We recently connected with Ali & Alexandra Camur and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ali & Alexandra, thanks for joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

***Panel Discussion & “About Your Brand” were written simultaneously, explaining the big picture of the brand. Some parts of the store may be shifted***

Our pets are the reason we are the business owners. Every day they are teaching us to enjoy the small moments and how to love each other unconditionally. Impossible to get inspired from… They are driving our mission – to help modern pet owners, make efficient selection & choices. Making pet’s dream – come into owner’s reality.
Having a clear business idea outlined and knowing what are the next steps in the process is the what helped us launch within 3 months. We had to teach ourselves a lot of useful skills in order to perform within the budget and timeline. Ordering, inventory, website, taxes – all small, but extra important categories that we learned from scratch.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

A standard work-life balance is never enough for us. We always are looking for more in life: more emotions, more experience, more memories, and more impact. Just like all millennials struggling with modern world problems going from housing crisis to world pandemic, the option to settle was not an option for us. The drive to make a change weighed heavier than the wish to live the standard life.
The idea of Shep & Cali was inspired by our pets: German shepherd Brego & calico cat Mimi, and was executed from scratch by the two of us over the summer: from name to the launched online store.
Our love and passion for our (and not only our) pets is what led us to the big idea – is modern pet care actually modern? Does our generation have enough trending resources to meet pets’ demands in 2023? To begin, we drew clear lines in modern pet care: Wellness, Play, and Lifestyle – the core of it all.
The first month was the time for us to really think it through: how can we help make pet shopping easy, affordable, and straightforward? Observing our pets’ everyday lives helped us shape three corresponding collections and fill them with ACTUAL necessary pet products to support their needs.
The second month was for refining and execution. Working within the budget & timeline we taught ourselves a lot of useful business owner skills: how to register your business, how to design a website, and how to source the products. We knew that amount of options that were offered on the market was endless. The main job was to filter through and pick the best for the pets. Focusing on the health of our pets – we sourced probiotics and vitamins to support it. Improving the playtime – interactive enrichment toys were the perfect fit. And to make sure that the owner & pet are always comfortable and stylish – well, the lifestyle collection speaks for itself.

The third month was to fold the dream-idea into reality. After branding process was completed and inventory products were en-route to us, we took a moment to step back & realize that we are on our way to make a change in the industry. Maybe not the largest one, and not completely unique – but it was change. Change in our lives, our pets lives, and our future clients.

It was time for Shep & Cali to make presence – we pressed “launch” in September.
Now we are different, now we are business and pet owners who are daily in charge of managing Shep & Cali. Yes, we weren’t sold out in our first month…but who said it will be fast and easy? Never give up.

Not only do statistics & numbers show that the pet industry won’t stop growing, but also, modern society shows that love and wish to care for someone is not stopping any time soon. Shep & Cali is here to support those, who are looking to make a change.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

Shep & Cali website was build in WordPress by us and not developers or third party. It gives us flexibility and freedom in managing our products, marketing and the look of the brand.

It would be helpful to have more resources that would assist with product advertising and making it more affordable for a small business.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

It was a choice between investing in the business and personal life. Creating a company from scratch, investing in it and not seeing rapid returns on investment is something that not everyone can manage, given modern life and economical circumstances.
Only source of investment was (and still is) is personal income, that has to be invested in the right part of the business, whether it is new inventory, ads or packaging.

Contact Info:

• Website: shepandcali.com
• Instagram: shepandcali
• Other: Pinterest: Shep & Cali