Dog Training App Dogo Makes Apple’s “Ones to Watch: 5 Apps to Look out for” list
Today Apple released a list of five standout apps that its App Store editors feel have the potential to “become indispensable once you add them to your Home Screen,” and it is our pleasure to announce that our portfolio company Dogo has been included in this list. Their dog training app has been chosen from among the more than two million apps currently available on the App Store as one of Apple’s “Ones to Watch” apps for 2021 that, according to the editors, “are a benchmark in their respective categories for a reason.”
This recognition comes on the heels of Dogo’s massive growth in 2020, and it is the latest in a series of accolades for the Berlin-based startup, which joined APX three years ago. In addition to winning BZN start’s Lithuanian app of the year award in 2018, Dogo has previously been featured in the “App of the Day” section in 149 countries on the iOS App Store, which translated into massive user growth. The last feature helped the startup increase its user base by 823% to more than two million users in 24 hours.
Tadas Ziemys, co-founder of Dogo, still remembers the process of getting featured on the App Store the first time: “We received an email from an Apple manager saying, ‘We love what you are doing.’ We then met in Vilnius and told him our story. On Lithuania’s Independence Day, we got featured and saw our downloads soar. Of course, we were super excited and proud.” Since then, Tadas and his three co-founders, Rasa Gentvilaitė-Žiemienė, Eliza Hirvensalo, and Mindaugas Kuprionis stayed in touch with Apple’s editorial team and built a solid relationship with Apple. “Getting featured again this year by Apple is a fantastic achievement and an acknowledgment of the hard work and dedication of our team.”
The world’s leading dog training app
Dogo has reached over 3.8 million downloads since its launch in 2017 and currently counts 200.000 monthly active users. The idea behind the world’s leading dog training app was born ten years ago when Rasa and Tadas adopted their dog Udra from a shelter. Back then, there were books and a few YouTube videos on how to train and take care of one’s dog, but there were no apps that helped dog parents stay motivated. Initially, they spent their weekends working on the app. Half a year after the launch, both Tadas and Rasa quit their jobs to work full-time on the gamified dog training app.
“At that time, we also joined APX, which helped us to polish our business model. APX also introduced us to potential investors and business partners,” says Rasa. “Having experience in pet care and in tech, what we needed was someone with a marketing and sales background. In 2019, Eliza joined as co-founder and we also secured our first investments. In 2020, Mindaugas, who built the first Android app for Vinted, the first Lithuanian unicorn, joined our team as a technical co-founder. We have grown to an international team of fourteen people, who speak a total of nine languages, and we are hiring.”
Today, Dogo is revolutionizing the way people raise and train their dogs. The app offers professionally tailored programs for dog parents that are curated by experienced dog trainers and veterinarians. Users can also exchange their experiences with other dog parents and share videos and pictures of their dogs. The app is currently available in ten languages, with Italian being added to that list this week.
Dogo’s team expects downloads to spike again as Apple puts its app into the spotlight. But they are well prepared. Its engineers and customer success team will be working round the clock and will do everything they can to make the best first impression possible.
Congratulations to the co-founders and the whole team behind Dogo. Well-deserved. We wish you continued success and look forward to keep supporting your growth and development.
For more information, visit www.dogo.app or www.apx.vc/who-we-are.
