“I discovered these mice with particular patterns on their faces and bellies, and they were beautiful — so I figured a way of breeding them,” said the Mosman CEO of pet care business Rufus & Coco.

“It was more of a hobby than a job, but I do think kids are naturally entrepreneurial. I find that with my children (Saskia, 11, and nine-year-old Saxon). I just took them to the RSPCA Million Paws Walk and paid them to work in the Rufus & Coco stand. They loved it.”

Rufus & Coco is celebrating its 10th birthday, and products — ranging from pet food supplements, to grooming products and litter accessories — are sold in nine countries.

The brand is stocked in major retailers Woolworths and Coles, and recently entered the biggest chain of pet stores in the US, PetSmart — not bad for a business that had its first incarnation in Van den Broek’s childhood home in Killarney Heights on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Despite a childhood obsession with pets that saw the family own “eight rabbits, a chicken, several turtles and several dogs”, Van den Broek, 46, bowed to her creative bent as an adult and studied fashion at the Whitehouse Institute of Design.

She spent eight years in various roles in the marketing team at David Jones, during which time she studied for an EMBA (Executive Masters of Business and Administration), in the knowledge she ultimately wanted to run her own business.

She would get up at 5.30am and study before work, then come home and study some more.

“When I was a little girl, I remember picking up a magazine with profiles of these influential- looking women. I grew up in a family that wasn’t an advocate for independent women, but I saw it and thought ‘I want to be like that’,” she said.

It was aged 35, following a stint at Blackmores and while working at the Apparel Group, she made it happen.

“I wanted to start a family but knew I’d never have a baby working in that environment, so I left. I went to Bali with a girlfriend, armed with business ideas. The one that stood out was the idea of a pet care brand that was fashionable and good quality, and it was literally a case of writing on a cocktail napkin with a pen I borrowed from the waiter.”

The names Rufus and Coco were picked during a brainstorm with girlfriends around her dining table. “The trend in the marketplace was people humanising pets, so I wanted one masculine and one feminine name. Now I can’t imagine us being called anything else.”

Van den Broek began working with product formulators and designers, using the experience gained in her previous roles, and came up with her first range — powdered supplements. She funded the first order run herself. “It was tens of thousands of dollars of investment. It’s the thing I’m most proud of — that I did it by myself,” she said.

In the early days, she would go to pet stores with a sell sheet and a bag of product. “It was a good lesson in selling, and in humility,” she said.

Such was her dedication that, two weeks before giving birth to Saskia, she flew to Melbourne for a meeting with Coles. “Everyone said it was insane, but I thought ‘I’ve been working on this too long.’

“I had acupuncture to make sure Saskia came on time so I could get to a Woolworths meeting. Of course she came the night before the meeting, so I sent a team member. It took about four attempts to be accepted in to Woolworths.”

Pet welfare is a genuine concern of Van den Broek’s and she is trying to effect change to allow more pets in to tenanted properties. “Landlords of over 30 per cent of properties do not allow animals — but pets are proven to do less damage than children,” she said.

At home there are two Siamese cats, Kiska and Mischa, but Van den Broek — who is a single parent — has ruled out more due to her extensive travel. Trips, mainly to the US and Asia, are quick because of the kids. “I’m a sprinter, in and out. I’m very proud of the fact that, despite the travel, I’m a very present mother. It is a juggle.”

Weekends are spent enjoying sporting activities, coastal walks and beach time. “I spend half my life jumping off the pier at Balmoral with the kids,” she said.

“I love business, but I really want to set a good example and contribute something. I want to create a legacy for my children.”

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