Rescues lack modern tools
Most run on spreadsheets, email and Facebook posts. Listings, applications, home checks and outcomes all live in different places — or no place at all.
Venture · in build
AdoptDontShop.
Adoption made simple. A swipe-based pet adoption platform connecting UK rescue pets with the right humans — built mobile-first, free for adopters.
The problem
The path to adoption should be simpler than the path to a breeder.
100,000+ pets enter UK rescues every year, but adoption is slow and fragmented. Buying from a breeder is easier than adopting from a rescue.
Adopters bounce between sites
Charity websites have inconsistent UX. The under-40 segment expects Tinder-quality discovery, not a PDF form.
What it is
A consumer app plus rescue software that owns the full journey.
For adopters
Swipe-based discovery with smart matching on lifestyle, home and experience. One profile, applications across multiple rescues, clear status tracking from application to home check to adoption.
For rescues
A dashboard for listings, applications, home checks and outcomes. Built-in messaging and document handling. Analytics on time-to-adoption and applicant quality.
Where we are · August 2026
Alpha build is feature-complete. Closed beta is the next gate.
The core adoption flow works end to end. A month-long security-and-privacy push through July and early August is complete, and product improvements continue shipping: anyone can now browse available pets without an account, analytics exports for rescue staff, file sharing in conversations, smarter search, and a more joined-up application journey. Fixes in mid-August completed pet photo and breed name display on every listing, tightened security around account deletion (now requires a password confirmation), and closed a gap where hidden pets could be inferred via the similar-animals feature. The path to closed beta runs through signing up our first rescues.
Feature-complete alpha
The adoption journey works end to end: public browsing without an account, secure sign-in and rescue verification, listings with role-based staff access, swipe-based discovery and cross-rescue search, real-time chat with file and photo sharing, tunable notifications, secure document handling, automatic moderation, personalised matches, events, a live rescue dashboard with CSV/PDF analytics exports, and a joined-up application flow with home visit tracking and reference recording. Ten independent services under the hood, automated tests gating every change, and a July–August security hardening pass complete. Build-in-public detail lives on the studio journal.
Three apps, one platform
Three tailored apps — the adopter portal, the rescue dashboard and the internal admin tool — sit on one shared platform, built to stay quick and reliable as the number of rescues and adopters grows.
Demand signal preserved
Letters of intent from five rescues and a waitlist of over 1,000 adopters carried over from the previous cycle. Local-first: we turn those letters into signed rescue agreements at closed beta, not before.
Re-baselined roadmap to public launch
| Milestone | Window | Definition of done |
|---|---|---|
| Legal foundation | Jun 2026 | Company incorporated, registered with HMRC and the ICO (the data regulator), intellectual-property rights assigned, and a solicitor on retainer |
| Data protection package | Jul 2026 | Data-protection impact assessment signed off, processing records published, and Privacy, Cookie, Terms and Acceptable-Use policies solicitor-reviewed |
| Platform hardening | Jul 2026 | Dedicated cloud hosting, database backups with a tested restore, error and traffic monitoring, automated checks passing, documented rollback |
| Closed beta | Aug–Sep 2026 | Agreements signed with five rescues, 50–100 invited adopters, applications flowing from start to finish |
| Trust & safety hardening | Sep 2026 | Charity Commission + Companies House verification, home checks, moderation and welfare runbooks |
| Payments & commercial | Oct 2026 | Card payments live, subscription tiers published, first paying rescue signed, first partner agreement signed |
| Public launch | Nov 2026 | Waterfall gate: legal, compliance, platform, trust & safety and commercial all green |
What we cut from scope
A rescue ratings system (against principle), a “wishlist” feature (animal-as-listing — no thanks), and premium rescue placements (the £40k cheque we turned down). Build-in-public notes live on the studio journal.
The software, data protection and pricing for UK rescues.
For rescues
Built for how rescues actually work.
One dashboard for the whole journey — listings, applicants, home checks and outcomes — replacing the spreadsheets, inboxes and Facebook posts you juggle today.
Listings & discovery
Publish a pet once and appear in swipe-based, cross-rescue discovery. Role-based staff access keeps the right people on the right listings.
Applications & home checks
Applications, home checks and outcomes tracked in one place — with your own application questions and auto-saving drafts for applicants.
