Today’s episode is a really special one. I’m sitting down with Ashley, founder and CEO of Fureelz—a brand new social media platform that is all about animals, positivity, and honestly… being the antidote to everything that feels a little heavy online right now. And here’s why I was immediately excited to have her on: She’s Michigan-born (so of course, we love that around here) She’s a female founder building something really meaningful And she’s creating a space that’s rooted in joy—something I think we could all use a lot more of If you’ve ever found yourself doom-scrolling and then suddenly texting your friends a corgi on a skateboard just to feel something again… this conversation is for you. We’re diving into what Fureelz is, how it works, where the idea came from, and how it’s aiming to create a safer, more uplifting space for animal lovers, creators, and even rescues.
Find Fureelz on the web:
https://fureelz.com/
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Hey friends, welcome to Discussing Dogs in D podcast where Detroit's dog lovers come together. Hi, I'm Christine and whether you're a rescue volunteer, a pet parent, or a shelter supporter, or just someone who can't pass a dog on the street without saying hi, you're in the right place. Let's talk about all things dogs and how they change our lives and how we can possibly change theirs. For today's episode, I wanted to share a recording I did while I was at the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida. I met up with a lot of vendors and other people in the pet industry, and I wanted to share something I came across while I was there, and it's a really cool and fun and entertaining app. And I was able to sit down with the creator of this app called Fureelz. So let's get into it.
00:00:46 Speaker: welcome back to the show. For those of you watching on YouTube, I'm coming at you from the Global Pet Expo. And we're in Orlando, Florida, right? It's Orlando. those of you that are listening on wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for being here. I have. It's Ashley. Yes. Ashley with me. And you are the founder. Founder, founder, CEO. Oh my goodness, a Fureelz Okay, so big thing for me, I just. You had just told me this off off air. You're. We were born in Michigan. Yes. Which is super exciting for me. But also you're a woman. Yes. We definitely no offense, boys, we definitely like promoting women owned women founded. And the third thing is that you're all things good. So tell me a little bit of what Fureelz is. We'll get into how they can get into and how did you come up with the idea? Sure. You know, the idea really the impetus was that we just felt that social media today is just really toxic when you think about that. you find yourself sending animal videos via text just to actually get away from whether it's like the anger, the, the visceral nature of social media, the doom scrolling, you know, I get off and I just feel like either I don't feel good about myself or what's going on in the world because it's quite intense. and so we just kind of felt like there had to be a better way. And what was happening regardless, naturally, was the fact that I was sending animal memes and videos to my friends. And so we just felt like, shouldn't there be an actual platform that was for those that love animals? So that way you can come into the platform and that's what Fureelz is. It's a social media platform for animal videos. You just described like fifty percent of my text messages. corgi on the skateboard, whatever it is, right? Right. Or like a kangaroo boxing somebody. I mean, they're funny. And the reality is, is watching animal videos actually increases your dopamine and serotonin. So you do actually feel good. You're not coming away feeling like existential dread. There's no rage baiting. It's just pure give joy, get joy. I love that so when did this moment happen? When was like this click in your brain? Was it was it a specific meme that you sent or a specific video that you were like, wait a minute, this makes sense, right? I mean, transparently, I actually had a co-founder who was his idea and he came to me and was like, what do you think? And we molded it to really where it is right now. Oh, gotcha. Okay. And a lot of that also even came from the fact that he was sitting there where his friend was telling the daughter to get off the phone, and she was on TikTok and she was like, well, hold on, I really just want to see the cat. And he clocked it where it took fourteen minutes to get to a cat. And the daughter is seven. And the mom was really uncomfortable, like really get off, get off TikTok. I don't want you to be on that. and so I'm not saying for people to get off any platform because they all serve their purposes. but he felt, you know, shouldn't there also be a safer place? And so when we got together, that's kind of where we, we really brought this, he was really kind of like that spark of like, there should be a better way. And we have this amazing team that we've all come together to really form it to where it is right now. that all pet owners, all that truly love and want to give back to animals. And so, you know, the best part about Fureelz is that you get to come onto the platform, upload your videos. You don't have to be performative, just truly like how you are your animal. So genuine. You're looking for genuine, pure, genuine. Exactly. Okay. Discover animal shelters. Be able to give to animals in need. And then. And that's giving to animals needs. Because we have. For reals giving. And for reals giving is proprietary technology that. If. You think about it much like a GoFundMe. It's our technology. So you can give to. Various animal