Hi, I'm Alisha.
I built this for us.
Born and raised in Brisbane. Working retail at Bunnings. Dog lover, data nerd, and the person who got fed up with leaving pets behind every holiday so I built the platform that should have already existed.
Alisha Shaw · Founder, Pawtrips · Brisbane, QLD
The question I kept asking
Every time I tried to plan a holiday I hit the same wall. Pets allowed, but what does that actually mean? Does the dog sleep inside or in a shed? Is there a fenced yard? Are there breed restrictions I will not find out about until I arrive?
I kept searching. I kept getting vague answers or US-based results. And I kept thinking: someone should build this properly, for Australia, for us.
So I did.
“73% of Australian households own a pet. We spend $3,420 a year on our dogs. And yet there is not a single platform built properly for us to travel with them. That is the gap. That is Pawtrips.”
Not a startup. A solution.
I am not a software engineer. I do not have a computer science degree or a venture capital cheque. I work in retail and I had an idea, so I used every tool available to me and built the thing I wished existed.
Pawtrips started on a home server in my living room and now runs lean on modern infrastructure for under a dollar a month. It has 98 guides live, a proper CMS, a growing email list, and two miniature dachshunds as unofficial product testers.
That leanness is intentional. The best products are built by people who feel the problem, not people who fund-raise around it.
The values behind every decision
We write for people who plan their holidays around their dog, not people who need to find somewhere that tolerates it.
If a place only tolerates pets, we say so. Our recommendations are honest, never paid placements.
Not a US platform with an Australian filter. Built in Brisbane by an Australian for Australian families.
Every feature earns its place. We grow because we are genuinely useful, not because we have a marketing budget.
I share everything
Every session I share an honest update on what worked, what did not, how many people signed up, what I learned, and what I am building next. No spin, no vanity metrics.
Eight days in. Ninety-eight guides. A CMS. Clean deploys. And Astro and Monti have approved every decision so far.
If you are curious about how a regular person builds a real product from scratch, follow along.
What we are building next
The guides and Find a Stay are live. Here is what comes after.
Day 16: The Day a Baby Was Born and a Proposal Finally Left My Inbox
Two things happened today that I had been waiting for. Neither one waited for the other.
A 1 to 5 score based on genuine pet friendliness. Not just whether pets are technically allowed.
Verified through real guest reviews. Like a Michelin star for pet friendly stays. Hard to earn. Worth having.
Tell us your destination and breed. Get a full day by day itinerary that puts your dog or cat first.
Every listing confirmed for fenced yards, inside access, and no hidden breed or size restrictions.
Come along for the ride
We built the platform Australia's pet owners have always needed. Join the pack and be part of it from day one.
Join the pack 🐾