Henry Matus says he has wanted to be an entrepreneur since he was the 3 years old.
But his path to starting his own company isn’t want he originally planned. In 2018, after being diagnosed with a Stage 1 brain tumor, Matus came across a statistic that startled him: 50% of dogs that are 10 years or older will get cancer.
“All of those canine cancer cases could be partially attributed to chemicals and pesticides found in their foods. I thought ‘bingo’ and that entrepreneurial spark instantly activated and I thought I’ve got to find a solution this,” said Matus, a Saint Louis University graduate.
That led Matus to create Bark n Sniff, a startup that has developed “superfood seasoning” that is made with natural ingredients that is designed to be added to a dog’s food to improve their health. Bark n Sniff also has created the STL Dog Passport, a booklet that provides coupons and deals to dog friendly businesses.
The 22-year-old Matus, whose cancer is in remission, is currently seeking to expand Bark n Sniff to cities outside St. Louis.
Did you always envision becoming an entrepreneur? Since the age of three, I have always envisioned myself as an entrepreneur. Over the years, my entrepreneurial journey has evolved from running my first lemonade stand to selling trading cards to buying and selling silver coins and bars to trading stocks and options and now leading Bark n Sniff’s day to day operations as CEO. Bark n Sniff continues to be fully self-funded because of the success of each of these microventures.
What’s your proudest accomplishment? Being a two-time, brain cancer survivor is my life’s greatest accomplishment. Eleven surgeries, 8 rounds of chemotherapy, 26 blood transfusions and 29 months of targeted therapy later, I am as strong and healthy of a CEO as ever. During my four week hospital stay in January 2018, I came across a shocking statistic that "50% of dogs over the age of 10 will pass away from some form of cancer" and that "chemicals, pesticides and preservatives" were to partially blame for this high incidence of disease. Over the next two years, I would eventually reformulate a solution to this problem over 130 times. This is how Bark n Sniff and our first product, our Pawsitively Barkelicious Superfood Seasoning for Dogs, was born.
Where do you see yourself and your career in five years? Over the next five years, I am looking to expand Bark n Sniff’s footprint into two new cities per year. During the first year of Bark n Sniff’s life, I imagined this company as a pet nutrition startup that provides all dogs with affordable, accessible and high quality nutrition. My ultimate vision, though, is to mold Bark n Sniff into an experiential company where we create unique and memorable experiences for both the dog and dog owner. One division will focus on high quality, nutritional meal time experiences with our superfood seasonings. The other division will focus on growing our portfolio of Dog Passport partners (restaurants, event venues, etc) in those 10 cities.
What can St. Louis do to engage more young entrepreneurs like yourself? I would like to see more networking events that cater to middle school and high school age students. Although countless ideas have been born from inventors who fall within this age range, access to capital is sparse and their rolodex of resources is incredibly limited. Targeted networking events can break a lot of those barriers to entry and allow a greater exchange of ideas between like-minded individuals who have their entire lives ahead of them.
What’s the biggest advantage of being a young entrepreneur in St. Louis? The chance to meet, work, connect and grow with some many inspirational, motivated and powerfully passionate CEOs is by far the biggest advantage of being an entrepreneur in St. Louis. One of Bark n Sniff’s mottos is "For the Love of All STL Dogs." Everything we do is for the greater good of our amazing city. Our goal with that motto is to be a small part in changing the narrative of St. Louis being considered "flyover land." I’ve come to learn that this mindset is shared among an overwhelming majority of St. Louis entrepreneurs. It gives me comfort in knowing that my entrepreneurial family all have the same, "bigger picture" goal in mind.
Who’s your biggest mentor? Although the cast of Shark Tank has been a constant source of inspiration for me as an entrepreneur since 2009, Mark Cuban stands out as my biggest mentor. His quote, “Work like there is someone working 24 hours a day to take it all away from you” acts as my constant reminder to always put daily bouts of adversity into perspective. He taught me that there is no such thing as a temporary roadblock that is strong enough to overcome my desire to grow, spread and share Bark n Sniff’s mission of equitable, pet nutrition with every dog and dog owner on this planet.
