Henrik Werdelin: Building BARK, from an idea to IPO

Henrik Werdelin is a serial entrepreneur and author, who co-founded BarkBox, a subscription-based service providing a monthly box of treats and toys for dogs. BarkBox is now called BARK and it is a publicly traded company, after its IPO in June of 2021. Henrik has also started Prehype, a collective of entrepreneurs that builds products and companies through collaboration with corporations and VCs.

Henrik talks to us about the early days of BARK, randomly meeting his co-founder Matt Meeker during a cruise ship and the strategies used for growing their company. We discuss the creative marketing and the famous 4/20 campaign, as well as raising capital at the beginning of the twenty-tens.

We also talk about the best dog breed for founders and delve deeper into the world of pet startups. Henrik speaks on his book “The Acorn Method”, which covers building new product lines within the confines of an existing business. and shares interesting insights on what makes a good startup employee and how the roles of early employees shape across the lifespan of a company.