As part of the Morning Lazziness series about empowering women who encourage and do incredible things with their ideas in society, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lauren Anders Brown.
Lauren Anders Brown is an award-winning documentary filmmaker turned tech entrepreneur who founded PadsPass, the digital pet passport. With over a decade of experience in documentary filmmaking, she has captured stories across 40+ countries, including conflict zones, focusing on global health and humanitarian issues. Her work has been featured at prestigious venues including the Cannes Film Festival and has earned multiple awards, including two Telly Awards.
Lauren’s entrepreneurial journey began from personal experience after traveling with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Pads, on 75 flights to 9 countries over ten years. When a traumatic separation incident occurred due to human error in pet travel documentation, she was inspired to create PadsPass to eliminate such problems for other pet families.
Her tech startup has successfully closed their pre-seed funding round and was named “Best New Pet Tech Startup in Bermuda of 2025”. Lauren has received multiple prestigious awards including the CREA Global Award and Brainz 500 Global Award, recognizing her entrepreneurial success and dedication to helping others. She continues to serve as a humanitarian advocate and speaks at conferences worldwide about female entrepreneurship and pet travel innovation.
What inspired you to become an entrepreneur, and what sparked the idea for your current business venture?
My entrepreneurial journey began with a devastating personal experience that highlighted a critical gap in the pet travel industry. After taking 75 flights with my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Pads, over ten years to 9 countries, I thought I had mastered international pet travel. However, during a flight into Heathrow, a series of human errors by myself, my veterinarian, and airport staff led to Pads being separated from me for over 24 hours. This traumatic experience—what I call a ‘never event’—made me realize there had to be a better way to remove human error from pet travel.
My background as an award-winning documentary filmmaker, having filmed in over 40 countries and worked on major productions like Ugly Betty, House of Cards, and The Blacklist, taught me to identify systemic problems and find solutions through storytelling. The transition from filmmaker to entrepreneur wasn’t immediate—it was sparked by the pandemic when I realized how specialized my filmmaking skillset was and decided to upskill into startups. Working as Creative Director at startup Gamoteca introduced me to the startup world, and that’s when ideas began generating about how to make travel easier for pet parents like myself.
What problem does your business solve, and how is it uniquely positioned in the market?
PadsPass solves a $312 billion problem in the pet industry—the broken international pet travel system that places enormous stress on pet parents, veterinarians, and animals themselves. Many governments have complex, time-sensitive requirements that are difficult to understand, and the threat of quarantine or return to origin deters pet parents from traveling, resulting in huge losses to the tourism economy.
Our digital pet passport platform is the world’s first fully digital pet passport system that integrates animal health records, microchip data, vaccination status, and ownership information into a secure, cloud-based profile. What makes us unique is our compliance engine that continuously updates and verifies travel and regulatory requirements for airlines and governments.
Unlike traditional platforms that focus primarily on paperwork, PadsPass customizes the entire travel experience. Our prototype has been used successfully 12 out of 12 times for arrivals in Bermuda, completely free of stress and human error. We’ve received praise from veterinarians who say our platform makes the international health certificate process ‘extremely easy and stress-free’.
As someone with IATA Live Animal Regulations certification, I understand the aviation industry’s safety standards firsthand. This expertise, combined with our veterinarian team member Mariam Ferrer’s clinical background, positions us uniquely to create solutions that serve all stakeholders—pet parents, vets, airlines, and government agencies.
What were the biggest challenges you faced when starting your business, and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge was transitioning from a creative industry mindset to a tech startup framework while maintaining authenticity. Coming from documentary filmmaking, where I was used to traveling constantly and working on passion projects, I had to learn entirely new skills in product development, fundraising, and business operations.
Learning to embrace failure was crucial. As a recovering perfectionist, I initially struggled with the startup mentality of ‘fail fast and iterate’. I spent significant sweat equity perfecting part of my prototype for a major change in the pet travel world, only to have those changes rolled back, making that work temporarily useless. However, I adapted by turning our preparedness into a public service announcement, which actually attracted an investor who appreciated our agility.
Financial literacy was another hurdle. While people had told me for decades to be financially savvy, it took going through Bermuda’s Ignite Accelerator Programme and receiving investment to truly understand every dollar’s impact on our business.
Understanding what it took to make our first year happen ‘down to the last dime’ has empowered me to plan strategically for growth.
