Meet Leslie Nagai | Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Leslie Nagai and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Leslie, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
Coming up with my business took a lot of soul searching into who I am, what I enjoy, and what I’m truly passionate about. I knew I was sick of working in corporate America and doing that commute every day to and from the city in rush hour. I also knew I was tired of working for someone else. It’s all about working smarter, not harder these days, right?

When I sat down to give an honest introspective point of view of myself, two things came to mind. I love art and I love animals. From a young age, I grew up with all kinds of pets from dogs to horses and everything in between. My friends know me as the girl who wants to pet and pick up every animal she sees (I literally can’t help myself).

In school, I can remember that my absolute favorite subject in school was art. Even as an adult, I find myself hosting craft nights with girlfriends. So, why not combine my two passions and turn them into a profitable revenue stream? A job doesn’t have to be something that just pays the bills, it can be fun too!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
1.) We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about.

Dapper Dodo specializes in matching accessories for you and your pet. Every item is handmade and customized to your specification to create a tailored fit for your fur baby.

What sets us apart from similar pet accessory companies is that we’re a company with a mission to give back to those in need. We work with several local dog rescues in the Denver area, and a portion of customer sales goes back to the rescues by donating our items to pups searching for their forever homes.

We host adoption photoshoots by dressing up rescue dogs in the cutest Dapper Dodo attire to help show off their best features. This is when their personalities really shine through!

Typically, a dog with a great quality photo will be adopted within 14 days compared to an average of 43 days when photographed in the shelter. From heartbreaking situations to heartwarming endings.

2.) How did you get to where you are today professionally?

In 2018, I started Dapper Dodo as a crafty passion project. At the time, I was working nights at a nightclub as a cocktail waitress and days as a recruiter. There was no end in sight, and no upward career momentum from there.

In 2020, the COVID-19 Pandemic hit the United States, and everything shut down. The bars/nightclubs were closed for the foreseeable future and recruiting was at a complete halt. I saw the request to fulfill the overwhelming need for face masks and I wanted to help. To start, I made a few masks for myself, friends, and family. People made so many kind remarks about my craftmanship I decided to shift focus over to sewing masks while I was spending so much time at home. I listed the face masks with the pet accessories on Etsy, and to my surprise it was an absolute hit. I was inundated with mask orders through 2021. The revenue allowed me to push my company to the next level. Since the demand for face masks was still at an all-time high through 2021, I switched my donations from dog rescues over to schools and hospitals.

Now that everything has returned to a sense of normality, and the mask restrictions are finally lifting, I’ve been able to shift focus back to pet accessories and now it’s my full-time job.

3.) Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges?

Anything worth having isn’t easy. Owning my own business has had its challenges, but their different kind of challenges than I’ve faced in the past. The only person you can hold accountable when things go wrong at a company you own is yourself.

4.) What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way?

I’m my biggest critic, and I’m constantly learning to stay positive when things get trying and not to be so harsh on myself. I’ve learned that setting small daily goals and achieving those are just as important as achieving the bigger goals. They’re like little steppingstones laying the foundation to grow my company.

5.) What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

The name Dapper Dodo was inspired by dog Guinness. My special needs American Bulldog who was equal parts dodo bird and too smart for his own good.

(For the people who’ve never heard of a dodo bird here’s a quick history lesson. The dodo bird was discovered by Portuguese sailors in 1507 but they had no known predators and were unafraid of humans. Unfortunately, due to their lack of fear they were decimated to extinction by 1681.)

Guinness was the best dog model anyone could ask for and a huge inspiration to my story, my company, and my brand. He passed in August of 2019 after an uphill battle with epilepsy and DCM (Dilated Cardio Myopathy) but he’s still a huge driving force to why I keep pushing to succeed with Dapper Dodo.

Failure is one of the scariest things you can face in life but as the great Wayne Gretzky says, “You miss 100% shots you don’t take.” Jumping into owning my own business has given me that fulfilling feeling I’ve been searching for all those years in my past jobs. I actually feel like I have a career that’s rewarding, and I enjoy every day.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh fun things to do in our city?! There’s so many..

Catch a show at Red Rocks, Mission BallRoom, Temple Nightclub
Hit up a themed bar/speakeasy – Milk Bar, Retrograde, Green Russel, etc
Take a stroll in Golden by Clear Creek – lots of tubers in the summertime.
Catch a Rockies game downtown
Broncos Game
Meow Wolf
WaterWorld
Six Flags
Brunch at Bacon Social House, The Lobby, West of Surrender
Keenesburg Animal Sanctuary
Denver Zoo
Museum of Nature & Science

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shoutout my always supportive and encouraging partner Alex Harz. He’s been my biggest supporter in my venture as a business owner. He believes in me when I don’t believe in myself, and he never lets me quit. Thank you for being my biggest cheerleader and inspiring me to put my best foot forward every single day.

I’d also like to shoutout Brooklyn Kiren from Jailbreak Husky Rescue. She has been a huge advocate for me in getting my name out there in the rescue world. She always makes time for me to come over to her home and have wild puppy photoshoots in her backyard. The lengths she goes to for her dogs is unparalleled, and I truly believe in what she does for the huskies!

Lastly, I want to shoutout all my customers. Without you Dapper Dodo wouldn’t be where it is today. With the help from your purchases, we’ve been able to make countless donations to animals rescues across the United States.

Website: TheDapperDodo.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dapper_dodo/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1DapperDodo

Image Credits
Kai Davis Visuals