Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n- Ken Ehrman turned to industry connections to help launch the wireless, GPS-connected Halo Collar.<\/li>\n
- After several years of aggressive fundraising, the company\u2019s focus shifted to profitability. <\/li>\n
- Now, Halo Collar is seeing rapid growth, heading for $140 million in annual revenue this year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
In 2018, Ken Ehrman\u2019s niece\u2019s dog, Ruby, escaped her invisible fence and was fatally struck by a car. \u201cIt was a real tragedy,\u201d Ehrman tells Entrepreneur<\/em>. \u201cMy niece was 11, and it was her first experience with death. She was hysterical. We all were. They had just rescued Ruby a year earlier.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nImage Credit: Halo Collar. Ken Ehrman, left; Cesar Millan, center; Michael Ehrman, right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThat\u2019s when a \u201clight bulb went off,\u201d Ehrman says. The problem with invisible and traditional fences is that once a dog is out, they\u2019re out, because it\u2019s only one line of defense. Additionally, with a quick Google search, Ehrman learned that about 10 million pets go missing every year<\/a>.<\/p>\nEhrman started to think about applying GPS to the issue. \u201cYou can\u2019t get out of GPS,\u201d he explains. \u201cThere\u2019s no line you can cross. You can continue to have the dog be alerted to the fact that they\u2019re where they\u2019re not supposed to be until they stop or turn around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drawing on an IoT background to start a business<\/h2>\n
Ehrman\u2019s more than two decades in the Internet of Things industry up to that point put him in a uniquely strong position to use GPS to improve pet safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The entrepreneur graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in industrial engineering and founded I.D. Systems, Inc., which introduced the use of radio frequency identification technology for wireless vehicle tracking and fleet management in 1993. The company went public on NASDAQ in 1999 and remains a global provider of wireless solutions for maintaining high-value assets today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ehrman\u2019s brother Michael Ehrman, also a Stanford graduate who had worked with Ehrman on I.D. Systems, Inc., was fully on board with the idea of a GPS-connected safety solution. The duo co-founded the Plano, Texas-based business Halo Collar<\/a> in 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/HC5_Device_4000x4000_Sunburst-1-4.jpg?w=1024\")
Image Credit: Halo Collar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nStreamline design and manufacturing, but stay hands-on<\/h2>\n
\u201cAnyone can have an idea,\u201d Ehrman says. \u201cFor any entrepreneur, the biggest challenge is: How do you make it something real and tangible that people can use?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fortunately, Ehrman\u2019s decades\u2019 worth of experience in the industry meant he had a lot of helpful connections. Ehrman turned to intelligent asset tracking manufacturer Quanta, based in Taiwan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo basically they do all of the hardware engineering,\u201d Ehrman says. \u201cGetting the manufacturer to also do the design, for an entrepreneur, is the holy grail in many ways. Because then there\u2019s no finger-pointing. As long as they can design something that they can build.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite the streamlined design and manufacturing process, Ehrman notes it\u2019s still essential for founders to be hands-on to achieve the desired results. The Ehrman brothers visit Taiwan several times a year and have virtual meetings three or four times a week to make sure everything\u2019s progressing as it should.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The newest Halo Collar product, the fifth generation featuring the most durable design yet, is performing at its peak. Company data reveals that this past June alone, a dog heard the product beep and turned around 12 million times.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/HC5_Press__05-2-1.jpg\")
Image Credit: Halo Collar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOn the app development side, the Ehrmans have enlisted a team based in Eastern Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo basically, instead of bringing that all in-house, we outsourced it, which for a startup now growing into a company that this year should be doing about $150 million in sales, has really been very affordable and scalable,\u201d Ehrman says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halo Collar has expanded from being available on AT&T networks only to any network worldwide. The collars are also connected to Wifi to maintain 100% connectivity at all times, Ehrman adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shifting the focus from fundraising to profitability<\/h2>\n
In the beginning, Ehrman had a clear and ambitious vision for Halo Collar\u2019s fundraising journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aMarch 2018 was the first raise, and then every year I was going to raise as much money as we needed to hopefully get to the next year,\u201d Ehrman says, \u201cand hopefully by that point we had made enough progress that it would be at ever higher valuations. So that was the grand plan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And initially, raising funds for Halo Collar went according to that plan. People immediately understood the concept and its potential to save pets. Then, by November 2021, the money began to dry up. Would-be investors wanted to know the annual sales numbers; they said they needed the business to be profitable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nWe\u2019ve probably invested close to $100 million in the R&D.