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You are here: Home / Diary / I Got to Visit the Sleepypod Office!

I Got to Visit the Sleepypod Office!

October 2, 2017 By: Summer Samba39 Comments

Disclosure: Although we were unexpectedly gifted some Sleepypod items at the end of the meeting, our visit was unsolicited and we were not given any monetary compensation for the interview.

somali cat in conference room of the Sleepypod office

Look at me, being all official in the Sleepypod conference room! It turns out their office is less than 15 minutes from our house, so my human asked if we could come out and visit. Between their busy schedule and mine, it took a few weeks, but finally we got to go over.

somali cat looking at cabinet at Sleepypod office

It was awesome! I got to check out their stock.

somali cat checking out Sleepypod at company's office

Here I am playing quality control with this Sleepypod.

somali cat looking at dog model wearing Clickit harness

People with larger dogs that don’t travel in carriers wanted a seatbelt solution for them, and the Sleepypod designers came up with the Clickit line of harnesses.

I loved exploring in the Sleepypod offices, and my human and I sat down for a quick chat with Michael Leung, who co-founded the company with his wife Melony Lee. And we found out something really cool about how the company began: it was inspired by their cat Rawl Rawl. When they got her as a kitten 13 years ago, they had some big travel plans… and they wanted to bring her along.

Rawl Rawl, the inspiration for Sleepypod

“We found there were beds out there, and there were carriers out there, but there was nothing that combined the two ideas, a bed that was mobile,” Michael told us. Since they were both graduates from the Art Center of Design, they figured why not create one themselves? And that’s how the Sleepypod was born. Rawl Rawl continues to travel with her family, and has been all over the United States, both by car and by plane. She makes me look like a travel newbie!

Sleepypod's Rawl Rawl in a meeting

Michael told my human that a lot of pets who use the Sleepypod are more relaxed about going to the vet because they’re in a carrier that already smells like home. And the company has actually had a lot of customers contact them to tell them that they’ve been in car accidents and the Sleepypod (which is designed for safety) helped protect their pets! I was totally impressed that Rawl Rawl helped inspire the company. Most pet product companies begin with dogs. Sleepypod began with a kitty.

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Comments

  1. Dirisha says

    December 22, 2019 at 11:40 am

    Interesting never heard of sleepypods

    Reply
  2. LESLEY CASTLE says

    December 21, 2019 at 11:45 pm

    I plan on replacing my old outdated carriers with sleepy pods.

    Reply
  3. Laura Davis says

    December 21, 2019 at 6:00 pm

    Sleepypods are amazing for travel kitties!

    Reply
  4. Janet says

    April 28, 2019 at 6:44 am

    Did they gift you with an actual sleepy pod? Would slice to hear your review of it.

    Reply
  5. Andrea and the Celestial Kitties says

    April 27, 2019 at 5:36 pm

    How cool! I’d love to know what they gifted you with, bet it’s awesome stuff. I bet they loved your quality control work!!

    Reply
  6. Julie says

    April 27, 2019 at 3:13 pm

    What a great place, love this idea for pets!

    Reply
  7. MrJackFreckles/Pipo & Angel Minko says

    October 6, 2017 at 10:17 am

    A SleepyPod should be on evfurry kitty’s bucket list! Or maybe the Santa paws wish list…I so would like that better than my carrier.

    Reply
  8. Marv says

    October 5, 2017 at 8:52 am

    Oh Wow! Ms Summer, I wish that I, Marvelous, had come from Iran to Vancouver in s Sleepy Pod! It would have made the journey much less stressful.
    It was so cool that you got to visit them and give us a behind the scenes look.
    Purrs and thank you!
    Marv

    Reply
  9. Emma and Buster says

    October 2, 2017 at 9:41 pm

    What a neat experience.

    Reply
  10. Raven says

    October 2, 2017 at 8:52 pm

    What a fun and informative visit.

    Reply
  11. Chirpy Cats says

    October 2, 2017 at 7:46 pm

    That’s so cool you got to meet at Sleepypod headquarters! We really do have to check these out.

    Reply
  12. BeadedTail says

    October 2, 2017 at 7:38 pm

    We didn’t know the company was inspired by a kitty! How cool is that! We have a pink Sleepypod and we use it as a bed. Mommy won it at BlogPaws in Las Vegas!

    Reply
  13. cathy Keisha says

    October 2, 2017 at 6:02 pm

    What a great story and company. I’ve always wanted one of those but TW doesn’t think they’d make a difference. I still wouldn’t jump into it.

    Reply
  14. Maxwell, Faraday & Allie says

    October 2, 2017 at 4:16 pm

    We’d never heard of Rawl Rawl – that’s so cool she’s the inspiration behind the company!

