CONWAY, Ark. (November 11, 2016) –Hendrix College alumnus Jordan Barrett ’16 recently launched a new business venture called
Boxxyy, a monthly subscription company featuring pet treats, toys, and supplies, all tailored for your pet’s breed.
“The best part about the company is that for every box ordered, we pledge a box of animal shelter supplies or an adoption starter kit to an animal shelter in the community from which the box is ordered,” said Barrett, an economics and business major at Hendrix. “This is largely in an effort to alleviate the
underfunded shelters in our communities so that they can allocate their resources in other ways, while we take care of the things that make pets happy.”
“We tend to dogs and cats and currently have partnerships with 15 animal shelters across central northwest Arkansas,” said Barrett, who is now pursuing his master’s degree in business administration at the University of Arkansas.
Boxxyy started as a project for a graduate entrepreneurship and new venture development class.
“Our professor encouraged us to come up with a viable plan for something that can be scaled to generate $10 million in revenue in five years,” he said. “We originally had the idea for something to do with subscription services. They are becoming increasingly popular and we knew if we could differentiate well enough that
this had a chance.”
“After deciding on the niche of pets and animals, we evaluated our competition and determined that if we can offer a box of supplies tailored for your pet’s breed, while alleviating the underfunded animal shelters in our communities, that people would really adopt the notion of breed-specific pet products and assisting
shelters,” he said.
As a Hendrix student, Barrett volunteered at local animal shelters, where he noticed how underfunded they were.
“This was eye opening and has definitely played an impact on my method of approach when communicating with numerous animal shelters around the state,” he said. “This business is a great way for the community to indirectly assist in revamping animal
shelters around the nation.”
Currently a web-based venture, Boxxyy has a fulfillment center in Northwest Arkansas where boxes are put together and sent to customers and partner shelters.
“As we continue to grow, we will eventually look to find a brick and mortar location to operate out of,” said Barrett, who has four partners and is in the middle of a crowdfunding campaign.
“While we are open to ideas and different types of funding, we are trying to avoid your ‘Shark Tank’ style investor in an effort to preserve our equity,” he said. “We do believe this is something that can take off without a large amount of capital.”
“Long term, we would like to continue to grow and partner with as many shelters as possible in an effort to learn how we can best suit their needs, while providing pet owners with the best quality of breed-specific toys, treats, and supplies,” said
Barrett.
“My Hendrix degree has been instrumental up to this point in the start-up process,” he said. “From tedious accounting to market strategy to database management, the Economics and Business Department prepared me very well for the tasks that are necessary in starting a business.”
Barrett will complete his master’s degree in May 2018 and hopes to pursue an MBA degree and a career in venture capital or investment banking.
About Hendrix College
Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1876 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884, Hendrix is featured in Colleges That
Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges and is nationally recognized in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings for academic quality, community, innovation, and value. For more information, visit
www.hendrix.edu.