Newsletter #8: An Interview with James Bello, Founder & CEO, Shameless Pets

James Bello is the CEO and Co-Founder of Shameless Pets, a company that "upcycles" high-quality, nutritious, and pet-adored ingredients that would otherwise go unused, and bakes them into delicious treats for dogs and cats.  James came up with the idea for Shameless Pets while working at Target Corporation, where he observed the large amounts of waste of perishable food items.  It led him to wonder how much food was wasted in the United States each year- and he was shocked to learn that 63 million tons of food is thrown away in the United States alone.  Since its founding in 2019, Shameless Pets has saved over 2 million pounds of food that would otherwise have become waste- while at the same time driving a fast-growing business that now sells into over 8,000 retail locations.  Ocampo Capital's Karl Bracken was an early believer in James and the Shameless Pets story- first investing in Shameless Pets in 2020, and supporting the company's growth as a member of the board of Shameless Pets ever since.  

Below is the transcript of a conversation between James (JB) and Karl (KB) from May 30th, 2024.

KB: Hi James- thanks for taking the time to chat.  I figured I’d start by asking you to share what inspired you to start Shameless Pets?

JB: As a buyer at Target, I saw firsthand how we would often overbuy fresh produce to make the shelves look fresh and abundant, but then end up diverting much of the food to landfills.  At the same time, I had young kids whose first words were "Mina, No" to tell our dog who would try to swipe their dinner leftovers. I thought, what if we could take perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste, and turn it into healthy treats for dogs?  It seemed like a complete no brainer for me! 

KB: We talk regularly about how each day feels like a struggle for all startups, but when the successful ones step back and widen their aperture, they tend to be surprised by just how much progress has been made.  At what point did you realize that you truly were making meaningful progress?

JB: This is absolutely the case! Since starting Shameless Pets, when anyone asks me how's it going I always answer "On the macro it's great, but the micro is brutal!". The moment that sticks out the most to me is when we crossed over a 1m lbs of food saved. To be able to say we started from nothing and rescued 1m lbs put all the energy back and got me thinking about how fast we can hit 5m lbs. 

KB:  It’s incredible that you have had that kind of an impact on the environment already- and just as importantly, it is because your customers and their pets keep gravitating towards Shameless Pets’ treats!  Changing subjects a bit, what traits do you think are most important in founders, to drive the success of their business?

JB: For me, it's resilience. You truly get beaten down at every point in the journey, so being able to pick yourself back up and keep going is really important. This is a trait that I've really had to work on- in the beginning, if something didn't go right I'd get really down and let my mind take me to bad places for the business. Now, I make sure to pause, take a breath and tackle the issue at hand. 

KB: I would agree.  Resilience and persistence are such important traits for all startup founders- and based on what I’ve seen, those traits get tested by pretty much every single startup time and time again.  Looking back, what was the highest point in Shameless Pets' journey?  What was the lowest point?

JB: We haven't hit the highest point yet. We need to keep working on establishing more sustainable supply chains and educating consumers around the benefits of upcycling. For me personally, I'd find it amazing if I could walk into a store in the middle of America and every customer could tell you what upcycling means. As for the low, we've had our fair share! I remember gearing up for our launch into Whole Foods and finding out that all the bags we printed had the wrong dimensions. We printed the bags way too big so they wound up only being 20% filled with product. After a lot of time in the fetal position, we figured out a way to fix the issue and stay on time with shipping.

KB: Oh, I remember that one!  How have you leveraged advisors to help drive your success?

JB: As a founder, you quickly realize where your strengths and opportunities lie. Instead of trying to cover up my opportunities, I quickly built a group of advisors that could help in those areas. What I've found is that the majority of people want to help founders succeed...it's up to the founder to ask the questions, listen, execute and follow up. 

KB:  I think that is exactly right.  What does an ideal advisor or board member look like to you?

JB: The main thing is that they care about me and the success of the company. If that exists then I know it'll be a success.

KB:  How has the industry changed since you started Shameless Pets?

JB: When we started we were met with a lot of questions around upcycling from people within the industry. Underneath the question was a lot of doubt around the work we were doing. Now, the biggest trend within the industry is sustainability. I think the industry is moving in the right direction and listening to what the new pet owner is looking for which is better for their animal along with the world. 

KB: What are you most excited about for Shameless Pets, through the remainder of 2024 and into 2025?

JB: We've spent a lot of time trying to understand who exactly our customer is and where she shops. We are now directing efforts towards showing up in those places with the right offerings. We're in the process of launching a new line of crunchy biscuits as well as two new lines of cat treats. I'm really excited that the team can apply focus around launching these new lines in the right channels with the right messaging.

KB: Lastly- and selfishly- what advice would you give me, as we move towards closing Ocampo Capital Fund I?

JB: Stay true to your mission around rolling up your sleeves and helping founders take their dreams to the next level. You have the ability to help founders on both the strategy and operational levels which is very unique! 

KB: Congrats on all your success at Shameless Pets thus far, James- and thanks again for taking the time for this interview!