Michael Hurnaus | Founder & CEO of Tractive

We speak with Michael Hurnaus, the founder and CEO of Tractive, the world’s leading GPS tracker for pets.

In this conversation, we discuss the origin story of Tractive, how the team reached over $100 million in annual recurring revenue, now tracks more than 1.5 million pets globally, bootstrapped for eight years before raising $35 million, expanded from GPS into predictive pet health, and successfully scaled from Europe into the U.S. market.\

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How did you initially come up with the idea for Tractive, and what problem were you personally trying to solve?

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The idea for Tractive was born out of a very personal experience back in 2012 while I was living in Cupertino. A friend’s dog had escaped through the backyard door, and four of us spent nearly two hours combing the neighborhood to find him.

Thankfully, we did—but the stress of not knowing where he was made a deep impression on me. Given that we were all tech-savvy people, we naturally asked ourselves: “Why isn’t there a device that can show a pet’s live location on a map?”

We did some research and were surprised to discover that nothing like this really existed yet. The very next day, I made the bold decision to leave my role at Amazon, and within weeks, I moved back to Austria to start what would eventually become Tractive.

I’ll admit I was a bit naive about how hard it would be, but I was incredibly fortunate to have two outstanding co-founders—coincidentally, both named Michael as well—who shared the vision and helped bring it to life.

Fast forward to today, Tractive is the global market leader in GPS tracking for pets. We’ve built a successful, scalable business operating out of Austria and helping millions of pet parents around the world keep their furry friends safe.

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What initial steps did you take in 2012 to validate the idea for Tractive before building a product?

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In all honesty, we didn’t spend months running surveys or focus groups. We had a strong conviction that the market was ready—pet ownership was on the rise, and pets were becoming more and more integrated into families as true members.

We believed that if people used location tracking for phones or even keys, they’d absolutely want it for their beloved dogs and cats.

So instead of over-validating, we jumped right into building. We started prototyping a hardware device and working on the app user experience. In retrospect, some validation certainly has its place, but I also believe that teams who move quickly and iterate based on real-world feedback tend to come out ahead.

Speed and execution were our key advantages early on, and they still are today.

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How did your time at Amazon and Microsoft shape your approach to building and scaling Tractive?

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My time at Amazon and Microsoft was incredibly formative, and I consciously brought many of the lessons I learned into the DNA of Tractive.

At Amazon in particular, I absorbed a lot around customer obsession, frugality, and operational excellence—values that became cornerstones of how we built and scaled Tractive, especially in the early days when resources were tight and every decision mattered.

We bootstrapped the company out of Austria, so having that mindset of doing more with less, paired with a relentless focus on execution, gave us a real edge.

At the same time, working in big tech also showed me some of the pitfalls—bureaucracy, slow decision-making, and a loss of entrepreneurial spirit—that I was determined to avoid in a startup environment.

In many ways, having that background gave us an “unfair advantage.”

We could apply the best practices from world-class organizations, but with the agility and hunger of a startup. That combination helped us build a high-performing team and scale quickly without losing focus.

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Fundraising is tough, especially for hardware-based startups — what strategies helped you successfully raise $35M to expand?

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Tractive was bootstrapped for the first eight years, so from day one, we were laser-focused on building a business with solid unit economics. We had to ensure that our model was not only scalable but also cashflow-friendly and resilient in uncertain times.

That discipline turned out to be incredibly valuable, especially as we later navigated unpredictable global events like COVID-19, supply chain disruptions, and tariffs.

When we finally raised our first round in 2021, we were in a strong position: we had a stable, growing base of recurring revenue, a clear path to profitability, and a proven product-market fit. That made the fundraising process significantly easier.

Of course, the funding environment in 2021 was also more favorable than it is today, but ultimately, I believe it was our operational stability and business fundamentals that made us an attractive investment.

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You’ve built a strong subscription-based model. How early in Tractive’s journey did you prioritize recurring revenue, and what made you believe it was the right move?

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We prioritized a subscription-based model from day one. Our devices are essentially mini smartphones with built-in SIM cards, so we naturally incur ongoing costs for connectivity and service. To ensure a sustainable business, it was clear that we needed a recurring revenue model to support those backend operations.

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Of course, early on, it took some education to help customers understand why a subscription made sense. But over time, that conversation has become much easier.

Pet parents now see the value—spending just $5–10 per month for the safety, health, and peace of mind of knowing their dog or cat is protected is minimal compared to what they already spend on food, veterinary care, grooming, or dog walking services.

Today, the recurring model is not only well accepted, it’s a key pillar of our long-term success.

