No, this is not a dating app for dogs.

Perfect Pet – once PeTinder – follows the same principle as Tinder, a popular dating app, but instead connects adoptable dogs with potential forever homes.

The idea began when Karly’s family was looking for a new member of the family. They quickly found that adoption websites and social media pages were difficult to navigate and not up-to-date, leaving her family – especially her little sister – disappointed if their perfect dog was no longer available. Eventually, her family turned to breeders.

Through a DECA competition, Karly, with the help of her team, was able to find a better way to match adoptable dogs with their forever homes. What’s better is that Perfect Pet, unlike other similar pet-finding sites, only shows adoptable dogs from shelters to encourage pet adoption rather than pet shopping.

Perfect Pet placed fourth at the DECA competition. Her peers, family, and mentors encouraged Karly to pursue the app further.

Now, Karly is partnering with computer science students at PFW to build a prototype for Perfect Pet. The Fortitude Fund community has also connected her with potential investors to continue business growth.

Karly is not afraid to discuss her project with anyone who will listen and has also taken to encouraging other young minds to take their ideas and turn them into tangible businesses. She wants innovators much like herself to take the same leap into entrepreneurship she did.

“There are a million reasons not to do something, but if you don’t start something now, when are you going to?”