XLK9 BASECAMP
INVEST IN XLK9


More Adventures.

More Years Together.

The large-breed market is an estimated $14B and no brand owns the full relationship. XLK9 enters through hardware, compounds through recurring wellness, and scales through non-dilutive Kickstarter capital.

THE ASK

the opportunity

Use of Funds

THE MARKET OPPORTUNITY

The Market Opportunity

The U.S. pet industry hit $155B in 2025. The dog market alone is $93B. The estimated large-breed segment is $14B and no brand owns it. Large-breed food and treats are growing at 5.8% CAGR through 2035. Joint and mobility products, the core of XLK9 Dogtor, are expanding at 10-14% annually. The owner is high-spending, deeply loyal, and completely unclaimed.

Total U.S. Pet Industry: $155B — APPA, 2026 State of the Industry Report (2025 actual expenditures)
U.S. Dog Market: $93B — 60% of total pet market. Source: Mordor Intelligence, 2025
Est. Large-Breed Market: $14B — 15% of dog market applied as a proxy. Source: IndexBox, 2026

THE PROBLEM

The Large-Breed Owner Has Been an Afterthought. Until Now.

Walk into any pet store. Gear built for an 80, 100, or 150-pound dog is nearly nonexistent and a dedicated brand that services them doesn't exist. What does exist was designed for smaller dogs and scaled up - and it fails. Large-breed owners haven't been underserved. They've been forgotten. XLK9 is the first brand built from the ground up to change that.

The Gap Is Real

  • A Category That Barely Exists - Gear built specifically for 80-200 lb dogs is nearly nonexistent. What exists was designed for smaller dogs and scaled up.
  • Wellness Built for the Wrong Animal - Most supplements are formulated for dogs under 50 lbs and dosed up. Large-breed absorption, joint load, and economics are different. The category ignores this.
  • No Brand Has Claimed This Owner - Large-breed owners are passionate, high-spending, and deeply loyal. No dedicated brand has built around them from adventure gear to daily wellness.
  • The White Space Is Wide Open - This is category-creation territory. The specific combination of purpose-built hard goods and large-breed wellness under one brand has not been done.
WHY WE BUILT THIS

Built From Necessity. Not a Gap We Spotted - One We Lived.

Alex's own large dogs exposed the gaps. Every trip meant bags, spilled kibble, water jugs, and gear with no home - nothing designed for a 100 lb+ dog. He built Basecamp to solve it.

As a Great Dane owner for over 20 years, he also lived the health realities of giant breeds, especially joint deterioration, and saw the same absence on the wellness side. That problem aligned with his manufacturing and formulation expertise, leading to XLK9 Dogtor.

Both products started from the same lived experience. The larger realization was bigger: no company had been built from the ground up around the large-dog household. That is the white space XLK9 exists to own. This is category-creation territory, not pure share-taking - no one has built a purpose-built modular travel system for large-breed dogs before… and no one has a Basecamp.


Big Dogs Have Big Needs

Gear for 80-200 lb dogs is thin and usually adapted from smaller-dog products. What exists is scattered across generic outdoor and pet brands. Basecamp consolidates food storage, hydration, elevated feeding, and gear organization into one system built specifically for large and giant breeds.

Supplements

Large-breed nutrition and joint support exist, but they are fragmented across many brands, most of which were formulated for smaller dogs and simply dosed up. XLK9 Dogtor is built for 80+ lb dogs from the start - soft chews and adventure powders designed for the same animals Basecamp serves.

One Brand

The products large-dog owners need already exist in pieces, spread across different companies and platforms. No single brand has claimed this owner from adventure gear to daily wellness. XLK9 is built to be that brand - the clear source for the large-dog household.


XLK9 BASECAMP

XLK9 BASECAMP

The world's first modular travel system engineered specifically for large and giant breed dogs. Three purposeful tiers that lock together into one rugged unit. No set up required, just pack and go.

Retail $299 · Kickstarter early-bird $150 · At-scale factory COGS target ~$53 · Patents pending in US, EU, Canada, Japan · Prototype complete and field-tested.