The technical learning curve was significant, but I leveraged my network effectively. I asked successful startup founders and tech leaders for mentorship, following my philosophy that ‘I may be an entrepreneur, which can feel lonely, but thankfully I’m not alone since I’ve never been afraid to ask—would you be able to give me a little bit of your time?’
Most importantly, I maintained my core strength: storytelling. Using my filmmaking skills to create compelling content about PadsPass, including demonstration videos, has been a ‘superpower’ that many startups lack. This authentic approach helped us raise $355,000 in pre-seed funding and build credibility in the pet tech space.
How do you stay motivated during tough times or uncertain periods in your business journey?
My motivation stems from a deep sense of purpose rooted in my humanitarian background. Having witnessed the September 11 attacks as a high school student just 10 miles from Ground Zero, I learned that ‘I became a humanitarian on the day of 9/11’. This experience taught me that meaningful work comes from helping others through difficult situations.
During challenging periods, I return to the fundamental problem we’re solving: preventing other pet parents from experiencing the trauma I faced when Paddington was detained at the border.
Every time I hear from a veterinarian who says our platform makes their job ‘extremely easy and stress-free’, or when our prototype successfully helps another family travel with their pet, I’m reminded why this work matters.
My experience filming in over 40 countries, including conflict zones and refugee camps, taught me resilience and perspective. When startup challenges seem overwhelming, I remember documenting stories of people overcoming far greater obstacles. This global perspective keeps me grounded and focused on the bigger picture.
I also maintain daily habits that sustain my energy. Having filmed across time zones and continents, I learned the importance of routine and self-care. Physical exercise, staying curious about learning opportunities in every conversation, and maintaining connections with my network (and my dog) all contribute to my resilience.
The startup community has been incredibly supportive. Being named ‘Best New Pet Tech Startup in Bermuda of 2025’ and seeing our platform featured in aviation industry conferences validates that we’re on the right path. These external recognitions help maintain momentum during internal doubts.
Finally, I remember that this is my second career. Having successfully navigated the competitive film industry for over a decade, working on major productions and screening at Cannes, I know I have the skills to adapt and overcome challenges. Entrepreneurship is just another form of storytelling—and that’s what I do best.
What daily habits or routines contribute most to your productivity and success as a founder?
My daily routine is built around three core principles learned from my documentary filming career: preparation, adaptability, and storytelling. Having coordinated travel logistics for 96 countries and managed complex international productions, I developed systems that now serve my startup life.
I start each day with a cup of specialty coffee from some country I’ve likely visited and picked the beans up myself – I have been to the most notable coffee regions like Kafa in Ethiopia and Boquete in Panama. As an early riser, I check my priority list of 50-60 ongoing topics, issues, challenges, and tasks that need resolution. This ranges from ’email X customer’ to ‘figure out next year’s product roadmap.’ This system, adapted from successful entrepreneurs, keeps me focused on what moves the business forward rather than getting lost in the noise. Just like Alice from Alice In Wonderland, I can often have six impossible thoughts before breakfast. Staying focused helps me not end up with 42 unachievable tasks each week.
Physical fitness is non-negotiable. As someone who believes ‘healthy body equals healthy mind,’ I maintain daily exercise routines that clear my mind and provide the energy needed for long startup days. This habit was essential during my filmmaking career when I worked 16-hour days on sets, and it’s equally crucial now. This can be as simple as walking my dog on the beach with friends in Bermuda.
Learning is constant. Having worked across diverse cultures and industries, I maintain curiosity in every conversation. Whether it was understanding Arabic to manage projects at Gamoteca or learning about rabies prevention education to become a member of United Rabies, I treat every interaction as an opportunity to gather insights that could benefit PadsPass.
I prioritize relationship building through consistent communication. My network from the film industry, humanitarian work, and startup ecosystem requires regular maintenance through emails, calls, and in-person meetings. These relationships have been instrumental in our $355,000 funding round and ongoing partnerships.
Most importantly, I dedicate time to content creation. Using my filmmaking background to produce videos demonstrating PadsPass features has been a ‘superpower’ that differentiates us from other startups. This authentic storytelling approach builds trust with our audience and showcases our expertise.
What’s been the most effective way for you to acquire new customers and grow your client base?
Content marketing combined with authentic storytelling has been our most effective customer acquisition strategy. My documentary background gives us a unique advantage—we don’t just market a product, we tell compelling stories about real pet travel experiences that resonate with our target audience.
