We were lucky to catch up with Curtis Hacon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Curtis, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I’ve always believed business should make the world better, not just richer. That idea really took hold for me through two things I care deeply about: animals and the environment.

The idea for GIVE A SH!T came when my wife Katie and I were buying supplies for one of our rescues. I remember looking at all the plastic, all the waste, and just feeling this wave of guilt and urgency. Even the so-called “eco” poop bags weren’t truly compostable – they just had EPI additives that made them break down into microplastics. It felt like a problem no one was solving. So we decided to be the ones who would.

We started small, with TÜV AUSTRIA certified home-compostable bags and built from there. Eight years later, we’ve got a growing team, a bigger product line, and a massive mission: rescue 100,000 animals by 2030.

What most people don’t know is that I live with OCD. Not the color coded labels version, the kind that locks your mind on suffering and won’t let go. Environmental destruction, factory farms, abandoned animals… it hits me hard and stays with me sometimes for weeks.

So for me, this mission runs deep. It’s how I stay sane. It’s how I cope. And it’s been a gift to build in the pet industry. A space full of people who for the most part really care about animals and who are on a mission.

Curtis, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

By now, you know I didn’t start GIVE A SH!T just to sell pet products. I started it to solve a problem that hit deep. But what we’ve built since then has evolved into something much bigger than just poop bags or wipes.

GIVE A SH!T is a mission-driven pet brand that’s relentlessly focused on doing things better. For animals, for the planet, and for the people who care about both. We make home compostable pet waste bags and all-natural pet wipes that are certified cruelty free, made from wood-based VEOCEL™ fibers, and packaged in 77 percent recycled plastic. Our treats and supplements are coming soon, and they’ll meet the same high standards. No shortcuts.

What sets us apart? We care more. That’s not marketing fluff. We obsess over every material, every process, and every decision. Even when it costs more or takes longer, we’ll do what’s right. Environmental impact, cruelty free sourcing, and pet health aren’t boxes we tick. They’re our starting point.

And our impact doesn’t stop with the products. We weave it into everything. All of our influencers? Rescue dogs and cats. We’ve created an affiliate program that gives rescues 25 percent of every sale they refer, plus 10 percent of those customers’ future orders for two full years. Instead of throwing money at Facebook or Amazon ads, we’d rather give it to the people saving lives.

We also run giveaways and rescue spotlights to shine a light on missions that align with our own. For us, giving back isn’t just something we do at the end of the year. It’s part of how we operate, every single day.

This brand started with my wife, Katie, and I. But over time, it has grown into something that belongs to an entire team of passionate, mission-aligned humans. I’m incredibly proud of my business partner Lee, who helps steer this ship with absolute integrity and heart. My sister Jodie joined us a few years ago, and she’s been such a powerful force in the business ever since. She’s deeply passionate about animals and completely committed to our mission. Every year, she even volunteers at the Soi Dog Foundation on our behalf, which says everything about who she is and what she stands for.

And then there’s our extended team, Antonella, Rhea, Vince, Clément and Burg, the kind of people you genuinely dream about working with. Each of them brings a level of care, talent, and integrity that makes GIVE A SH!T what it is today.

I’m proud of the products, yes, but even more proud of the way we’re challenging the industry. We’re showing that you can build something ethical, scalable, and deeply human. That you don’t have to choose between growth and doing good. That a pet brand can save lives, and look damn good doing it.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

We were about two and a half years into GIVE A SH!T when COVID hit. At that point, we were a small but growing brand with just a few products and a loyal little community that was really starting to believe in what we were building.

Then everything started collapsing. Supply chains went to hell, shipping costs skyrocketed, and most of the brands in our space were going out of stock or shutting down entirely. And honestly? No one would’ve blamed us if we’d done the same. But we couldn’t. Not with a mission like ours (to rescue 100,000 animals by 2030), and not with a community counting on us.

So we looked for the silver lining. At the time, we were maybe the 30th-ranked brand in our category. But as competitors dropped out, I saw a window. And I made the call to keep going. We air-freighted product at a loss. At one point, we were operating at nearly 100 percent negative margin. Banks weren’t lending to small businesses, so we loaded the expenses onto our personal credit cards. Four of them, to be exact. It was a scary time.

It was risky. It was uncomfortable. But it was worth it. Because that decision is what allowed us to break through. While others were going dark, we stayed visible. We stayed consistent. And more than anything, we stayed in integrity with our mission.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I’m not usually the type to believe in fate or luck, but meeting Lee felt like one of those rare moments that was just meant to happen. Before GIVE A SH!T, I’d built other businesses, and while some of them found traction, they always felt like something was missing. And like a lot of founders, I often ended up giving away slices of the business just to get help, and usually got burned for it.

About four years into GIVE A SH!T, I hit that point again. Katie and I had built something real, but I was running on fumes. I couldn’t do it alone anymore.

Then one day on a mastermind call, I was talking with Lee. We had both just read Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman. It’s a book about how great companies are often built by a duo: the visionary and the integrator. The visionary is the dreamer, the brand builder, the chaos-loving creative. The integrator? They love systems, structure, and spreadsheets. Honestly, I thought integrators were a myth.

So I asked Lee, “Did you take the test? What kind of entrepreneur are you?”
He said, “I’m an integrator.”
And I laughed and said, “Wait, seriously? You actually exist?”

After that, we kept chatting outside the mastermind, and I half-joked, “You should join me at GIVE A SH!T.” At the time he had other businesses and a full-time job, so he kind of laughed it off.

A week later, he messaged me and said, “Were you serious?”
And I said, “Dead serious.”

We created our own 90-day cofounder dating program. We took personality tests, mapped out our values, aligned on the mission, and made sure we were the right fit in every way.

Turns out, Lee and I are incredibly aligned. We share the same values and the same heartbeat for the mission. The difference is just in how our brains work. I’m the brand and marketing brain. He’s the operations and finance brain. And just like the book promised, it has been rocket fuel ever since.

He’s not just my cofounder. He’s one of my best friends. And more than anything, he’s just an exceptionally good man. From the very beginning, I felt completely comfortable sharing everything with him, something I’d never truly experienced in business before. I feel incredibly lucky to build this mission with someone who believes in it just as deeply and brings the kind of structure and calm that allows it to actually scale.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.giveasht.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giveashit_petproducts/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/curtishacon/