shelters. Oh my gosh. So really, it's for that animal industry. So whether you're a pet brand, a pet consumer, or you just like animals because you want to see the pandas because they make you feel good. So social media? Yeah, we have influencers now. Like you have these brand ambassadors, influencers. And even at this expo that we're at, we're seeing a lot of them. So is this a platform for them to one hundred percent? Okay, so you want influencers, you want consumers, you want people that just want their dopamine up one hundred percent. All of that. That's exactly what it is. And we've actually had some fun contests over the winter. We had one where it was a holiday contest where it was dress up your animal. It was actually holiday chaos because if you actually think about how many times you've tried to do a video. With your animal and it, it goes wrong inevitably, right? And you're speaking my language, right? Always and forever. Always something I've I have two corgis. Everybody's like, why are they not in your videos? I try, but I have squirrels around my house and so it never works out. So actually, let's back up. You. I should have opened with this. Your pets, their names. How old are they? Share. Tell me about your corgis. The Queen's dogs. Right. So one is actually, is a Pembroke corgi. Forty five pounds of love. Oh, he's hysterical. He's hysterical, I love him. He doesn't know how to kiss, so he just shoves his face in your face and allows you to kiss him. and then the other one is actually a one that I rescued, and that's Fozzie is the the Pembroke. And then Maisie is actually a pitbull mixed with a corgi. wait a minute. Yeah, I'm picturing this. So is that like a short little. Big head she's just jacked up with the long body. She's the only athlete in the family, though I will say. Fozzie is athletic, wants food, and he's very much like a Roomba. That's like looking for his docking space. I'm looking for food. Always just kind of like, clean in the kitchen, doing his thing, looking for treats. So they're wonderful. And I think anybody that's fortunate enough to have that love of an animal knows why they want to give back to animals, why they want to make sure that they're safe, why that in the hardest and darkest times, whether it was Covid or anything that you might have as an individual, they're the ones that bring you out. So it doesn't matter how hard of a day they act like little cartoons and they just bring so much love. And so that's really, again, like when you go back into the platform, it's like you're just sharing that, like, here's my animals who give me love and I want to share that with you. And you know, it doesn't have to be performative. It's just like the silliness that they bring to the day. But I think even those natural an influencer. You know, even regular everyday people, we're just sharing with each other, like, here's my dog today, but you're sharing it with other people, not just your friends, you know? so let's talk about how Fureelz operates. Okay. It's an app. Yes. Are you on all Google and Apple Store? Okay, so so how do we do this? Tell me how I'm going to get to this app. Okay, so you can either go to Fureelz dot com, which is our website, and that's F u r e e l z, correct? Fureelz dot com. Okay. And for that, you go there and then it gives you the option to download both, whether it's Android or to the Apple Store. And you just add, add it to and then basically it's going to, it's going to instantly give you a username that you change. And so this is just the way you add it, populates it. It populates it with your own username. Exactly like, whether it's like gregarious or you change your username, you put in your photos and your videos and just like every other one, you put it to music. and, and start engaging with your friends, start sharing. Wow. So do you have the same kind of music that other platforms would have? That's a great question. So I will say that's something that we're working on. Yeah, always. So we always room for improvement. One hundred percent. Well, we launched in October. We're in what's called the MVP stage where you bring your platform out. We've gotten feedback from the initial round of people. music is absolutely something that we're working on. It's also the probably the most expensive part. Oh, because to get any music that's going to be popular, it's literally like a two hundred million dollar license. which is, that's just mind blowing to me. We're not there yet. We will be. and we realized that we obviously want to make this where it's fun, where it's fun music, but you can also bring any of your videos from the other platforms and upload them up. So I know people leverage Capcut or whatever it might be and just add it to the, to the platform to your profile. I love that. Okay. Yeah. I mean, you just launched. kind of squeaking, out all of the things and getting there. I love your confidence. I, I want to see you succeed because I think this is something that I'm always about bringing positivity and helping others like uplift them. Absolutely. And this is, I feel like this is where you're going with this. And I think the more people that are on this, and stay tuned, listeners, we're going to my friend Gail and I are going to download and share our experience. So we're going to do a two part. So this is our part one. Okay. And when we, you know, we'll, we'll feel it out. And then we're going to give our honest review and see, I mean, I want to know and actually, I kind of want to see your videos of your corgis now. Yes. I think they're under chief snack Officer I think that's actually what I put them as. Okay, chief. Okay, so this is for the community. We got to go find