Our Yappy Hours and especially our ‘Bermy Barkus’ parade events in Bermuda have been phenomenally successful for community building. By hosting charity events for the SPCA and raising funds for animal welfare, we create genuine connections with pet parents while demonstrating our commitment to animal advocacy. These events naturally generate word-of-mouth referrals and build trust within the pet community.
Partnership with veterinarians has been crucial. Testimonials that our platform makes the international health certificate process ‘extremely easy and stress-free’ carries more weight than any advertisement. By providing free access to veterinarians for health record verification, we’re building relationships with the professionals pet parents trust most.
How do you measure success—personally and professionally—in your business?
Success for me is measured through impact rather than just metrics. Professionally, our primary success indicator is preventing traumatic experiences like the one I had with Pads. Every successful pet arrival using our platform—currently 12 out of 12 with zero stress or human error—represents a family that didn’t have to endure what I experienced.
I also measure our success in the ‘never’ events that never happened because of PadsPass: the dog that didn’t travel because it wouldn’t have been able to return home without a crucial second rabies vaccination, or a pair of pups that would have had the same fate because their vaccinations lapsed by a day. Catching these and preventing separations like the one I experienced is probably the biggest measure of our success that goes unnoticed.
What marketing or branding strategy has had the most impact on your business growth?
Authentic storytelling rooted in personal experience has been our most impactful marketing strategy. Unlike traditional tech startups that lead with features and benefits, we lead with emotion and real experiences—an approach that comes naturally from my documentary filmmaking background. That’s not to say we don’t have an amazing development team building the Digital Pet Passport!
Our brand name ‘PadsPass’ itself tells a story. Named after my co-founder Paddington (Pads), it immediately communicates that this isn’t just another tech solution—it’s built by someone who lived the problem. This authentic origin story resonates deeply with pet parents who’ve faced similar travel challenges.
Can you share a mistake that taught you an important lesson in entrepreneurship?
My biggest mistake was perfectionism disguised as thoroughness, and it taught me the critical difference between preparation and obsession. During our early development phase, I spent enormous sweat equity perfecting a specific feature of our prototype to handle what I believed would be a major regulatory change in the pet travel industry.
I was so convinced this change was coming that I meticulously built our system around it, dedicating weeks of development time and resources. The feature worked flawlessly—exactly as I had envisioned. Then, unexpectedly, the regulatory changes were rolled back, making that ‘perfect’ feature completely useless.
Initially, I was devastated. This was peak perfectionist nightmare—all that work for nothing. But instead of dwelling on the loss, I made a crucial pivot. I turned our preparedness into a comprehensive public service announcement about the proposed changes and what they would have meant for pet travelers. This content demonstrated our industry expertise and regulatory awareness.
That pivot proved transformational. The public service announcement caught the attention of someone who became a key investor. They were impressed not by our technical perfection, but by our ability to adapt quickly and turn a setback into valuable content for the community.
This experience taught me three critical lessons: First, in startups, adaptability matters more than perfection. The market changes faster than you can perfect any single feature. Second, failure often contains the seeds of unexpected opportunity—but only if you’re willing to pivot quickly rather than mourning the lost work. Third, demonstrating expertise through helpful content can be more valuable than demonstrating technical capability.
The lesson fundamentally changed how I approach product development. Now, instead of perfecting features in isolation, we constantly validate with customers and remain agile to regulatory and market changes. This mistake transformed me from a perfectionist filmmaker into an adaptive entrepreneur—a change that has served PadsPass well as we navigate the complex, evolving pet travel landscape.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out as a first-time entrepreneur?
Start with a problem you’ve personally experienced and are passionate about solving. My advice comes from transitioning from documentary filmmaking to tech entrepreneurship at nearly 40—proof that it’s never too late to begin.
First, embrace failure as education. As a recovering perfectionist, this was my hardest lesson. The startup world requires rapid iteration and learning from mistakes, not perfecting solutions in isolation. Every failed experiment teaches you something valuable about your market, customers, or product.
Second, leverage your existing network relentlessly but authentically. Almost everyone has potential to be a connection, and someone they know might be your key introduction. Don’t dismiss anyone because they’re not the immediate decision-maker you need. My film industry connections proved invaluable in unexpected ways during our startup journey.
Third, develop financial literacy early. I wish I had become ‘financially savvy—but savage’ sooner. Understanding every dollar’s impact on your business empowers strategic planning and prevents costly mistakes. Take accelerator programs or find mentors who can teach you business fundamentals.
