Sarah Pierce always knew she would be an entrepreneur. She just needed a business concept.

That idea came to her, like it does with so many innovators, as a result of her own needs. In this case, Pierce just wanted a pet crate that didn’t look like it belonged in a dog pound.

The Bellevue resident collaborated with her husband to build a posh, wooden dog den for their Redbone Coonhound, Amber. They designed the lair to look like an end table so it would match the surroundings of their home.

“We made it so it could function for us as well as her,” Pierce said. “It was a way to have her in our living room.”

Pierce took that idea and ran with it, forming her first company, DenHaus.

The business, run entirely by women with MBAs, now offers a line of three dens, each designed to look like an end table or nightstand. There’s the original TownHaus, made of wood; the metal BowHaus; and the Zen Haus, composed of fiberglass. All are available at DenHaus.com.

The TownHaus sells on Costco.com as well, under the name “Hardwood Hideaways.”

DenHaus also sells dog beds, and human apparel featuring the slogan “dog is good.”

Pierce says her company’s internet sales grew 250 percent last year, despite the economic downturn.

“You’d think people are spending less on pets, but they’re not,” she said. “We’ve had a nice surprise.”

Pierce plans to continue that trend by opening a new showroom in Bellevue’s Old Main business district. The 1,500 square-foot shop is due to open by December at 37 103rd Avenue Northeast.

DenHaus uses a Washington-based manufacturer to produce the BowHaus. It’s a nonprofit organization that employs disabled workers.

Pierce figures she’ll have what it takes to keep her company running smoothly after spending 10 years working in the corporate world.

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Pierce served as the head of business planning at Washington Mutual, then as senior financial analyst for Amazon.com, and finally as director of business planning and finance for image distributor Corbis.

Her last gig before launching DenHaus was with N2H2, where she worked with a small turn-around team that sold the business within two years.

“I always knew I wanted to start my own company, so I exposed myself to as many different types of businesses as I could,” Pierce said.