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.

