Our Story

Hi, I'm Kaia Colban, the founder of ShareSkippy — a free, community-driven way to connect dog owners with dog lovers for walks, hikes, cuddles, and adventures.

The idea came from a simple act of kindness. A close friend of mine was very sick and couldn't take his dog out for more than a few quick bathroom breaks. I posted on a local Oakland Facebook group asking if anyone could help. Within hours, over 40 people replied. Total strangers. All offering to walk a dog they'd never met.

That moment stuck with me. It showed me how powerful small acts of care can be — and how dogs can bring people together faster than almost anything else.

I didn't want to build "the next Rover" or "another app." I wanted to create a space that feels neighborly — where people help each other because they care, not because they're being paid.

There are already plenty of platforms that make dog care transactional. ShareSkippy is about connection over commerce. It's for the busy dog owner who needs help during the day, the college student who misses their dog back home, the retiree who just wants some furry company on walks, and everyone in between.

Dogs get more love and exercise.
Humans get more connection and purpose.
Everyone wins.

When I started, I had zero coding experience. I was coming out of a stressful job in business and operations strategy and needed to build something that felt good.

So I taught myself to code — with a lot of late nights, a lot of trial and error, and a little help from AI tools. The result is what you see here: ShareSkippy.com, built from scratch, designed to be simple, kind, and safe.

However, I'm still learning and always open to feedback or guidance. Feel free to reach me at kaia@shareskippy.com.

My name is Kaia Colban. I was born in Norway, grew up in San Diego, studied at Cornell, and now live in Oakland, California — a city that feels like home in every sense. I spend most of my free time walking in circles around the city and camping in the summer.

I write about building things — startups, communities, and sometimes myself — on my blog: substack.com/@getmekaiac

If you want to follow the journey of ShareSkippy, or just read honest thoughts on creating, failing, and figuring it out, that's where I share it all.

You can also find me on LinkedIn, X, and Indie Hackers.

More about me and what else I'm building is at kaiacolban.com.

We'd like to grow and expand! To do so, I'm looking for donations and more volunteers and interns to help out.

ShareSkippy is a community program of ShareVita, a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

If you'd like to get involved, please email me at kaia@shareskippy.com.