New Company Helps Pet Product Inventors

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Jim Dougherty, the founder of PetSmart and Petsense and a 33 year pet industry veteran, formed a new company named PIE – Pet Industry Experts, LLC.

PIE’s primary focus is to assist the inventors of pet products.

PIE offers a menu of services including venture capital funding, acquisition and merger guidance, international sourcing and strategic planning for marketing and sales.  It is a solution for manufacturing, warehousing, marketing and distribution.

Dougherty has joined forces with two other founding partners; John Gibbons and Phil Cooper.

Gibbons is a 27 year industry veteran and an expert in analysis, strategic planning and tactical leadership in building pet companies. Cooper has been involved in the Pet Industry for 47 years, from international and domestic sourcing through marketing and sales.

The youngest partner is Trevor Jensen, a venture capital specialist but also a pet entrepreneur.

In addition, PIE has a prestigious, knowledgeable advisory board which includes Bob Moran, former PetSmart CEO and Steve Marton, chairman of Halo, Purely for Pets and former COO of Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

Another key advisor is Christian Salaman, a partner with the international law firm of Pillsbury based in its San Diego office. Salaman’s expertise ranges from mergers and acquisitions for the industry’s biggest companies to financings and other strategic transactions for startups.

“PIE has knowledge and resources acquired through over 150 combined years of experience in the pet industry,” said Dougherty. “We want to use our expertise and connections to help new and existing companies be more successful. There is no better way to keep an industry vibrant than to help individuals and companies realize their potential and achieve greater success.”