Alum Lives the Golden Retriever Life to Help Others
Friday, October 18, 2024
By Amy Carlson Gustafson
Kevin Bubolz, ’21 MBA, is leading a life of purpose with his wife, Katie, and his world-famous golden retrievers, Ellie and Emma, by his side.
At the end of 2023, Kevin Bubolz posted a collection of the year’s “best selfies” on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook, which all together garnered nearly 10 million likes. Even though Kevin is featured in the images, he isn’t the main draw: That honor would go to his charismatic eighty-year-old golden retriever, Ellie, whose motto is, “You miss 100 percent of dogs you don’t pet.”
Ellie, a therapy dog, and her little sister, Emma, age two, are social media stars. Inspired by Ellie’s ability to connect with people, Kevin and his wife, Katie, who are based in Washington, D.C., created Golden Retriever Life as a driving force for their mission to spread smiles worldwide through education, philanthropy, and partnerships.
Ellie and Emma frequently visit military troops, children’s hospitals, and charity events, with the Bubolzes documenting their adventures. Last year involved an international tour to seven countries, where they visited deployed service members and fans. Among their most recent projects includes being "fur-fluencers" for Target's The Cuddle Collab, the company's first exclusive collection for pets and their owners. Ellie and Emma helped inspire products, such as plush toys, a punch needle kit, and "Spread Smiles" apparel—for pets and humans.
“We never anticipated having this platform and the ability to reach so many people, and we’re beyond grateful for it,” says Kevin, who notes they’ve been featured on The Tonight Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and in People magazine. “With that comes responsibility, and we do our best to be a positive influence. We have people from the very young to the very old who are consuming our content.”
The power of canine connection
Kevin had always loved dogs, but it wasn’t until his time as a Chinook helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army that he realized how special they could truly be. Zac, a black lab, had come over with the chaplain when Kevin was deployed to Afghanistan in 2014. Kevin saw firsthand how Zac helped reduce anxiety, increase social connections, and change the moods of his fellow service members.
“One hot summer day, I was getting ready for a mission on the flight line,” recalls Kevin. “Right before takeoff, Zac showed up on a Gator to bring Popsicles to the crew. It may sound like a small thing, but I’ve never had a better Popsicle in my life.”
In 2016, the couple welcomed Ellie into their family. At the time, Kevin was an instructor pilot at the Chinook flight school and Katie worked as a speech-language pathologist focused on acute care in hospitals. They decided to train Ellie to be a therapy dog, volunteering in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. Their goal was to help advance “the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of others.”
“She has the ability to sense the situation and adjust to what’s needed,” says Kevin. “She can go from playing with her sister and being crazy to being as calm as can be when we walk into a hospital. She lays in the bed with patients, knowing what they are going through. It’s one of those things where dogs can break down barriers that humans can’t.”
In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 lockdown, the couple branched out into social media, which proved to be a smart move. Kevin says they didn’t start making money through social media right away and that actually wasn’t their intent at the beginning. It was solely to share fun, family-friendly videos.
According to the company’s website, the Golden Retriever Life accounts have amassed more than 14 million followers, who have racked up more than 6 billion accumulated post views. “Our goal when launching social media was to make at least one person smile with each video,” he says. “Once we started gaining followers, we realized it was a perfect opportunity to test out concepts from the classroom in real life.”
Looking for purpose
As Kevin was transitioning out of the military, he was searching for a purpose. In the military, he says, that purpose was obvious: serving something greater than yourself. Postmilitary life wasn’t so clear, but he had long been interested in marketing and decided the Carlson School, a highly regarded military-friendly graduate school, would be the right place to figure out what was next.
“When you leave the military, one of the benefits with Carlson is that you aren’t completely giving up that community,” he says. “You’re not starting all over. It was nice to have a veteran support system, whether it be current students, alumni, or other people involved in the program.”
At the Carlson School, he was named a Tillman Scholar, which he calls a “humbling experience.”
