Our story
Sitting at a café in Shenzhen, China in 2018, GoChip Pet Technology founder Alexander Von Kaldenberg looked down and saw a small, hungry dog begging for food at his feet. The dog didn’t look like the typical street dog common to the area. With his fluffy coat and small size, he appeared to be someone’s lost pet. With no way to know the dog’s story, it made him think – why, when we use our phones for so many things, can’t we use our phones to identify lost animals?
This was the initial spark that ignited a vision for what GoChip is today – a business that strives to reimagine the relationship between people, animals, and cities by ensuring that every animal and their story is Always FoundTM. What started as an idea to help lost pets, quickly gained traction as a wider application for animal welfare. Using a combination of GoChip’s innovative hardware and software platform, we are dedicated to helping communities around the world manage the health and wellbeing of their community and
feral dog populations. Why? Because healthy animals make healthy communities.
You may be wondering what happened to the little dog in the café... After a few sleepovers with Alexander’s family, an expensive trip to a veterinarian to look for a traditional microchip, and many FOUND DOG posters later, the pup was never reunited to his original family, if he even had one. But don’t worry, the story has a happy ending. Alexander named him Peter and made sure to find the little pup a new home where he now spends his days loved and spoiled by his new family.
Our team
Meet the GoChip team
Growing up in Vancouver on the west coast of Canada, Alexander developed a love for animals and a curiosity for technology, so it’s no surprise that he has built something right at the intersection of animal welfare and technology. Despite his love of the great outdoors and the allure of mountains and fresh ocean air, Alexander decided to test the “international” part of his international relations degree after graduating from the University of British Columbia. The not-so-short list of places he has lived include, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Phuket, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Athens, Berlin, and Toronto. In the past 10 years alone, he has traveled, lived and worked in more than 20 countries. He now lives in Victoria, British Columbia with his wife and their two children.
Prior to starting GoChip, Alexander co-founded the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Southern China (CanChamPRD) and was Director of Marketing in Asia for Velas AG, the fastest EVM blockchain and ecosystem for smart contracts and dApps. Alexander credits his dad for teaching him responsibility in the care of animals and that an animal’s needs always comes first. The lesson usually went something like this…“Nobody cares if you’re hungry, feed the dog before you sit down for supper.”And this responsibility of care extended beyond animals. Alexander also remembers being taught to notice nature around him. Whenever he pulled a leaf off a tree or kicked a rock as kids do, his father would ask him why he did it. Since there was never a good reason, this usually started a conversation about nature and the importance of how we interact with it. These lessons instilled an appreciation and respect for animals and the environment that Alexander has carried throughout his life.
These days, when he’s not on a video call or at his other job (father of twin toddlers and night shift dishwasher), Alexander is an avid reader, gym enthusiast, and dedicated walker of Cordis, the Black Lab.
As the CTO of GoChip, Patrick is the “technology” part of the GoChip Animal Technology team. He is the founder and CEO of Connectlavie, a company specializing in hardware development. Patrick is a customer-oriented technologist with more than 15 years of executive experience in identifying, qualifying, implementing, and enabling technologies and solutions. He has extensive expertise in contact-less identification and security technology integration in IOT and mobile devices. Prior to founding Connectlavie, Patrick was Director of Product Marketing at NXP where he contributed to the development of Mobile NFC technology and its market.He graduated from Pierre and Marie Curie University in RF & Electronic Engineering and holds several patents in areas such as radio and NFC technology.
Born in Rouen, Normandy, France, Patrick currently resides in the South East of France. In his spare time, Patrick enjoys spending time with family, doing DIY projects and of course, good food.Patrick loves to be surrounded by the beauty of nature and believes we, as humans, must find ways to peacefully co-exist. As the developer of GoChip’s hardware, he is honoured to be working with people and organizations helping to build a better world including, Mission Rabies, Bali Animal Welfare Association and Worldwide Veterinary Service.
Patrick has travelled extensively and hopes the next time he travels it will be with his whole family, including his wife, two daughters, one son, and two grandchildren. But as the official cat guy of the GoChip team, he’ll probably have to leave his furry family members, Tim and Tom, at home.
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Regan brings a wealth of financial expertise to GoChip. She is the founding partner and CEO of Metrics Chartered Professional Accounting where she leads the CFO services business. Financial strategy has been Regan’s focus for more than 10 years. She has worked with a broad range of high-growth companies from small start-ups to large publicly traded companies on global exchanges.Regan holds her Bachelor of Arts from McGill University and her CPA CA from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. She has certification in Fintech and holds both the Future Commerce and Data Analytics for Business certificates from MIT.
