter. When her university major was eliminated while she was pursuing her degree, she needed a new plan.

And after some trial and error, she joined forces with her friends-turned-co-founders, Adeeb Rohani and Alex Figueroa, to create a career path that works for all of them...

Even when others tried to talk them out of it.

When friendship is the foundation

“I graduated into a failing film market in the height of COVID, so I didn't actually graduate. They just were like, ‘Get out of the school, you're done.’ We didn't get a graduation or anything. So, I was like, ‘I think I need to pivot, now. It's time to get away from film.’” -Annamarie

When her dreams of becoming a movie editor were practically ripped out from under her, she quickly went into hustle mode, reselling clothes online to make ends meet.

Adeeb Rohani–who was first her brother’s friend in high school and with him, took her under their wing when she was a freshman–saw her working tirelessly and offered to help her scale.

Together, they shifted gears and started reselling on Amazon.

It was during this time they started having some deeper conversations. What were they really passionate about? What did they really want to sell?

Annamarie immediately knew the answer.

“I had lost my little cat, Tony Canoli, to the coyotes in the neighborhood. He ran out and we couldn't find him. It was devastating for my family. So I thought, what about GPS trackers?” -Annamarie

They started doing market research and found, GPS trackers weren’t really available for pets beyond larger dogs.

But, the market looked healthy enough and they determined there was an actual opportunity to grow. Beyond that initial planning, however, a lot of what they learned was basically a result of the saying “you don’t know what you don’t know.”

“The process forced us to learn a lot of tough things, and in that aspect, we kind of rushed into it. We didn't really know exactly what to expect at that time. A lot of the best growth for us, I think, was in the early years. We were forced to learn a lot of different things at a rapid pace, where this basically became a full-time job on top of our other full-time jobs.” -Adeeb

Initially, they planned on hiring an engineering firm to help them create their signature product… But another friend stepped in instead.

Alex Figueroa–Annamarie’s friend’s high school crush (and now husband)–was working with a local startup building strawberry-picking robots.

“When they approached me with their idea, I thought, ‘This is great, people will like it… and it's a bit of a challenge.’ The main thing that I really liked, though, was the fact that I'd be working with these people that I have known for basically half of my life or longer. And it's been a fun experience so far.” - Alex

Now, four years in and over 500 units sold, they’re starting to find their groove.

But it didn’t come without struggles, some of which they still experience.

When some things are more challenging than expected

All three co-founders are still working their day jobs–Annamarie is a TV commercial editor, Adeeb is a physician, and Alex works in agriculture.

For all of them, balancing work and personal life can feel nearly impossible at times.

“You try and schedule some time to hang out with your friends and just do what you can to still be there for family birthdays and stuff like that, but it can definitely be challenging to have a good work-life balance.” -Annamarie

As they’ve scaled over the years and have brought other friends on board, the balance has become easier. Sometimes.

“It’s hard to balance these things, because you really want to succeed. This is like your child at the end of the day, that you've poured a lot of time and resources into. And, you tend to over-contribute things sometimes, especially as a founder, so that work-life balance is difficult.” - Adeeb

Through this challenge, they’ve learned to rely on a couple things: being in tune with what their body is telling them and remembering they can lean on each other when things feel tough.

“The key thing is just kind of being in tune with myself, how I'm feeling, how I'm dealing with frustration, successes, and such… And just making sure I don't exceed my limits, because I've done it before. And it's not pretty.” - Alex

But this is where co-founding with friends comes in handy. They truly care when you’re at your limit.

This trio has gotten into the habit of lifting each other up when they really need it.

When one is having a bad day, they take care packages to each other’s houses. Filled with cards and random–but thoughtful–items, these packages bring a smile to their face and let each of them know they’re never alone.

This support has become crucial, too, when negative outside voices start to creep in.

“It's kind of soul-crushing to see your progress halted so many times, and with that, many people have brought you down and been like, ‘Why are you doing this? You've spent so much time and money on this, why are you still going?’ It can get hard. People are just kind of nasty to you sometimes.” -Annamarie

Not everyone on the outside looks at them like they’re wasting time, though. And some of them decided it was time for them to help too.

Keeping the motivation and excitement going

“If the product isn't selling as fast as you think, everyone's morale goes down. But Anna just knew it would take off. My financial model went from being too aggressive to nowhere near aggressive enough. But now my next worry is manpower. How are we going to supply our talent needs, and make sure everyone's motivated, and all of us are working towards the same goal?” -Alex

With growth and success comes scaling, and that in and of itself can bring up a whole new set of issues that need to be addressed.

With LootPaw being completely funded by family and friends, money isn’t always flowing in abundance.

And while that may be a slight stressor, they budget and cut costs wherever possible. At least for now.