“You have people at every level of education you can imagine doing every type of thing, from cancer research to government work,” he says about the honor, which is conferred from the Pat Tillman Foundation and includes leadership development, a military scholarship, and access to a global community of peers, mentors, and industry leaders. “It’s neat to see all these different people passionate about what they’re doing. When I applied, my essay was about therapy dogs and how I want to integrate that into the world more.”
After earning his MBA, Kevin became a business program manager on the marketing team for Microsoft’s federal division, dealing with the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and other government agencies. He was there only seven months before pivoting to a full-time entrepreneurial route with Golden Retriever Life.
“I was leaving a wonderful job with a great salary—it was everything I wanted when I was getting the MBA,” he says. But ultimately he didn’t want to miss out on opportunities by only being committed to Golden Retriever Life part-time. “There were risks when I left that job. We established a company trying to be as agile as possible and knew that we had to take this next step to dive in full-time so we could be agile. Ultimately, it was betting on ourselves.”
Kevin’s passion for Golden Retriever Life’s mission to spread smiles fuels his drive for everything he does.
Katie says her husband is resilient and willing to embrace uncertainty.
“Kevin’s passion for Golden Retriever Life’s mission to spread smiles fuels his drive for everything he does,” she says. “He thrives on learning through experience and firmly believes that the best way to excel at running a business is by starting one. He is creative, highly adaptable, and analytical, but more importantly, he has a passion for making the world a better place, and that shines through his role as a founder and owner.”
As a business partner, Katie describes Kevin as supportive and encouraging. She says he inspires her to make the most of life and to be proactive about writing her own life story. But there are challenges, including maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
“When my husband also became my business partner, the lines between professional and personal life could easily blur,” she says. “We learned to find ways to ensure we had quality time together without work interruptions, such as scheduling recurring blocks of times without screens.”
More than just a pretty face
While millions have fallen in love with their camera-ready pups, there’s more to the Bubolzes’ work than just cute videos.
“Social media is a big part of it,” Kevin says. But the top priority is figuring out ways to improve people’s lives. It can take a number of forms. Golden Retriever Life highlights nonprofits or other organizations doing great things, such as the Warrior Canine Connection, Give Kids the World Village, and the USO. And lately, Kevin says, the team has been making more appearances at in-person events. But instead of just hosting a traditional meet-and-greet with Ellie and Emma, they design the visit to contribute to the greater good. Often, that means they’ll make it a volunteer event, where attendees participate in activities that directly benefit their local community: creating care kits for those experiencing homelessness, packaging items for soldiers overseas, helping children with critical illnesses, or addressing other needs. “Yes, you get to meet Ellie and Emma, but the main focus is doing something in your local community,” he says.
The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) has worked with the Bubolzes on various occasions. Colleen McAdams, a USAA communications manager, says they loved the extra dose of energy and excitement that Ellie and Emma brought to a recent volunteer event where employees assembled care packages for veterans in VA hospitals.
“Kevin’s military service and continued focus on giving back to the military and their families, along with the highly engaging content he produces, made him a great fit for USAA’s influencer program,” McAdams says.
Kevin and Katie understand the unique challenges of military life because of their background, she adds.
My experience is that Kevin continues to live a life of service. Even within branded content on his channels, he finds ways to give back to the community.
“Because of that, he can help share USAA’s stories in authentic ways,” she says. “A great example was at the Army-Navy Game when a Chinook was part of the pregame flyover, and Kevin pointed out that was what he flew during his time in the Army. Or when they visited the USAA Poppy Wall of Honor in Washington, D.C., a temporary exhibit to honor fallen service members for Memorial Day, he was able to connect and engage with veterans and Gold Star families in a truly meaningful way.”
She adds: “My experience is that Kevin continues to live a life of service. Even within branded content on his channels, he finds ways to give back to the community.”
It’s not unusual for entrepreneurs to add additional ventures to their roster. Kevin’s not ruling that out as long as it is the right fit.
“The whole point of being agile as a company is that things transition and move,” he says. “So, will there be another company down the road? Probably. I couldn’t tell you what that’ll be at this point.”
What the Bubolzes can say for sure is there’s nothing like a dog’s love—especially one that knows how to take a good selfie.
Photos courtesy of Golden Retriever Life