Fourth, maintain your unique strengths while learning new skills. My storytelling background became a ‘superpower’ in creating compelling content for PadsPass. Don’t abandon what made you successful—adapt it to your new venture.
Fifth, ask for help without shame. I learned that ‘I may be an entrepreneur, which can feel lonely, but thankfully I’m not alone since I’ve never been afraid to ask—would you be able to give me a little bit of your time?’ Mentorship from people even one step ahead can be invaluable.
Sixth, stay adaptable. Nothing ever goes as planned in entrepreneurship. Build systems that can pivot quickly when market conditions change. Our regulatory adaptation experience taught me that flexibility often matters more than initial perfection.
Finally, solve problems you understand deeply. Having traveled with my dog on over 100 flights to 11 countries gave me credibility and insight that purely market-research-based entrepreneurs might lack. Personal experience creates authentic passion that sustains you through difficult periods.
How do you balance innovation and risk while making business decisions?
Balancing innovation and risk requires a framework rooted in calculated experimentation rather than blind risk-taking. My approach combines documentary filmmaker’s research methodology with startup agility principles.
I start with the ‘known unknowns’ versus ‘unknown unknowns’ framework. Having traveled to 96 countries and filmed in conflict zones, I learned to distinguish between manageable risks and potentially catastrophic ones. For PadsPass, regulatory compliance represents a ‘known unknown’—we can research and prepare for changes. Market acceptance represents more of an ‘unknown unknown’—requiring experimental validation.
Our prototype testing exemplifies this balance. Rather than launching broadly, we started with a controlled market—travel between the US and Bermuda. This route offered straightforward regulations perfect for beta testing while limiting downside risk. Our 12 out of 12 success rate validated our approach before expanding to more complex markets.
I apply the ‘reversible versus irreversible decisions’ principle from Jeff Bezos. Reversible decisions—like feature additions or marketing campaigns—can be made quickly with limited risk. Irreversible decisions—like regulatory commitments or major partnerships—require extensive research and consultation with our advisory team.
Innovation happens within guardrails of regulatory compliance. Having earned IATA Live Animal Regulations certification and being a member of the British Veterinary Association, I understand the non-negotiable safety requirements that must frame any innovation. We innovate aggressively on user experience and process efficiency while maintaining strict adherence to animal safety standards.
Data drives our risk assessment. Our veterinarian team member Mariam Ferrer provides clinical expertise that grounds our innovations in medical reality. When considering new features, we evaluate both market demand and veterinary feasibility to avoid building solutions that can’t be safely implemented.
I maintain an ‘experiment budget’—resources specifically allocated for testing new approaches without jeopardizing core operations. This allows innovation without betting the company on unproven concepts.
The key is maintaining long-term vision while being tactical about execution. Our mission to eliminate human error in pet travel remains constant, but our methods evolve based on market feedback and regulatory changes.
How do you build and maintain a strong team culture or work environment (if applicable)?
Building a strong team culture starts with a shared mission and complementary expertise. Our team culture at PadsPass centers on our core belief that ‘dogs make humans better humans’, which attracts people who share our passion for animal welfare and travel accessibility.
I’ve learned that remote team culture requires intentional design. With team members across Bermuda, Spain, and the US, we can’t rely on casual office interactions. Instead, we create structured opportunities for connection and collaboration. Our team meetings always begin with personal check-ins before diving into business matters.
Expertise diversity strengthens our culture. Our veterinarian Mariam Ferrer brings clinical credibility, our Chief Customer Experience Officer Aliza Bodzin contributes specialized pet travel consultancy knowledge, and our Chief Brand Officer Heather Kent adds writing and journalism expertise. Each person’s unique background creates learning opportunities for the entire team.
Transparency builds trust, especially in a startup environment. Drawing from my humanitarian work where I witnessed how ‘lack of transparency’ can destroy organizations, I maintain open communication about our challenges, successes, and strategic decisions. Our team knows exactly where we stand financially and operationally.
Recognition matters more than titles. I celebrate team members’ contributions publicly. When Mariam publishes articles on pet behavior or when we achieve successful customer outcomes, these wins are shared and celebrated across our channels.
Professional development investment demonstrates commitment to team growth. Supporting team members’ continued education—whether it’s conferences, certifications, or skill development—shows we’re invested in their long-term success, not just immediate productivity.
