Company Profile

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Rough & Tumble LLC, a privately-owned company based in Santa Barbara, Calif., develops products that bring people and animals closer together. The company will launch its first pet product, the Brush Buddy – for dogs who love to be loved while getting cleaned, dried, brushed and massaged by their owners – in February 2008.

Company Origins

Some people dream up new product ideas in the shower. Dave Fortson came up with his at the beach.

It happened back in late 2005, after Dave had spent a few hours at a local beach in Santa Barbara with his dog, Roman. As a wet and sandy Roman sat patiently waiting to jump back into the clean car, Dave realized he had forgotten to bring along a dog towel and brush.

"Why hasn't someone created a product for dog owners specifically for these kinds of situations?" he thought. "A portable brush and towel combo that dog owners could keep on hand for whenever their pooch needed to be dried and brushed."

The idea for the Brush Buddy was born.

However, with a background in politics and issue-based advocacy, Dave had no experience in developing new products. Fortunately he knew someone who not only had the necessary experience, he also had worked with companies in the pet industry: longtime friend John Stump, a mechanical design engineer and avid inventor.

Rough & Tumble Company Backgrounder

Dave and John teamed up to form Rough & Tumble LLC, with the goal of turning the Brush Buddy idea into reality.

Over the next year, Dave and John hashed out ideas and made lots of sketches. They bought towels, brushes and rubber mats and pieced together handmade prototypes. Seeking advice and feedback on their prototypes, the duo met with local seamstress experts, textile experts – and of course, talked with dog lovers everywhere. After several iterations, and endless product testing, Dave and John finally arrived at the product that they named the Brush Buddy.

They were then ready to take the Brush Buddy to the next level.

About this time, Dave met Jacques Habra, a successful entrepreneur recognized for his innovation and marketing skills. Jacques agreed to join Rough & Tumble to help guide the company as it went from a two-person start-up operating out of a garage, to a fully-operational business with a product to sell.

Rough & Tumble Today

With the design of the Brush Buddy completed, Rough & Tumble began manufacturing product in late 2007.

The company is currently signing up distributors and retailers, and also plans to sell the Brush Buddy directly to consumers via its website, www.thebrushbuddy.com, starting in February 2008.

Contact:

Ruth Thomas
909.981.3846
RuthThomasPR@aol.com