Wayzn: Letting the Dogs Out Smartly

Cupertino-based small business Wayzn offers pet owners a safe way to let their dogs out of the house even when they're not at home.

Cupertino-based Wayzn offers a way for pet owners to not have to worry about letting their pets out.

“At its heart, Wayzn is a smart pet door company,” said Adam Smithline, its co-founder and CEO. “So, we developed a technology that allows you to turn a patio sliding door into a smart pet door that you can control from anywhere. It’s a way to give your dogs and yourself some freedom without having to punch a hole in the wall.

“That’s pretty much our purpose, is to make dogs free and happy,” he continued.

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What was the problem with traditional dog doors? Most of them were intrusive and difficult to construct, besides being ugly.

“Aesthetically, you know, most dog doors are not pretty,” Smithline said. “Either you have to do some construction on the home, or if you have a sliding glass door, you can use a sliding glass door insert. But it’s really hard to get them to be secure, and it’s very hard to get them to be weatherproof. And they usually provide a pretty small egress point for your dog, so they’re not great for larger dogs.”

A new solution using modern technology was necessary.

“Our solution lets you just use the door you already have,” Smithline said. “There’s no construction, and there’s no damage. It’s easy to install and remove.”

Surprisingly, the recent pandemic allowed the business to flourish rather than flounder.

“I think the saving grace is, everyone was working from home, and we thought, ‘Well, everyone’s home. Who was going to need a dog door?’ And we were completely wrong,” said Smithline. “It turns out that with so many people working from home, they needed a way for the dog to get in and out without them having to jump off their meetings and be interrupted 10 times a day.

“So it actually sold really well during COVID and was a complete surprise,” added Smithline. “I feel very fortunate that we still get a chance to bring the product to homes everywhere.”

According to Wayzn’s website, one in five Wayzn users says it lets them work a job that would not otherwise have been possible.

“For folks with jobs that require them to be out of the home for extended periods of time, like first responders, nurses, firefighters, it can be very, very difficult without some kind of solution to let the dog out. And it’s very expensive to use alternatives like a dog walker,” Smithline said.

“So, our product is a more affordable solution for people who need to be out of the home and need to be able to give the dogs access to the yard while they’re gone,” he continued.

A new accessory collar tag and receiver allows the pets to go out without any human intervention.

“They can just let themselves come and go whenever you want. And we have a scheduling feature and other features that let you control exactly when that works, what time of day, and based on whether or not you are present in the home,” said Smithline.

The company has had its presence heard in both Silicon Valley and beyond.

“I think solutions like ours tend to be adopted early in places like the Bay Area, but it’s really a solution that’s applicable anywhere,” Smithline said. “I mean, we have customers in all 50 states.

“We are a technology company, and so there’s advantages for us to be here in terms of access to resources, but the product’s been adopted everywhere,” he continued.