Our ‘lean but mighty’ approach means everyone’s contribution directly impacts our success. This creates natural accountability and engagement since each person sees how their work translates to customer outcomes.
Values alignment guides hiring decisions. We look for people who demonstrate curiosity, adaptability, and genuine care for animal welfare—qualities that can’t be taught but are essential for our mission-driven culture.
What are the top 5 things you believe every entrepreneur needs to overcome self-doubt and build confidence?
1. Build Expertise Through Direct Experience
Confidence comes from knowing you’ve personally lived the problem you’re solving. Having traveled with dogs on over 100 flights through 11 countries, I speak with authority about pet travel challenges that purely research-based entrepreneurs can’t match. Every conversation with struggling pet parents reinforces that I understand their pain point viscerally. This deep experience becomes unshakeable confidence when investors or critics question our market understanding.
2. Create Systems for Small Wins
Self-doubt thrives in chaos, so I create systems that generate consistent progress. My daily list of 50-60 ongoing items ensures I’m always accomplishing something meaningful, even on difficult days. These measurable victories build momentum that counters the natural startup emotional rollercoaster.
3. Seek Mentorship from People One Step Ahead
Connecting with founders who’ve successfully navigated similar challenges provides perspective and practical advice. Their stories remind me that everyone faces doubt—success comes from persistence, not the absence of fear.
4. Develop External Validation Systems
Recognition by the World Aviation Festival as a featured startup and completing the Bermuda Ignite Accelerator Program provides objective evidence of progress. These external confirmations counter internal doubt with factual evidence of value creation.
5. Maintain Physical and Mental Health Practices
Entrepreneurial confidence requires sustainable energy. My documentary filming career taught me that physical fitness and mental clarity are non-negotiable. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and stress management prevent the physical symptoms of anxiety that can trigger self-doubt. When my body feels strong and my mind is clear, I can evaluate challenges objectively rather than emotionally.
If you could lead or inspire a global movement to make an impact, what would it be and why?
I would lead a global movement to establish Universal Digital Health and Identity Verification Standards Across Borders—creating a unified, secure system where health and identity credentials are instantly recognizable and verifiable worldwide.
This movement emerged from my personal experience with international pet travel, but also in my documentary work on my latest film in Syria where I witnessed firsthand how fragmented, paper-based systems create unnecessary barriers and trauma for families. The vision extends far beyond pet travel to address a fundamental challenge of our globalized world: the lack of interoperable digital identity and health verification systems across borders.
Today, we live in a world where over 4 million pets travel by air annually, millions of people cross borders for work, education, healthcare, and family emergencies, yet our verification systems remain fragmented and error-prone. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted these gaps when countries struggled to verify vaccination status and test results across borders, leading to confusion, delays, and separation of families.
My experience traveling with dogs on over 100 flights to 11 countries taught me that technology can eliminate human error in complex international requirements. When applied globally, this same principle could prevent countless separations, reduce fraud, enable economic mobility, and strengthen international cooperation.
What’s a quote, motto, or philosophy that you live by as a business leader?
“When you’re tired, learn to rest, not to give up.”
This quote by Banksy has become my guiding philosophy throughout my entrepreneurial journey with PadsPass. As someone who transitioned from documentary filmmaking to tech entrepreneurship, I’ve learned that the demands of building a startup can be overwhelming—especially when you’re solving complex problems in the pet travel industry that affect 4 million pets annually.
As a recovering perfectionist who learned to embrace the startup mentality of ‘fail fast and iterate,’ this quote reminds me that every entrepreneur needs periods of reflection and restoration. It’s during these rest periods that breakthrough insights often emerge, whether it’s recognizing a new market opportunity or finding creative solutions to regulatory challenges.
This philosophy also extends to how we build PadsPass’ company culture. We recognize that our remote team members across Bermuda, Spain, and the US need sustainable work practices to deliver their best contributions to our mission of making humans better humans through their relationships with dogs.
How can our readers or listeners connect with you and follow your journey online?
I regularly speak on podcasts, at conferences, give talks, and participate in programs like SheSpeaks at Bermuda High School, sharing insights about female entrepreneurship and pet tech innovation. If you’re interested in having me speak, send me an email.
Follow PadsPass on LinkedIn, where we regularly share articles and interviews to publications providing thought leadership on international pet travel regulations and startup development. Visit our website with a new re-design coming soon, ahead of launch at Padspass.com.
