Kim Min-ji, CEO of With Your Pet, an entrepreneur growing alongside Catlink

Driven by a single mission—“to help pets and their owners spend happier times together”—CEO Kim Min-ji of With Your Pet discovered innovative products and raised a substantial amount of funding (480 million won). What journey did she take to achieve this? 

CEO Kim Min-jiadvisedthose embarking on entrepreneurship and funding,“I hope you won’t hesitate to take on challenges in the areas where you can be your happiest and perform at your best,” andrevealed that she continues to take on new challenges to move forward with passion. 

We met Kim Min-ji, CEO of With Your Pet, who—despite facing several crises—strengthened the bond of trust with her supporters through her pride in her product and sincere communication. Shall we get to know her together?

The Founding Story of “With Your Pet” with My Dog, Mongi

Editor Hwang Mi-na (H below) 
Hello, Kim Min-ji, CEO of With Your Pet. Let’s start by talking about With Your Pet and how you got started.

Kim Min-ji, Maker (K below)  
Hello. I’m Kim Min-ji, CEO of With Your Pet, which received funding for the automatic cat litter box “CatLink.” I majored in statistics and started an internship right after graduation. But once I actually started working, I found myself wondering, “Is this really the right job for me?” I knew I could get a job right away to make a living, but I kept asking myself, “Will I be able to live a fulfilling life doing thisfor the rest of my life?” I spent all day thinking, “What kind of work would I be good at?”

At the time, I was living with my dog, Mongi. Mongi suffered from severe atopic dermatitis and required constant care. Watching Mongi, I wondered,“How can we make the limited time we spend with our pets even happier?”That’s when I began to sketch out the concept for a business focused on innovative pet products.

Dogs and cats living at home really need human attention, right? But since people are always short on time, I started looking for innovative products based on the ideathatif we could free up time forpet ownersto care fortheir pets, they’d be able to spend more quality time together.

Once I had a rough outline of the business, I raised funds. To secure the necessary capital, I worked as a math tutor, earning money to invest, then earning more to invest—repeating this cycle over and over. That’s how the brand “With Your Pet”was born.

The Journey to Becoming the Official Importer of the Innovative Product, CatLink

(Feat. Kim Min-ji, CEO of With Your Pet: Strategist and Risk-Taker)

H:CatLink, With Your Pet’sflagship product, is manufactured overseas. wadiz allows funding for products introduced to Korea for the first time, even if they’re made abroad. I hear you put in tremendous effort as the exclusive importer to bring CatLink to Korea.

K Yes. I searched high and low for innovative products designed for pets and their owners—especially in places like Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Tokyo. I found that overseas trade shows were full of innovative products not available in Korea. 

I started attending overseas trade shows in 2017. In Japan, beauty products were highly developed, and the Chinese market was surprisingly advanced in the tech sector. That’s where I first came across the automatic cat litter box called “Catlink.” 

At the time, automatic litter boxes were virtually unknown in Korea, but since this one was cheaper and had far better features than the products available here, I thought, “This is the innovative product I’ve always dreamed of!”

Even though my English wasn’t very good back then, I just blurted out to the booth representative, “I’m from Korea. I really like this, so I’d like to test a sample. Can I buy one?” The representative replied, “We only accept credit cards, WeChat Pay, or Alipay. Otherwise, bring the exact amount in cash.”

And there I was, wandering around a Chinese trade show without even knowing things like that (laughs). Since I didn’t have the exact amount in cash, I made an appointment to return to the Guangzhou Expo. 

When I returned to Korea, I realized that since With Your Pet was such a small company, I had to win them over myself.From that pointon, I analyzed the domestic pet automatic litter box market. I researched not only the prices of the automatic litter boxes but also the pros and cons of each product, their reputations, and even their market share.

After that, I flew back to Guangzhou. When I arrived, I showed them the Korean market research report and told them I wanted to sign a contract to become their importer. I persuaded them by saying, “I’ve done this much research on the Korean market, and I’m happy to give you this report. If we end up working together, you’ll continue to receive reports like this in the future.”

The Catlink manufacturer was also looking for a partner because the Korean pet market is relatively large and well-established. Although they could have launched in Korea with a large corporation, they seemed to waver when I made this proposal. In the end, thanks to the trust we’d built up over time, I was able to secure two samples. I carried two large boxes all the way to Korea. Even when boarding the plane, there were many twists and turns, such as being told I had excess baggage or that I couldn’t board. 

