Protecting What Matters: How Kim Greene Rose to Become the Alpha in the Dog Protection Industry

Michael Mendenhall: As we start to close out day three, we’re going to have a little fun here. Could be exciting. Hopefully, it’s not like a circus, but a female-founded business for protective services. So think about that. A female-founded business, which is normally a male protective service, is a female run and owned protective service company.

You’ve heard the saying, a dog is a man’s best friend. In the words of King Frederick of Prussia, who first coined the phrase in 1789, the only absolute and best friend that a man has is in this sort of selfish world, is the only one that will not betray him, nor deny him is his dog. Well, our next guest and her company, Svalinn, puts new meaning into that term. Who wouldn’t want to have a faithful, very nice and kind, but safe protection dog watching over you and your family and your home. No need for guns. And they do this around the clock. Well, that’s what you’re going to get with the Svalinn. In the words of Svalinn customers, “It really is the ultimate peace of mind.”

So please join me in welcoming Kim, who is the founder/CEO of Svalinn. She has two little people with her. I would say people because they do feel like people to me, but her partners, Boomer and Mr. Orange. Kim, bring them all out. You did that well.

Kim Greene: I did it well. He almost didn’t. Platz, that’s your place. Good job.

Michael: Oh, here comes Boomer.

Kim: And here comes Boomer. Hi Michael.

Michael: Hello. How are you? Glad you came.

Kim: This is going to be fun. We’ve never had a nine-month-old puppy on stage, so here we go.

Michael: Yeah, this is fun. He gets a little distracted, but I said, let’s show the difference between, now they’re really focused on one of the trainers here. Mr. Orange, what’s going on?

Kim: Orange, wait. That’s your place.

Michael: So anyhow, well, let’s talk about the company. I mean, you originally grew up a good part of your life in Kenya.

Kim: I’d say I came of age in Kenya. Yes. So we are Svalinn. We breed, raise and train these protection assets. I hate to call a dog a product, but effectively that’s what they are. They’re assets.

So we began the business in 2005 in East Africa, my former husband and I. So even though I was born and raised in New Hampshire, went to school in New York, went to school at Princeton, so I’m kind of back in my home hood right at the moment. But it’s coming back to this region having created a product that is in pretty high demand.

Michael: I would guess with what’s going on in the world and this idea that more and more gun purchases have happened, which is pretty alarming during COVID, that people are concerned about their safety. We see what has happened when you think about some of the demonstrations and gun violence and guns being purchased and being used, that something like this you feel more comfortable with versus having a gun in your home or carrying a gun or having an armed guard or detail follow you around. And the interesting thing is, why did you start this in Kenya?

Kim: Well, it’s a great story. I love the connection. There are lots of folks that have our canines. And I do like to think that it’s an augmentation to people’s personal protection profile, but it’s mostly peace of mind at the end of the day. And so, if you’re completely pro-gun, I suppose there could be a use for this in your home, but then it’s an alternative. It’s a peace of mind purchase is really what it comes down to. And so I like to say that this product was bred out of necessity.

I had met my former husband in Afghanistan. We were moving to Nairobi, Kenya, and I did not want to carry a firearm in defense of myself and I couldn’t. And so with two young babies in the back of a Land Rover, what’s the biggest deterrent? And so I felt like I could move around Nairobi in a slightly non permissive environment with being able to focus in a vigilant way on the road and my children and not have to have my eyes on my back. I always had two dogs that traveled with me. So it really is a product that was bred out of necessity.

Michael: And then you brought it back to, I think it was what, Jackson Hole or Jackson, is that the first place you landed?

Kim: That’s correct. So we had an amazing operation in East Africa and what I loved about getting to hear Dr. Jane today... I just have to thank you, Michael, first and foremost to bring Gloria Steinem, Jane Goodall and Jose Andreas on the same stage, on the same day. I’m just, I’m impressed. Amazing. So some of my heroes and heroines for sure.

But having raised my children in Kenya, it was a big adjustment to move back to America. But we had this notion that there was something missing in the security world in America. And this was one of the products that we’d been working on for many years. And by crossing a German Shepherd, a Dutch Shepherd and Belgian Shepherd, we were able to get the size, tenacity and kind of the temperament that we really wanted out of all three breeds.

And we assumed that most of our clientele would be families with young children. That’s something that the dog world’s never really had a comfort level doing before. And what I like to say about animals is you really do need to suspend your disbelief. They’re capable of so very much.