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The problem, Ehrman explains, is that developing the next generation invisible fence \u2014 \u201cmaybe the equivalent of the iPhone for dogs\u201d \u2014 is extremely expensive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aYou have to invest,\u201d Ehrman says. \u201cWe\u2019ve probably invested close to $100 million in the R&D at this point. So you have to be able to raise money, and I don\u2019t consider it losing money. I consider it investing in the opportunity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halo Collar had achieved a $400 million valuation by the end of 2021, but the company had to completely shift its strategy to focus on profitability.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u200a\u201dAlmost my entire career before Halo, we were never profitable,\u201d Ehrman says. \u201cWe were always investing for the future. With many tech companies, that\u2019s what you have to do. But by getting forced to [prioritize profitability], it really was a transformation for the company financially.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Quadrupling sales, heading for a $140 million milestone<\/h2>\n
Today, Halo Collar is profitable and has quadrupled its sales in under three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The business generated nearly $100 million in revenue in 2025, and that figure is projected to hit $140 million this year. What\u2019s more, to date, Halo has protected more than 500,000 dogs who might otherwise be vulnerable to traffic, wildlife or getting lost.<\/p>\n
One of the key strategies that unlocked Halo Collar\u2019s profitability and impressive growth? Working with the company\u2019s manufacturer to hold inventory, Ehrman says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Essentially, the customer orders online, Halo Collar gets paid, the manufacturer ships the order directly from Taiwan to the consumer, then receives payment 30 days later. \u201cSo we actually had negative inventory conceptually,\u201d the founder notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/HC4_LowFront_Sunburst-1.jpg?w=1024\")
Image Credit: Halo Collar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe strategy meant that Halo Collar didn\u2019t have to sell equity to buy inventory \u2014 a pitfall that one of Ehrman\u2019s mentors had cautioned against.<\/p>\n
Partnering with renowned dog behaviorist and trainer Cesar Millan was another boon for business, allowing the use of voice commands for correction instead of any sort of electric shock, Ehrman says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Expanding from DTC to physical retail: consumer awareness<\/h2>\n
Halo Collar\u2019s most significant challenge right now is consumer awareness. \u201c\u200aBecause 10 million dogs are lost, yet we\u2019ve only sold 600,000 or so collars since inception, that leaves many dogs unprotected,\u201d Ehrman says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With its start in the direct-to-consumer space, Halo Collar disrupted the invisible-fence market online because it appeared as an attractive option for dog owners actively searching for boundary solutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, the next big opportunity lies in an aggressive physical retail push \u2014 the key to reaching consumers who might not even realize such a product exists.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aIf you lived in New York City, you would never search \u2018invisible fence,\u2019\u201d Ehrman explains. \u201cBut you\u2019re a perfect user of Halo because if you want to take your dog with you to the country on the weekends or into the park, wherever you go, you need Halo. But you wouldn\u2019t know it because you weren\u2019t searching for it.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/HC5_Press__03-2-1.jpg?w=1024\")
Image Credit: Halo Collar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nYoung entrepreneurs should validate assumptions for success<\/h2>\n
Looking forward, Ehrman is excited to continue Halo Collar\u2019s product innovation with the goal of keeping more pets safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The founder is also embracing the opportunities that come with AI, noting how much data it brings to the table, helping the company see how dogs respond to its product, and even getting granular on how long it takes certain breeds to learn the technology.<\/p>\n
Suffice it to say, technology has changed a lot about the business landscape since Ehrman\u2019s early entrepreneurial days, in an era before cellphones and the internet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But many of the business fundamentals required to grow a successful startup remain the same.<\/p>\n
For any young entrepreneur who might want to start a business of their own, Ehrman says it\u2019s important to keep in mind that most startups aren\u2019t successful \u2014 but that outcome doesn\u2019t happen overnight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you do the upfront analysis of the business plan, make sure all your assumptions are accurate and be realistic along the way,\u201d Ehrman says. \u201cThese things should not just creep up on you. Each step of the way, you have to validate everything, all of your assumptions. And then you will likely be successful, because if it made sense then, it\u2019s going to make sense now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\nKey Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n- Ken Ehrman turned to industry connections to help launch the wireless, GPS-connected Halo Collar.<\/li>\n
- After several years of aggressive fundraising, the company\u2019s focus shifted to profitability. <\/li>\n
- Now, Halo Collar is seeing rapid growth, heading for $140 million in annual revenue this year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
In 2018, Ken Ehrman\u2019s niece\u2019s dog, Ruby, escaped her invisible fence and was fatally struck by a car. \u201cIt was a real tragedy,\u201d Ehrman tells Entrepreneur<\/em>. \u201cMy niece was 11, and it was her first experience with death. She was hysterical. We all were. They had just rescued Ruby a year earlier.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_1332-1.jpg?w=1024\")