But once I arrived in Korea and tried out CatLink, it really was great. I kept messaging the manufacturer on WeChat, saying things like, “This part is great, and the modules are simple and well-designed,” and eventually, the CatLink manufacturer suggested, “Why don’t we try entering the domestic market together with WithYourPet?”

But as you know, wadiz requires an exclusive contract with overseas companies to allow funding. This is because sales can’t take place elsewhere while the funding campaign is running. Typically, overseas companies won’t sign exclusive contracts unless they have immense trust in the partner. So, since I needed to prepare for the funding campaign, Idecided I had to take a gambleand went to the trade show one more time.

This time, I went armed with the details of the funding campaign and my one-year roadmap.I presented plans for initial inventory afterthe funding campaignlaunch, strategies to boost brand awareness, and outlined how we would solidify Catlink’s position in the Korean market. After this long and arduous persuasion, we finally signed an exclusive distribution agreement in November 2019.

The Ups and Downs of the Funding Campaign That Began That Way

H:I heard it took you about four to five months from thenuntil you launched the funding campaign. That was longer than the average preparation period for a funding campaign. I imagine you must have been truly overwhelmed with emotion once the campaign went live.

K: Honestly, the preparation process was long and tedious. There was a lot of paperwork, and it was difficult because there were constant delays. I just thought, “Oh well, whatever,” and announced the service that is launching soon, wondering, “What if a thousand people sign up for notifications every day?” But the number of people who signed up for notifications was only about 870. So I thought, “Is this funding campaign a failure?”

Since I couldn’t just quit halfway through, I went ahead and launched the funding campaign. It was the weekend, and I was lying in bed asleep (laughs). But at 2:00 a.m., my husband said, “Min-ji! This isn’t the time to be sleeping. You need to check this right away .” Every time I refreshed the page and saw the funding amount going up, I thought I was dreaming. I shed tears of joy.

H:Since your firstfunding campaign raised nearly 200 million won, it’s no wonder you were so surprised. I think I’d be in tears too. But I heard that toward the end of the campaign, you faced a major hurdle: “KC certification.”

K That’s right. At first, I was completely at a loss. KC certification is required to distribute the product in Korea. When Catlink initially failed to get KC certification, I didn’t realize it would take this long, so I notified our supporters that shipping would be delayed by about a month. Looking back now, I was just a complete novice, so I took it too lightly.

The KC certification process took much longer than I’d anticipated. From that point on, I started thinking about how I could best communicate my thoughts and the product’s status to our supporters. At first, I even thought, “Should I just lie and say it’ll be done soon?” While that might have gotten me out of the situation for the moment, the thought that consumers’ first impression of CatLink would be negative was terrifying. Plus, I didn’t want to create a situation where the sincere intentions I had when bringing this product to market would be seen as a lie.

With Your Pet News Update

So I decided to be honest and admit that I hadn’t been able to deliver.I explained, “TheWi-Fimodule didn’t pass KC certification, and it will take about a month to fix it.” At the time, they were a bit frustrated, but they agreed to wait. Later, when I checked the KC certification results again, it still hadn’t been approved. That’s when I realized I had to make a decision on my own. It was a situation where I couldn’t keep asking them to wait indefinitely. I posted an announcement saying, “For those who don’t want to wait, we’ll issue a refund via bank transfer.” From the consumer’s perspective, they can’t wait forever.

Gaining a Valuable Asset—Our Supporters—Through Crisis

I accepted refund requests with the mindset, “Even if it means taking a loss, this is my fault, so let’s refund those who want it—but if even one person remains, I must give them my all.” However, out of 900 people, only about 60 actually requested a refund. I was moved to tears. I thought, “Even in a situation like this, there are people who believe in my potential and are willing to wait for me.” It made me realize that the few hundred supporters who stand by me are such a precious asset.

H I dare to think that this is because the supporters truly resonated with the value of funding. Even during such a difficult process, the aspect you were most concerned about was communication. Could you share some tips that other makers might find helpful?

K First, I learned the rule: “If it’s not certain, don’t announce it.” If I’d said, “This will be ready soon,” the wait would have dragged on and expectations would have risen, which would have made it even harder for my supporters. I decided to estimate timelines conservatively and communicate with customers only about confirmed details.

