Tails

What Tails does

Tails is a U.S. pet care marketplace that connects dog owners with a network of vetted pet care providers. The platform is mobile-first and offers four core services: dog walking, dog boarding, doggy daycare, and drop-in visits. Pet parents complete a dog profile capturing breed, energy level, temperament, and special needs, then receive ranked caregiver recommendations generated by a matching algorithm that the company describes as showing "why each caregiver fits your dog" rather than relying on star ratings alone. The mobile product (iOS and Android) layers real-time GPS walk tracking, photo and timeline care reports after every visit, walking statistics, and a dog health tracker module.

The supply side is intentionally curated: providers are recruited through an invite-only pipeline and vetted via real in-person interviews that screen for hands-on skills in handling anxious, high-energy, and reactive dogs, beyond a baseline background check. Free in-person meet-and-greets are required before a first booking, and the platform commits to backup provider replacement if a scheduled caregiver cancels. Operating in 11 U.S. cities (Chicago HQ plus Austin, Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Miami, San Francisco, Denver, Portland, and San Diego), Tails complements its app with an SEO content footprint covering local dog parks, veterinarians, dog-friendly patios, and pet care cost guides.

Tails monetizes via a 15% blended take rate on each booking (10% charged to the provider and 5% charged to the pet parent), supplemented by an optional $25/month or $250/year platform subscription for providers. Pricing per service varies by city and neighborhood (e.g., Chicago drop-ins $20-45, dog walking $25-55, daycare $30-75). The platform does not require a subscription from pet parents, and matching itself is free. The company was founded in 2024, is privately held, is led by Founder & CEO Pawel Kaczmarek, and operates with a 1-10 person team out of Chicago. No institutional funding rounds, M&A, or external investors are disclosed.

Name

Tails

Legal name

Tails, Inc.

Website

https://trytails.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tails is a mobile-first U.S. pet care marketplace that matches dog owners with vetted pet walkers, boarders, daycare providers, and drop-in visitors based on each dog's temperament and needs, operating in 11 cities and monetizing via a roughly 15% blended take rate on bookings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pet Care Marketplace

NAICS

Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (81291), Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (812910)

akta.pro primary industry

Pet Errands & Pet Care Coordination (HSACAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Drop-In Visits (Feeding, Water, Litter, Potty Breaks) (HSANAEAA)

Keywords

• Pet care marketplace
• Dog walking services
• Pet care matching platform
• Pet sitting marketplace
• Dog care mobile app

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Provider Platform Commission: Tails charges providers a 10% platform fee on all bookings, significantly lower than competitors Rover (20-25%) and Wag (~40%). Providers keep 90% of booking value. This is the primary revenue stream.
2. Pet Parent Service Fee: Tails charges pet parents a 5% fee on bookings. Combined with 10% provider fee, total platform take rate is 15% of transaction value.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tails is a mobile-first pet care marketplace that precision-matches dogs with vetted care providers based on temperament, energy level, and specific needs. The platform connects pet parents with third-party dog walkers, boarders, daycare providers, and drop-in visit caregivers, charging a combined ~15% transaction fee (10% from providers, 5% from pet parents) per booking. Services include GPS-tracked walks, photo care reports, free pre-booking meet-and-greets, and backup provider coverage across 11 US cities.

