Avi Kosch is rethinking the everyday pet waste station
Avi Kosch, Founder & CEO of NEXGEN DNA, Inc., is preparing PooStation, a pet waste management system for residential communities, public spaces and hospitality properties. The conversation looks at how hands-on product testing, direct outreach and a lean team are shaping the business before its commercial launch.
Start by testing whether a real problem exists and whether people will pay to solve it. AI and a small team can help move a business forward, but product decisions still need to be questioned, tested and owned by people.
What’s the short story of how your business started, and what makes it genuinely different from the other options your customers have?
I’ve spent much of my life in business, including owning and operating five hotels in Florida. One thing I’ve learned is that the smallest things can create some of the biggest headaches when you’re managing a property.
That’s partly what led me to PooStation. I kept looking at traditional pet waste stations and wondering why nobody had really improved them. So we started developing something better, with a larger bag capacity, a 20-gallon waste bin, hands-free operation, accessibility in mind, and features that make the station easier to maintain.
What makes us different isn’t just the product. It’s how we’re building the company. There are only three of us, and we’re using AI, specialized freelancers, and a lot of hands-on work to do things that would have required a much bigger organization just a few years ago.
How did you win your first customers, and where does most of your new business come from today?
We’re still preparing for our commercial launch, so I can’t tell you a story about our first hundred customers yet. And I think it’s important to be straightforward about that.
Right now, we’re focused on identifying the people and organizations that actually deal with this problem every day, including property managers, HOAs, apartment communities, municipalities, parks, and hospitality properties.
We’ve developed separate landing pages for different industries, and we’re using educational articles, trade publications, and direct outreach to build awareness. Our goal isn’t simply to sell a station. It’s to show property managers that better equipment and thoughtful planning can make their jobs easier.
What’s one decision that changed the direction of your business, and one mistake that taught you the most?
One of the biggest decisions we made was to rethink how we built the company itself. Instead of immediately hiring a large staff or outsourcing everything to expensive agencies, we decided to see how far we could get with a three-person team, AI, and a few good freelancers.
The biggest lesson has come from product development. We’ve had things that looked perfectly fine on drawings or computer renderings, but when we actually tested them, they needed to be changed. We’ve modified components, reconsidered manufacturing details, and spent time correcting things that would have been expensive mistakes in mass production.
I’ve learned that AI is a great assistant but a lousy oracle. It can help you tremendously, but you still have to question it, test things yourself, and take responsibility for the decisions.
What has changed in your industry or in what your customers expect over the last couple of years, and how have you adapted?
I think people expect more from the places they live, work, and visit than they did years ago. Having a dog-friendly property isn’t just putting up a sign saying pets are welcome. People expect convenient amenities, clean outdoor areas, and facilities that are accessible and properly maintained.
At the same time, property managers are dealing with staffing challenges and rising operating expenses. They need equipment that doesn’t require someone constantly coming back to service it.
We’ve tried to address both sides of that equation with PooStation. The station holds 1,200 bags, has a 20-gallon waste container, and includes a hand lever and foot pedal so people can open it without touching the lid. We also incorporated motion-activated lighting and other features intended to make servicing easier.
To me, innovation doesn’t always mean inventing an entirely new category. Sometimes it means taking something people have accepted for years and asking why it can’t work better.
If you were advising someone starting out in your industry today, what would you tell them to do first, and what would you tell them to ignore?
First, make sure you’re solving a real problem. It’s very easy to fall in love with your own idea, but that doesn’t necessarily mean somebody is willing to pay for it.
Second, don’t assume you need a huge staff or an enormous budget just to get started. The tools available today, particularly AI, allow a small team to accomplish things that would have been almost impossible a few years ago. But don’t confuse having access to information with knowing what to do with it.
And finally, ignore people who make entrepreneurship sound easy. It isn’t. Things go wrong, plans change, and sometimes you spend days fixing something you thought was already finished. That’s part of building a business.
My advice is to stay curious, question everything, surround yourself with good people, and don’t be afraid to change direction when the facts tell you something isn’t working. Above all, remember that you’re responsible for the final decision, not the technology you’re using.
Thank you to Avi Kosch and the team at NEXGEN DNA, Inc. for sharing what actually worked with Leaders Perception readers.
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