Second, I learned that “I must keep my promises no matter what.” Once I kept my promises, I found that even more people started supporting me. Naturally, this led to new customers who trusted With Your Pet enough to make a purchase. If I had to do it all over again, I think I’d make the same choice.

Satisfaction Survey for With Your Pet’s First Project

H: The maker satisfaction score was 4.8, which is incredibly high, so I thought, “The maker must have put in a lot of effort.” I also read through the entire Community forum carefully, and I noticed that supporters continued to provide Comments even after the funding campaign ended, didn’t they?

K First of all, the supporters who funded our product are all wonderful people. Many of them truly understood the meaning of funding. So, there were really a lot of people who approached it with the mindset, “The product doesn’t have to be perfect. But I’d like you to fix this part. Because that’s what funding is all about.”They provided feedback on individual features and offered comments on a wide range of topics, such as Wi-Fi functionality and how to use the app. When I shared this with the manufacturer, they were thrilled and asked, “How did you manage to gather all these comments?”

WithYourPet’s Three Projects

If it weren’t for funding, the feedback people usually get from reviews is just “This product isn’t great” or “It’s good” or “It’s bad.” You rarely see thoughtful reviews like, “It’s good, but I’d like to see this improved.” But our supporters did just that. Because they’re so proactive in sharing their comments, the manufacturer is making a concerted effort to more actively incorporate the feedback from Korean consumers. I was truly moved when I saw a commentsaying, “Through this funding campaign, I feel like I’ve discovered a great company called With Your Pet.”It really struck a chord with me.

Sales Increased More Than Sixfold in Just One Year.

H:Since the first CatLinkfunding campaign, how has With Your Pet changed? Please share your thoughts on business direction, personal aspects, or the company’s growth.

K First of all, the scale of our business has grown significantly. Sales outside of funding have increased by about six times. As the company grew, we were also able to hire employees. Additionally, with the increase in sales and scale, I’ve been able to put into practice the goals I set when I first conceived the business. 

With Your Pet is a company founded on the value of coexistence between humans and animals. So, as the company grew, I wanted to actively propose comments on issues like abandoned cats and dogs, animal welfare, and environmental protection.

Currently, With Your Pet donates to shelters for abandoned cats every time we generate sales from CatLink. Last winter, we began donating to an organization called “Nabiya, I Love You,” and we’re also collecting the boxes and Styrofoam used for CatLink shipments to recycle them during after-sales service.I think gaining the ability to contribute to social issues like this is another major change.

H Ifeel really proud. I hope you’ll share news like this more often. To all our supporters who have believed in us so far and will continue to support us in the future a few words to supporters ?

K Yes, I still remember the names of everyone who’s reached out to me. Every single person’s comments were so valuable to me, and I believe it’s because of them that I’ve gotten a little closer to the dream I envision. That goes for everything—whether it was criticism or praise. I’m infinitely grateful that, thanks to our supporters’ interest, I’m able to be here today.

Moving forward, With Your Pet will continue to offer only products I can confidently present. Since our customer service is available 24 hours a day, I’m confident in that as well. All I ask is that you trust me and support this funding effort :) 

Moving forward, With Your Pet’s goal is to becomea socially responsiblecompany that contributes to society. As we continue to create products for dogs and cats, we’ll dedicate our efforts to campaigns aimed at rescuing animals living in vulnerable environments—such as puppy mills and breeding farms. We want to be a company that spares no effortin investing in an environment where animals and people can live happily together.

As a seniormaker or someone who has received funding for a project before, do you have any advice for makers ?

K: I think planning a funding campaign is a huge challenge in itself. Let’s be honest—to run a business, you need money. But when you’re first conceptualizing a business, there’s no clear source of funding. That’s why I started my funding campaign. 

But if you start a funding campaign thinking only about “making money,” you might fail. I believe a maker’s sincerity must shine throughin the campaign. If you approach wadiz supporters with this kind of sincerity—saying, “I have this great technology and this great product. But as you know, I’m a very small company and I lack the financial resources. If you believe in my potential and invest in me, I’ll repay you with a truly great product”— I believe you’re bound to succeed.

▶ This content was first featured on the wadiz blog. If you’re curious about more stories on the blog, check itout here!