In this exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Francesca Albo and Lea Burbidge Izquierdo, the co-founders of Puppy Sphere, share their entrepreneurial journey of creating a multi-national wellness brand that is redefining the way people experience wellness through puppy therapy. From bootstrapping their venture to securing high-profile partnerships with brands like Vogue, Google, and TikTok, Francesca and Lea explain how their mission-driven approach and innovative products, like puppy yoga and mouth-taping, have transformed their industry. With a focus on simplicity, growth, and a strong company culture, they discuss the challenges and strategies behind scaling a successful business while staying true to their values. Discover how their unique leadership style, founded on transparency and a “WE” mentality, has fostered a thriving team and propelled Puppysphere into a global movement, all while offering valuable advice for other entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses sustainably.
Francesca Albo
Francesca is a passion-led entrepreneur serving as the CEO and founder of Puppy Sphere. Her entrepreneurial journey began at a young age when she started a string of business ventures in school and eventually went on to win the coveted title of Miss Teenage Canada. Eventually, Francesca graduated from the small leagues in 2018 when she was invited to join a biotechnology startup spun out of the University of Toronto. Francesca supported a fund-raise of over $2 million for the startup while managing a cutting-edge research team. Inspired by her dog’s impact on her life, Francesca went on to boot-strap her own venture focused on bringing puppy therapy across North America. Puppysphere is now a 7-figure multi-national startup that has hosted tens of thousands of attendees and secured partnerships with industry giants like Vogue, Google and Tiktok. She has grown a social media following of over 200,000, creating viral content that has garnered more than 100 million views. At the young age of 27, she is a proud leader to her team of 120 staff at her Toronto, NYC, Chicago, Houston and Miami offices. She plans to bring Puppysphere into every major city across the globe, all while creating new ventures on the way.
Lea Burbidge Izquierdo
Innovative entrepreneur with over six years of expertise in event creation, operations, and scalable wellness experiences. Successfully built a candle business with products in 15 stores, including Simons, and created viral social media campaigns garnering millions of views. Her events have hosted over 50,000 attendees, ranging from boutique pop-ups to multi-thousand-person experiences. As the COO and Co-Founder, Lea drives Puppy Sphere’s mission of delivering wellness through puppy therapy experiences while ensuring accessibility is met.
How did you manage to achieve significant growth without relying heavily on external funding, and what strategies have been most effective for Puppy Sphere?
Scaling Puppy Sphere studios across 10 cities in under 4 years was not an easy. The most impactful strategy we used to expand quickly was to keeping our studio offerings minimal. We’re bringing a simple yet powerful experience – puppy yoga and puppy therapy – not overcomplicating it with new offerings as we expand. It was a trade off that worked really well for our business – especially as we hit a gold mine of being first to market in new citiies. As an entrepreneur new offerings, classes, products is an exciting trap that may be limiting your growth potential.
You’ve secured partnerships with major brands like Vogue, Google, and TikTok. What approach do you take to building these relationships, and how do they contribute to your business model?
The key to securing corporate partnerships with industry leaders like Vogue, Google and Tiktok is to get the first big name in the door first. Once you secure your first corporate client it gives your business credibility to get more. You can put the logo on your website and partnerships deck, giving you the brand affinity you need. Our first ever corporate partnership was with Pinterest and it took us around 2 months to close that deal. From there, the inbound requests started rolling in because those clients couldn’t help but share. Don’t sleep on the power of word of mouth, it is our most impactful marketing tool. Well… that and social media.
As you plan to expand into multiple new cities, what are the key factors you consider when entering a new market, and how do you ensure sustainable growth?
When entering new markets, we prioritize three key factors that ensure sustainable growth. First, data has become our most trusted advisor in decision-making. Every number tells a story about our business, from customer preferences to operational efficiency. This approach makes our gut feelings more informed and our decisions more precise, allowing us to identify viable opportunities before committing resources. Second, with over 200 employees, we’ve learned that people are the foundation of successful expansion. We hire slowly and strategically, focusing on team members who genuinely share our mission. Even across different cities, we’ve built systems that maintain our culture and service quality, making everyone feel part of the same team. Finally, we recognize that scaling effectively takes time. Success isn’t a one-and-done achievement—it requires ongoing maintenance and adaptation. Just because something worked in one location doesn’t mean it can be replicated exactly elsewhere. By carefully pacing our growth and continuously refining our operations, we’ve created a sustainable expansion model that preserves the quality and values that made our business successful in the first place.
Your company emphasizes a “WE” mentality, celebrating failures as learning opportunities. Can you share some practices or policies that foster this culture within your team?
Puppy Sphere was not our first business venture. We failed many times and had to pivot repeatedly before finding success. We would not be where we are today without those failures—but we learned that failure must lead to growth, learning, and adaptation, not surrender.
We openly share stories of our past business missteps and how we learned from them, ensuring our team knows that even founders make significant mistakes. This transparency forms the foundation of our company culture.
Our bi-weekly all-hands meetings embody this philosophy, where team members share both their “wins” and their “fuck ups.” These are integrated into our regular team gatherings. When someone shares a mistake, we collectively welcome it, brainstorm solutions together if needed, and create an environment where these moments feel less like failures.
This practice transforms how our team views mistakes—problems then become collective challenges. Our “WE” mentality means no one faces obstacles alone. We also have a dedicated budget for team members to pursue training in areas they’re interested in learning, reinforcing our commitment to growth through continuous development. We’ve found this approach not only improves problem-solving but also strengthens team bonds and creates a workplace where innovation thrives because people aren’t afraid to take risks.
As leaders in the wellness industry, what advice would you give to small and medium-sized businesses looking to scale sustainably while maintaining a strong company culture and mission-driven approach?
As leaders in the wellness industry, the best advice we can offer is to be ruthlessly honest about what works. At Puppy Sphere, we didn’t start with a perfect model – we pivoted three times before finding our winning formula!
Two things have been crucial. First, simplicity is your superpower. We didn’t try to be everything to everyone; we found one thing we could do exceptionally well (puppy yoga and therapy) and stuck to it across markets. Many entrepreneurs fall into the trap of adding new offerings too quickly, which actually limits growth rather than enhancing it.
Second, culture isn’t something that just happens – it requires intentional systems. As we expanded to 10 cities, we created structures to preserve our “WE” mentality regardless of geography. This meant establishing rituals where teams openly share both wins and failures, developing hiring practices that prioritize mission alignment, and building communication channels that connect everyone to the broader purpose.
Remember that sustainable scaling isn’t a race – it’s a marathon requiring patience and precision. The businesses that last aren’t necessarily the ones that grow fastest, but the ones that grow strongest. Stay close to your data, closer to your people, and never lose sight of why you started.