And they feel the stress of everybody here right now. So we’ve got a nine-month-old puppy who’s a Belgian Malinois’ first public appearance since COVID. And then this is Mr. Orange. He’s from the Quentin Tarantino litter. His brother’s Mr. Aldo or Lieutenant Aldo, his sister Mini Mink, Esmerelda. That’s your place. Wait. So they’re happy to be here.

Michael: What’s interesting and I actually got to visit your facility…

Kim: I remember that.

Michael: And watch them train the obstacle courses. I did get to see them, what they can do with the Billy suit. Some of these dogs have been bred to smell out ballistics. They will know when there’s aggression. They have a sensibility that’s very interesting. And I watched this about an unseemly character who may want to do harm to you. There’s a sensibility they have that they immediately sense something’s not right. And you see them sort of go on high alert. I’ve seen them sort of lock on somebody when they think it’s going to be an uncomfortable position, but they don’t do anything unless you actually give them a command.

Kim: It’s kind of the built-in safety. One of the things, whenever you’re creating something that no one’s really created before, I mean people say “attack dogs.” I’m like, that doesn’t do these dog’s justice. These are thinking, discerning deterrents that happen to have a very protective capability if God forbid it was ever necessary. And so part of what we’re doing is... Boomer, I know you’re excited.

Michael: He sees the other child.

Kim: He sees that eye for sure. Wait, she’s just fine over there. Trust me. Wait. Platz, that’s your place.

So part of what we’re doing is taking what dogs do naturally, what animals do naturally. They have an amazing intuition, just like a woman’s sixth sense. And we’re giving them the program around which to have them trust their own instincts. So the reality is yes, you’re correct. Our command to attack somebody that has malicious intent towards us is “take.” But the reality is there’s nobody in this audience with malicious intention towards me. And if all of a sudden there were to be somebody, if an armed gunman, God forbid, were to enter the premise, the dog is going to think and present a deterrence first and foremost. And if I need to deploy, my energy would be such that I would be anxious and scared for my life. So the dog picks up on that. And so he responds in force. And so, it is a built-in safety. I could give the word all the time and it doesn’t matter, “Take out the trash. Let’s get takeout this evening.”

Michael: It’s wonderful how sweet they are. That what you were saying about attack dogs and people get like, ooh. And they really aren’t. They’re the sweetest dogs. When I was there, I was sitting there. I didn’t know any of these dogs and the one just came up and put his little head here and just sort of stared up at me in this sweet manner. And I’m like, this dog is awesome. And at first when you see them, sometimes, when you see these full grown and they’re so athletic, I mean these dogs are athletes. I mean, when you see them trained, it’s pretty amazing what they can do. The wall that they can just jump up onto. I was stunned. And run across a little two by four. I mean, it’s amazing what they’ll do. They can clear your house if you want it, if you want to lead them into your home and make sure nobody’s in there. They will ensure that nobody is in there. They’ll come back and you’re all good. There’s a lot of things they can do and impressive. You train them, but you do not train them with treats.

Kim: That is so true. If you want really quick success in training a puppy or a dog you use treats or toys. It’s the easier way to get there. But then what do you always have to have in your pocket? A treat or a toy. So it takes a lot more time on the water. So we build the work in from the beginning where even though we have a live audience here, but I’m still following through on every command that I give to him. And so by training, I’m reassuring him that we’re good to go. And so rather than having a treat or a toy in my pocket, I want him to be working for my verbal praise.

Michael: Well, what is interesting is these two dogs, you have not trained with these two dogs.

Kim: No, I have not.

Michael: And you pick this dog, you’re like, we’ll take him. So it’s the first time he’s flown with you.

Kim: Yes.

Michael: And you fly commercial with them?

Kim: Yes.

Michael: And so now he understands he’s with you. And so what’s going on here is Boomer flew with another trainer. So now he believes he’s with her because she’s the one that flew and brought him here. He’s in a different environment. So he is like, where is she? He’s supposed to be protecting her. And we’ve separated them. That’s why he’s sort of cooked up here. He’s like, “I’m supposed to be protecting her. And she’s over there.” We’re going to see if he’s going to work with us later on.

Kim: Oh, I might hand him off to Sirai if we need to. Yeah, if it’s too much of a distraction. It’s kind of like having twin babies. I had those. You always needed to be able to hand one off to somebody.

