Basepaws Shark Tank Update: Cat DNA Test Kits

While most of us have some inkling of our family tree, our ancestors, genetics, including any hereditary disorders we might inherit, we can at least test for it using at-home products if we need to. There are even DNA test kits for dogs nowadays, but what about our furry feline friends? Basepaws has come to the rescue of cat-owners worldwide by providing at-home breed, health, and DNA testing kits for your kitty cat — to ensure they see out all of their nine lives.

Basepaws is the creation of founder and CEO Anna Skaya. Anna can be described as a serial entrepreneur, working at four start-up companies before creating Basepaws. She remains at the forefront of the company, which has seen exponential growth since its conception about four years ago.

The idea for the company started around 2017, when Anna, a cat lover, noticed a gap in the market for feline-related DNA testing services. Anna set up the business entirely by herself, using almost $350,000 dollars of her personal funds and even doing all the DNA testing and writing the reports herself.

Clients could order their DNA kits online, through their website, for $95.00, take a swab of their cat’s fur, and return the envelope to the company lab in Los Angeles. Anna would then send them a full report on their furry feline companion’s health, breed, and any potential issues to look out for.

It proved a massive success, and in just under a year, she’d already sold and completed over 2500 tests and nearly recouped almost all of her own personal investment into the business. In 2018 she was forecasting sales at $400,000.00 and started to look for investors to help her grow the business. Feeling buoyed by the confidence that she was the first to market and “the sky was the limit.”

Basepaws Sales and Net Worth

Basepaws left the Shark Tank with a deal from Robert Herjavec and Kevin O’Leary of $250,000 for 10% of the company, giving Basepaws a valuation of $2.5 million.

At the time of Basepaws’ appearance on Shark Tank, the company had already made $400,000 in sales. According to Kevin, by the end of 2020, Basepaws’ sales revenue had jumped to $2.5 million.

Is Basepaws Still in Business?

Kevin O’Leary has remained on board as an investor and continues to offer the company support throughout their incredible growth.

Since appearing on Shark Tank, Basepaws has introduced a new kit that presents a new way of collecting DNA. In the past, DNA was taken from the follicle of a cat’s hair. The new method makes for a much cleaner process and involves swabbing the inside of your kitty’s mouth.

The company takes pride in the work they are doing in feline cancer and feline diabetes in the hopes of creating therapeutics that will benefit the health and longevity of our furry feline friends.

In 2020, Basepaws underwent two additional rounds of funding at undisclosed amounts, raising the company’s valuation beyond the $2.5 million mark.

With the company’s tremendous success, there is no doubt Basepaws will continue to receive additional funding.

Unbeknownst to many, the pet DNA test market has been booming for some time now and continues to garner much interest from investors.

Companies like Embark, which specialize in dog DNA test kits, have received venture funding to the tune of $19.3 million.

Embark is currently the highest rated, most accurate dog DNA test available and Basepaws is hoping to follow in its paw-steps, within the cat DNA test market.