Podcast Summary: Episode 234 – This $2.8M Private Dog Club Is A Business Masterclass

Podcast: Making It with Jon Davids
Host: Jon Davids
Date: December 9, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Jon Davids breaks down the meteoric rise of "Dog People" (DOGPPL), a private dog club that pulls in $2.8 million a year. Using this story, Jon delivers a step-by-step business masterclass, explaining the four foundational lessons every entrepreneur and business builder should know—whether they’re just starting out or aiming for $100 million. He explores how to spot a booming market, validate an idea before spending heavily, create community, and why it’s rarely too late to join a seemingly crowded industry.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Dog People Story: From Parking Lot to Powerhouse

(00:56 - 02:48)

• Origin: Alex and Liam (founders) couldn’t find a nice dog park near their Santa Monica home, so they created a premium, members-only dog club.
• MVP Approach: Started in an abandoned parking lot—laid turf, fenced it off, added tents, launched via local Facebook groups as a “members only, clean, safe, private” park.
• Immediate Traction: Waitlist formed within weeks and “the dogs come running.”
• Pricing & Scale:
  • Basic membership: $120/month per dog.
  • ~2,000 members = approx. $240,000/month ($2.8M/year).
  • Second location coming in Brooklyn—with full amenities (kitchen, cocktails, DJ).
• Industry Context:
  • The pet industry is worth $140 billion in the US annually.
  • “[Dog People] is kind of like Soho House but with chew toys.” (02:37)
  • Private dog club market is exploding—Google Trends confirms.

Notable Quote

“This place is a country club for your dog, and it brings in 2.8 million bucks a year. But that’s not even the crazy part.”
—Jon Davids (00:00)

2. Lesson 1: Build In A Growing Market

(02:48 - 06:02)

• Jon stresses: No matter how strong your team or product, “the market always wins. Always.” (02:26)
• Use tools like Google Trends and industry reports (Statista, IBISWorld) to validate market growth, not just gut feeling.
• Valuable insight:

“You can be a great operator with a great product… if it's a great business builder versus a crappy market, my money is on the market. Always.”
—Jon Davids (02:19)

• The pet industry highlights a megatrend: “The humanization of pets”—owners want premium, status-driven experiences for companion animals.

Notable Quote

“Americans spent over $140 billion on their pets last year—buh, buh, buh, billion. That’s doubled from a decade ago.”
—Jon Davids (04:23)

3. Lesson 2: Validate Before You Build

(06:02 - 09:54)

• Don’t leap into product development—test demand with a “Minimum Viable Concept” instead of Minimum Viable Product.
• Three actionable steps:
  1. Whip up a simple one-page website (Jon plugs lexflows.com).
  2. Use Google Ads (Jon’s free ad tools @ johndavids.com/ads) with a minimum daily budget.
  3. See if prospective customers click “Buy Now” or join your waitlist—capture emails or even pre-orders.
• If you get no traction, “just go back to step one and repeat. Businesses fail when they make stuff nobody wanted in the first place, so just skip that.” (08:54)

Notable Quote

“Why test a product when you can just test a concept?”
—Jon Davids (06:39)

4. Lesson 3: Build Community Into Your Brand

(09:54 - 14:15)

• DOGPPL’s success is “kind of cheating” because community is baked into the product—a key accelerator for early traction and long-term value.
• Jon’s community-building tips:
  1. Common core/passion: “There’s gotta be something they care about.” (10:35)
  2. Provide physical/digital space (meetups, Discord, FB groups).
  3. Let members shape the culture—rituals, regulars, self-organization.
• Community transforms your business from “commodity land” into a must-have—it’s not just the product but the network and tribe around it.
• Examples spanning sports teams, music, even high school: product is at the center, but community is the magic.

Notable Quote

“Community isn’t about your product. It’s about the people.”
—Jon Davids (08:54)
“Community takes your product out of yucky commodity land and turns you into a thing people need to have…”
—Jon Davids (12:35)

5. Lesson 4: You’re Not Too Late – Evergreen Markets Evolve

(14:15 - 17:25)

• Common myth: “It’s too crowded, the market’s mature, I’m too late.” Jon says it almost always isn’t true.
• Uses Manhattan real estate as an example: no matter when in the past 250 years you bought in, there was still massive upside ahead.
• Same with influencer marketing: Thought he was late in 2015; in 2025, the market is much bigger and more diversified.
• Exception: True winner-take-all markets dominated by trillion-dollar incumbents—these are rare.
• Action: Don't let the myth of "being too late" stop you from entering growing or large markets.

Notable Quote

“If you think you’re late to a market… you’re probably wrong. Because many markets never, ever stop growing.”
—Jon Davids (11:47)

“At every point over the last 250 years, it doesn’t matter when, you could have reasonably thought you were late to the game—and you’d be wrong, every single time.”
—Jon Davids (13:57)

Memorable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “This place is a country club for your dog, and it brings in 2.8 million bucks a year...” —Jon Davids (00:00)
• “You need to build your business in a growing market… the market always wins. Always.” —Jon Davids (02:15)
• “Americans spent over $140 billion on their pets last year... That’s doubled from a decade ago.” —Jon Davids (04:23)
• “Why test a product when you can just test a concept?” —Jon Davids (06:39)
• “Community isn’t about your product. It’s about the people.” —Jon Davids (08:54)
• “If you think you're late to a market... you're probably wrong. Because many markets never, ever stop growing.” —Jon Davids (11:47)
• “At every point over the last 250 years, it doesn’t matter when, you could have reasonably thought you were late to the game—and you’d be wrong...” —Jon Davids (13:57)

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|----------------------------------------------| | 00:56 | DOGPPL origin story and business model | | 02:19 | Importance of picking the right market | | 04:23 | Stats & trends in the pet industry | | 06:39 | “Test the concept, not the product” | | 08:54 | Community’s role in accelerating business | | 10:35 | Step-by-step building a real community | | 13:00 | Evergreen markets—the Manhattan analogy | | 15:10 | Influencer marketing: not “too late” |

Tone and Style

Jon delivers the episode with an enthusiastic, conversational, and occasionally irreverent style (“bleh, I feel icky just saying authentic”), peppered with personal anecdotes, practical hacks, warnings, and motivational asides that make high-level business strategy feel approachable and energizing.

For Listeners: Actionable Takeaways

1. Build in a booming market: Research industry trends; “the market always wins.”
2. Validate before you spend: Launch a minimum viable concept and get real signals of demand.
3. Create authentic community: Embed people, not just product, at your brand’s core.
4. It’s rarely too late: Markets evolve for decades—don’t let fear of being “late” stop you.

For more step-by-step business strategies and to join Jon Davids’ community, explore resources at johndavids.com.