HOW I WENT FROM SELLING MICE TO PET STORES TO BECOMING THE CEO OF AUSTRALIA’S MOST AWARDED PET CARE BRAND

Anneke van den Broek, founder and CEO of Australia’s most awarded pet care brand Rufus & Coco, started her entrepreneurial journey at just six years of age, breeding mice and selling them to the local pet shop for 40c each.

This entrepreneurial spirit and an unwavering belief that she could achieve anything she set her mind to, helped when it came time to leave a high-flying corporate career behind to launch her business, taking on the likes of Mars and Nestlé who, at that time, dominated the pet care market.

“At the age of five, my father sat me at the edge of our large pool at home and told me to tell myself five times loudly “I can do anything I want to if I try,” until I was yelling it. That day I swam for the first time to the end of pool and back unaided,” shares Anneke.

With that same passion and determination, she’s taken Rufus & Coco from a startup to a globally successful brand, in stores across nine countries and stocked locally in Coles, Woolworths and select IGA supermarkets, pet specialty stores and online. Read more

Dynamic Business - 4 June 2018