Florida State grads Ilana Karcinski and Kelly Nova will appear on ABC’s “Shark Tank” on 8 p.m. Oct. 20 to make a pitch of a lifetime for their wedding day pet-care service.
The business is called FairyTail Pet Care. Launched in 2015, childhood friends Karcinski and Nova said their business filled a niche that appeared to be largely overlooked amid the long list of to-do’s leading up to the I do’s.
“But once we graduated, we got a job working at the Hilton here in Tampa and started seeing this problem popping up all the time,” Karcinski told the Tallahassee Democrat. “For the first time, everyone you trust is unavailable because they’re attending your wedding.”
“It’s the last thing you want to be worried about. They’re literally your baby, and who’s going to take care of them on one of the biggest days of your life?”
Just like that, a business was born.
However, the first two years were rough considering the concept was so foreign in the wedding industry. They leaned on a network of wedding photographers and planners who’ve witnessed the frenzy and angst of couples over wedding day care for man and wife’s best friend.
Now, Nova said, the FairyTale is a reality. The business, based in Tampa, is expanding to other markets through franchises in West Palm Beach, Las Vegas and Pittsburgh.
“From the very start of our business, we’ve been hearing from people that it’s such a brilliant and unique idea,” Nova said. “So many people have said, ‘Wait, you should go on Shark Tank.”
“We were big fans of the show, but we just never seriously looked into it.”
