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Behind many success stories in the United States is a long road of effort, sacrifice, and setbacks. Whether they come from humble beginnings or have faced obstacles along the way, those who achieve their goals share a common trait: the persistence to keep going when the path gets hard.
For Pavan Bapu and Luke Wilson, everything started with a single video. The two co-workers turned a homemade dog feeder that went viral on TikTok into Houndsy, a Chicago-based company that has generated $15 million in revenue in four and a half years.
The TikTok-inspired idea that changed their lives
In 2021, Bapu, now 40, worked as director of growth marketing at a hardware and software company, where Wilson was a senior product manager.
One day, Wilson told Bapu about a TikTok video he had posted showing a dog food dispenser he had built himself. The video had already surpassed 15 million views.
The device stored a large bag of food and dispensed the right portion with the crank of a lever, without electronics and without having to bend down. Bapu was so impressed that he watched Wilson’s video on a loop for 30 minutes. “Luke would build these kibble dispensers; I would sell them. A side hustle was born,” he told Entrepreneur.
That’s how Houndsy was born.
The partners started the business with less than $20,000. They used TikTok to collect about 70.000 email addresses from potential customers and then launched a Kickstarter campaign that raised $160.000 without spending on advertising.
The organic growth from $456.000 to $15 million
Houndsy generated $456,000 in its first year and $1.7 million in the second, a 273% increase. Wilson left his job in 2022, and Bapu followed in 2023. As of April 2026, the company was on track to reach $15 million in revenue this year alone.
Looking back, Bapu admits he waited too long. “I should have quit my day job sooner,” he said. For two years he worked about 20 extra hours a week on the business, and his family felt it the most.
What he enjoys most is something the founders didn’t anticipate: the impact on people with disabilities. “We’ve received emails from paraplegic customers telling us they fed their dog on their own for the first time in their lives,” he told on the same interview.
His advice for other entrepreneurs: “Don’t chase the money. Chase a defensible solution to a meaningful problem that people are willing to pay for, and the money will follow.”