Mashi
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Introduction
4 million pets are euthanized in US shelters every year. However, adopting is time-consuming, repetitive, expensive, and frustrating. Mashi reduces barriers to pet adoption via a universal application that standardizes and centralizes the process to create a seamless experience.
Problem
4mn pets are killed in US shelters every year because of pet overpopulation. However, those seeking to help by adopting are met with unreliable processes interacting with many (often unresponsive) independent shelters and rescues. Each one requires different applications and/or interviews to ensure "pet adoption readiness" that can require months and hundreds of dollars in fees. Shelters are overwhelmed with adoptable pets, taxpayers spend an annual $2bn on animal control, and pets suffer from euthanasia risk and poor living conditions in overcrowded shelters with inadequate resources. By addressing structural inefficiencies through a centralized platform, we aim to 1) reduce the time it takes for an adopter to bring home a pet (alleviating the strain on the system and benefiting the adopter), and 2) reduce adoption costs. Increasing the overall appeal of adopting with a streamlined, seamless adoption process solves pain points for shelters, taxpayers, adopters, and pets.
Opportunity
Mashi will provide a platform where pet adopters can apply to multiple shelters at once through a standardized universal application, without completing many shelter-specific forms. We will showcase pets using scalable, professional images to ensure pets have the best chance at finding a home. With an existing, proprietary filter system created alongside pet experts to determine which households are most pet-ready, shelters can feel confident that they are placing pets in responsible households. Leveraging this tool will allow shelters to make quicker decisions on which adopters are the best fit for each pet, which alleviates the current system bottleneck, and enables a swift process and prompt response from the shelter. As a result, shelters will not be forced to euthanize as many pets for space, and they can translate time savings into improved care for the pets in the facility. Meanwhile, pet parents will enjoy an efficient adoption process which makes it easy to rescue a pet.