When it comes to manpower, other friends have stepped up to the plate, willingly volunteering their time to help.

Even though they aren’t given paychecks (yet!), they have no doubt in their mind they’re supported and appreciated.

Every month, the core team takes all their volunteers out for a fun LootPaw event.

“These events are our thank you for sticking with us for another month and everybody just loves it. It kind of keeps the group morale up for another month too, and I love that! We don't have the funds to pay everybody, but we can give them a good time.” -Annamarie

In return, the team also offers to help out their volunteers with things they may need as well–Just another way to show their continued appreciation.

This large friend group has stuck it out, even when things get rough, and even when others have expressed disapproval for their passion project.

“There's a big demand for all the things we're doing in the pet technology space. The tracker's just one of them. We think we're actually solving a real problem, and really trying to help a lot of people, and if we're doing our best, giving a high-quality product, really trying to be there for the animals and for the actual clients… Then we’re going to prove ourselves coming out on top.” -Annamarie

Where the passion really lies

“We get plenty of messages saying, ‘I literally found my pet because of you guys.’ That's a rewarding feeling, being able to help even just one person. Now, imagine it at scale… It's nice to see that sea of ‘no's’ and all those people who said we can't do this, and then we turn around and do it anyway, and people are really being helped by it.” -Adeeb

When you have three people, all with different life experiences and motivations, the reason they stick with what they do will differ, of course.

Annamarie and Adeeb love how they’re building something with their own hands–a company they can truly call theirs.

Alex truly loves building cool things that help solve real problems people are having.

But beyond all of that, the support, care, and love Annamarie, Adeeb, and Alex have for each other is evident in all they say and do.

“I just love working with our friends, and I just want to keep working with our friends every day. It doesn't even feel like we're working, because we're having fun together, doing what we all love, and protecting animals at the same time.” -Annamarie

Not only do I like working with my friends, I like seeing them succeed. One of the things I enjoy doing is seeing that and helping other people get to where they want to go.” -Alex

“The ability to work with people you like obviously helps you keep going. The ability to support your team helps you keep going. The ability to actually help out the animals and the community helps you keep going.” -Adeeb

And it’s why, for them, LootPaw’s success will always be their common goal.

Key takeaways from a challenging–yet rewarding–start to entrepreneurship

Though they all came from different backgrounds, the trio behind LootPaw have been together through thick and thin. And though things haven’t always been easy, there’s a lot they’ve learned from the experience thus far:

🌱 Be open to learning and growing

With different skillsets, the three of them started working in areas they were most comfortable. Quickly, they began learning what else needed to be done, so they can step in and assist each other.

“I believe people rise to fill the expectations other people put on them. Now, there's no real clean distinction between our duties and responsibilities. Each of us are growing to fill the third that the company needs, and are expanding to meet the needs of today and tomorrow.” - Alex

🌱 Remember that you’re never alone

Whether you’re a solo founder who has friends outside of work or you’re building something together, your real friends will always be there to support you.

“I could not have done this without them. They just lift me up so much. They've been there for me on some of my hardest days and they're always there to pick me up when I fall. We have this special, unique bond with each other–I feel like we can really reach the moon as long as we have each other.” -Annamarie

🌱 Be an active participant in your friendship & co-foundership

While founding a business with a stranger is possible, it’s not necessarily going to be the most enjoyable. When things get tough, you need to be in a partnership with someone who will be truthful, responsible, and continue moving forward with both your best interests in mind.

“At the end of the day, if this business fails, not that it will, we know we have each other. And we also have to hold each other accountable from the perspective of being good friends. I'm grateful to have this whole team, and I'm excited to keep moving forward.” -Adeeb

When’s the last time you audited your own wellness?

You get plenty of advice. What you rarely get is a pause. Each month, we’ll share a simple prompt to help you step out of execution mode and consider what “founding well” looks like in your world right now.

When your work depends on thinking, it’s easy to assume every answer has to come from the mind. But stress, clarity, fatigue, excitement, and boundaries often register in the body first. You don’t need a full wellness routine or an hour of silence. Just a brief pause to listen.

Feel free to pull out old fashioned pen and paper, or create a new doc just for journaling, and spend a few focused moments thinking about the following:

• What signal have I been ignoring lately—fatigue, hunger, shallow breath, restlessness?
• What am I pushing through physically that I don’t need to?
• Where in my body do I feel calm, neutral, or steady right now?
• If I trusted my body as a source of wisdom, what would I do differently for the rest of the day?
• What is one small act of care my body would recognize immediately?

There’s no right or wrong answer. If nothing comes up, that’s okay too! Use this as space to notice what is real for you today. A few messy lines are enough.

If you're comfortable sharing your insights with us, let us know at foundingwell@vallelegal.com.