    Reply
  15. Random Felines says

    October 2, 2017 at 3:48 pm

    We didn’t know how they started. What a great visit.

    Reply
  16. Ratty says

    October 2, 2017 at 1:14 pm

    What a cool adventure. That’s the kind of place I would like to see too.

    Reply
  17. Marjorie and the Dash Kitten Crew says

    October 2, 2017 at 12:41 pm

    I dream of getting ours a SleepyPod and hope to get one next time I am in the USA. I think these people are perfect!

    Reply
  18. dma says

    October 2, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    never heard of sleepypods before. i may have to get one for Thompson who increasingly hates the ride to the vet…

    Reply
  19. Brian Frum says

    October 2, 2017 at 10:31 am

    That was such a cool visit pretty Summer, lucky you!

    Reply
  20. Ingrid King says

    October 2, 2017 at 10:29 am

    How cool that you got to visit their offices, Summer! We love their carriers.

    Reply
  21. Selina says

    October 2, 2017 at 10:17 am

    ALRIGHT Rawl Rawl! And her hoomans! We need to pester MK to get some of those ….

    Purrz!
    Selina

    PS Maybe it’ll help Morticia not to barf in the carrier before MK even backs out of the parking space at our apt.!

    Reply
  22. Ellen Pilch says

    October 2, 2017 at 9:49 am

    That is so cool you got to check out the company.

    Reply
  23. Eastside Cats says

    October 2, 2017 at 9:41 am

    Summer, you’ve convinced me to check out the Sleepypod website!

    Reply
  24. Tamago says

    October 2, 2017 at 9:16 am

    How cool you got to visit the Sleepypod office!
    It’s really wonderful their kitty inspired them to create the product!

    Reply
  25. Madi and Mom says

    October 2, 2017 at 9:11 am

    What a very interesting story on how Sleepypod came to be.
    Hugs Madi your bfff

    Reply
  26. GinaV24 says

    October 2, 2017 at 8:43 am

    wow, that is really great that you got to visit and check out the stock. I like the look of those items. They look much more comfortable than plain old carriers. The last time Ella had to go to the vet, she decided to hide under the fluffy pad I had put in their for her to be comfortable. Maybe something like this would be a good idea to try.

    Reply
  27. Melissa & Mudpie says

    October 2, 2017 at 8:33 am

    What a fun adventure! You should ask for a Sleepypod modelling gig, Summer 🙂

    Reply
  28. Lola says

    October 2, 2017 at 7:52 am

    How pawtastic! You are so lucky! We just got a Sleepypod that we’re going to review as soon as Lexy goes to the vet. (Notice how I say as soon as LEXY goes to the vet!)

    Reply
  29. William's Kith & Kin says

    October 2, 2017 at 7:41 am

    What a very cool outing, Summer!

    Reply
  30. Purrjamm Cats says

    October 2, 2017 at 6:18 am

    Mom keeps telling us that she is going to get us one. It’s the Mercedes of travel carriers! What a cool visit. Maybe Santa Paws will bring us one! Purrs

    Reply
  31. Roby Sweet says

    October 2, 2017 at 5:34 am

    What an interesting place to visit! Sleepypods are on my list of things to get for our cats. 🙂

    Reply
  32. The Island Cats says

    October 2, 2017 at 5:20 am

    That must have been fun, Summer! We’ve always wanted a Sleepypod. 🙂

    Reply
  33. Margaret Elmendorf says

    October 2, 2017 at 5:15 am

    What a fun trip for you Summer. Glad you sampled one of them. They are great things.

    Reply
  34. Katie Isabella says

    October 2, 2017 at 4:49 am

    Oh SUMMER! I am totally envious! I wish I could have tagged along.

    Reply
  35. Toby and Leia says

    October 2, 2017 at 4:29 am

    That is so awesome! And if they happen to have any extra Sleepypods they want to give good homes to, we will totally take them. 🙂

    Reply
  36. Fur Everywhere says

    October 2, 2017 at 1:59 am

    So awesome that Sleepypod was inspired by a cat!

    Reply
  37. Memories of Eric and Flynn says

    October 2, 2017 at 1:21 am

    That was an interesting visit for you and your human, Summer. I am glad you were able to do some quality control for them.

    Reply
  38. The kitties of purring pines says

    October 2, 2017 at 12:44 am

    You should be on the board, Summer.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. My Fun 2017 in Review | SparkleCat says:
    December 30, 2017 at 12:10 am

    […] I got to visit the Sleepypod offices! They were only about 10 or 15 minutes away from us, so my human arranged a visit. I’d like to go more places like that. It’s fun! […]

    Reply

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