Startup To Hell and Back: The Dramatic Tale of a Pet Company

It started with a simple idea: a portable loo for dogs. But building it into a $10 million company nearly sunk founder Tobi Skovron.

EXPERT OPINION BY ERIK SHERMAN, CONTRIBUTOR, INC.COM @ERIKSHERMAN

Jun 21, 2013 Tobi Skovron has lived what many would see as the entrepreneurial dream. He came up with an idea, started it with a $20,000 loan, and over 10 years built a multi-million dollar business that he sold. But it was a slog: He survived a distributor who undermined him, not to mention a sudden 40 percent drop in his expansion capital (he financed his family’s life on credit cards and one home equity check after another).

Skovron comes from a family of entrepreneurs in Australia.…