  • 15"W × 18"T × 11"D - sized for large-breed reality, not a scaled-up small-dog product.
  • Every component removes, washes, and reassembles independently
  • Durable food-grade plastic throughout - safe for food, water, and direct dog contact
  • Impact-rated, weather-resistant construction. Designed for the weight and force of a 200 lb animal, not a 40 lb one

Exterior Shell

Weather-resistant, impact-rated, with accessory mounts. Fasten your waste bags or leash to the exterior quick release points.

Top Tier - Elevated Feeding Station

Flips open into an elevated slow-feeder station. Keeps the healthier feeding position on the road - critical for bloat prevention in large breeds.

Middle Tier - Food Storage

Durable 40-cup weather-resistant storage. Enough for multi-day overlanding, RV trips, car camping, boarding and more.

Lower Tier - Gear & Essentials

Built-in water storage, leashes, meds, first aid, treats and accessories. Everything has a home. Nothing gets buried.

XLK9 DOGTOR

XLK9 Dogtor

More Years With the Dogs Who Deserve Them.

Basecamp gets the dogs out there. XLK9 Dogtor is built so they can keep doing it for years.

Most supplements are formulated for small dogs and simply dosed up. XLK9 Dogtor is the opposite: large, meaty, chicken-free, sugar-free soft chews sized for 80-plus lb. dogs - made for dogs who need them.

DAILY SUPPLEMENTS SOFT CHEWS

MOBILITY JOINT & STRUCTURE

Structural & joint support. For joints that carry real weight and actually work.


VITAL HEART & LIVER

Cellular energy & organ resilience. Sized for 80-lb plus physiology - not a scaled-up small-dog formula.

FOUNDATION GUT & ORAL

Gut & barrier resilience. Built for the digestive load of large active dogs at home and on the road.

CALM Stress Adaptation

Non-sedating support for travel, loud environments, and high-demand scenarios.

Adventure Powders

Two powders that pair directly with Basecamp and extend the same adventure use-case into functional nutrition. Part of the XLK9 Dogtor platform - built for the field.

BASECAMP HYDRATE

Clean, sugar-free pre/during hydration powder sized for large-breed fluid loss. Mixes directly into Basecamp water systems for trail and heat use.

BASECAMP RECOVERY

Post-activity recovery powder. Creatine + amino support for large-breed dogs after hard work on the trail.

THE BUSINESS MODEL

The Four-Stage LOYALTY ENGINE

A large-dog household doesn't have one large-dog problem. It has a lifetime of them. Travel. Feeding. Joint health. Recovery. Mobility. Aging. Nutrition. Today, those needs are served across dozens of unrelated brands. XLK9's opportunity is to become the trusted brand that understands this customer better than anyone else - and serves them for the life of the dog.

Each new hard-goods product earns its own sequential Kickstarter. Dogtor compounds off the growing list - no campaign required.

Basecamp

Customer Acquisition

$299 retail · ~82% gross margin at scale

XLK9 Dogtor

Recurring Profit

Supplement Soft Chews + Adventure Powders · 75%+ target margins

Treats

Revenue Lift

More purchase frequency · near-zero incremental CAC

Accessories

AOV Expansion

Day bags, harnesses, add-ons, toys & more · ~$40 avg order lift

EARLY VALIDATION

Early Demand Signal Is Encouraging. Kickstarter Will Validate Purchase Intent.

Before committing a dollar to production, we ran a lean Meta test to validate the audience and sharpen the message. $937 in ad spend. 449 emails at a blended $2.09 CPL ($0.73-$1.13 across ad sets). 25 reservations at ~$37.50 each. CTR 6.3-8.9% against a 2.5% industry benchmark. Winning message: Design + Peace of Mind + Lifestyle. Kickstarter pr3icing is $150 flat for the full campaign. Post-campaign / retail: $299. The Kickstarter campaign is designed to convert this proven audience into backers and customers.