cheap snack. Officer. I think that's what they are. We'll put in the show notes. So I'll get with you on on their handles and all that stuff, Okay. Fozzie and Maisy. Yes. And Maisy, cheap snack officer. They're going to get some more Michigan love here after this. Hopefully. I remember when I was reading in your notes, it was like the moment of joy. But was there a moment where you were in. You were in a doom scroll, or there was a toxic moment for you that you were like, I'm done. I'm over this? Or was it just always been. No, I want to. I've always been just drawn to positivity and I want this to go further. So I'm an eternal optimist. So no matter what, that is going to always be, no matter what's happening. I love that it's that. And I, I want to give joy, get joy. Like even as like a child, I just would give everything away and my family was like, you got to stop that. So this is literally the existential part of who I am as a giving person. Okay. I think that just whether you're a female and it's your, the images that are being thrown at you of how you should be compared to whether it's the people around you that are the children that we see that are being bullied. Yeah. so from a mental health crisis, things of that nature, I feel like we're in this constantly with children and we're seeing it on the news every night, every night, right? And the world is really intense right now. It is. Right. So if I'm sitting there, and what I actually got onto Instagram for was really because I wanted to redo my house. So I was like, okay, great. Like anything interior design, anything, dogs, anything, recipes. but now all of a sudden I'm sitting there with OnlyFans that are bombarding me, whether it's, or somebody being shot. But it's like it's, it's not what I'm looking for. It's very jarring. And then I'm sitting there like, okay, if I'm seeing that, then does that mean a fourteen year old boy and girl is seeing that likely? at the same time, because of everything that's going on in geopolitics, I think it feels like it's so visceral and you can't have conversations anymore. And the politics is, is too intense. And so the premise truly is that we're giving this as a place where there is no politics having discussions, right? Like this is purely animal. So like no political rhetoric. Yeah. You know, it's not going to be anything that you're going to have any violence, and there's not going to be anything that's going to have sexual content. We've made sure that there is moderation in there to make sure that people are safe. And as we grow as a platform like this is something that we're really getting into. So like an example would be a woman had uploaded a video, beautiful dog, but didn't realize that there was graffiti in the background that had all these cuss words. We didn't allow that up because we're just it's I know it sounds a little extreme, maybe at the beginning, but at the same time, like we are trying to create this safe space. So that way, if you're a sixteen year old, fifteen year old kid that right, they're safe for children, right? So even my podcast, when I'm uploading episodes for the podcast is the safe for children. I always check. Yes, we try to keep profanity out of everything that we talk about, right? But, but it's software editing. You can easily blur out that graffiti and then re-upload that video, right? So you're policing no nudity, no profanity. And it's so you're what is your youngest age group that you think you're going to be hitting? Is it like thirteen year olds, ten year olds? Is it going to be safe or six? I mean, because six year olds are getting cell phones now, right? You know. Well, so this is a very interesting topic because quite frankly, there's so many rules and regulations on a global compliance structure that you have to be very aware of. And so we are making sure that we're hyper vigilant about this. we know that within Europe, especially even within Australia, I believe it's eighteen years old. so we are going to start incorporating where So right now you have to put in what is your age. and we'll make sure that we're, as we're scaling and growing, that we'll have all the various things that go with it, whether it's like verifying you're taking a photo of yourself, all the things. Gotcha. We don't have it just yet, but that will be part of our process as well as the different things that you can have where like the parents allow, right? Like here we are like your child can do it, but like the parents have to like within, allow the children to actually allow to do it. Okay. So there are safeguards in place. One hundred percent. Okay. But at the same time, like our moderation is pretty aggressive right now where we're just trying to make sure that no matter to be safe. Yeah, exactly. and in fact, there was an influencer, Billy Bassett out of Florida, the most amazing. So cute. she's on Instagram had come on over and she had done a video for us and she had said, and we didn't even prompt her. And it was probably one of the best reviews. She said that I love this because I know that my daughter can get on this and she feels very safe. It almost makes me want to cry, right? Yeah. Because you. I'm so I don't have children, but I have you know, I have a godson and I worry and nieces and nephews too, but I worry about them every day. Yes. And are they safe? Are they consuming good, bad stuff? You know, because they are like sponges. We don't think they absorb stuff, but they absorb everything. Everything. And so if there's that one thing that even makes them feel, you know, icky, and it's just this stressor for me that I don't want them to have to feel like that, you know, I want them to, if I know they're going