Interview with FEM START
Originally published on fem-start.com. Laurha Damen is the founder of Homies, a colourful, design-led dog brand with a clear social mission. From the wish to give something back to shelter dogs grew a modern lifestyle label for dogs and their owners. With products like the dog carrier backpack and fleece jumpers, Homies combines comfort, style and ethical production, and donates to dog shelters through every product sold.
Laurha's route to capital
Laurha started without investors, but not without a plan: 75 Google Slides of it. She saved her first budget herself and funded the first production run of a hundred dog backpacks on her own. Step by step it stayed manageable, and the first batch sold out entirely organically.
Along the way she learned that growing is not only about money but about insight: knowing where you invest, when to scale and when to stop.
The lesson every founder should know
According to Laurha, the difference between someone who succeeds and someone who grows old with an idea and regrets never acting on it comes down to one thing: doing. "Perfect timing does not exist. In the beginning you do not know how to do things, and that is fine. Start. Small steps. You learn the rest on the way."
Real growth came when she dared to ask for help, took feedback seriously and allowed herself to make mistakes. "You do not get smaller by asking questions. You get sharper, stronger and more confident."
What she would do differently
Looking back, she would have been more critical earlier about where her time and money went. Trying everything herself taught her a lot, but outside knowledge would have saved energy. Now she knows: growth does not have to take detours.
Looking ahead
Laurha is actively looking for growth capital to take Homies to the next level, with new products in development and one mission unchanged: a meal for a shelter dog with every product sold. See the Homies dog carrier.