"Storage is limited, organization is everything, and gear that serves multiple purposes is worth its weight in gold. Exactly the kind of product the van life, RV, overlanding, and skoolie communities have always needed."

- Full-Time Nomadic Traveler

The $1 Reservation Funnel - How We Build Demand

The $75k media budget builds a high-intent VIP list via $1 reservations - not a free email list. A $1 deposit converts at 20-40%+ to backers vs. 1-10% for plain email signups. The $937 Meta test proved the CPL and creative. nwcDIGITAL executes the campaign. Targets include a realistic efficiency adjustment - we don't assume test-level CPL at full spend. Full funnel analysis in the data room.

We report True CAC only against ad-caused units so acquisition cost is not diluted by platform-attributed demand. LTV:CAC on True CAC: Low ~1.3x · Mid ~2.8x · Stretch ~4.9x.

~2,649 units

MID - Base Case (Planning Default)

True CAC ~$69 · Gross proceeds ~$397k · Defensible target

~833 units

LOW - Risk Case

True CAC ~$150 · Gross proceeds ~$125k · Capital plan must survive this case

~4,712 units

STRETCH - Upside Only

True CAC ~$39 · Gross proceeds ~$707k · Explicit upside, not the plan

INNOVATION

Built to Execute. Designed to Evolve.

This raise is focused on Basecamp and XLK9 Dogtor - and so is the team. Capital, energy, and execution stay locked on both products from day one.

OPERATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE

Built Lean. Built to Scale.

Three people. Low fixed costs. A modern automation stack that handles routine work so the core team stays focused on product, campaign quality, and partners.

Lean by Design

Core Team

Three people + specialized outsourced resources

Manufacturing & Distribution

Lean and largely hands-off once production partners and 3PL are in place

Capital Allocation

Labor and overhead stay lean - proceeds go to product, tooling, and growth

Technology & Automation Layer

We are not building proprietary internal software. We are assembling a modern stack of best-in-class tools and AI agents to handle high-volume, repeatable work that would otherwise require additional headcount.

Finance & Reporting

Accounting, bookkeeping, and basic financial reporting handled through modern tools and AI-assisted workflows rather than a dedicated internal hire.

Lead Management

Lead capture, enrichment, routing, and follow-up sequences automated so inbound demand from campaigns and ads is processed without manual triage.

Customer Service

Inquiry triage and common responses drafted or resolved by AI agents, with clear escalation paths to a human when needed.

Operations Tracking

Campaign performance, production milestones, and fulfillment status tracked in a shared system so the team has real-time visibility without extra headcount.

THE TEAM

The Right Team for This Opportunity

Three people. Each one the right person for a specific job. Together they cover the full stack - product, wellness formulation, brand, capital, and execution.

Alex Cahoj

Founder & Product Innovator

Alex doesn't pitch products - he builds them. He put ~$400,000 of his own capital into XLK9 before asking a single investor for a dollar: design, prototypes, IP, and field testing across real-world conditions with real large dogs. He founded Evolab and developed the innovation hardware, extraction technologies, and consumer products that made it one of the most recognized names in regulated wellness. That same combination of hands-on hardware development and formulation depth is what produced both Basecamp and XLK9 Dogtor. Design and utility patents pending in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Japan.

Nicole Smith

Partner - Brand, Capital & Growth

Nicole has built brands that didn't exist into brands that couldn't be ignored. She founded Mary's Medicinals - one of the first and most trusted names in cannabis wellness - then served as CEO of Evolab, where she led the company through a successful sale to Harvest and scaled manufacturing across nine markets in under a year. She is an inventor on two patents for transdermal cannabinoid delivery (patch and gel formats), which means she knows what it takes to bring a novel delivery system to market in a skeptical category. At XLK9, she leads brand architecture, capital strategy, and go-to-market - the person who makes sure the right people find this company and believe in it.

