🎧 This week on the pod we were joined by Haley Russell, Founder and CEO of Chippin, which offers high-quality pet nutrition that’s great for our furry friends and even better for the planet. 


Chippin food is delicious, nutritious, and helps pet owners reduce their eco paw-print: It’s made with sustainable proteins like overpopulated animal species, spirulina, and crickets (yes, crickets! 🦗).


Here’s what we learned from Haley in this insight-packed paw-dcast.


The Takeaways: 👇


🤳 Crushing ads with organic content:

Organic videos have performed well for Chippin, especially those focused on the sustainability of their ingredients.


In fact, documentary-style videos of Haley visiting their protein sources directly tend to get triple the click-through rate as opposed to other traditional product-focused ads. 🚀


“When you look at any other pet food on the market, ‘mystery meat’ is the description that applies. There’s not really a way to know where that cut of chicken or beef is coming from.”


Being transparent about their ingredients has built trust with customers that continues to fuel loyalty and retention for Chippin.


“I think for people to be able to know and trust the protein source and have that visual… has been very impactful.”


🐾 The paw-wer of PR:

“PR has been fantastic… and something we’re looking to lean into even more.”


Here’s something we learned from Haley: You don’t necessarily need a high-end agent to crush PR. 🙌


For start-ups, PR can be as simple as someone on your team reaching out to media outlets to have authentic conversations. 


This is how Chippin has handled most of their PR, and – because they have a great product and mission – they’ve been able to land in some of the top outlets.


💰 From finance to DTC:

Before starting Chippin, Haley’s career began in finance and management consulting – which was a very strategic choice.


“I was looking at all of the profiles of people I saw as social impact leaders… I saw very consistently that so many of the people that I saw as driving awesome, positive change got their start in finance or consulting… and so, I was interested in doing the same in order to get a solid business toolkit.”


Having a background in finance has allowed Haley to have a unique understanding of the ins and outs of running a business on her own terms. 💵 


“If you’re running a business, cash flow management is something you’ve gotta be really careful about. Just being able to set up, review our own financials, and project things out… has been huge for running Chippin.”

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