FindShadow

Formerly known as FindShadow, Shadow operates a community network application designed to facilitate the search for lost pets. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in New York, NY. The platform enables users to post a picture of their lost dog or cat, which then generates a personalized, step-by-step action plan to alert the community and streamline the search process. This initiative was inspired when a friend of the founder, Cyrus Massoumi, lost his own dog, named Shadow, and experienced a difficult, month-long search. Massoumi previously co-founded the appointment booking platform Zocdoc.

Shadow operates as a community-led organization, leveraging its technology and a network of thousands of volunteers to reunite pets with their families. The service is active in numerous cities across the United States. The application provides users with tools to aid their search, such as printable, personalized flyers and the ability to send out an amber alert for their pet to friends and family. It also aggregates listings of lost and found pets, allowing owners to browse through sightings reported by other users. The platform has fostered an active community of volunteers and partners with organizations like the ASPCA and various city animal care centers.

The business generates revenue through a virtual tipping mechanism upon a successful reunion and offers users the option to purchase an in-app Instagram ad for $10 to broaden their search. The company handles the ad creation and placement on behalf of the pet owner. Since its inception in 2018, the platform has reportedly helped reunite over 15,000 pets with their families, with a significant increase in reunions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has raised a total of $7.7M in funding through various rounds, including early-stage venture capital. Keywords: lost pets, dog reunion, cat reunion, pet search, community network, missing animals, animal welfare, volunteer network, pet safety, Cyrus Massoumi, Zocdoc founder, pet amber alert, lost and found pets, ASPCA partner, animal care centers, virtual tipping, in-app advertising, pet recovery service, social good, mobile application