Rob Betts

Partner - Program Leadership & Digital Execution

Rob has spent 15+ years at Coca-Cola and Google doing the thing most startups can't: making complex, multi-stakeholder programs actually ship - on time, on budget, and at scale. He's led initiatives at the intersection of strategy, creative, and execution for two of the most operationally demanding organizations in the world. At XLK9, he owns Kickstarter campaign execution and launch operations - the person responsible for turning the plan into a funded campaign with units in the field.

FINANCIALS

Five Year Financial Snapshot

Mid case. $300k SAFE + ~$397k Kickstarter. Full model in data room.

CAPITAL STACK

This Round: $300k SAFE @ $3M post

Equity

Tooling deposit + Basecamp Kickstarter campaign + Dogtor pilot

Basecamp Kickstarter

Non-dilutive

Mid ~$397k - Low ~$125k - First production run + initial high-intent customer list

Future Sequential Campaigns

Non-dilutive

Sized to each product - Each launch self-funds production and expands the list Dogtor converts into recurring revenue

Post-Proof

Non-dilutive

Inventory / PO financing + retail activation

Ready to Invest?

FUNDRAISING STRATEGY SUPPORT

Why the $300k Pre-Seed Structure Is the Right Model for Basecamp

The Core Thesis

The Core Thesis

Raise a modest amount of equity capital now to (1) place a meaningful deposit on tooling, (2) run a capital-efficient $1 reservation-first Kickstarter that generates non-dilutive production capital, and (3) seed the first XLK9 Dogtor pilot - soft chews and initial Adventure Powders (~$35k) - so the recurring revenue layer is live when Basecamp customers arrive. This sequence is more capital-efficient and lower-risk than either a pure Kickstarter with no tooling commitment or a larger pre-product equity raise.

More Capital-Efficient
  • Avoids the "raise big then hope" pattern
  • $0 production capital from investors - the Kickstarter funds production, keeping dilution minimal
  • Ownership preserved; equity only covers what equity should cover
Lower Risk Sequence
  • Tooling in motion before campaign launch shortens lead times and narrows the copy window
  • Enables realistic delivery date commitments - a major backer trust signal
Reservation Funnel De-Risks Day 1
  • 20-40%+ conversion rate from $1 reservation holders to actual backers
  • 1-10% conversion rate for plain email lists - the baseline we are beating
  • 78% of Kickstarter projects that raise more than 20% of their goal are ultimately successfully funded (Citation: Kickstarter, as cited in Jason Levi, "The Crowd-sourceress." Goodreads)
  • The reservation list is the mechanism that makes Day 1 momentum credible
Demand Validation First
  • Kickstarter success publicly proves demand before a larger equity raise is needed
  • A funded campaign with real backer numbers positions any follow-on raise from demonstrated demand - not projected demand
  • Manufacturing underway + subscription revenue initiated = a stronger Series A story
STRATEGY RATIONALE

Why Fund Tooling Before - or Alongside - the Kickstarter

The Case for Pre-Tooling

Hardware manufacturing advisors and successful campaign operators consistently recommend reaching tooling readiness before or in parallel with crowdfunding for injection-molded or multi-part products. XLK9's manufacturer specifically recommended placing a deposit now. This aligns with best practice for products with meaningful tooling costs ($203k total in this case). Kickstarter's own creator guidance - developed alongside hardware manufacturing partner Dragon Innovation through its Hardware Studio program - advises creators not to rely on money they hope to raise later to cover manufacturing, and to know true production costs before setting reward pricing. Research conducted jointly by Kickstarter and the Wharton School found hardware projects fail at a lower rate than the platform average (approximately 7% vs. 9%), but that historically only about a quarter of technology and design projects have delivered to backers on time - underscoring that the risk in hardware crowdfunding is concentrated in delivery timing, not funding success, which is precisely what a pre-secured tooling commitment is designed to address. (Citation: Kickstarter, "Announcing Hardware Studio" and "How to Launch a Product on Kickstarter, Part 1," updates.kickstarter.com; Kickstarter/Wharton School research as reported by TechCrunch.)

