We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dalena Vasquez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dalena below.

Dalena, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

You would think that naming would be easy! And it is when you feel like you’re on track to finding the right name. A few years back, I co-founded a business with my husband, called Swar-Yay!. We were so excited and loved the name! It was fun, it conveyed what we aspired to do, and it sounded like Soiree which was the goal. However, as we ventured off and started vending at pop ups, we realized that people had a hard time saying it and making the connection. I learned so much from that experience and this time around, I wanted the name of this business to be extremely simple, easy to read and say.

One day while chatting with my husband about my dreams and goals for this brand we brainstormed names together. I knew I wanted it to resonate, be playful and mean something in both English and Spanish. After many iterations, we landed on WowWow! Simple, easy, fun and if you understand even the most basic Spanish, you know that “Wow Wow” is the sound that we make as kids when we learn to mimic a dog’s bark. WowWow – I just knew it was perfect! I know that with time and as the brand grows it could evolve, but it will always illustrate the foundation that the brand was built upon and that’s exactly what I wanted.

Dalena, 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?

Yes, of course! ¡Hola! My name is Dalena Vasquez founder of WowWow, a Latina lifestyle pet brand inspired by nuestra cultura. Our pups are an extension of who we are and just like familia should celebrate culture with us. WowWow provides high quality bandanas and dog mom apparel that are fun, stylish and have a little sazón. WowWow aims to spread the fun, love, and adventure we all experience as a pet owners through all its products and content.

I started WowWow in early 2023 after being laid off my full time job as a Creative Project Manager. Rejection after rejection I had reached the one year mark of my job hunt. Though I had come close to landing a couple roles, destiny (dare I say) had other plans for me. During that year, I spent a lot of time with my 7 year old chocolate Labrador, Campbell; the furry companion that inspired it all! I wanted Campbell, to celebrate culture with me in a way that I would be proud of representing my Mexican roots, that is when I noticed a gap in how my culture was being represented in the pet industry. I often found bandanas or dog mom apparel that depicted my culture in a stereotypical way that did not align with me. I saw it as an opportunity and that was the catalyst that motivated me to start WowWow. I set out to design bandanas and dog mom apparel that would resonate with Latina dog moms and their fur babies.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Getting laid off after only 4 months of being at a job that I was so excited to start, came as a shock. Initially, I was optimistic. I had great CPG experience and thought I could get back on my feet in no time. But, a couple months turned into six and then almost a year later, I found myself surprised and frustrated that I hadn’t found my next role. During this time of intense job hunting and interviewing, I also was spending 24/7 with Campbell. I love the quote “rejection is redirection” but what I think is missing from that quote is also acceptance. Being with Campbell everyday made me realize that the time I was given was a gift. I spent so many years helping build creative teams and executing on marketing campaigns, why not take this experience and build something of my own. I did it once with my husband, I could do it again. I accepted that perhaps all the rejections along the way were simply signs that was redirecting me on a path that would turn out to be magical. The moment I noticed the little furry paws that were tapping at my feet all along, was the moment I knew exactly what I needed to do. And that’s how WowWow came to be.

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

All our products can be found via our Etsy shop. When I started WowWow, I was selling directly to consumers via events and popups. It was my way of testing if I had a viable product and to gauge customer interest. I quickly learned that people were excited and that our designs were resonating! I chose Etsy because it was easy to set up, it was a well known and trusted platform, and it kept my costs low. It’s a great way to start a business without having to initially make a big invest on a website. Many may say that Etsy is saturated and fees can be costly, but so far it has made sense for WowWow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://miwowwow.etsy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mi_wowwow/

Image Credits

Kita Zuelta Photography