We're incredibly excited and grateful to be featured in Paperjam.

For a moment it was the second article on the homepage, right next to the featured story. Seeing Pet Pro Booking highlighted by one of Luxembourg's leading business publications was a surreal moment for us.

Since the article went live, our phones and inboxes have been busy, and we're truly grateful for all the messages, support, and interest we've received.

A big thank you to Nexus Luxembourg for making this possible. This is where we met Louise, the journalist behind the article. From the very first conversation, she was genuinely curious, thoughtful, and supportive of what we’re building. It made the whole interview experience feel natural and meaningful.

We’re really grateful for this opportunity and even more motivated to keep building.

The adventure continues.

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Young Entrepreneurs

Johanna Baur and Morgan Joseph are building the “Doctena for animals”

Written by Louise Braibant

Johanna Baur and Morgan Joseph are developing Pet Pro Booking, a platform designed to help pet owners more easily identify trustworthy professionals. (Photos: Isabelle Robert, Shutterstock; montage: Paperjam)

They launch their project, test, adjust, and move forward quickly. In this series, we meet young entrepreneurs building their companies. The goal: to understand how their ideas take shape in the field. Meeting with Johanna Baur and Morgan Joseph, founders of Pet Pro Booking, a platform born from a simple observation: when it comes to their pet’s health or well-being, owners often struggle to identify professionals they can truly trust.

We met them at Nexus Luxembourg. Alongside Morgan Joseph, co-founder in charge of development, Johanna Baur was presenting the next step of Pet Pro Booking: online booking, currently being developed with professionals listed on the platform.

When a pet gets ill, when an owner looks for boarding during holidays, or a trainer to correct a behavior, the search often starts the same way: a few recommendations from friends, Facebook groups, Google reviews, and many phone calls. The information exists, but it is scattered—and, above all, it is not always enough to determine who is the best person to trust with your pet.

“I wondered why there wasn’t a Doctena for animals.” — Johanna Baur

It is precisely this lack of clarity and trust that the duo aims to solve with Pet Pro Booking. According to Johanna Baur, pet owners still lack a clear reference point to quickly identify the most suitable professionals. Her ambition is to create a single entry point for animal services in Luxembourg. “I wondered why there wasn’t a Doctena for animals,” she summarizes.

For the young entrepreneur, the need is even more evident in a country where many expatriates arrive with well-established digital habits. “Many expats come with apps they already used in their home country. They arrive here and feel a bit lost.”

The platform currently lists more than 350 professionals across 18 categories, from veterinarians to groomers, including boarding services, trainers, behaviorists, and even specialized photographers. The goal is to make it easier for owners to find the right professional, while bringing more transparency to the sector.

Since its soft launch in March, driven only by social media and word of mouth, Pet Pro Booking has recorded 600 visits, including 448 unique visitors. A first encouraging signal for the team: nearly 200 people have already joined the waiting list to access the future online booking feature.

The turning point

The idea for Pet Pro Booking was born five years ago, following a personal experience that deeply affected Johanna Baur. At the time, she lost her cat Livy after veterinary care she considered inappropriate.

“We know our animals. Every owner knows when something isn’t right,” she explains.

This loss became a turning point. Through discussions with other pet owners, she discovered that her experience was not isolated. Many shared similar situations, whether related to veterinary care, boarding, or grooming.

For Johanna Baur, the issue goes beyond simply finding a professional: it is also about bringing more transparency to a sector where service quality remains difficult to evaluate. Gradually, the idea of a platform capable of helping owners better identify trustworthy professionals began to emerge.

Having arrived in Luxembourg 11 years ago, the entrepreneur first built her career in marketing. She worked at BIL, then joined a startup in IT and the automotive sector. That experience gave her a taste for building projects from scratch. Later, she secured a role at Amazon. But at the same time, the loss of her cat Livy led to burnout and a period of deep reflection.

After several months off, she returned to part-time work to regain financial stability. But the idea of Pet Pro Booking stayed with her, eventually making her realize she no longer felt aligned with her current path. “I realized I was no longer in the right place.”

Building on trust

For Johanna Baur, Pet Pro Booking is not meant to be just another booking platform. “Trust is really what we emphasize. We don’t want to be just another booking platform.”

Professionals listed on the platform undergo prior verification. The team ensures they are properly registered and hold the necessary authorizations. Some profiles can go further by providing diplomas, certifications, insurance, or official permits.

This verification process takes time. Professionals are contacted, information is checked, and the team interacts directly with them to better understand their work. “We meet them, we ask a lot of questions. Very quickly, you can see whether they are transparent or not.”

“We work on the specifications together with the professionals to make sure it matches their needs.” — Morgan Joseph

Today, some professionals already have more complete verified profiles. Over time, the objective is to progressively strengthen this process, making the platform clearer for owners and more valuable for serious professionals.

This approach has also helped Johanna Baur regain trust in part of the sector. “The more we meet passionate professionals, the more we want to highlight them.”

A team of four

The project also resonated with Morgan Joseph, whom Johanna Baur met at a previous tech company. A former IT consultant and entrepreneur, he joined the venture to bring technical expertise.

“Our profiles are very complementary,” says Johanna Baur.

Morgan Joseph puts it differently: “She’s the seller, and I’m the builder.”

Today, Pet Pro Booking relies on a team of four full-time members: Johanna Baur, Morgan Joseph, and two developers. Development is handled internally to maintain control over the product and adapt it to professionals’ needs.

The recent launch of their directory marked a new milestone for Pet Pro Booking at Nexus Luxembourg. (Photo: Louise Braibant/Paperjam)

Online booking illustrates this complexity. A veterinary consultation, a dog training session, or a boarding stay are not booked in the same way. Each profession has its own constraints, schedules, and specific cases.

Building an animal services ecosystem

Today, Pet Pro Booking operates as a web app: a mobile-friendly website designed for ease of use on smartphones. Eventually, the team plans to develop it into a full application.

Beyond booking, the team is already developing search by type of animal. The goal is to make life easier for owners of more unusual pets, who often have to contact multiple professionals before finding someone able to care for a parrot, rabbit, or reptile.

Pet Pro Booking is also addressing veterinary emergencies, a topic Johanna Baur considers still too unclear. “In emergencies, people panic and don’t always know where to go.” The platform already offers an emergency guide and is exploring tools to direct owners more quickly to appropriate services.

Through these developments, the founders aim to go beyond simple matchmaking. Their ambition is to centralize, within a single platform, the search for professionals, appointment booking, and useful resources for everyday pet ownership.

Accelerating development

To fund the next stages, Pet Pro Booking is relying on a crowdfunding campaign. The funds will support continued platform development, improve onboarding for professionals and owners, and accelerate the rollout of online booking.

The business model is based on services offered to professionals. Basic listing can remain free, while enhanced verification and booking features are expected to generate recurring revenue.

For Johanna Baur, early signals are encouraging. She focuses particularly on new visitors, user feedback, and returning users. “What interests me is seeing that people come back naturally.”

Five years after losing Livy, the initial idea has taken the form of a startup. For Johanna Baur, the goal remains unchanged: to help owners make more informed decisions for their pets, while highlighting professionals who truly inspire trust.