A Confirmed Production Timeline

170-180 days total from tooling deposit to finished units - confirmed by our manufacturing partner, not an industry estimate
70-80 days to complete tooling once deposit is placed
~100 days of production once tooling is complete
Campaigns that lock this schedule before launch avoid the single most common cause of late fulfillment: discovering cost overruns, DFM issues, or capacity constraints only after backers' money is already committed. That confirmed timeline is what lets XLK9 publish a credible, specific delivery date on the Kickstarter page itself - the trust signal that separates funded campaigns from fulfilled ones.

Realistic Delivery Dates on Campaign Page

Credible delivery timelines are a top backer trust signal. Campaigns without manufacturing commitment cannot offer this honestly. Kickstarter's own creator guidance explicitly flags delivery date credibility as a top backer trust signal - and notes that campaigns making commitments they cannot keep are a leading driver of backer dissatisfaction and platform-level reputational damage.

Avoids the Common Failure Mode

$13M raised by The Coolest Cooler in 2014 - the largest Kickstarter campaign at the time - without tooling committed
36,000 outstanding orders they couldn't fulfill after discovering manufacturing costs exceeded projections
$15M additional capital needed just to ship
This is the exact failure mode XLK9's pre-tooling approach is designed to avoid. (Citation: Kickstarter/Wharton School research, as reported by TechCrunch, "Kickstarter launches tools for creators, because hardware is hard." NBC News / TechCrunch)

Timeular Parallel

€200K raised by Timeular pre-seed specifically to cover fixed tooling costs before their Kickstarter launch
Kickstarter proceeds then went directly to production, certification, and shipping
XLK9's structure mirrors this exactly: equity capital covers tooling; crowdfunding capital covers production and fulfillment. (Source: FinSMEs, 2016)

SUPPORTING PATTERNS & CASES

Industry Benchmarks & Best Practice

Hardware Crowdfunding Best Practice

Multiple manufacturing and crowdfunding advisors - including sources focused on injection molding and hardware startups - state that the highest-success campaigns either already have tooling underway or raise a small pre-campaign round specifically to fund the tooling deposit and DFM. Launching with only a prototype and no manufacturing commitment is repeatedly flagged as a top cause of late delivery and backer dissatisfaction.

$1 Reservation Funnel Data

Kickstarter's own data shows that 78% of projects that raise more than 20% of their goal are ultimately successfully funded. (Citation: Kickstarter, as cited in Jason Levi, "The Crowd-sourceress." Goodreads) $1-style reservation funnels convert at 20-40% to backers versus 1-10% for plain email lists. This conversion differential is the core de-risking argument for building a high-intent reservation list rather than a broad free-email audience. XLK9's modeled targets sit in the realistic range needed to support a $300-450k campaign at the $150 early-bird price.

Pet / Dog Product Crowdfunding Benchmarks

Säker Ascension - $733k

All-in-one harness. Multi-function product with strong community and clear production story.

SeatMate (Pet Furniture) - ~$489k

$1 reservation funnel + pre-launch list drove $216k on Day 1. Heavy emphasis on qualified waitlist before launch.

Bristly (Dog Toothbrush) - $1M+

Agency-led, most-funded dog campaign. Full multi-channel pre-launch machine.

Typical Dog-Gear Campaigns - $15-80k

Six-figure results almost always require a high-intent waitlist, strong product story, or professional campaign support.

CONFIDENTIAL

Confidentiality & Forward-Looking Statements

Confidentiality Notice

This presentation has been prepared by XLK9.DOG, Inc. ("XLK9") solely for informational purposes and is intended exclusively for the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. This document is confidential and may not be reproduced, distributed, or disclosed to any third party without the prior written consent of XLK9. By receiving this presentation, the recipient agrees to treat all information contained herein as strictly confidential.

Forward-Looking Statements

This presentation contains forward-looking statements, projections, and estimates that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These statements reflect management's current expectations and are based on assumptions believed to be reasonable at the time of preparation. XLK9 makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein, and nothing herein shall be relied upon as a promise or representation as to future performance.

© 2026 XLK9.DOG, Inc. All rights reserved. This document does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Any such offer will be made only by means of a formal offering document.