I thought, 'What's more valuable than the family dog?' That question became a company with nearly $100M in sales.

Ken Ehrman created the Halo collar.

Courtesy of Ken Ehrman Ken Ehrman created a GPS dog fence after his niece's dog was killed.

He uses the product daily with his own dog, Reese's.

He holds more than 40 patents, but says this one has been the most impactful.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ken Ehrman , co-founder and CEO of Halo Collar .

It has been edited for length and clarity .

Back in 2017, my niece's dog, Ruby, escaped from their yard and was hit by a car.

My niece was only 11, and this was her first experience with death.

She had just rescued Ruby the year before, and the dog had become a huge part of the family.

We were all hysterical.

I used the same sort of invisible dog fence that had failed Ruby, and I worried about my own dog, Reese's.

One day, a lightbulb went off for me.

My brother and I had already built a company that used GPS tracking to monitor high-value assets for companies: items like forklifts for Walmart, and rental cars for Avis.

I knew the capabilities of GPS, and I thought, what more high-value asset is there than the family dog ? The idea had been right there in front of me, but I didn't see it until tragedy struck.