36 | NOVEMBER 9 • 2023 J
N
business SPOTlight
brought to you in partnership with
B I R M I N G H A M
E
ight years ago when now president
and CEO Jacob Zuppke joined pet
tech innovation company Whisker,
he was one of a two-person marketing
team charged with launching the next
generation of Whisker’s claim-to-fame,
the self-cleaning Litter-Robot.
At the time, Zuppke, 35, of Bloomfield
Hills and a lifelong Temple Shir Shalom
member, was employee No. 25 to join
Whisker. However, the Michigan-based
brand had already made big strides in
creating a name for itself in the automat-
ed pet supplies space.
Still, Zuppke was ready to jump in.
Having always been business-minded and
launching two LLCs by the time he was
17, he was no stranger to building a busi-
ness. Even in middle school, Zuppke was
printing out flyers for summer landscap-
ing services.
Later, in adulthood, Zuppke had also
co-founded OyWhatADeal.com and
HipCityDeals.com, as well as Traffic
Digital Agency. After taking a buyout,
Zuppke began to seek out his next
adventure when he says Whisker “fell
into his lap.”
“Somebody that I knew called me up
and said, ‘Hey, we need help,’” he recalls.
“I met with the founder, and he and I just
really hit it off.”
UPWARDS TRAJECTORY
The long-running joke amongst Whisker
employees is that Zuppke, who presented
the company with an employment agree-
ment instead of the anticipated contractor
agreement, hired himself.
However, it was the right move, as eight
years later Zuppke not only remains with
the Auburn Hills-headquartered Whisker,
but also serves as the company’s leader, a
position that grew with time as Zuppke
quickly rose throughout the operation.
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Poised for
Poised for
Growth
Growth
“Purrfectly”
“Purrfectly”
The Litter-Robot
Jacob Zuppke
Michigan-based pet
tech company Whisker
is gearing up for its
next evolution.