Messaging & documents
Real-time chat with unread counts and search, plus secure document and image handling behind expiring private links.
Events
Create and publish events, register and check in attendees, and report on turnout — without leaving the dashboard.
Analytics & reports
See time-to-adoption and applicant quality at a glance, with reports you can save and schedule.
Your own pages
A simple content editor for your rescue’s pages and announcements — no developer required.
Trust & safety
Your data, and your applicants’, handled properly.
Rescues handle sensitive personal data. The platform is built so that’s safe by default, not an afterthought.
GDPR built in
One-click data deletion, published records of processing, and a signed-off data-protection impact assessment.
Strict rescue isolation
Hard separation between rescues — one rescue can never see another’s applicants or attendee data.
Account security
Two-factor authentication with single-use recovery codes, plus protection against sign-in and invitation abuse.
Audited & reviewed
A tamper-evident audit trail with sensitive data hidden, a safety check before every release, and every high-priority security finding resolved.
Pricing
A subscription scaled to your size — and free for adopters.
A tiered monthly subscription based on how big your rescue is. Free for adopters keeps your applicant pipeline full, and partner revenue from vets, insurers and food brands helps keep your price low. Full tiers are published at closed beta.
Get your rescue on the platform
We’re signing up our first five rescues for the Aug–Sep 2026 closed beta — free to join, and built around how you already work. Email rescues@ideasquared.co.uk.
For investors
Pet ownership is digital-native for the under-40 segment.
Market indicators
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| UK pet care market | £7bn |
| Pets entering UK rescues annually | 100,000+ |
| New pets adopted since COVID | 3.2m |
| Largest adopter segment | Gen Z & Millennials |
Business model
Free for adopters keeps the first step friction-free.
Revenue streams
| Stream | Payer | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Rescue software | Rescues | Tiered monthly subscription |
| Partner revenue | Vets, insurers, pet food, accessories | A share of revenue when an adopter signs up |
| Premium adopter | Adopters | Optional — priority matching, extras |
Competitive landscape
Modern UX, adoption-only, multi-rescue in one app.
How AdoptDontShop differs
| Player | Their strength | ADS edge |
|---|---|---|
| Pets4Homes | Scale | Adoption-only focus, ethical positioning |
| Charities (RSPCA, Dogs Trust, etc.) | Trust, supply | Modern UX, cross-rescue search |
| Facebook groups | Reach | Structured journey, applicant quality |
Go-to-market
Local first, then influencers, then national.
A marketplace with rescues on one side and adopters on the other can’t launch everywhere at once. We build up a strong local base first.
Phase 1 · Local
Turn the letters of intent from five rescues into signed agreements and bring 50–100 invited adopters from the existing waitlist into a single-region closed beta. Depth before breadth.
Phase 2 · Influence
Pet creators on TikTok and Instagram bring in adopters alongside word of mouth. Public launch opens the rescue dashboard beyond the first invited group.
Phase 3 · National
20 active rescues and the first 100 adoptions by early 2027, then a UK-wide rollout. Partnerships with vets, insurers and food brands add both revenue and supply.
Five-year projection
From 20 rescues to 1,000.
Active rescues and revenue mix
| Metric | Year 1 | Year 3 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active rescues | 20 | 250 | 1,000 |
| Partner revenue % of total | 10% | 25% | 35% |
Funding ask
£500k seed funding for 18 months of signing up rescues, growth and engineering.
Allocation
| Allocation | Share | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering & product | 45% | CTO hire, mobile build, dashboard polish |
| Growth & partnerships | 35% | Influencer marketing, signing up rescues |
| Operations & compliance | 20% | Legal, data protection, ongoing running costs |
Want to back the seed?
Pitch decks and the full financial model are available on request. Email investors@ideasquared.co.uk.
Impact
A cultural shift to “adopt first”.
50,000
Successful adoptions by 2030
The medium-term operating goal — the number that turns AdoptDontShop into a category leader for ethical adoption in the UK.
Reduced euthanasia rates
Faster, better-matched adoptions across partner rescues mean fewer pets reaching the welfare cliff edge.
“Adopt first” before “buy”
The cultural shift we're after — making adoption the default expectation, not the more difficult option.
“The path to adoption should be simpler than the path to a breeder. Today it's the opposite.”
Alex Jenkinson
Founder & CEO, AdoptDontShop