When Ketana Chadalavada graduated college in 2019 she didn’t have a firm grasp on what her next move would be. What she did have was an adorable dog, a social media account, and a passion for wellness and nutrition. COVID-19’s impact soon took hold, which meant more time at home with her beloved pup – a blue-eyed Miniature Australian Shepherd named Coda, and more time to cultivate an unexpected career path. What began as an Instagram hobby transformed into a business selling natural eco-friendly pet products. Chadalavada, now pursuing a Master’s in Integrated Design, Business, and Technology at USC Iovine and Young Academy, credits this accidental endeavor as the inspiration for taking her entrepreneurial, tech, and design dreams to the next academic level. 

Cute dogs and the internet go paw and paw, but Chadalavada had no idea that the fun pics she frequently posted of her loyal companion Coda would eventually grow into a full-fledged company. Coda’s account “blew up” fast in 2020 and he reached Insta-doglebrity status. With the demand for photos of the Aussie in action came product recommendation requests from followers. Chadalavada, a self-proclaimed “crazy dog parent” who regularly checked labels and ingredients to make sure her fur-baby was getting the healthiest chow possible, started offering up her advice. She ended up setting up a storefront aggregating retail products she believed in, but eventually realized she could take her research and turn it into a creation she produced on her own that fully aligned with her vision. 

“I opened a little shop called Holisticanine and then I started to think, why don’t I just make this myself? I feel like I could do it better and really focus on the sustainability aspect. That’s something I learned is not really focused on in the pet industry, it’s a multi-billion dollar industry now, and the amount of plastic generated is crazy. I started to experiment and made my house a laboratory, and made these products on my own. It really started to grow and expand from there,” Chadalavada explains. 

Selling everything from organic kelp supplements to handmade holistic balm, Holisticanine took off. Being a cancer survivor herself, Chadalavada was able to foster a mission she supported. While quenching an entrepreneurial thirst, she was honoring a personal commitment to a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle, for both herself and the pets everywhere. 

“That aspect of wanting to live more naturally – that was a huge drive, to create something that really honed in on the safe and natural aspect of products, because even cancer rates are rising in pets these days. It came together like that. Picking things from all these aspects of my life to create this business,” she says. 

As Holisticanine grew, so did Chadalavada’s realization of the skills she needed to take on the breadth of the enterprise. Burnt out from handling everything from day-to-day operations to sales, she believed that “extra education” was a necessity. Graduate school wasn’t initially in her sights, but when Chadalavada discovered IYA, she knew the program was exactly what she needed. Through teamwork and the ability to flex burgeoning design and tech muscles, she’s building on what she learned through Holisticane while uncovering new and relevant talents. 

“I’m loving IYA and the group project aspect of it. I didn’t realize how collaborative it would actually be. That’s what I’m learning a lot of, because for so long I was alone working on my own. It’s really cool to figure out things in teams and bounce things off each other,” she shares. 

Now Chadalavada is working on further developing her user experience and user interface design abilities, and is open to entering product management given her background. She’s currently putting Holsiticane behind her to focus on school, but a future venture isn’t out of the question. In fact, she’s working on the design of an app at IYA that helps pet parents seamlessly research pet products. It serves as a database where people can easily find product reviews, scientific articles, and recommendations from veterinarians. 

“I guess I can’t stay away from pets,” she admits. 

Looking back at her former business from an IYA lens she sees what she could have done differently with this newly-acquired knowledge, but for now, she’s concentrating on moving forward. Of course, she’s still managing Coda’s thriving Instagram. And for that, pet lovers everywhere are grateful. The world can never have enough delightful dog content. 

What began as an Instagram hobby transformed into a business selling natural eco-friendly pet products. Ketana Chadalavada, now pursuing a Master’s in Integrated Design, Business, and Technology at USC Iovine and Young Academy, credits this accidental endeavor as the inspiration for taking her entrepreneurial, tech, and design dreams to the next academic level. 

Grad Student’s ‘Pet’ Project Turned Business Sparks IYA Journey