Gayle Martz: Flying High After a Fall

As a flight attendant, Gayle Martz’s travel schedule had never allowed her time for a pet. But when her job as a flight attended for TWA was dissolved, she received a Lhaso Apso puppy as a gift in 1987 from her fiancé.

Martz named the dog Sherpa for the Tibetan people who guide world-travelers up the Himalayan Mountains. Six months after she got Sherpa, Martz would need guidance herself: her fiancé passed away in his sleep.

“I didn’t know what I was going to do,” Martz says. “No money, no job, and the man I loved had died.”

Sherpa became her constant companion, but when Martz decided to leave her home in New York to visit her family in California, there was a problem. The dog could only be stowed in a plastic carrier with the plane’s luggage.

“Some airlines didn’t allow pets at all,” Martz says. “I thought ‘I’m going to make a bag for Sherpa.’ That night I dreamt about it and then I started the process.”

Martz designed a soft pet carrier with mesh side panels, and a cushioned interior for a cat or dog, that could be stowed as a carry-on. She sold her jewelry, borrowed $5,000 from her mother, found a bag manufacturer, and started Sherpa’s Pet Trading Company in 1988 (sherpapet.net ).

“I went to different stores—Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Macys,” Martz says. “I’d take Sherpa in the bag, and everybody loved the idea. But the thing about having a great idea is the follow-up.”

She did just that by going to trade shows, sending informational mailings to veterinarians, and getting the product in catalogs. “Being an entrepreneur is nothing new, but being a woman entrepreneur is really about working together and helping each other,” says Martz, who has built this dream into a multi-million dollar company. “Surround yourself with a good attorney and accountant even if you can’t afford it, because they’ll protect you. You’ve also got to research the market, make a commitment, and believe in yourself.”

“The challenge was getting pets onto a plane in my product, and educating people on how to do it,” Martz says. The Sherpa Bag is now an officially approved soft-sided carrier for in-cabin use on 14 major airlines.

“Whatever you do, you must love it. I love these bags, and I’m in the market that I’m designing for as well.”