Product overview

Tails is a pet care marketplace platform connecting pet parents with vetted dog walkers, pet sitters, and caregivers. The core platform offers four main services: Dog Walking, Dog Boarding, Doggy Daycare, and Drop-in Visits, all powered by a matching algorithm that pairs dogs with providers based on temperament, energy level, and specific needs. The platform includes complementary features such as a Dog Health Tracker for wellness monitoring and Dog Walking Statistics for tracking walk history and patterns. The Tails mobile app (available on iOS and Android) serves as the primary interface for pet parents to create profiles, get matched with providers, book services, track GPS routes, and receive real-time updates. The platform operates in multiple U.S. cities including Chicago, Austin, Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Miami, San Francisco, Denver, Portland, and San Diego.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dog Walking Service On-demand dog walks matched to each dog's energy level and needs, ranging from quick breaks to longer adventure walks, with GPS route tracking, real-time updates, and post-walk care reports delivered via the Tails mobile app. Available to urban pet parents in 11 U.S. cities with neighborhood-level pricing.
• Dog Boarding Service Overnight boarding with vetted providers offering accommodations, attention, and photo updates throughout the stay. Booked through the Tails marketplace after a free meet-and-greet to confirm the right fit between dog and caregiver.
• Doggy Daycare Service Supervised daytime play and socialization provided by vetted caregivers while pet parents are at work or away, with service pricing varying by market (e.g., $30-55/day in Chicago, $35-55/day in Miami Beach, $35-48/day in San Francisco Inner Sunset).
• Dog Drop-in Visits Short check-in visits by vetted providers for feeding, bathroom breaks, medication administration, and companionship when pet parents are away from home. Available across Tails' 11-city footprint with city-specific pricing (e.g., $20-30 in Chicago, $25-35 in Miami Beach).
• Tails Mobile App Native iOS and Android application serving as the primary interface for pet parents to create dog profiles, get matched with vetted providers, book services, meet before booking, track GPS walk routes, and receive real-time photo and timeline updates after each visit.

Quantifiable outcome

• Providers earn $800-1,500+ weekly with consistent bookings
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Rover: Rover is the largest US pet care marketplace offering dog walking, boarding, and drop-in visits. Acquired by BARK in 2023, it is Tails' closest direct competitor with similar services but a higher 20-25% provider take rate and generic profile-browsing matching.
• TrustedHousesitters: TrustedHousesitters operates a membership-based pet sitting marketplace where sitters trade free stays for pet care. It overlaps with Tails' drop-in visits and boarding offerings but uses a different monetization model.
• Wag: Wag is a US pet care marketplace specializing in dog walking, sitting, and boarding. It charges ~40% provider fees, making it the highest-cost incumbent and the primary competitor Tails undercuts on supply-side economics.
• PetBacker: PetBacker is a global pet care marketplace connecting pet owners with pet sitters, dog walkers, and boarders across 50+ countries. It is a direct competitor offering the same core services as Tails, though with less specialized temperament matching.
• Pawshake: Pawshake is a peer-to-peer pet care marketplace operating globally (strongest in Australia and Europe) for dog boarding, house sitting, and dog walking. Comparable business model to Tails though with broader geographic and less US-centric focus.

Broad incumbents

• Care.com: Care.com is a broad care marketplace covering pet care alongside childcare, senior care, and housekeeping. It is a much larger incumbent with subscription-based monetization and serves as adjacent competition in the pet care segment.
• PetSmart (Pet Care Services): PetSmart operates in-store dog training, grooming, and boarding services through thousands of locations. While not a marketplace, it competes with Tails for doggy daycare and boarding spend, particularly from suburban pet parents.
• BARK (BarkBox): BARK is a vertically integrated pet company best known for BarkBox subscriptions that also owns Rover. It represents a competitive threat through bundled pet product and service offerings and the resources of a public company.

Emerging players

• PawBoost: PawBoost is a pet recovery and community platform that helps reunite lost pets and has expanded into pet care provider listings. It is an emerging adjacent competitor in connecting pet owners with care providers, particularly relevant to local pet parent communities.
• Dogtopia: Dogtopia is a rapidly expanding franchise specializing in dog daycare, boarding, and spa services across North America. It overlaps directly with Tails' doggy daycare category and competes in shared urban markets like Chicago and NYC.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Tails-Pet-Co-Connecting-Pet-Parents-with-Caring-and-Trustworthy-Providers-61556208878341
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tailsco
• Instagraminstagram.com/trytails

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tails