While a veiled chameleon was the inspiration for Spock’s Sanctuary, a home for exotic rescues and boarders, the student team couldn’t have brought their business to life without the entrepreneurial support at Iowa State.
Cam Schafer became an entrepreneur with resources from Iowa State and inspiration from a chameleon.
During the height of the COVID pandemic, Cam, a senior in animal ecology and a champion of exotic creatures, visited a pet store to buy fish. Fate intervened, and she ended up in the reptile aisle, where she connected with a veiled chameleon. She named him Spock because his splayed feet reminded her of the iconic Star Trek character’s Vulcan salute.
The ingredients for healthy care
When she got Spock home, Cam quickly realized the care and feeding instructions provided by the pet store were woefully inadequate. Sensing that new owners of exotic pets were likely to face similar challenges, Cam and Cole Reiman, a 2021 graduate in agricultural and life sciences education, co-founded Spock’s Sanctuary, a home for exotic rescues and boarders. The pair have also launched NutriCubes, a line of food specially designed for exotic pets.
“NutriCubes is not like anything that currently exists on the market,” Cam says. “The ingredients provide all the vitamins and minerals animals need from natural sources.”
The ingredients for a healthy venture
While Spock was her inspiration, Cam attributes much of her startup’s success to Iowa State’s innovation and entrepreneurship resources.
She attends Student Incubator weekly programs, which are part of Iowa State’s “Start Something” network. She also attends Change-Maker Academy, which offers pitch competitions, networking events and scholarships. She and Cole participated in CYstarters, an accelerator program through Iowa State’s Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship.
“To be with other people who understand what you’re going through is really nice,” she says. “We were able to come up with solutions to each other’s problems because of our different perspectives and experiences. Pitching has also helped me figure out how to articulate my own company and what I do.”
The ingredients for a better world for exotic pets
In between building their business and caring for sanctuary guests, Cam and Cole do presentations on exotic pet care, often bringing their exotic pets with them.
—Cam Schafer
“We have ambassador animals to represent the diversity of reptiles and amphibians and provide educational opportunities to the public,” she says. “Among our most recognizable ambassadors are Tsuchi, our blue-tongued skink and the ‘face’ of NutriCubes, and Tumbo, our giant African bullfrog, who’s roughly the size of a McDonald’s quarter-pounder.”