to something, I know that they're going to be safe there. That's a pretty incredible feeling to not have to. You guys are already working through safeguarding that. And I know free reign there because it's just animal content. That's fun. Exactly. So yeah, her daughter is on there out of respect for their privacy. I won't say the handle but her daughter's on there. Um, and so that's the nice part, right? Those are the things that make me feel good or even down to the fact that when we did a contest, so we did this Halloween. I mean, that's right. The holiday contest. And so we gave to Prissy and Pop Animal Sanctuary as first and second place. And then first and second place people got their various rewards. Well, it was supposed to be a package, but one of the people actually rescues animals. And this poor little dog came where somebody had actually gouged the eye out. It was horrifying. And she had we had engaged with her enough that she had told us that she couldn't actually pay for the vet bill. And so we said we'd like to actually give you the money instead of giving you the package. Would that be okay? And so it felt so good knowing that this dog now got to go to the vet to go check out his eye, right? that's when I feel like, okay, we're winning. We're helping people on an individual level. And at the same time, they feel good and they're excited and they're spreading the word. And that's what we're just trying to do is like build these wonderful communities where people can feel good. So whether you're, you know, whether you love rats, whether you love horses, because that's what is your community or farms. Come on to our platform. Upload your videos and just enjoy. through your system. You are going to be donating, but are rescues and nonprofits welcome to come on and also fundraise or is it something that you're really great question. So I will say that's a delicate. Yes. So that's the goal. That's one hundred percent the goal eventually. Okay. So we need to build our network effect to get big enough to where they can do that, right? Because ultimately we want to get it there where they can, where everybody can come in and be supported one hundred percent. But you got to get there. We're going to scale first. Yeah, we got to get enough videos. Exactly. Because you have to be careful where you don't want to bombard people, where they're just like feeling like every time I need money, I need money. Right? Exactly. So that's my, that's my everyday scroll on other socials because of working in animal welfare, right? But I know that there are probably two dozen pet nonprofits that listen to my podcast that they're going to be like, how do I get in? And, you know, how can I fundraise off of this platform? So I know they're going to ask, you know, you know, definitely reach out. Let's keep in touch. We have somebody who actually who manages actually all of our charities. And so we definitely want to have people in queue. So that way once we get that network effect and you know, it's almost like if you help us build it, you know, the same thing with brands like the brands that come in and work with us right now will help shape how commerce looks, right? The, the actual content creators, if you come on and work with us, give us the feedback. So in the sense of what's the data that you're not getting, what is maybe, content creator tools or whatever it might be that you feel like something could be better. Give us that feedback and then we can help build this platform and business in a better way. So you're open to yes, let's try and use this and see how. And constantly we're always growing and learning, right? And we have to evolve with technology, especially with AI right now. AI generated. There are so many. Oh my goodness, it's overwhelming. Yeah. And then even yesterday at this, you know, the summit that they have for the sessions here they talk about is this the real AI or is this the real or is this the AI, you know, generated? And we had to pick like, it looks so real and it does. So it's part of our guidelines that we say that we would like it to be, would like it to be authentic. We really agree with that. We want to feel the real thing, you know? Yeah. So we, it's hard to police that. And so it's true. It's a technology unto itself, the AI policing, AI. And so part of our guidelines is, hey, we'd like for it to be. We know that you might be. But if you do post something as AI, we'd like for you to at least say, acknowledge this is AI. And I feel like in general that should be regardless, because there's a lot of things that are duping people and you don't want them to feel like nobody wants to feel scammed. and so for right now, our request is if you're posting AI, please check. LinkedIn, for example, um, I am a pet photographer. As a part of my job and if I use the generative fill. So a lot of times I'm removing leashes, right? If I use like cloning, it's one thing, but in Photoshop, if I use the generative AI fill to remove a leash and I upload that image to and there's something in the metadata with Photoshop that LinkedIn tags it as and they tag it for me. So just a thought if so if I'm generating. But that's just still images. But sometimes in the metadata you can find. And then software can realize that it's like, and you mark it for them, right, right, right. So, so there's, so there's this little red check mark that this is all or partially AI AI generated. And then at the same time, we could get it to where like people can actually filter. I just want to see AI stuff. I mean, because sometimes like, I don't mind it, there's actually a really funny ones are the videos where it's like the two dogs that are sitting there having