When Adam Smithline and his brother-in-law, Mike Demele, came up with the idea for their company Wayzn, a global pandemic was the furthest thing from their minds. It was early 2018, and the pair were on a ski trip near Lake Tahoe discussing how expensive pet care was. Over a few beers, the two dog owners hatched a plan to create a smart door opener—an attachment to an existing sliding glass door that would open via smartphone—to let their dogs into their fenced in backyards during their short stints away from home. (Read more)