Devanshi Shah: On Making PetKonnect India’s Premier Service Provider for Pets & Animals
PetKonnect, a platform dedicated to providing a loving, safe, and healthy environment for pets in India, was launched after its founder, Devanshi Shah, faced a traumatic emergency. When her five-year-old Havanese pup, Hazel, experienced a medical crisis, Shah discovered that animal blood was not easily available during emergencies.
Much like the relentless women entrepreneurs we feature who build impactful businesses out of pressing real-world needs, Shah turned her personal tragedy into a constructive solution for the entire animal care sector. Today, PetKonnect offers an array of facilities for pets, boasting many “firsts” in the Indian subcontinent.
Team Optimist spoke to Shah about the massive gap in demand for pet care services in India and how her platform is stepping up to bridge it.
The Birth of a Purpose-Driven Platform
Team Optimist: How did you come up with the PetKonnect idea?
Devanshi Shah: A few years ago, I lost my dearest pet dog, Hazel, because of some unresolved health concerns. After being unwell for over a month, she was admitted to a hospital for surgery. The procedure was scheduled as an emergency for a late hour since her condition had kept deteriorating. However, Hazel began bleeding internally while the doctors were prepping for the surgery.
It was then that a hunt for the correct blood group started, which was required to stabilize her condition before the surgery. Sadly, the doctors and I had to wait out the night to find an appropriate donor. And Hazel couldn’t make it through that night.
It was during her illness that I realized there was a crying need for critical services in the animal care sector in India. Starting this venture wasn’t an easy task—it took this grave loss to open my eyes to the fact that something needed to be done to plug the gap.
This venture is my ode to Hazel. While I felt helpless in my feeble attempts to save her, I decided to channel my grief through PetKonnect. Saving even a single life and enabling pet parents to give their pets the lives they deserve would be a reward big enough for me to be passionately invested in PetKonnect.
After surveying other animal hospitals in India and coming across similar instances on social media, I realized such crises were very common among many pets and their owners. This was how PetKonnect began its journey.
Besides providing access to a blood donor bank for various animals, the portal also lists several services, such as animal ambulance providers, shelters, vaccination centers, geographically listed animal playdates, and a section for animal profiles that enable and support caregivers in complete health and science management. Fuelled by a great love for pets and animals on the street, PetKonnect has to its credit many firsts in the animal caregiving sector in all of Asia.
Addressing the Gap in Pet Care Awareness
Team Optimist: There’s a huge lack of pet care awareness in India. What’s the reason for this?
Devanshi Shah: Statistics say that over a million pet dogs were counted in the last dog census, and it’s expected to grow at 6% annually. Despite this, awareness in the pet care sector has not increased at the same rate.
India is a developing country with a huge population, and it’s still striving to provide basic facilities and infrastructure to its people. Except in the metros, people still spend their lives in pursuit of the basic requirements for survival. In such a scenario, awareness about animal care has never been a priority at an institutional level. It has always boiled down to compassionate individuals to drive awareness.
The number of strays is also on the rise. However, a majority of strays remain unvaccinated and vulnerable to diseases, such as rabies, which also serves as a medium for infecting humans. This has instilled some fear and discomfort among people in general. Furthermore, animal laws in India are given little attention in the media, and I aim at increasing awareness through my platform.
The Transition from Corporate to Caregiving
Team Optimist: In a glittering professional career with many achievements, how has the journey into this specific segment been?
Devanshi Shah: While I’d like to believe my journey from being a professional to venturing into the pet segment has been extremely interesting, the truth is that it all came very naturally and intuitively to me. I literally always took one step at a time and moved on to the next from there. During my growing up years, I’ve always been a focused child, with my ambitions and career plans mapped out.
Of course, I’ve always been extremely compassionate towards animals, especially dogs. However, getting into this space professionally was, honestly, never a part of my plan.
I did continue working professionally after losing Hazel, but I always had this feeling that something was missing. I’d often wonder: if, despite having the resources, I couldn’t save a life, what could be done to change that?
My team and I spoke to pet parents, did the basic background research, and discovered several gaps in the pet care industry, which, although growing, is drastically unorganized. I started working on PetKonnect part-time, along with my full-time job. Eventually, I phased in from working on PetKonnect part-time to doing it full-time when we were closer to launch. My transition from my profession to this segment has been rather smooth—with ample support from family, friends, colleagues, and ex-colleagues. Much like Parul Gulati’s journey in scaling Nish Hair, finding a gap in the market and relentlessly building a solution became my driving force.
The Challenges of Being a Woman Entrepreneur in India
Team Optimist: What are the challenges of being an entrepreneur in India? Do the challenges differ for a woman?
Devanshi Shah: There have been many challenges—both emotional and professional—in terms of launching and scaling up the PetKonnect project. Initially, the most difficult part was developing a website and app with high-quality code.
To add to these stresses, the pet and animal service sector is a highly unorganized one. Identifying and getting participants to work together with our platform to make these services more known and easily available has been a mammoth task.
I’ve received immense support from friends, family, and people in my professional network. I was quite surprised to see the huge response I received in the early stages of reaching out for advice and feedback, which only bolstered my drive to see this project through.
About being a woman entrepreneur, personally, I’ve seen it more as a strength than a challenge. I’ve been brought up to grow into an independent woman, and the feminism in me and those around me has been extremely inspiring. Given the rising awareness and efforts toward women’s empowerment, more avenues have opened up. Women entrepreneurs are now respected as much as their male counterparts.
Animal Rights and the Road Ahead
Team Optimist: Do you think people in India and neighboring countries are fully aware of animal rights?
Devanshi Shah: I don’t think Indians are highly aware of animal rights and the laws concerning animal welfare. The legal system in India, too, is so plagued by pending court cases that hearing of cases related to animal rights has taken a backseat over the years.
However, with a steady increase in the number of pets adopted annually, more people have begun to spread awareness at the grassroots level. Institutions and NGOs are playing a key role in raising awareness, and the media has also been playing its part in reporting cases related to violations of animal rights.
Team Optimist: What are your plans for PetKonnect?
Devanshi Shah: I’d like to make PetKonnect India’s premier, one-stop solution, and hassle-free service provider for all kinds of pets and animals. Over the next year, I’m looking at expanding our network to other cities, starting with Delhi and Hyderabad.
I also plan to introduce some interesting features on our platforms, such as a direct messaging service between pet parents to promote pet friends, and an adoption section that promotes the adoption of animals. As a brand, we strongly stand against the sale and purchase of animals through breeders.