Regan has received of awards from the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce and the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) for her work at Metrics in entrepreneurialism and for her service in the community. Outside of work, Regan currently sits as vice-chair on the St. Patrick's Elementary School local council and is an enthusiastic soccer and baseball coach for her children.
Regan believes animal welfare promotes human welfare and is passionate about improving animal welfare globally. Her own incredibly loved pup is a two-year-old AussiePom (Australian Shepard-Pomeranian mix) named Fozz.
Born in Vancouver, Bobby split his childhood and teenage years between school in Vancouver and boarding school in India. The middle child of a very large and spirited extended family, both in Canada and India, has taught him about teamwork and the fine art of diplomacy. As the lead for GoChip’s international projects, Bobby witnessed first-hand the incredible work of Mission Rabies in Goa, India. Getting to know the animals they help, has given him an even deeper respect for all animals, especially dogs.Bobby graduated from the Operation Management Program at British Columbia Institute of Technology. Prior to his role at GoChip, he was the project manager for Spruce and Steel Homes in Vancouver and owned multiple restaurant franchises in the city.
Outside of work, Bobby enjoys reading, learning about technology, and studying film. He is passionate about mental health awareness and likes to start his day listening to classical music. Bobby also tries to practise Stoicism daily - the school of philosophy that believes the path to happiness is living an ethical life in accordance with nature. In a story as old as time, Bobby was pushed into getting a dog by his wife. He wasn’t against the idea because he loves dogs, but it took his wife to finally make it happen. They are now the proud pet parents of a mini-dachshund named Elon -named after….you guessed it…Elon Howard Eaton, the famous American ornithologist.(JK it’s the other famous Elon.)
Nima is a commercial photographer and founder and creative at The Glass Eye Productions. Confucius said “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Nima is living proof that’s not just an old saying. He worked in sales, insurance and real estate before his passion for photography evolved into a full-time career working with major brands like Dyson, Porsche and Mercedes. He also has a YouTube channel about cars, cameras and photography.
Born in Iran and raised in Richmond, British Columbia, Nima currently lives in South Surrey, British Columbia with his wife and son. He graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Finance. Nima’s affinity for animals began when he and a girlfriend decided to adopt a shelter cat and later began volunteering at the shelter together. The girlfriend soon became a wife because, as everyone knows, nothing keeps a partnership together like working for a cat. They eventually decided they wanted to spend their lives vacuuming dog hair and now have an 11 year-old Samoyed named Tintin. Outside of work, Nima enjoys photography and video creation…wait never mind…there is no outside of work when the hobby you love is your work.
Gavin brings decades of experience in software development to his role as project lead on GoChip’s software platform. With more than 30 years of experience working in IT, Gavin has worked and lived in many countries. In that time, he worked for one large corporation, founded and sold two software companies and has been a successful independent consultant. Gavin is co-founder and CEO of Syncrasy Limited, a company that focuses on data engineering for the modern world. Syncrasy provides extensible, scalable, and affordable pre-engineered “end-to-end” solutions for rapid solution deployments.
Gavin holds both a BA in Business Information Systems and an MBA from Colorado State University where he received a LEAD award (Leadership, Excellence and Academic Distinction) during his MBA studies.
His passion for animals, especially animals in the wild, began in his early teens when he was living in Botswana. He had the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time in the bush and meet people who have devoted their life to the understanding and protection of animals. With GoChip, Gavin is thrilled to be working with Mission Rabies and witness the vital work they do around the world.Born in Sheffield, UK, Gavin has experienced a good chunk of the world. He has lived in (in reverse order): Boulder, Colorado, USA, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, Geneva, Switzerland, Jersey Channel Islands, UK, Dar-Es, Salem, Tanzania, Gaborone, Botswana, Lagos, Nigeria, Tehran, Iran, Doncaster, UK
Alwyn Sebastian is a partner with TSA Law in Bengaluru, India specializing in criminal litigation. He is passionate about social justice issues and works to protect the rights of marginalized people, children, and animals. In addition to GoChip, Alwyn is also a legal advisor to organizations in India including: Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) a non-profit animal welfare organization in Bangalore. People For Animals (PFA) in Bangalore and Mysuru. PFA is an organization that rescues, treats, and rehabilitates urban wild animals. Action Alliance for Recycling Beverage Cartons (AARC) is an industry initiative that is committed to strengthening the beverage carton recycling ecosystems.
Muktha Foundation is a non-profit focussing on training, research, and advocacy to prevent abuse and promote mental health.Hasiru Dala is a social impact organisation that works with waste pickers and other waste workers to ensure a life with dignity. Alwyn also provides advisory support to the Animal Husbandry Department, Government of Karnataka, India.
