1 of 3
Accessories by Woof Works.
2 of 3
Photos by Sydney Loughran Wolf.
The Martin brothers, Sebastian and Alex, founders of Woof Works.
3 of 3
When the Martin brothers Alex, 16, and Sebastian, 13, aren’t playing soccer or spending time outdoors, you’ll likely find them at work. A mutual passion for technology and dogs inspired the duo to launch Woof Works, which sells custom cell phone cases imprinted with images of a favorite pet. To help grow the company, which was started four months ago via word-of-mouth, this month the brothers began a Kickstarter campaign to raise $12,500 in 30 days. SLM visited with the brothers to learn more about their company, and how they’re rallying the power of the web to further their dreams.
Tell us about yourselves. When you’re not in school or running the business, how do you spend your time?
We grew up near a lake in St. Peters, and have always loved being outdoors. We go fishing, sailing, wakeboarding, and in the winter, skiing at Hidden Valley. At school, we both play soccer for our respective teams, De Smet Jesuit High School and Incarnate Word. And we love animals. We’ve grown up with several dogs and cats, and volunteer regularly at an animal shelter.
What inspired you to start Woof Works?
Initially, we bought a 3D printer because we wanted to be part of the 3D maker movement. We created a wooden cell phone case with an image of our dog Cosmo on it, and thought it was the kind of thing other pet owners would love to have, too. Then, our Dad, who works in the pet industry, took us to a trade show where we saw a laser engraving machine demonstration. We realized that it could help us turn our cool idea into a business. Woof Works can laser etch a photographic image of your pet onto everything from phone cases and dog treat jars to key chains and luggage tags. And all of the products are made with quality materials that last, like wood, leather and glass.
What have been some of the challenges?
We started completely from scratch so we had to learn the processes involved, get a routine down and become efficient. And we spent a lot of time finalizing product designs and figuring out the laser’s capabilities. Over the summer, we built the Woof Works website ourselves using notes from a coding class Alex took at De Smet.
Why did you launch a Kickstarter Campaign? What do you plan to do with the money, if you reach your goal?
The Kickstarter website gives Woof Works broad exposure to a strong online community that gets excited about supporting creative business ideas. If our goal of $12,500 in pledges (in the form of donations or orders) is made by October 21, then Woof Works receives these funds – as well as our first really big order! The money raised would be used to pay off the lease on the laser engraver and to hire our first employee.
Where would you like to see Woof Works in five years’ time?
We’d like to continue running the company together, only out of an office somewhere, instead of our basement! We want to expand the product line, buy another laser, and establish a presence in retail stores. And we both want to go to college – hopefully Woof Works’ success will help pay for that!
