The Spectrum

Issue date: 2/15/06 Section: Features

Media Credit: Contributed Photo Mark Kurs is using his ingenuity to create a new internet company.

After leaving college, most graduates hope to find jobs that will later inspire a future career. And in some cases, after establishing themselves in the workforce using the tools they achieved from their alma mater, they decide to give back to the community that sheltered them. This is the idea of Mark Kurs.

Kurs is a Fairfield resident who combined a passion for pets and business savvy skills, to create the internet business titled PetUnity.

"PetUnity is uniquely a social networking site for the pet owner and pet enthusiasts just as Facebook is for the college student. PetUnity is poised to revolutionize the pet services business by drawing on the resources of a local community," said Kurs.

Scheduled to launch this March, PetUnity plans to connect and support the needs of local residents, and then connect the members with one another anonymously.

"No email addresses, phone numbers, or personal information need to be exchanged in order to communicate. Members decide if and when they choose to reveal their identity, contact info, or location to a party that they may want to transact with," said Kurs.

The site is being driven by ground-breaking tools, all for the purpose of promoting pet activity and communications that are safe, unobtrusive, and maintain privacy. It will entail six main components: Pet Alerts, Pet Connect, Pet Boards, Pet Line, Pet Gallery, and Pet Stuff. Within these components, members can post and seek missing pets, connect members with similar pets as well as view statistical information about particular breeds in the region, showcase services they are offering, located desired services, post simple announcements, review kennels, service providers, and retailers, as well as post photos of their own precious pets. PetUnity also offers interesting and unique pet products for sale.

After achieving his MBA from Sacred Heart in 1991, Kurs became a part of the ever-growing internet phenomenon. He joined an online business to business marketplace in January 2000 called TradeOut, which was managed and financed by some of the biggest and best names in the business: EBay, Chase Manhattan, Morgan Stanley, Benchmark Capital, said Kurs. In late 2001, Kurs chose to join Retail Exchange which allowed him to fully involve himself in successful online business strategies.

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