The CEO of a fast-growing, insurance startup reportedly threatened to shut down its New York City office entirely over a dispute about how staff were caring for an office puppy named Hamilton, according to a new report. Internal messages described in the reporting show Nico Laqua, Corgi's 26-year-old cofounder and chief executive, telling employees that buying pee pads for the dog was a fireable offense, and that failing to properly care for him reflected an inability to run an office at all.
The episode, which played out in July, centers on Hamilton, a young corgi stationed at the company's New York office, according to Business Insider. A veterinarian had told employees that Hamilton, who was roughly eight weeks old at the time, should not go outside because he wasn't fully vaccinated, so workers began using pee pads indoors instead. Laqua reportedly didn't see it that way, telling staff in blunt terms that “buying pee pads of any sort for Hamilton is a fireable office [sic], on the spot.”
Employees who refused to take the puppy outside were required to schedule one-on-one meetings with Laqua, who allegedly told them the best-case outcome would be a performance improvement plan, per the same Business Insider account. On July 19, Laqua summed up his philosophy bluntly: “if you can't raise a dog, you cannot run an office.”
A Cross-Country Flight to Settle the Dispute
The standoff escalated when Laqua ordered New York staff to send Hamilton to San Francisco, according to internal messages reviewed by Business Insider. One employee was quoted as saying there would be no New York office if Hamilton wasn't in San Francisco by Wednesday morning, and another employee reported that Laqua said he was shutting down the New York City office entirely if the puppy didn't make the trip. As reported by the New York Post, a staffer even suggested telling airport personnel that Hamilton was four months old and vaccinated, though the puppy was reportedly about eight weeks old and not fully vaccinated at the time, per messages and social-media posts cited in the coverage. Hamilton ultimately flew to San Francisco in a carrier. Laqua has said Hamilton was about eight to nine weeks old when he made the trip and has said vaccines are not required for domestic flights on major airlines. Corgi has said it takes the care and wellbeing of its office dogs very seriously and expects employees around the animals to look after them.
Inside a Company Known for 'Hot Girl' Marketing and a Grueling Culture
Corgi was founded in 2024 by Laqua and Emily Yuan after the pair obtained insurance licenses, and the company has since cultivated an unconventional image built around aggressive social-media posting and a hard-charging workplace culture, with employees becoming known online as “Corgi Girls.” The company has denied that it hires attractive women as a marketing tactic; Jeremy Eisemann has said Corgi hires people for their ability to contribute to the business and that characterizing colleagues as a marketing gimmick is disrespectful and misrepresents the company's culture. Brooke LeBlanc, described as Corgi's 29-year-old head of community, posted a viral list of dating non-negotiables for her future husband, saying she wanted a healthy, masculine partner with a provider and protector mentality who was post-economic and still hardworking, and that she did not want to date a loser.
The workplace demands extend well beyond puppy duty. According to The Insurer, Laqua has said employees are expected to work seven days a week, and separately told Business Insider that staff whose regular days off fall on Saturday and Sunday would not have a place at the company. The outlet describes Laqua's approach as an extreme version of the tech industry's “grindset” culture, noting that other startup founders have also embraced sleeping on office mattresses as part of their work arrangements.
Soaring Valuation, Conflicting Numbers
Corgi's valuation has climbed at a striking pace this year. Per The Insurer, the company's valuation rose from $630 million in January to $1.3 billion in early May, then to $2.6 billion three weeks later after closing a $106 million funding round. Forbes reports the trajectory continued from there, reaching $4 billion in July and a reported $5 billion by September following a $64 million extension of its Series B round, according to Forbes. Forbes describes Corgi as an AI insurance company that generates quotes for clients and uses artificial intelligence to manage claims.
Figures on Corgi's total funding and headcount diverge across accounts. Business Insider reports the company has raised more than $431 million and now has about 400 employees across eight offices, while The Insurer put total funding at $378 million; a separate Business Insider report citing PitchBook put employee count at 177. Laqua has also said Corgi spends roughly $400,000 per month on Anthropic and nothing on OpenAI, per The Insurer.
Cafe Expansion Runs Into Health Code Trouble
Corgi's ambitions have extended beyond insurance and into food service, with mixed results. The company's Manhattan cafe was flagged by New York City health inspectors for evidence of mice and insects, as well as for improperly protecting food and supplies from contamination, while its Dogpatch location in San Francisco was forced to close this month for operating without a valid health permit, according to the San Francisco Standard. The outlet reports Corgi is now scaling back its earlier plan to open 100 cafe locations.
