Ben Jacobs

Ben co-founded Whistle as an Entrepreneur in Residence at DCM Ventures in Menlo Park, Calif., combining a personal love of animals with his academic and professional experience across the U.S. and China. Ben was inspired to find a way for people to better understand and care for our pets – everyone’s favorite family members.

Whistle launched with the Whistle Activity Monitor in summer 2013, catalyzing the pet tech category and the conversation around the role technology can play in a pet’s overall health. After hearing from customers that many owners fear losing their pet, Whistle focused on bringing a location monitoring solution to the platform – culminating in the acquisition of Tagg, a former Qualcomm subsidiary, and integration of best-in-breed GPS tracking hardware with Whistle software.

Prior to launching Whistle, Ben received his B.A. and M.A. in East Asian Studies at Yale University. After college, he worked as a consultant at Bain, where he was able to work closely with great brands and organizations across various fields, including technology, private equity and consumer goods.

Today, Ben oversees the Whistle team as it maintains its position as the category leader in pet technology with its latest device and mobile app, the Whistle GPS Pet Tracker. Owners use the pet tracker to ensure their pet doesn’t become lost, while also tracking daily activity. The startling truth is 1 in 3 pets get lost in their lifetime – with 10 million pets lost in the U.S. each year. Whistle believes that we can do better than that. Whistle is on a mission to equip owners everywhere with a simple tool to stay connected to their pet and provide the best care for their best friends.