Announcing the Winners of StartPup

Woof! Woof! We have an important announcement to make!

Back in May, we teamed up with Humane Society International to host one of the cutest contests known to humankind — a video-centric competition for startups with canine teammates.

It’s been a few months full of barking, running, wagging, fetching, and begging. Distinguished StartPups from all around the world entered for a chance to win, and we’d like to thank all of the humans and dogs that participated.

Our judges reviewed the videos, and the votes have been tallied. As much as we’d like to give prizes to all of the dogs, there can only be one true StartPup (and a RunnerPup, of course). Okay fine, we included some honorable mentions as well.

Drum roll (or tail wag) please.

The RunnerPup is … 

Miniature poodle, Charlie, from SEO and online marketing firm Wpromote, in Los Angeles, was a close second. Judges applauded Charlie’s work–life balance and overall gusto. Plus, on a scale of 1–10, Charlie’s an 11 on the cute-meter. Is that dog even real?

Charlie and his work family will receive:

• $300 donation to a local Humane Society Branch
• Wistia bandana
• Frisbee

The winner of the StartPup competition is…

Amelie is a French bulldog from a branding agency in London called Rooster Punk. Amelie’s video was crowned the winner on account of its blend of humor and spunk. The judges also thought the video emphasized how crucial and dynamic her role was at the company.

As promised, Amelie and her work family will receive:

• Free premium plan from Wistia, for life!
• $500 donation to a local Humane Society branch
• GoPro camera
• GoPro dog mount
• Wistia dog bandana
• Frisbee

Honorable mentions:

The collective dogs of SCOTTeVEST, the clothing label based in Boise, Idaho, were a sight for sore eyes. Are there more dogs than humans in that office? We sure hope so.

Nico, a rat terrier mix providing staff-support at Cliento, in Mexico City, also caught the judges’ attention. He’s clearly a very popular employee, and he understands the importance of sleep. His corporate photo was the icing on the cake — what a professional pooch!

Once again, a huge thank you to everyone who created videos of their hard-working StartPups.

And to all of you dogs reading this blog post, we salute your efforts to make workplaces around the world more enjoyable. We also commend your literacy — truly remarkable.