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Published July 02, 2019

Alexandra Torgeson, a business student at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Manitowoc Campus, said she already knew she worked well with friends Sadie Stiefvater and Brianna Chase. But that connection became more readily apparent when the three teamed up to enter the Spring 2019 UWGB Manitowoc Campus Student Business Idea Contest.

Their entry, the "Doggie Coozie," captured first place.

"Sadie and Brianna have dogs and talked about how hard it is to keep dogs cool in the summer," Torgeson said. "We saw other products for cooling dogs off like booties for paws or doggy water bottles, but we didn’t see anything you could physically put on your dog to cool their body."

They came up with a harness that would be available in a variety of sizes and adjustable. The harness would contain a nontoxic gelatin coolant that could be stored in the freezer or refrigerator when not attached to a pet.

"It is geared toward making sure your pets are safe outside, but still able to be active with their human companions in warmer weather," Torgeson added.

She said the target market is huge; especially in warmer climate areas. Although it was entered as a class project, the judges felt it would have potential. For the team, that would mean figuring out production, pricing, distribution, and marketing. Initially, they consider eCommerce to have the greatest initial potential, with retail distribution after that.

The competition didn’t require them to develop the product in those areas, and they were limited to a 90-second presentation. The hardest part was coming up with the idea, and then being able to get the idea across in such a short time period. The easiest part was utilizing individual strengths.

"We worked well cohesively," Torgeson said. "Sadie was comfortable speaking and being able to articulate the idea of the product. Brianna and I did well in coming up with ideas. In class, we were encouraged to think about things in our lives that might be a problem that needed solving, and that’s how we came up with this."

The name was another brainstorm.

"I thought, ‘Doesn’t ‘Doggie Coozie’ sound kind of cute?" she recalled.

Her partners loved it, and from there they came up with the slogan, "I can stay cool when the temperature isn’t with this paw-some harness."

In looking at future development, the team is still talking about where to go next. Having taken classes in entrepreneurship, all have the potential to be future business owners but are uncertain if the time is right.

Torgeson has had one business, and although it didn’t continue, it presented a learning experience.

"My best friend and I started a photography business," Torgeson said. "I learned that everyone is looking for something different and it can be hard to work with friends when there are creative differences. Even though people have certain passions, you need to be able to understand how things will function as a business."

From that business, Torgeson also learned the benefits of doing a competitive analysis.

"In photography, we found that there is a lot of competition and you need to be able to find a niche; a way to separate yourself from the competition. We didn’t do that before starting," she said.

Torgeson said that although she’d love to get the Doggie Coozie on the market, she sees a benefit to using her degree after graduation to work for some larger businesses (her degree is in business administration and human resources management) and gain an understanding into how those businesses function and what makes them successful.

"I want to make sure I have a solid foundation," she said. "There are so many things out there that I could do. I’m a creative person, and know that the way to be successful is to find something that isn’t already there and to solve a problem."

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.