BENGALURU: People who have pets would agree that they require constant care and attention just like babies. To make pet parenting easier Bengaluru-based Balaji Ramesh and his team have launched their app TailsLife pan India. Though the beta version of the app was launched last year, now the team has become bigger and the app, better.
“The beta version had pet care options like grooming, vets, pet supplies and tips and tricks, now the app has a better user interface and focuses on how to take care of your pet as it grows,” says Balaji. All it took Balaji Ramesh and his wife Prachi Gupta to start TailsLife was to own a English Cockers paniel. Balaji got on board his school friend Dushyant Rao as the co-founder. “Now we have many others in the team who also share our interests. We have many people working backend to make the experience better,” he adds.
Pepper, the Cocker spaniel, is the CIO, Chief Inspiration Officer of the group. “When we got him, there was a struggle as well as happiness in taking care of him. We needed to visit vets, grooming parlours and boarding spaces when we had to go for short trips out of town. He helped us learn as well as help others who were having similar queries,” explains Balaji.
The new version of the app that is available on Google Play Store and App Store, now has an enhanced feature. While other app requires the user’s details, here one has to feed in the details of the pet. “Say you have a puppy, and you have entered the age of the same in the app, every 30 hours, you keep getting new info regarding pet care. You know what to do at every stage of the pet’s life,” he shares. The learning algorithm is based on the age and growth of the pet. This version has a ‘breed no bar’ concept. Be it a poodle or a Persian cat, users can get tailor made content on their phones.
TailsLife is no longer city specific; it is pet specific. It reminds and teaches the user all about vaccination, food habits, different services available in the location and such. The team has also developed a backend called affiliate.tailslife.com which works as common platform for the user to connect with those in the pet care industry. “Through the app, people can book appointments with a vet or grooming salon for their pets. Everything that one can find on Google can be found here without any hassle,” says Balaji.
While for the initial version the team had done quite a bit of research, for this Balaji relied completely on user experience and what many pet owners actually wanted. “We set up a meeting with experts and they explained to us what owners really need. We have added those elements. Our unique feature is that the app grows as your pooch grows,” he says. The team plans on adding a variety of things in the app. “First up would be a store, where you can find niche products.”
Balaji and team met investors for seed funding this version. “We met close to 15 people and that journey was very interesting, Now we have investors who are all pet owners and believed in our app. I was also choosy about the investors as we wanted them to believe in our vision,” he avers. Mohan Kumar, Norwest Ventures, Encube Venture Partners LLP, V Balakrishnan, (former CEO, Infosys) Exfinity, and individual investors Satish Tembad, Vineet Jain and Nishanth Ramkutty are the investors. “It feels good to be funded by those who have invested in apps like Quikr and Swiggy,” says an elated Balaji. And guess what! Pet lovers can also share fond memories, selfies, and stories in the app’s groovy section called “Tales”. Tales from around the world will also be updated.