Amy Nichols founded Dogtopia in 2002 when she combined her keen business sense with her lifelong love of dogs. It was the first dog daycare business in rapidly expanding Fairfax County, VA and Amy predicted that busy professionals, facing long commutes and hours away from their homes, were in great need of an alternative to leaving their beloved dog at home alone all day. In 2004 Dogtopia of Tysons Corner grossed more than $1 million and Amy knew she had a hit on her hands! In 2005 she franchised Dogtopia nationally, and to date there are 23 Dogtopia locations across the country.

In addition to all things dog, Amy is passionate about entrepreneurship and promoting women business owners. She is a proud member of the Women Presidents Organization and the National Association of Women Business Owners. She is also a regular speaker on entrepreneurship, franchising, and small business at conferences across the country.

Learn more about Amy and the Dogtopia franchise story.

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Mike Schlegel co-founded the first Dogtopia location in 2002 and returned in 2006 as Vice President of Franchise Development for the Dogtopia Home Office Team. In this role, his responsibilities include overseeing real estate, site selection, building design, and construction of Dogtopia locations. Prior to Dogtopia, Mike held sales and management positions in the telecommunications, medical, and real estate industries. In addition to opening multiple company stores, his sales and consulting experience has uniquely qualified him to identify franchisees and assist them in opening their own Dogtopia locations.

Mike enjoys soccer and the outdoors. He especially enjoys spending time with his wife, Amy, 2 sons, Aidan and Gavin, and 2 dogs, "turbo dog" Griffin and "snow dog" Finnegan.

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Jakob Hunt joined the Dogtopia team in September of 2009 as the HR Director and was promoted to VP of Operations in January of 2011. Jakob comes from over 20 years of business management experience with a strong emphasis in team building, training and Human Resources. Having worked in large corporations, Dogtopia presented Jakob with the unique opportunity of creating systems from the ground up. He derives his greatest enjoyment from assisting in the professional development of people and seeing the results in their career, as well as the overall profitability of the company. Before joining the Dogtopia franchise Jakob was an HR Manager and Workshop Trainer for H&M, where he traveled the U.S. training management teams in respectful workplace guidelines, HR laws, labor union relations and symbolic leadership. He has managed various retail units including those with American Eagle and Hot Topic and worked as a guest services manager for Walt Disney World.

His passion: Equality, Human Rights and fighting for both in his professional AND my personal life!

"I have always been drawn to fight for the underdog in every area of life, which leads to my best friend, Mr. Bosley. He is a tiny, cranky, one eyed pirate rescue dog; I tell him he rescued me more than I did him though. He is my hero."

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Mauricio "Mo" Rivas joined the Dogtopia Home Office Team in November of 2009 as General Manager of two company-owned locations, Dogtopia of White Flint and Dogtopia of Tysons Corner. With the opening of the third company-owned location in Herndon, VA he was promoted to District Manager. Mauricio most enjoys providing top notch customer service and getting to know the wonderful clients at different locations. He is a talented problem solver, on a never-ceasing quest to improve processes and operations. Prior to joining Dogtopia, Mauricio served as a General Manager and Grand Opening Coordinator with Chick-fil-A, an Area Operations Manager with 1-800-PACK-RAT and Store Operations Support with OSI Partners.

His passion: Acting as a mentor, coaching young people in good sportsmanship, teamwork and the importance of academic achievement.

"After each game, I want to be able to say: I gave it all I could, I gave it my best."

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Elara Rockler joined the Dogtopia Home Office Team in October of 2009 as the Marketing Assistant and received a promotion to Marketing Specialist in January of 2011. She enjoys actively participating in the planning and implementation of promotional events as well as supporting franchisees and company locations with marketing, advertising and design projects. Prior to joining the Dogtopia team, Elara worked for The Family Magazine Group Los Angeles as a design intern, as well as with The Washington Bureau as a media broadcast intern on Capitol Hill.

Her passion: Being outdoors, traveling to new places, and hanging with her dogs Trey, a boxer mix and Burton, a Goldendoodle.

"I enjoy being a part of a team that is innovative and motivates you to try new things!"

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