This story is part of our 1,000+ Stories campaign. What’s your story?

Name: Elly Kaye

Business: Lavish Pets

Location: Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Industry: Apparel & Accessories

Reason for starting: I turned a hobby of designing and sewing designer dresses and coats for my tiny dog into a business. I created and designed the world’s first Glow-In-The-Dark clothing for dogs, which will premiere at the SuperZoo Pet Convention in Las Vegas next month. The coat was also featured by SuperZoo last week in a promotion to all of the attendees! The Glow-In-The-Dark clothing was created out of a need for me to see my tiny pup at night running around on the soccer field, and wanting to keep her safe and still look fashionable — that is how Gloture, Glow-In-The-Dark Couture, was born! I also pitched to Shark Tank and met with QVC at their headquarters recently regarding a dog carrier that I patented. My designs are unique, fashionable, functional for pets and are so cute that you may want to get a pet if you do not already have one!

Related: Read about another entrepreneur creating products for pets here.

How do you define success? My definition of success is finding true happiness. I am happy when I am creating or contributing towards something that is useful and can improve the lives of others. I design and manufacture couture pet clothing and accessories, and have several inventions, some of which are patented and developed but most are not. Another definition of success for me is to have my passion earn a significant income. Not just for the sake of money, but because money is the symbol of my products selling successfully and being enjoyed by many people (and pets!).

Biggest success: I am in the start-up phase of my pet clothing and manufacturing company. My three successes in the past year would be the interest of the hit show Shark Tank, the recent in-person meeting with QVC at their headquarters and the upcoming launch of my company at SuperZoo, one of the world’s largest pet conventions.

Related: Our Definitions of Success: Meaning Over Money

What is your top challenge and how you have addressed it? My top challenge at this point would be the lack of capital to start marketing and expanding. To save money, I have worn many hats, too many hats and I have suffered fatigue. Now that I have several brands and products, I am ready to move to the next phase of raising capital for sales, marketing and building a small inventory. On a positive note, my company (and I) are debt free.

Who is your most important role model? Oprah!

[box_light]Website   www.LavishPets.com
Twitter   @EllyKayeLA
Facebook   Lavish Pets[/box_light]

Tell us your story!
Read about another entrepreneur here.

Edited by The Story Exchange