Michael: Well, we’re going to see if he’ll pay attention to me. We’re going to see if he’s going to be good. Here. Tell me though, how many did you breed? Because most of your puppies get spoken for pretty quickly. So, Mr. Orange is off soon to Philadelphia. I’m not sure. Has he been spoken for already? Boomer?

Kim: He has been, yes.

Sirai, I’m actually going to have you take him. I think he has to do business. Pardon me for one moment. We’re shaking things up for a hot minute. I’ll have you take him, here. I think he actually has to do business. Thank you. The distraction goes away. You get to hand the baby to the caretaker.

Michael: Distraction.

Kim: And it’s just amazing. So fortunate.

Michael: He’s like, what’s going on?

Kim: Orange is like, wait, don’t I get to go?

Michael: Yeah, no, you’re good to go there Mr. Orange, you’re good to go.

Kim: You’re with me.

Michael: So how many litters do you have?

Kim: Well, when Mother Nature is good to us, we’ve had four litters so far this year. Mother Nature gave us a challenge last year and we only had one litter.

Michael: Oh, wow.

Kim: And so really, here’s the thing. It’s a fascinating business model because you can create your spreadsheets, but you don’t really get much say in what comes out of these dogs at the end of the day. Boomer is a fascinating case because he’s our first solo puppy in 18 years. We bred this amazing female to this amazing male. And I was like, give us eight, please. Eight puppies, because that helps the bottom line. Let’s just be honest. One. Litter of one. So, every year I say there’s something that I haven’t seen before. And right now, he’s what I haven’t seen before, a single puppy. And I’m an only child, so I appreciate only children. But from a monetary perspective, it would’ve been helpful to have eight Boomers.

Michael: So now you’re running the business?

Kim: Yes, sir.

Michael: How many employees do you have?

Kim: We have a team, a fabulous team of 13 individuals.

Michael: And they’re the trainers and what else?

Kim: Predominantly our trainers. I’ve been in a very fortunate position in the past year. I went through a big transition in my personal life, got a divorce and found one single other business partner, a woman, a fabulous woman. And together we bought out the rest of the investors. So September 13th of last year was the day that we were able to close. And so, we are a female-run, female-operated organization. Pretty big deal in the security space. But what’s been fun about this for so many reasons is really leaning into the young people within our organization. We are kind of a head shed of 1.5 and the rest of us are, we’re all just part of the team. And so we have a really big…

Michael: Now are these people that are passionate about dogs or passionate about the program or they just love training? What type of person is it that you hire to?

Kim: Such a good question. And we have to be so like all of the organizations that have spoken up here in the last couple of days. We are such a small team. We have to get the fit. I like to say, you must hire very slowly and fire very quickly if you don’t see the right fit. And you’re exactly right. People must have passion and sticktoitiveness and grit and be very good self-regulators of their own emotions. We saw the animals. Anyone who works with horses or dogs or chimpanzees as it were, it is a different type of human being that can really connect with animals and sometimes put their bad day or the argument with their spouse on the back burner while they focus on working with this animal in that period of time. So, it is a labor of love through and through.

Michael: And so do you see this growing beyond where you are? Are you really at capacity at this point?

Kim: It’s such a good question. I don’t want to ever lose the quality control. We have about 50 dogs, five-zero, at any point in time at our ranch. We have a 170-acre ranch in Montana. All of the dogs are bred and raised there. And many, about 20% of the population, gets to go home every night with another handler. So, they’re not all just stuck in a beautiful barn with a great view.

But here’s the thing, I don’t want to lose quality control. This is a labor of love. I know every one of our canine owners. We’ve done over 330 dogs at this point in the marketplace, around the world, predominantly in the U.S. But we’re in an enviable position right now because I have people coming back. Somebody who purchased Mr. Orange’s brother is someone that I sold a dog to nine years ago. And so, once you’ve learned to live with a Svalinn dog, you kind of can’t imagine not living with a Svalinn animal. It would kind of be like waking up in the morning and not putting your pants on and going out the door. You just don’t do that. And so the beautiful thing is that if we can have touchpoints with all of our canine owners, we’re almost assured, them to be coming back.

Michael: And it’s interesting you start socializing them very early.

Kim: We do. I think you had the opportunity last you were in Montana to meet some puppies who are probably three-months-old at the time.

Michael: Four.

Kim: Four months, maybe.

Michael: Four, four. Yeah. You didn’t bring her.

Kim: I did not bring her.

Michael: No.

Kim: I’m in the doghouse.

This fabulous litter we had. They’re the whiskeys. So we have a Pappy Van Winkle, a Basil Hayden, a Corry. And Michael might have really fallen in love with…

Michael: Hayden.

