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Swifto – Dog walking in NYC with GPS tracking

This story is so inspiring – it’s a perfect example of what can happen when you initiate and materialize your ideas.
Penina earned her Masters in biotechnology. Though she was determined to leave her mark on the world, she was not going to wait for years to get a study published or a medication approved.

Having been bitten early on by the entrepreneurship bug, she built an online service that would connect business owners and employers who need an employee on a short-term notice, and employees who were looking for short term temporary jobs.
While this idea turned out to be quite a success in Israel, it didn’t see the same fate in the American market. After she moved to New York City, Penina realized that the market in the big apple was very different from the Israeli one, since employers were far more cautious about the people they hire.

Swifto screenshot

One of the first clients of the service was a person who was looking for a dog walker, and eventually found one through the website. Penina further explored this field to realize one core issue – How could you trust a random stranger with your beloved pet?

This revolutionized the dog walking business, wherein Penina and her team used technology as a tool that to ensure that the dog walker is actually doing his or her job. They overcame technological limitations by personally interviewing potential dog walkers to gauge how trustworthy and reliable they were.
Penina’s success story re-iterates the power of starting off with a simple idea and letting it evolve along the way. Even though many times the original idea changes over time, the spirit of innovation will get you to the right place eventually.

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