Zaid Shahatit

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Zaid Shahatit is a Canadian entrepreneur. Zaid started Nooks in 2020 and is based in Toronto.^[1]

Career

Early Career

No early career info added yet...

Nooks

Zaid started Nooks in 2020. They detail the beginnings of their company in their Starter Story interview: ^[1]

Q: How did you get started on Nooks?

I was always going to go to med school as far back as I remember. I busted my a-- in high school and university - balanced fitness with a good GPA, extra-curricular, research, etc. Unfortunately, I applied and didn’t get in, so I decided to start working on a Masters Degree in Genetics and Bipolar Disorder research. Although it’s still currently my “day job”, I have to say that I really didn’t like having to go somewhere 9-5 and waste 3 hours a day on a commute.

I’ve always wanted to start selling online. I looked at brands like Chubbies and Dr. Squatch and absolutely loved their humor-packed marketing to regular guys. Fast forward to needing to buy underwear, and I remember not really connecting to brands like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger - they show ripped dudes with 10-pack abs and play off of “sexy” marketing. Although they do cater to a certain segment of the market, and clearly their marketing works, I thought that “regular guys” (including me) were being underserved. Plus, their materials are either cotton (which isn’t very… ”friendly”) or synthetic materials. Both of them are uncomfortable, get sweaty and are generally unpleasant to wear.

Here’s a simple test to see if you really connect with a brand. Ask yourself “what underwear am I wearing?”. I’m willing to bet that for most guys, they don’t really know. When it comes to underwear, most guys don’t consider what they’re wearing. All they know is that it’s something you wear under your clothes. I thought - hey, let me try to get guys excited about underwear.

I jumped on google and looked for a brand that matched what I was imagining and found nothing. With that in mind, I decided to see what I could whip up. I had some previous experience in eCommerce helping my brother out and some experience getting products manufactured from a previous venture, so it’s good that I wasn’t jumping into this blindly.

Source ^[1]

References