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Entrepreneur John Hussey doesn’t believe in balance, at least not in the traditional sense. He spends his weekdays building a $100 million company. On the weekends, he’s on an NFL gridiron, managing chaos at full speed. Hussey has been an NFL official for 24 seasons, officiating hundreds of games, including Super Bowl XLV at AT&T Stadium. He lives his dual identities—CEO and referee—with the same intensity. “When you’re all-in on something like I am with both my business and the NFL, I don’t balance,” he says. “I just do the work.”
That ambition revealed itself early. At 21, Hussey launched a courier service out of his garage. Four years later, he sold it to a publicly traded company. He spent his nights and weekends officiating high school football. His type-A wiring took over, leading him to pursue refereeing college football. Today, he’s one of just 17 head referees in the NFL. His next goal: head referee for a Super Bowl.
“There’s an in-season evaluation process after every game,” Hussey says. “The league reviews every marked play and grades every official. That determines postseason assignments. It’s multifaceted—performance, accuracy, communication, consistency. … I’ve been the alternate referee for two Super Bowls. If I’m fortunate enough to get the head job one day, that would be the cherry on top.”
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Hussey launched his latest venture, Cuddly, in 2014. It’s a for-profit, mission-driven marketplace supporting animal rescue and shelter organizations. The idea began with a friend from a Little League board who pitched two concepts: a pet-content site and a crowdfunding engine. Hussey wasn’t interested in the first, but the second grabbed him. Hussey invested $25,000 into building a starter product—just enough to see if donors would swipe their cards and if shelters would trust a new platform.
On both counts, they did. He went on to raise a $2 million friends-and-family round and later a $6 million Series A to operate the business. Cuddly has since raised and distributed $116 million for its partner shelters—annually, the company typically raises around $25 million for its rescue partners. The company also donates more than $4 million worth of pet food each year to shelters from brands like Mars and Purina.
Cuddly operates as a dual marketplace, with shelters on one side and donors on the other—while acting as both a tech platform and a marketing engine. “Most of our partners are small to midsize rescues that can’t afford national advertising,” Hussey says. “So, we focus on donor acquisition and creating an easy, emotionally engaging experience.”
Growth has followed. Cuddly now employs about 45 people, works with organizations in all 50 states, and supports partners operating in global markets like Mexico and Egypt.
Last fall, Hussey entered a new lane—retail. Cuddly Food debuted in 30 Walmart stores across Dallas-Fort Worth. With every bag sold, Cuddly donates a meal back to its partner shelters. “It’s the first step in building a self-sustaining ecosystem,” Hussey says, referencing other purpose-driven brands like Bombas and TOMS. Walmart is taking an active role by collaborating on community initiatives, including adoption events held in store parking lots.
Hussey’s dream is to cross the $100 million revenue mark and build a full consumer packaged goods portfolio of wet food, dry food, treats—everything a pet owner might buy.
The mission runs through Hussey’s home, too. His daughter, son, niece, and a childhood neighbor works at Cuddly. Even the family’s dogs have benefitted, moving from a laundry room kennel to sleeping in the bed Hussey shares with his wife.
Despite two high-intensity careers, Hussey keeps a sense of humor about the contrast between them. He jokes that sometimes, when there’s a call and fans are booing, he wishes he could turn on his microphone and say something like, “You can boo me, but I save puppies during the week.” That blend of purpose and ambition carries straight into his vision for his company’s future. “I want Cuddly to become a household name,” he says. “And if I let my imagination run wild, I’d love to see the Cuddly logo on a NASCAR vehicle one day—where every mile driven raises money for local rescues and shelters. That’s the kind of impact and visibility we’re chasing.”