Image Credit: Halo Collar. Ken Ehrman, left; Cesar Millan, center; Michael Ehrman, right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThat\u2019s when a \u201clight bulb went off,\u201d Ehrman says. The problem with invisible and traditional fences is that once a dog is out, they\u2019re out, because it\u2019s only one line of defense. Additionally, with a quick Google search, Ehrman learned that about 10 million pets go missing every year<\/a>.<\/p>\nEhrman started to think about applying GPS to the issue. \u201cYou can\u2019t get out of GPS,\u201d he explains. \u201cThere\u2019s no line you can cross. You can continue to have the dog be alerted to the fact that they\u2019re where they\u2019re not supposed to be until they stop or turn around.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
In 2018, Ken Ehrman\u2019s niece\u2019s dog, Ruby, escaped her invisible fence and was fatally struck by a car. \u201cIt was a real tragedy,\u201d Ehrman tells Entrepreneur<\/em>. \u201cMy niece was 11, and it was her first experience with death. She was hysterical. We all were. They had just rescued Ruby a year earlier.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s when a \u201clight bulb went off,\u201d Ehrman says. The problem with invisible and traditional fences is that once a dog is out, they\u2019re out, because it\u2019s only one line of defense. Additionally, with a quick Google search, Ehrman learned that about 10 million pets go missing every year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ehrman started to think about applying GPS to the issue. \u201cYou can\u2019t get out of GPS,\u201d he explains. \u201cThere\u2019s no line you can cross. You can continue to have the dog be alerted to the fact that they\u2019re where they\u2019re not supposed to be until they stop or turn around.\u201d<\/p>\n Ehrman\u2019s more than two decades in the Internet of Things industry up to that point put him in a uniquely strong position to use GPS to improve pet safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n The entrepreneur graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in industrial engineering and founded I.D. Systems, Inc., which introduced the use of radio frequency identification technology for wireless vehicle tracking and fleet management in 1993. The company went public on NASDAQ in 1999 and remains a global provider of wireless solutions for maintaining high-value assets today.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ehrman\u2019s brother Michael Ehrman, also a Stanford graduate who had worked with Ehrman on I.D. Systems, Inc., was fully on board with the idea of a GPS-connected safety solution. The duo co-founded the Plano, Texas-based business Halo Collar<\/a> in 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone can have an idea,\u201d Ehrman says. \u201cFor any entrepreneur, the biggest challenge is: How do you make it something real and tangible that people can use?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Fortunately, Ehrman\u2019s decades\u2019 worth of experience in the industry meant he had a lot of helpful connections. Ehrman turned to intelligent asset tracking manufacturer Quanta, based in Taiwan.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo basically they do all of the hardware engineering,\u201d Ehrman says. \u201cGetting the manufacturer to also do the design, for an entrepreneur, is the holy grail in many ways. Because then there\u2019s no finger-pointing. As long as they can design something that they can build.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite the streamlined design and manufacturing process, Ehrman notes it\u2019s still essential for founders to be hands-on to achieve the desired results. The Ehrman brothers visit Taiwan several times a year and have virtual meetings three or four times a week to make sure everything\u2019s progressing as it should.\u00a0<\/p>\n The newest Halo Collar product, the fifth generation featuring the most durable design yet, is performing at its peak. Company data reveals that this past June alone, a dog heard the product beep and turned around 12 million times.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the app development side, the Ehrmans have enlisted a team based in Eastern Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo basically, instead of bringing that all in-house, we outsourced it, which for a startup now growing into a company that this year should be doing about $150 million in sales, has really been very affordable and scalable,\u201d Ehrman says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Halo Collar has expanded from being available on AT&T networks only to any network worldwide. The collars are also connected to Wifi to maintain 100% connectivity at all times, Ehrman adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the beginning, Ehrman had a clear and ambitious vision for Halo Collar\u2019s fundraising journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aMarch 2018 was the first raise, and then every year I was going to raise as much money as we needed to hopefully get to the next year,\u201d Ehrman says, \u201cand hopefully by that point we had made enough progress that it would be at ever higher valuations. So that was the grand plan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n And initially, raising funds for Halo Collar went according to that plan. People immediately understood the concept and its potential to save pets. Then, by November 2021, the money began to dry up. Would-be investors wanted to know the annual sales numbers; they said they needed the business to be profitable.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019ve probably invested close to $100 million in the R&D.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The problem, Ehrman explains, is that developing the next generation invisible fence \u2014 \u201cmaybe the equivalent of the iPhone for dogs\u201d \u2014 is extremely expensive.