Gayle Martz has always been one of my heroes. She single-handedly created a desperately needed category in the pet industry.
Brian Devine, Chairman Emeritus of the Board at PETCO.
Gayle Martz transformed the pet travel industry by selling The SHERPA Bag to pet companies worldwide one-by-one. In the process she became the best thing to ever happen to pets, their owners, and in many ways the airline industry as well.
Faith Popcorn, Futurist, Author, founder and CEO of BrainReserve.
A Determined Woman. A Little Dog Named SHERPA. A Remarkable Story.
It’s In the Bag Book: How to turn a passion into a new business is an inspiring business memoir. Entrepreneurs will find invaluable business advice in this remarkable story of how a flight attendant turned an idea into a product category that didn’t exist and created a multimillion-dollar global brand-the iconic SHERPA BAG, the world’s top selling, soft-side pet carrier. Pet lovers who fly with a dog or cat, have Gayle Martz to thank for revolutionizing pet travel on airlines, and for making pet travel in every mode, safer. This is her story.
Gayle’s journey to becoming one of the top successful women entrepreneurs, is not a fairy tale in which everything went smoothly. Her story began in 1987, when she was furloughed from the job she loved as a TWA hostess (now known as a flight attendant). Shortly after, she lost the man she loved, her fiance, who died in his sleep. Her saving grace was her little dog named SHERPA, who became her life. It was on a cross-country car trip with SHERPA, that the idea of a soft-sided pet carrier came to her.
With a $5,000 loan from her mother, and no real business experience, she started what would become the SHERPA Pet Trading Company from her 600 square foot apartment in Manhattan. She designed the first line of bags, found a manufacturer, a warehouse, and then successfully started to sell the pet carriers to high-end department stores in New York City including Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Macys. She had joined the ranks of women business owners and became a one-woman company- designer, distributor, salesperson, CEO, and advocate for pet travel.
She was determined that pet owners should be able to fly with their dogs and cats. She took on the challenge of convincing the major airlines to change their policies. By 1994, the Sherpa Bag had been officially approved by most major airlines, opening up a world of freedom for pet owners
Anyone who has ever been in business for any length of time knows that competition always jumps in. Sometimes the danger of being ripped off is not only without but within. Gayle’s story is filled with trials, tribulations and challenges, and is a page-turner as well as a cautionary tale to help entrepreneurs. Pet lovers will be enthralled with her story as well, and grateful for her advice on pet safety and her animal advocacy. Learn more at gaylemartz.com.