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What has been the biggest difference between selling in Europe versus scaling into the US pet market?

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From the beginning, our strategy was to first “win Europe.” We believed—and still believe—that it’s easier for a European company to expand into the U.S. than it is for an American company to navigate the complexity of Europe, with its diverse languages, currencies, and distribution channels.

When we officially launched in the U.S. about three and a half years ago, the scale of the market became immediately apparent. The sheer size and purchasing power are unmatched. But we also quickly realized that the U.S. plays by a different set of rules, especially when it comes to marketing.

The messaging, channels, and consumer expectations required a tailored approach. It was a learning curve, but one that pushed us to level up in many areas. Today, the U.S. is a core growth market for us, and we’ve built a strong local team to adapt and succeed there.

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Looking back, what key partnerships — whether in technology, retail, or distribution — were crucial to your growth in the early years?

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For us, the most critical partnerships from the very beginning have been with mobile network carriers. Tractive devices rely on cellular connectivity to function—essentially, they work like mini smartphones for pets. Today, our devices operate across nearly 600 networks worldwide, and the quality of our service depends heavily on the reach and reliability of those networks.

After all, a dog doesn’t just go missing where there’s perfect AT&T coverage—they can wander anywhere.

That’s why we’ve continuously invested in improving our carrier setup to ensure the best possible coverage in urban, rural, and cross-border areas alike.

This has been especially important in Europe, where the telecommunications landscape is highly fragmented.

By building strong, long-term relationships with carriers and integrating multiple networks into our devices, we’ve been able to offer a superior user experience, and that has been a major differentiator in our growth journey.

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How long did you bootstrap Tractive before raising external funding, and what were the biggest challenges you faced during that period?

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We bootstrapped Tractive for the first eight years, with only a few angel investments and some Austrian government grants to keep us going. It wasn’t always easy—the resources were limited, and we had to be incredibly disciplined.

But that constraint also became a strength. It forced us to focus on speed to market and to build a business model that could generate revenue early on.

The experience shaped our culture around efficiency, execution, and prioritization. Every euro spent had to be justified, and we learned to operate with a high level of financial and operational rigor.

While those early years were certainly challenging, they laid the foundation for a business that could scale sustainably, and that discipline paid off massively when we later decided to raise external capital.

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The PetTech market is still in its early stages. What human trends do you see transitioning into the pet space in the near or distant future?

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GPS tracking was just the beginning for us. As the PetTech space evolves, we’re now heavily focused on health monitoring—bringing the same proactive, data-driven approach you see in human wearables like Oura or Whoop into the world of pets.

Today, we have nearly 1.5 million dogs and cats connected to our platform, continuously sending us data on movement, sleep, heart rate, and other behavioral patterns.

This gives us an unprecedented understanding of what “normal” looks like for different breeds, ages, and activity levels. For example, we can detect if a two-year-old male Labrador is suddenly sleeping more than usual, or if a three-year-old female German Shepherd shows a drop in activity—often well before a visible symptom appears.

We believe the future of PetTech lies in early detection and prevention, and we’re building the technology to empower pet parents to take better care of their companions, just like people now do for themselves.

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What does the connected collar landscape look like today compared to 2012, in terms of competition and consumer education?

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Back in 2012, we were essentially the first player in the connected collar space. It was a brand new category, and part of our early challenge was not just building the technology, but also educating consumers on why GPS tracking for pets even mattered.

Fast forward to today, and the landscape has evolved significantly. Several competitors have entered the space, many of them with a more regional focus in their respective home markets. But this increased activity has helped raise overall awareness, which is a good thing for the category.

What sets Tractive apart is our global footprint, proven reliability, and relentless focus on innovation. We’ve continued to lead by investing in features that go beyond tracking, like health monitoring and health alerts, and by delivering a consistently high-quality experience to pet parents around the world.

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You recently crossed the impressive milestone of $100 million in ARR. What does it feel like looking back at the 13-year journey, and did you ever imagine Tractive would reach this point?

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Reaching $100 million in ARR is a huge milestone, and we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built. From the beginning, our hope was to make a meaningful difference for millions of pet parents—and it’s incredibly rewarding to see that vision come to life while continuing to grow in a healthy, sustainable way.

That said, we still feel like we’re just getting started. Market penetration for connected pet devices remains surprisingly low, with millions of dogs and cats still untracked and unmonitored. As we shift more focus toward predictive health and early detection, we believe we’re entering an entirely new phase of innovation.

It’s still “day one” for us. We’re continuing to improve our hardware, enhance our software, and push the boundaries of what’s possible in PetTech. The journey so far has been amazing, but the most exciting chapters are still ahead.

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