At State of The Ark (SoTA), we are dedicated to revolutionising how animal rescue associations operate. For far too long, the issue of animal abandonment has been neglected, leading to overflowing shelters and countless animals in need of care. Our goal is clear: to empower non-profit organisations to focus on their core mission of animal welfare and streamline the animal adoption process.

Origin

Inspired by volunteering experience in an animal shelter, this venture kicked off as a university project, with the goal of developing a start-up idea under the banner “Coding For Society.” At the end of the semester, SoTA won the “Best Product” award. Following this early success, SoTA became one of the start-ups virtually incubated at UPTEC in Porto, for 4 months.

Products

Through close collaboration with our partner associations, we have developed groundbreaking solutions to streamline shelter operations. Our flagship product, The Ark Manager, is a platform designed to simplify administrative tasks, manage volunteers, track adoptions, and organise crucial animal data - all within a single, user-friendly, state-of-the-art web platform.

But our commitment continues beyond there. With The Ark Connection, we aim to establish a centralised data aggregator that connects all instances of The Ark Manager. This creates a unified hub where potential adopters can seamlessly discover animals available for adoption without encountering outdated or disorganised information.

Business Model

Our development team is working on our products to make our vision a reality. Additionally, SoTA’s support team helps shelters adopt our novel software solutions and operate them with ease. Besides human resources, the main operational costs relate to the hosting of instances of The Ark Manager.

The yearly subscriptions tied to instances of The Ark Manager are our primary source of revenue. Non-governmental shelters may resort to sponsors to pay for the subscriptions. With this in mind, SoTA also facilitates patronage by local or established pet companies wishing to have a positive social impact associated with their brand. The creation of The Ark Connection brings new sources of income, most notably from targeted advertisements of pet-related products.

Values

At SoTA, we are putting technology in service of animal welfare; we are advocates for change, dedicated to creating a brighter future for animals in need. Join us in our mission to create a world where animals find the love, care, and forever homes they deserve. Together, let’s pave the way for a world where every pet has the opportunity to thrive.