WOW STORY OF THE DAY: He Had Two Labradors Named Maple and Willow and Built America's First Pet-Forward Air Charter Service

Benton Miller, CEO and co-founder of RetrievAir, and Mark Williams, co-founder and aviation veteran who previously founded and exited Sunwing Airlines at $1 billion in revenue, launched America's first pet-forward air charter service in January 2025. RetrievAir raised $776,000 from Alexis Ohanian and Seven Seven Six on Shark Tank US Season 17 Episode 4, launched inaugural flights on May 21 2025 across nine US cities, expanded to four new cities in February 2026, and is redefining how families travel with their pets.

Two Labradors, a 3M Career, a Kelley MBA, and a 30-Year Aviation Veteran Who Said Yes

Benton Miller's professional journey began at Fidelity Investments, where he interned in 2012 and 2013. He pursued a BBA in Professional Selling at Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business, studying also at Maastricht University and Harvard University before graduating in 2014. He then joined 3M, progressing from Frontline Sales Professional through Regional Sales Representative, Safety Specialist, US Training Supervisor, US and Canada Safety Training Manager, and ultimately Regional Sales Manager, a role he held from July 2021 until February 2025.

Throughout that career, Benton and his wife dreamed of travelling with Maple and Willow. Airline restrictions, confusing regulations, and the emotional toll of separation kept getting in the way. In January 2025, he founded RetrievAir. One month later, he was joined by co-founder Mark Williams, an aviation veteran with more than 30 years of experience who had previously founded Sunwing Airlines, growing it to $1 billion in revenue before a successful exit. The two met through a mutual friend after 2022.

"Benton had this idea for an airline that was a niche product for people travelling with their pets," Williams said. The concept inspired Williams to re-enter aviation. Together, they built a founding team combining Benton's sales and entrepreneurial instincts with Mark's institutional aviation expertise.

Benton also completed an MBA from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business in 2023. "The Kelley School of Business gave the structure, skills, and connections to take my pain points and ideas and help me launch it into a company," he says. "Since childhood, I've dreamed of starting my own business, and these challenges have given me the drive to create a solution."

Embraer 135 Jets, Private Terminals, RVR Aviation, and Nine Cities From Day One

The boldest product decision RetrievAir made was to enter aviation through public air charters rather than launching a full commercial airline, dramatically reducing overhead and regulatory complexity while delivering a genuinely superior product.

Scale and Real-World Impact

Enterprise Parameter	Key Operational Metrics & Details
Founders	Benton Miller (CEO) & Mark Williams (Ex-Sunwing Airlines Founder)
Year Founded	January 2025
Business Model	Public air charter service (pet-forward aviation)
Aircraft Operating	Embraer 135 Jets
Flight Launch Date	May 21, 2025 (Inaugural launch across 9 US cities)
Geographic Expansion	Added 4 new cities in February 2026
Institutional Investment	$776,000 from Alexis Ohanian / Seven Seven Six (Shark Tank US Season 17 Episode 4)
Founders' Background	3M Sales Leadership, Kelley MBA (Benton Miller) | $1B Sunwing Exit (Mark Williams)

The Most Defensible Aviation Brands Are Built at the Intersection of Personal Passion and Deep Industry Expertise

The sharpest lesson from RetrievAir's journey is that disruptive consumer categories are built when personal pain points are matched with seasoned operational execution.

Benton Miller brought the firsthand customer experience, sales drive, and vision. Mark Williams brought three decades of aviation leadership and a proven playbook for building a $1 billion airline. Together, they transformed public air charter operations into a seamless, pet-first travel ecosystem.

Sources: Canine Chronicle, Dallas Innovates, Aerospace Global News, Shark Tank Blog, Primetimer, Shark Tank Companies, Moviedelic, Poets and Quants