Tobalgo

Project Brief

The Challenge

Context

Tobalgo was born from a personal story. After an accident that took the life of her dog, Coraline Anciaumes realized the animal wasn't even mentioned during the trial. From that experience came a conviction: there needs to be a caring network for animals, a platform that connects owners with ethical, responsible professionals.

Together with her co-founder Mélanie Collin, they spent months validating the market. They met dozens of pet service professionals (dog trainers, groomers, breeders, animal welfare associations), built a waitlist of pros ready to sign up, and defined exactly what product they needed.

The market was validated. The clients were there. The platform was missing.

The problem

The technical side turned out to be an uphill battle:

• a CTO hired through specialized platforms who delivered nothing in 7 months. The platform was unusable, full of bugs, and the entire codebase had to be thrown out
• an expensive graphic designer for mockups that were never used
• a WordPress landing page put together by a friend, just to have something online
• agency quotes at 20,000 to 30,000 euros, way beyond budget for an early-stage startup

The result: months of delays, money burned, and still no product. Meanwhile, the professionals on the waitlist were starting to wonder if the platform would ever launch.

What was at stake

Coraline and Mélanie had done the hardest part: validating the market, building a network of qualified prospects, and defining their product vision. But with no technical skills in-house, they had no way to evaluate a CTO, scope a development project, or know whether what they were getting was any good.

As Coraline puts it: "When you don't have dev skills, it's really hard to pick the right person."

They needed someone reliable, someone who could deliver fast, and most importantly someone who could understand their project without them having to become developers themselves.

The Solution

Overview

Tobalgo is a marketplace that connects pet owners with verified professionals across France. Owners can find, compare, and book appointments with dog trainers, groomers, breeders, pet sitters, and many others. Professionals get a full workspace to manage their day-to-day business.

Key features

A directory of verified professionals

Every professional goes through a verification process: signing an ethical charter co-written with an animal welfare association, diploma verification, and a video interview with the Tobalgo team. Owners can tell at a glance whether a professional is trustworthy, thanks to verification badges displayed on every profile.

Online appointment booking

Owners browse a professional's availability and book directly online. The professional gets a notification, confirms the appointment, and automatic reminders are sent 24 hours before. No more exchanging 10 messages on WhatsApp to find a time slot.

A CRM built for the pet services industry

Standard client management tools assume the client is a person. In the pet services industry, the client is a person and their animal. Tobalgo's CRM integrates both: client profiles and animal profiles with breed, health history, vaccinations, allergies, and emergency contacts. When a dog trainer picks up a case after several weeks, they have the full context at their fingertips.

Integrated invoicing and contracts

Quotes, invoices, contracts: everything is managed from the platform, with PDF generation and email delivery. Professionals no longer need to juggle between Excel, Word, and WhatsApp for their admin work.

Digital health record

Owners create a complete profile for each animal that serves as a shareable health record. The professional can access relevant information before every appointment, which improves service quality and animal safety.

[IMAGE : Professional profile page on Tobalgo, showing verification badges and service packages]

The Process

The project started in April 2025 with a clear goal: ship an MVP in 2 weeks so the professionals on the waitlist could finally sign up. Two weeks later, it was live.

After that first delivery, the collaboration naturally continued. Over the summer of 2025, we iterated together to grow the platform: the CRM with animal profiles, invoicing, contracts, the full verification system. Every feature was prioritized based on early user feedback and real needs from professionals in the field.

In September 2025, the official V1 launched, and I became CTO of Tobalgo. What had started as a 2-week freelance engagement became a full role. The complementarity works: Coraline and Mélanie handle marketing, sales, and the professional network, while I own the product and the tech. The project was also backed by the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region through their RDI program, after a pitch that convinced the jury.

[IMAGE : Professional dashboard with CRM view and animal profiles]

Results & Impact

What was delivered

Starting from scratch (the previous CTO's code was entirely scrapped), Tobalgo is now a complete platform in production:

• a verified professionals directory with badge system and ethical charter
• online appointment booking with automatic reminders
• a full CRM with animal profiles, health records, and client tracking
• an invoicing module (quotes, invoices, contracts) with PDF generation
• integrated messaging between owners and professionals
• a blog and marketing pages managed through a CMS
• a complete admin dashboard with analytics and moderation
• online subscriptions for professionals

Results

• over 200 verified professionals on the platform
• 90 departments covered across France
• more than 30 listed professions (dog training, grooming, breeding, pet sitting, and many more)
• around a hundred animals with their digital health record
• SEO traffic multiplied by 3 between December 2025 and April 2026
• backed by the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region (RDI program)

What's next

The platform is in production with daily active users. The project keeps evolving with new features shipping continuously. What started as a 2-week MVP has become a collaboration of over a year, and it's far from over.