Mitch Marrow’s kaleidoscopic career has taken him to the NFL, to the UBS European trading desk and to the directorship of a hedge fund. Now it’s for the dogs, and he couldn’t be happier.

Marrow, a former Carolina Panther defensive end and once the managing director of Brahman Capital, has followed his heart in his newest endeavor: luxury dog services.

The SPOT Experience, which Marrow founded in 2010, operates in the New York metropolitan area and at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. It has 110 employees.

“This has always been my charity and my cause when it comes to philanthropy,” Marrow says. “I have always been a dog lover.”

Marrow, a New York City resident who owns a bull mastiff, Hank, and a St. Bernard, Reggie, realized how difficult it is to live and travel while owning large dogs—so he quit his hedge fund post and started SPOT.

“While living in Manhattan and working on Wall Street, I couldn’t find good care for my dogs,” Marrow says. “I tried doggy daycare, I tried hiring a dog walker, and I wasn’t really impressed with the level of care—and this is New York, where everything is so service oriented.”

Marrow currently serves as co-CEO of SPOT alongside Jeff Ginsberg, director of private equity firm Mistral Equity Partners and a stakeholder in SPOT.

While looking for providers for his dogs, Marrow realized how fragmented the pet services industry was.

“It was mostly a mom-and-pop industry,” Marrow says. “There was an opportunity to create a brand more in line with the other top luxury brands in the New York City area, so I took a leap of faith and did something entrepreneurial.”

Americans spent an estimated $60 billion on pet services and supplies in 2015, according to the American Pet Products Association, a number that is expected to grow over time.

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