Claire Greenyer is the co-founder and CPO of tech start-up Biscuit Pet Care. Her proactive approach to solving the wellbeing issues of the nation’s pets is founded upon a passion for animals and how technology can be used for good.
With vast experience in R&D, marketing and business strategy, Claire and her co-founder have developed the Biscuit App which educates, incentivises and rewards pet owners to take positive actions to support the wellbeing of their pets.
As a Certified Scrum Product Owner, Claire achieved the certification through the Scrum Alliance to bolster her knowledge of the agile development process and plays an integral role in Biscuit’s development team.
Claire is instrumental in the development of Biscuit’s business strategy, setting the product direction, building the team and establishing processes that create value for Biscuit’s customers and partners.
Biscuit secured £3 million in seed funding in 2022 and the free-to-use app already has in excess of 55,000 active registered users who can spend their points (Biscuits) with brands including Amazon, Tesco, Asda, Nando’s and many more.
As a pet parent to two dogs and a cat herself, Claire brings huge energy, skill, and generosity of spirit to Biscuit, and a genuine determination to deliver positive outcomes (both business and social) for the good of our pets and their parents.
Before founding Biscuit Pet Care with Justin Dexter in 2021, Claire held senior strategic marketing positions in several health tech and insurance businesses.
Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role
I’m the co-founder and CPO of tech start-up Biscuit. It’s a unique rewards programme (initially for dogs) delivered through the Biscuit app, where pet owners earn Biscuits (points) for completing different activities which are all aimed at enhancing the health and wellbeing of pets. Owners exchange Biscuits for rewards including money off shopping vouchers and pet care services.
In essence, Biscuit supports pet owners to make the right choices and act in the best interest of their pet’s individual needs. By incentivising and rewarding pet owners for their engagement with the app’s wellbeing activities, we hope to engender a nation of healthier, happier pets whilst reducing the cost and uncertainty of pet ownership.
My background is in R&D, marketing and business strategy, so lends itself well to where I find myself today. Much of my career has been spent in financial services, specifically insurtech, though more recently in the pet health space. As a pet parent to two dogs and a cat I have a genuine determination to deliver positive outcomes (both business and social) for the good of our pets and their parents and see Biscuit being instrumental to this.
Did you ever sit down and plan your career?
In short, no. After finishing my A levels, I went straight into full-time employment. It was pure luck that I transitioned into marketing – the team I was working in (based in Salisbury) got transferred to Manchester so I applied for a role in the Marketing department and got it!
During the years that followed, I obtained professional marketing qualifications, encouraged, and financed by my employers. These, along with the practical experience I gained, enabled me to progress in the field which led to promotions and successful moves to roles in other businesses and sectors.
It was meeting my co-founder, Justin Dexter, in 2019 while working in the pet health space that the trajectory of my career changed. I went from working for large corporates to being a co-founder of a startup. This most definitely wasn’t planned, and if I had had a plan, it wouldn’t have included this! For some, being an entrepreneur and starting their own business is firmly in their plans. However, I think I was just in the right place at the right time and thanks to my hard-working, adventurous and determined nature, I jumped in with both feet.
Have you faced any career challenges along the way and how did you overcome these?
It seems ridiculous to be talking about this in 2023 but having my children definitely impacted my career progression. I had twin girls (non-identical twins) when I was 29 years old. I took a year off after having them, then returned to work on a part-time basis. Juggling work while raising young children and running a home is not easy. Even if I’d wanted to return to work full-time, the cost of childcare made it unfeasible. When I did eventually resume full-time employment, I just felt as though my career had stagnated and that opportunities had passed me by.
To get myself back in the game, I applied for a role at a different company. It was a role that I hadn’t done before, but would utilise my skills and experience, and was in an area that I wanted to move into. I also studied for a qualification to deepen my knowledge. It was shortly after this that I met Justin (my co-founder) and the rest, as they say, is history.
What has been your biggest career achievement to date?
This is a no-brainer for me – developing and launching Biscuit. The wellbeing issues affecting our nation’s pets (obesity, anxiety, unwanted behaviours, preventable conditions, etc) are very evident. They have a devasting impact on not only our pets but also on us, the pet parent. If Biscuit can help pet owners become better pet parents, while also reducing the cost and uncertainty of pet ownership, then my being a part of something so game-changing is beyond my wildest dreams. Our traction to date proves we have a product that people want. Biscuit launched in March 2022 and less than one year later, we’ve achieved our first year’s targets – with over 90,000 users joining and pet owners earning a total £400,000 via Biscuit’s 30+ reward partners. Our challenge will be maintaining this momentum and ensuring that we deliver a product that people want to use, extract value from and so keep returning.
What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success?
