# Garrett Smallwood

> Garrett Smallwood is the CEO and Board Chair of Wag! Group Co., the publicly traded pet-care marketplace best known for on-demand dog walking. A three-time founder whose previous startups were acquired by The Home Depot, Expedia, and Wag! itself, he took over Wag in November 2019 and rebuilt it from a single-service walking app into a multi-product pet-care platform spanning walks, sitting, boarding, training, wellness and insurance. He also serves on the board of the San Francisco SPCA and is an Entrepreneur in Residence at seed-stage venture firm NFX.

- **Role:** CEO and Board Chair at Wag! Group Co.
- **Organizations:** Wag! Group Co., San Francisco SPCA, NFX, Finrise, Vetary, Pillow, Redbeacon
- **From:** San Mateo, California, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** University of Arizona
- **Known for:** Three prior startups acquired (Redbeacon by The Home Depot, Pillow by Expedia/HomeAway, Finrise by Wag!)., Led Wag! to public markets via SPAC in 2022., Diversified Wag from a single-service walking app into a multi-product pet-care platform (walks, sitting, boarding, training, wellness, insurance).

## Career timeline

- **circa 2010s** — Joined Redbeacon as one of the first five non-founding employees; the company was later acquired by The Home Depot.
- **2015** — Became VP of Operations at Pillow, a short-term rental management startup later acquired by Expedia/HomeAway.
- **2015** — Co-founded and led Finrise and its subsidiary Vetary, providing point-of-sale financing for veterinary and other non-covered health treatments.
- **2017** — Finrise/Vetary acquired by Wag!; Smallwood joins Wag in product and corporate development leadership.
- **2019-11** — Appointed CEO of Wag Labs, Inc. and joined the Board of Directors.
- **2020** — Led Wag through the early pandemic period and expanded into drop-ins, daycare, boarding, sitting and recurring walks.
- **2022** — Wag! went public on Nasdaq via SPAC merger as Wag! Group Co. (NASDAQ: PET).
- **2023** — Launched Specialty Services and wellness/insurance offerings to broaden Wag's pet-care platform.

## Achievements

- Three prior startups acquired (Redbeacon by The Home Depot, Pillow by Expedia/HomeAway, Finrise by Wag!).
- Led Wag! to public markets via SPAC in 2022.
- Diversified Wag from a single-service walking app into a multi-product pet-care platform (walks, sitting, boarding, training, wellness, insurance).
- Entrepreneur in Residence at NFX, an early-stage venture firm.
- Board member at the San Francisco SPCA.
- Angel investor in pet-economy companies including Dogdrop and Treat.

## Latest updates

- **2023-05** — Wag launched Specialty Services, letting pet caregivers offer customized add-on experiences.
- **2022** — Wag! Group Co. completed its SPAC merger and began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker PET.

## Links

- Website: https://wag.co
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrettsmallwood/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/GarrPS
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPRQPGC9nK4
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WagWalking

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/garrett-smallwood
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-30