A man walks dogs on leash at a park in Tokyo, Japan.
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/BloombergThe dog-walking app Wag has become a symbol for critics of SoftBank Group Corp.’s investments in technology startups—a seemingly frivolous and unproven business with far more money than it needs. The departure of its chief executive officer Tuesday will do little to quiet the skeptics.
Hilary Schneider, the outgoing CEO, joined Wag Labs Inc. early last year around the same time that SoftBank invested $300 million in the startup. She’s leaving to become CEO of Shutterfly Inc., the photo printing company that was sold to private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC in June and merged with one-time rival Snapfish. The partner at SoftBank who led the Wag funding round, Jeff Housenbold, ran Shutterfly for 11 years.