Kim: Basil Hayden. Yes.

Michael: Yeah, I did.

Kim: We’ll have to ask Jane what her favorite whiskey is.

Michael: I was like that Basil Hayden. I go bring Hayden. Well, she’s just four months. No, but she could do stuff. They could see her do stuff like, nope. Nope, not coming. But why don’t we see what Mr. Orange can do?

Kim: That would be great.

Michael: Right here to see. I mean, he doesn’t know me.

Kim: He doesn’t know you.

Michael: And do we think we can have him work with me?

Kim: So here’s an idea. Why don’t I do it first and then I’ll hand the reins to you? How does that sound?

Michael: Oh, not from up here.

Kim: Oh no, I’ll just, I’ll do a couple of commands.

Michael: Ok, go ahead. Let’s do it.

Kim: Okay. Wait, that’s your place. Pardon me. Orange sitz, good sitz. That’s your place. Good sitz. Platz. Good platz. Mr. Orange sitz. Good sitz. Off easy here with me. Close. Good close. Back to your place. Good place platz. Good platz. Wait.

So the most important things, Michael, that you have to keep in mind if you’re going to command Mr. Orange…

Michael: You’re going to have to remind me again.

Kim: I know you’re going to have to be purposeful. Ta-da. You have to have intention in your command. Wait, that’s your place. So you’re never asking a dog a question. You’re telling him what to do. So, and because he’s closer to me, if you’re going to stay seated, you actually have a harder job.

Michael: I’m going to stand.

Kim: You do your thing and I’ll coach you.

Michael: Okay. Mr. Orange, you’re with me.

Kim: Have him sitz or platz first, just so he gets accustomed to you.

Michael: Mr. Orange sitz. Mr. Orange platz. Good platz. Mr. Orange, you’re with me.

Kim: Pat your left leg. Tell him.

Michael: Mr. Orange.

Kim: Let’s go.

Michael: Let’s go.

Kim: Not to me. Not to me.

Michael: Mr. Orange, let’s go.

Kim: Say you’re with me.

Michael: Say you’re with me, Mr. Orange, you’re with me. Let’s go.

Kim: And close.

Michael: Close. Good close. Good close. This dog’s awesome.

Kim: And have him come back to his place.

Michael: Mr. Orange, back to your place. Mr. Orange sitz. Nope. He’s like, “Nope, I’m done.”

Kim: He’s like, “I’m done.”

Michael: He’s done with this guy. Who’s this guy?

Kim: I’m very impressed. You follow instructions brilliantly.

Michael: Well, and the dog doesn’t know me, so that’s pretty unusual. The other thing is, I understand that if you were to adopt one, you basically, in two days, you can rename it and in two days they’ll know their new name.

Kim: It’s kind of amazing. I mean, here’s the thing. We train them in about 15 commands, but these dogs are, their brains are infinitely broader than that. You can add commands and you can certainly change their names. We like to view it as almost some native cultures where you might have this name for the first 11 years of your life and then your name changes because you grow into another name. So, I’d say maybe a third to a half of our canine owners do change the name. But I will tell you, Mr. Orange will always answer to Mr. Orange for the rest of his days. No matter what you call him, Mr. Orange. And I don’t think we need, well, I won’t tease anybody on their names, but there are quite a few of certain name dogs out there, so unique names are lovely.

Michael: No, this is terrific. Well, this is so awesome having you come all the way from Montana with the two dogs. It’s so wonderful to see. These are amazing dogs. I mean, I’m in love with that one dog. There’s one dog I’m obsessed with. I do want to take out a fundraising so that I could actually get the dog, but they’re awesome. Thank you so much.

Kim: Thank you, Michael, very much for having us.

Michael: Yeah, this is terrific. And we’re hoping to have you as a TriNet customer.

Kim: We look forward to that conversation for sure. Thank you so much. Awesome. I’ll walk out with you.

Michael: Mr. Orange.

Kim: You want to have him walk with you?

Michael: Mr. Orange, you’re with me.

Kim: Say it with assertiveness.

Michael: Mr. Orange, you’re with me. Now I say?

Kim: So pat, your left leg.

Michael: Mr. Orange close. No, he’s like, I’m with her.

Kim: He’s closing to me. He’s like, I’m going home with her.

Michael: Yeah, he’s like, I don’t know who you are. Thank you.

Kim: Lovely. Thank you so much.