Skiptown

Skiptown is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based pet services company that combines dog daycare, overnight boarding, grooming and dog walking with social venues for owners. Its corporate locations pair an off-leash indoor and outdoor turfed park with a full-service bar serving craft cocktails, beer and coffee, positioning the sites as both pet care facilities and community hangouts that host events such as breed meetups, trivia nights and markets. Locations operate in Charlotte, Denver and Atlanta; at-home dog walking, cat care and related household tasks are offered only in Charlotte.

Operations are coordinated through a proprietary mobile app used for appointment booking across service lines, curbside drop-off, payments, twice-daily visit reports and photo updates, and pet profile registration, which is required before a dog can attend. On-site staff, referred to as "Skippers," are trained to supervise play and deliver care built around per-dog enrichment programs. A tiered membership program (Basic, Social Club, Pet Care and VIP plans) provides park access and service discounts, with pricing that varies by market.

The company began in 2016 as an app-based dog-walking service and moved into brick-and-mortar locations in 2020. Following a majority growth investment from Meaningful Partners and Focus Impact Partners in December 2022, it expanded into Denver and Atlanta and, in late 2025, launched a franchise platform alongside plans for a second Charlotte-area site in Pineville in 2027.

Founding story

Skiptown was founded in 2016 by Meggie Williams as an app-based dog-walking service. Williams served as Founder & CEO through the 2022 growth investment and later moved to the board. The business grew organically before expanding into physical locations in 2020.

Business model

Skiptown operates company-owned pet care facilities that sell daycare, boarding, grooming, dog walking and paid access to a dog bar and park, supplemented by subscription membership plans and enrichment add-ons. Since late 2025 it has also franchised its brand: franchisees pay an initial fee of USD 45,000 plus a 6% royalty and a 2% marketing fee, and franchise units carry the core services without the park or bar. Management is additionally pursuing acquisitions of franchise or corporate pet-care concepts with up to 10 units for conversion to the Skiptown brand, as well as adjacent services such as dog waste removal and mobile grooming.

Revenue comes from per-visit and per-service fees for daycare, boarding, grooming and walking, day passes and per-visit bar and park entry (USD 20 per visit, plus USD 5 per additional dog), recurring membership plans, and, for franchised units, initial franchise fees and ongoing royalty and marketing fees. Membership tiers in Charlotte range from a USD 250/year Social Plan to a USD 699/year VIP plan, with comparable tiers in Denver and Atlanta. Management describes recurring membership revenue as an increasingly important component of the business.

Traction

Skiptown operates three corporate locations in Charlotte, Denver and Atlanta. As of March 2026, the three sites had about 6,500 social members paying USD 15 per month for dog park access, and a recently introduced grooming membership averaging about USD 40 per month had nearly 400 members. The Charlotte location is profitable, with Denver and Atlanta expected to reach unit profitability in 2026. Management projects systemwide revenue of USD 20m-30m by the end of 2027 and recurring revenue across corporate locations approaching USD 2m by the end of 2026. Two franchise agreements have been awarded in Charlotte, with 15 to 20 more targeted in 2026 and eight to 10 franchise locations set to open in 2027.

Latest developments

In March 2026, CEO Mike Rotondo said the company is pursuing acquisitions of franchise or corporate pet-care concepts with up to 10 units, and potentially adjacent services such as dog waste removal and mobile grooming, to expand its company-owned base and support the franchise platform launched in late 2025. The company has awarded two Charlotte franchise agreements and expects 15 to 20 more in 2026. Rotondo indicated an exit is likely at least three years away, most probably a sale to a private equity buyer. The website announces Skiptown Pineville, a second Charlotte location, for 2027.