podcasts and those are funny and you know it to be true, right? But then there's other ones where you sit there and you see a band of dogs and there's got a raccoon on his back and you're like. And it looks like it's it's so real. And you're like, I want to love this, but I'm not really sure because. Is this real? I'm sure you'll evolve and figure that out. I do appreciate when websites and social media have that disclaimer that this, is not, but we're evolving and getting better at recognizing, and filtering putting that stamp on it. But I like for me, I love authentic, I love the real stuff. I want to see the happy stuff that people, this is just a genuine moment of my cat in the morning and the sunshine. I want to see that stuff. Yeah. Well, my sister, we kind of laugh. She talks to her cat on the toilet and it sits there. It just sits there and it talks back. And of course, my sister. So I'm like, oh my God, you keep having to talk to your cat on the toilet. Can we have something else? But like, everybody thinks it's so amazing and everybody, that's your thing though, right? And so it's popular and I'm like, okay, maybe it's just because it's my sister that I'm like, oh, can we do something different? Oh my gosh, I would love to see those I love. I'm not my husband allergic to cats, so we don't have cats anymore. I love cat content because I don't have cats anymore. So I would love to see that actually. So I'm already ready to like scroll right now and go find that. But that's wonderful. So we'll wrap this up, but is there anything else that you wanted to share with our audience on what you're doing? You know, I'm really excited about this. Thank you know, I appreciate it. I mean, I would say like, jump in and just know that it's, it's just you being authentic, you with your animal, you're being able to give. And I think that's, to me, it's like you're giving and getting joy and that's the nice part, right? So no matter what type of animal, whether you want to just view animals and you don't have animals or the fact that whatever it might be, maybe it's a lizard, maybe it's fish. Great. Come and join the community. I love that, and you spread the word because I think it's a lot better that, it's an alternative that's out there as a palate palette cleanser for what's going on, I like that. I also love the movement of joy. I love the idea of that, that you know what, I'm done with this. I want. Just joy right now so you can go and just consume or you can go and share. So. Either way, that's exactly it, right? Why do we have to have a status quo where we feel. Existential dread or rage baiting like that shouldn't be the normal thing of like, okay. That's just social media now it's like, well, okay, that's great. I mean, it's almost like dating apps. Like there's multiple dating apps out there. So depending on what your flavor, what you're looking for. Then like, great, like here's an alternative when you just need to like, I just want to check out these fun animal memes and that's it. Yeah. Oh my gosh, you could actually be a matchmaker in this and not know it that someone's posting. I think it's called Frawley. F r o l l y. I believe they're out of North Carolina. Okay. Because and that's the other thing I wanted Within my app is connect other people with other great animal apps, because I just feel like we all bring each other up together. So that way, if you're in the app, I would love to be able to say, okay, I need a dog walker. Great. Click here, go. And now you're in an app that will help you get dog walking or you need a vet. Twenty four seven great. Now you can click on that because I had it where I watched my, my corgi, he had a stroke. And so all of a sudden his legs don't work. And I'm sitting there panicking like, oh my God. But if I had to click on a button twenty four over seven, that would be super helpful. Or if I'm looking for a partner that also likes dogs or animals, right? Then you could click on that button and it will also bring you then to Frawley. And it's like, to me, it's like, how do you work those connections where it works back and forth? Sure. Right. Like we're a massive community. We can help each other out. And just I think people can even meet each other on your app. Like there might be a veterinarian that's sharing advice and all of a sudden, oh, you're in my area. Let me come meet you. Yeah. You know, yes, we're going to be creating packs, which is going to be very much akin to like, almost like a Facebook group. Can't wait for that. And so the PACs is where you're going to be able to. It's like, I've got like the corgis of Maine. so that way, like I can see my meetup group of all the little, you know, little loaves of bread that are going around. And oh my God, I love that too. I've heard that. Yes. That's so cute. That's so cute. So yeah, like have a Michigan group or Metro Detroit group and you can create your own. Yeah. Or I'm going to do that tonight. You can do it with your podcast. So yeah, that's coming soon. That's coming soon. So, but either way, okay, so discussing dogs in the D coming soon for for the PACs. For reals. Okay. I love this so much. Coming. I'm so grateful for you. I'm so grateful that you thought of this and created this. And I'm just being on the podcast, you know, telling our listeners about, I appreciate it, I appreciate your time and asking. Absolutely, I love spreading positivity and you're everything that has to do with that, I appreciate it. Come check out the app, download, upload your photos and videos.
00:24:31 Speaker: I appreciate all of you for tuning in to Discussing Dogs in the podcast. And until next time, stay kind, stay curious, and give your dog a cookie for me.