I Moved to Canada and Launched a Company. Then the Tariffs Hit.
In 2014, a year into our marriage, my husband, Karthick, suggested we get a dog. I wasn’t sure; it felt like a huge responsibility, especially since we were both working full-time in Bengaluru, India: me in HR and him in IT. He convinced me to go see some puppies—and we came home with Princess, a golden retriever. We had to figure everything out: what foods were safe, how to keep her occupied, how to get her to stop nipping and barking. It was overwhelming but, over time, Princess taught me patience and unconditional love. The bond we shared was unlike anything I’d experienced.
In 2017, Karthick accepted a more lucrative job in Illinois, so we moved with Princess to the U.S. However, as the spouse of a work visa holder, I wasn’t allowed to get a job. The loss of independence was suffocating, and soon we searched for other options. Canada’s Express Entry program offered me the right to work again while Karthick secured a company transfer to a Canadian office. In March of 2018, we loaded up our car and made the eight-hour drive to start over yet again.
We settled in Acton, Ontario, a small town an hour’s drive west of Toronto. I got a job as an HR professional at a furniture company. But I dreamed of running my own business, and Princess was my inspiration. Watching her explore, sniff and play in parks gave me an idea. Most dog products didn’t cater to their foraging and problem-solving instincts. I thought I could make snuffle mats: puzzle-feeder hybrids that engage a dog’s nose and mind, replicating the hunting behaviours of their wild ancestors.
The following year I left my job and, along with Karthick, founded PawzNDogz with a focus on selling snuffle mats. Starting from scratch was terrifying. As newcomers, we didn’t have professional networks we could leverage. We spent our savings to buy our inventory from an overseas supplier and set up our website. We later remortgaged our house and took out a loan through the Business Development Bank. It was a huge risk and a staggering leap of faith, but I believed in our venture. I stored our first batches of snuffle mats in our basement, packing and shipping each order by hand; Karthick helped me when he had time after his day job.
We struggled to get customers at first. We only made $178 during our first two months of operation, and there were weeks with no sales at all. Some days, I broke down and cried in the shower, questioning all of my choices. If the business failed, I couldn’t easily return to my HR career. I’d let my certifications lapse, and my resumé felt worthless in a competitive job market. So I pushed through: I promoted our products on social media and reached out to stores and distributors to get our products on shelves. Most of the time, I got no response or brief rejections. But I got a few bites. Gradually, we got more customers, and a few stores across Ontario began selling our products.
In 2022, Princess died from cancer. Losing her broke my heart. For six months, I was lost in grief. Focusing on the business helped me move on. If nothing else, it was a distraction. I kept hustling until finally we reached $400,000 in revenue that same year. We also eventually adopted two dogs: Daisy, a Jack Russell terrier and beagle mix; and Milo, a four-month-old German shepherd and Labrador mix.
Our latest challenge is the U.S. trade war. Most of our snuffle mats are made in China and, until recently, a significant chunk of our revenue came from the U.S. When Trump imposed his tariffs, our American sales dropped by almost half. Nobody wants to pay double for a product because of a political dispute.
I thought launching a business in a new country would be the hardest part. It turns out navigating these tariffs might be even worse. With sales slowing down, we’ve had to reduce our marketing budget and put some of our international expansion plans on hold. We’re also reassessing whether or not to keep warehousing stock in the U.S. If the inventory doesn’t move, we risk paying massive fees just to bring our mats back to Canada. But we’re adapting by focusing more on Canadian and European markets. We know that wherever there are dogs, there will be snuffle mats.
—As told to Ali Amad
