William, a two-year-old Dachshund, has the best seat in the house. That spot is right beside dad Andrew Mueller, the founder and CEO of SeatMate, a Dallas-based company devoted to creating the perfect office chair for pet parents and pets alike.
Enter the SeatMate Unity: A two-seat chair designed to comfortably include pets during the tedious hours of the day when conference calls or emails await. If you’re a dog parent battling the urge to avoid all responsibility and play with your pet while on the clock, Mueller gets it.
Making Space for an Essential Coworker
After adopting the energetic Dachshund from a breeder in 2021, Mueller realized that working remotely and caring for a playful puppy with separation anxiety was more difficult than anticipated.
“Willie has a big personality and loves to be with me wherever I go,” Mueller tells Rover. “His favorite pastimes are taking car rides and being on my lap. We have such a great bond, but I noticed his neediness was pulling me away from the workday.”
As he settled into the role of dog dad, Mueller, who worked as a technical recruiter at the time, found himself dreaming of a setup where he could spend time with William during work hours without hassle.
“I kept thinking it would be helpful to have a chair with space for him to sit next to me instead of on me. Others in my life who have Dachshunds could relate. As I did more research, I realized many other dog breeds and even cats could utilize something like this too. They just want to be with their humans.”
In 2022, the idea turned into mockup drawings and a business license before Mueller built the first prototype of his pet-friendly office chair in his dad’s garage. This self-taught passion project involved pouring over the mechanics of various desk chairs and plenty of trial and error. For his initial build, Mueller designed a mini side car attachment complete with steps catered to short canine legs. William quickly claimed the little seat as his spot — and he can still be found lounging there during work calls or nestled up while Mueller plays video games.
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Just the Two of Us
“Since building the first chair, my standard is that every update is good enough for Willie,” says Mueller, who now works full-time running SeatMate. “Our pets are so important to us, and I want other pet parents to feel the same when the chair hits the market — that it’s a seat good enough for their pet.”
Set to become available in the summer of 2024, the SeatMate Unity is the new and improved version of Mueller’s initial build. This version has been a labor of love, with the last year spent fine-tuning the chair so that it’s as safe, comfortable, and design-friendly as possible before it lands in the homes of pet lovers.
Mueller notes that the pet seat attachment will likely launch first with the ability to be “universally mounted to most [standard] office chairs.” While the pricing is subject to change, interested pet parents can expect this standalone piece to be around $600. The full, two-seat version of the SeatMate Unity will follow with a price of around $1,000.
Mueller will soon launch a Kickstarter fund to help raise money for SeatMate Unity’s debut. “When the chair first launches, it will be sold via our website,” he says. “Our hope is to also move it into TikTok Shop and maybe some brick-and-mortar stores also.”
Double Trouble
While chairs of a similar concept and design have been introduced before, this one focuses on the needs of both person and pet. “The biggest updates are safety-centered,” shares Mueller. “The SeatMate Unity features larger seating and a larger weight limit (up to 400 pounds total) to fit almost any breed of dog. It also has foldable armrests, scratch-resistant fabric, and a safer ramp to ensure pets of any size can get up onto the chair without injury. Also, it’s cozier…”
According to Mueller, SeatMate’s purpose is to bring people and their pets closer. Not only can sitting with your pet during work hours reduce anxiety for both parties, but it can help keep employees focused and clear-headed.
“When your pet is consistently distracting you, it’s difficult to re-focus,” he says. “The example I like to use is a study done by the University of California Irvine noting that it can take people up to 23 minutes to re-focus and return to their original task.” Setting up shop in their chair means Mueller gets to healthily enjoy dog time during the work week, and Willie gets all of the pets and scritches.
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Sit and Stay a While
With the launch of the SeatMate Unity in sight, Mueller and his team are excited to share this innovative design with fellow dog lovers.
“This has been a journey for everyone involved, and we’re continuing to learn more about the special bond between people and their pets. It feels good to know we’re solving a problem for pet parents.”
On a personal level, Mueller attributes his creative idea to Willie.
“He’s pulling all of the strings,” says Mueller, who shares his title of CEO with the dachshund. “None of this would’ve happened if we hadn’t come into each other’s lives. I’m very excited to show the world the SeatMate Unity, and I’m thrilled to say that every single update to the chair is William-approved.”
Join the waitlist for the SeatMate Unity here.