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aYou have to invest,\u201d Ehrman says. \u201cWe\u2019ve probably invested close to $100 million in the R&D at this point. So you have to be able to raise money, and I don\u2019t consider it losing money. I consider it investing in the opportunity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Halo Collar had achieved a $400 million valuation by the end of 2021, but the company had to completely shift its strategy to focus on profitability.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u200a\u201dAlmost my entire career before Halo, we were never profitable,\u201d Ehrman says. \u201cWe were always investing for the future. With many tech companies, that\u2019s what you have to do. But by getting forced to [prioritize profitability], it really was a transformation for the company financially.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Today, Halo Collar is profitable and has quadrupled its sales in under three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n The business generated nearly $100 million in revenue in 2025, and that figure is projected to hit $140 million this year. What\u2019s more, to date, Halo has protected more than 500,000 dogs who might otherwise be vulnerable to traffic, wildlife or getting lost.<\/p>\n One of the key strategies that unlocked Halo Collar\u2019s profitability and impressive growth? Working with the company\u2019s manufacturer to hold inventory, Ehrman says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Essentially, the customer orders online, Halo Collar gets paid, the manufacturer ships the order directly from Taiwan to the consumer, then receives payment 30 days later. \u201cSo we actually had negative inventory conceptually,\u201d the founder notes.\u00a0<\/p>\n The strategy meant that Halo Collar didn\u2019t have to sell equity to buy inventory \u2014 a pitfall that one of Ehrman\u2019s mentors had cautioned against.<\/p>\n Partnering with renowned dog behaviorist and trainer Cesar Millan was another boon for business, allowing the use of voice commands for correction instead of any sort of electric shock, Ehrman says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Halo Collar\u2019s most significant challenge right now is consumer awareness. \u201c\u200aBecause 10 million dogs are lost, yet we\u2019ve only sold 600,000 or so collars since inception, that leaves many dogs unprotected,\u201d Ehrman says.\u00a0<\/p>\n With its start in the direct-to-consumer space, Halo Collar disrupted the invisible-fence market online because it appeared as an attractive option for dog owners actively searching for boundary solutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, the next big opportunity lies in an aggressive physical retail push \u2014 the key to reaching consumers who might not even realize such a product exists.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aIf you lived in New York City, you would never search \u2018invisible fence,\u2019\u201d Ehrman explains. \u201cBut you\u2019re a perfect user of Halo because if you want to take your dog with you to the country on the weekends or into the park, wherever you go, you need Halo. But you wouldn\u2019t know it because you weren\u2019t searching for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking forward, Ehrman is excited to continue Halo Collar\u2019s product innovation with the goal of keeping more pets safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n The founder is also embracing the opportunities that come with AI, noting how much data it brings to the table, helping the company see how dogs respond to its product, and even getting granular on how long it takes certain breeds to learn the technology.<\/p>\n Suffice it to say, technology has changed a lot about the business landscape since Ehrman\u2019s early entrepreneurial days, in an era before cellphones and the internet.\u00a0<\/p>\n But many of the business fundamentals required to grow a successful startup remain the same.<\/p>\n For any young entrepreneur who might want to start a business of their own, Ehrman says it\u2019s important to keep in mind that most startups aren\u2019t successful \u2014 but that outcome doesn\u2019t happen overnight.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you do the upfront analysis of the business plan, make sure all your assumptions are accurate and be realistic along the way,\u201d Ehrman says. \u201cThese things should not just creep up on you. Each step of the way, you have to validate everything, all of your assumptions. And then you will likely be successful, because if it made sense then, it\u2019s going to make sense now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n In 2018, Ken Ehrman\u2019s niece\u2019s dog, Ruby, escaped her invisible fence and was fatally struck by a car. \u201cIt was a real tragedy,\u201d Ehrman tells Entrepreneur<\/em>. \u201cMy niece was 11, and it was her first experience with death. She was hysterical. We all were. They had just rescued Ruby a year earlier.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s when a \u201clight bulb went off,\u201d Ehrman says. The problem with invisible and traditional fences is that once a dog is out, they\u2019re out, because it\u2019s only one line of defense. Additionally, with a quick Google search, Ehrman learned that about 10 million pets go missing every year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ehrman started to think about applying GPS to the issue. \u201cYou can\u2019t get out of GPS,\u201d he explains. \u201cThere\u2019s no line you can cross. You can continue to have the dog be alerted to the fact that they\u2019re where they\u2019re not supposed to be until they stop or turn around.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nDrawing on an IoT background to start a business<\/h2>\n
Streamline design and manufacturing, but stay hands-on<\/h2>\n
Shifting the focus from fundraising to profitability<\/h2>\n
\n
Quadrupling sales, heading for a $140 million milestone<\/h2>\n
Expanding from DTC to physical retail: consumer awareness<\/h2>\n
Young entrepreneurs should validate assumptions for success<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
\n