Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Xilo Piper. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Xilo, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

Now that we are 3 years into Raw Instincts I wish I would have thought of starting it a little sooner. Fear of starting a new business with a good job in Finance working for a hedge fund and it failing held me back a good 6 months. You always hear you have a good job why stop what you have going for you and how most businesses fail within the first 3 years. I had the idea due to all the struggles I faced with Ziggy my Shiba Inu with allergies, food intolerance, and pickiness. It took a good year to figure out what worked for Ziggy and figured that not many people would go through all the research and trial and error that I did to have him healthy without medication. Finally seeing an opportunity in teaching other pet parents how to change their pets’ lives gave the seed to starting Raw Instincts.

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

Hola! I’m Xilo and here’s what inspired me to start my business, Raw Instincts. In October 2019, my husband Ryan and I adopted Ziggy, a Shiba Inu. While we were so excited to have a new member of the family it was a big struggle to find ways for him to eat his nutrients. We tried multiple methods suggested by the vet such as fasting and changing the food brands. It was now three weeks into having him in our home and we were so desperate and worried about his health. Ziggy would refuse to eat anything. Shortly after, my sister recommended we try a raw diet for Ziggy but we were hesitant like most people. We decided to then consult with our vet for their opinion and they also thought it was not a good idea they recommended putting Ziggy (a puppy at the time) on medication and treatment. At this point, we had tried everything, and though we wanted to stay on an organic path for our puppy, and decided to not put him on treatment but try something else.
We decided to then approach Ziggy with cooked whole food by a local company. To our surprise the instant we offered the meal to Ziggy he devoured his plate! We thought it possible that kibble food was not a good option for dogs in general. Why would Ziggy reject it so much? We thought the problem was solved until three months later Ziggy’s paws were turning red and were very itchy. We went back to the vet to do an allergy test and it turned out it was “environmental allergies”. Come to find out he was allergic to the grass, pollen, and other things that aggravated his skin and paws due to the heat. At this point, we now had tried multiple things and were concerned for his long-term health. We came across raw meals for dogs and decided to educate ourselves on it. After much research, we decided to switch to the RAW diet followed by what is called The Prey Model Raw (PMR) diet. This type of nutrient mimics what is called Whole Prey which is the diet they would eat if they were in the wild.
We felt pressured by the vet to start him on the original treatment they suggested so we had Ziggy fast for 24hrs and just went straight to raw food. And, just like that, his bowel movements and skin were back to normal. Not to mention, he also stopped drinking so much water. I was concerned at first but it turns out that when dogs are on kibble they have to supply 2-3x more water for their bodies to process the food. Therefore, it was not a hydration issue. I soon began to realize that his teeth were cleaner, and his coat was shinier and softer, in just the first few weeks of being on raw food! It was incredible to see the drastic positive changes for Ziggy. A month later, we took him back to the vet for blood work without mentioning the chance of diet and everything came out even better than before. Ziggy could not be any healthier and we are so happy we made the jump to try something new that ended up benefiting his health long-term.
Today, as we know dogs just like humans suffer from allergies and the common root issue is inflammation of the body. What we put into our bodies as humans is as important as what we feed our furry loved ones. Our personal story with Ziggy is what inspired us to start our business, Raw Instincts.

Raw Instincts is a small women-owned business that provides meals for your pets healthily and easily. Our long-term goal is to teach and educate others on healthier ways to feed their furry loved ones.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I am proud to say Raw Instincts is 100% self-funded. It has been self-funded with some hiccups and some painful things I have had to do like liquidating all of my 401k, all my investments, and all our savings both my husband’s and mine, as well as a business loan I had to take out to get me through the initial capital and our first 2 years. Some might say that it’s a little crazy but I think you do have to be a little crazy to take risks in life and most risks are always worth it. A little sacrifice goes a long way in the end. I am happy to say going into our third year we are in a good place and Raw Instincts is self-sustaining.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Currently, we are en route to hitting 3k followers, a huge milestone for me. Building an audience and the right audience that aligns with you is not as easy as you think. When I first started Raw Instincts I didn’t think I needed social media presence in order to sell wholesome food to pets but it turns out you definitely do! As a matter of fact, I didn’t start posting on social media regularly till the start of year 2 when sales were not growing and I was stagnant. Year 2 was a game changer in social media for Raw Instincts. About 90% of my sales come from Instagram followers from the community I have built. For anyone starting out I definitely recommend putting yourself out there and voicing your opinions and what you stand for. People love authenticity by being yourself you’ll find the right niche and people to follow you. I’ve realized to focus less on the product and more on what it does, the lifestyle of being a pet parent, and all other aspects of it. And a note to anyone trying to hit a certain number of sales is you definitely do not need over 50k followers to be able to be financially successful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rawinstinctsmia.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_rawinstincts/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RawInstinctsMiami/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RawInstinctsMia
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw5fXLwSK_BCxgQsQq5osdQ