Aside from hard work and steely determination, I attribute my career success to those employers and colleagues who recognised my skills and experience and gave me the opportunity to step up into bigger roles, enabling me to grow through the challenge. I believe one of the most important responsibilities of leading or managing people is supporting them in their development and career aspirations. Many large businesses have their own people development programmes or use external training and development resources. However, small businesses may not have the budget (or inclination) to provide this for its employees. In these circumstances, it’s even more important for the managers and leaders of the business to take on a coaching role to ensure their employees feel valued and their skills grow in line with the changing needs of the business.
What top tips would you give to an individual who is trying to excel in their career in
technology?
Until co-founding Biscuit, my exposure to technology had been limited. To say that I’ve been on a steep learning curve is an understatement! I have had to learn a whole new language, and I admit I am still far from fluent. To get up to speed as quickly as I could, to understand and be involved in the conversations that were going on, I surrounded myself with tech people. I listened to what was being said, asked questions to clarify points and reviewed documents and diagrams to grasp the context. This is why it was so important for Justin (my co-founder) and I to find the right software development partner to work with to bring Biscuit to life. With our shortcomings in technology, we needed a partner that clearly understood our business requirements and that we felt confident could deliver an MVP on time and within budget. Ultimately, our relationship with Rocketmakers who built the app, was built on trust, and they didn’t disappoint. Biscuit is a tech product and I’m very much on a tech learning journey. I need to accept that I don’t know all the answers or the best direction to take, the tech world is unfamiliar territory. However, I have people around me who do know what’s best for Biscuit, technologically speaking, and it’s through working openly and collaboratively that we will deliver great things for Biscuit, our pets, and their parents.
Do you believe there are still barriers for success for women working in tech, if so, how can these barriers be overcome?
The stats speak for themselves. Nearly 3 million people are employed in the UK tech industry, yet only 26% of them are women! Barriers to success include burnout, gender biases, toxic aspects of ‘bro-culture’ and a lack of work-life balance, all of which also contribute to a declining retention rate of women in tech. To turn this around, the industry’s employers need to adopt alternative workstyles that incorporate flexible working, invest in training and development, and build psychologically safe workplaces so women (in fact any employee) can speak up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes without the threat of being embarrassed, rejected or punished.
At Biscuit, we are working hard to embed these principles. We operate a fully remote business model; employees work core hours to enable collaboration but can choose when to start and end their days outside of the core hours. Each team member has their own training and development budget which they can elect to use for personal, or professional development or both. Being a startup, we are in a great position to define and shape the culture we want for the business, this is of paramount importance to Justin and me. All employees are encouraged to share their thoughts, openly challenge decisions and processes and work through disagreements together. Hopefully, by removing these barriers, the tech industry will become more inclusive for those already working in it and attractive to those considering entering it.
What do you think companies can do to support and progress the careers of women working
in technology?
One of the most effective approaches to supporting and progressing the careers of women working in tech (or any industry for that matter) that I’ve seen is through mentoring and/or coaching. Both serve to develop and enhance the skills of the employee, which, as well as boosting their confidence, also increases their value to the business. It can open up opportunities for promotions, but above all else, the investment made in the employee makes them feel valued which can then have a positive effect on retaining them. In addition, having exposure to senior female figures in the business, hearing their stories of how they got where they are today, can be motivational to other women. They are the roles models to those who are already working in tech or are at the start of their tech careers. Although an advocate for mentorship, it’s not something I’ve actually tried yet. However, reaching the position I am now in my career, I really think it is something that I would find beneficial. Being a co-founder of a startup is new to me, seeking advice and guidance from someone who has been there, experienced the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, sounds an appealing proposition!
There is currently only 15%(26?) of women working in tech, if you could wave a magic wand, what is the one thing you would do to accelerate the pace of change for women in the industry?
Education! Tech and the tech industry needs more visibility in schools. The curriculum needs shaking up to include coding and design courses and career advice should be extended to explore the diversity of roles within the tech space. It should be promoted as a viable career option for girls (not just boys) and their imaginations evoked by understanding how they could shape the technology of tomorrow.
I have two daughters, both nearing the end of their secondary school education, neither of them are studying computer science, nor did they give it any consideration as a possible career path. My belief is that the tech industry is missing out on a sizeable proportion of the population and the great potential of these young women who are simply not being inspired by what is currently taught in schools about technology and its significant role in the world. I don’t have the answer as to how to ignite this change but increasing the interaction between tech firms and schools would be a good place to start.
What resources do you recommend for women working in tech?
I’ve used a variety of resources to deepen my understanding of tech, specifically product management, and broaden my business knowledge. Here’s a list of the people and resources that I have found most valuable to my learning so far:
People
Marty Cagan
Inspired
Empowered
Melissa Perri
Escaping The Build Trap
Product Thinking
Simon Sinek
Start With Why
Leaders Eat Last
The Infinite Game
Jim Collins
Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0
Built To Last
Brene Brown
Dare to Lead
Resources
Sifted
Women In Product
Mind The Product
The Product Experience
