Not many octogenarians celebrate an app launch on their birthday but Picton man Ronald Ragen did recently.
It's a "buzz" to share the new dog-friendly travel app Dogalong, says the 81-year-old, who's also happy to provide Kiwi dog owners with a useful service.
"We're hoping to earn money out of it but more important than that is the challenge of it, the fun of it, the fact that we're doing something that is actually wanted," he tells Jesse Mulligan.
Photo: Josh Rakower
Ronald Ragen - co-founder of the dog-friendly travel app Dogalong Photo: LinkedIn
Ragen met his Dogalong business partner Alex Diethelm at last year's Techstars Startup Marlborough weekend.
They developed the idea for the app after discovering a "big hole" in the travel market for dog owners.
Although there are nearly 500,000 registered dog owners in Aotearoa, finding accommodation where dogs are welcome can be a "nightmare", he says.
"Not that there aren't places to go but it takes us hours and what's advertised is not necessarily what it turns out to be."
Although similar dog-travel apps are operating in the UK and Australia, the dog-friendly accommodation market seems to have been ignored for a long time, Ragen says.
Even before the launch of Dogalong's website, 1,600 people had registered for the service.
"It's a business so has to make money but it's also assisting a community of people who feel somewhat neglected."
Ragen, who worked in the computer industry for 55 years, says the project came around at just the right time for him
"I was looking for something that would keep me challenged and keep me interested. I hate getting bored."
Although he's currently putting himself out there promoting the app, Ragen says he hasn't always been an "extrovert".
As a younger man, he'd "cringe" when people mentioned the former American president his name closely resembles. Now he's more easygoing about it.
"It is great in terms of people remembering me… you turn a negative into a plus."
