Owner/CEO's Name & Business's Name
Fabian Kaempfer;
Year Established
2009
Why is your business unique and what's your pitch?
Chocomize is the first company in the US that allows people to create their perfect chocolate bar. They can choose their favorite chocolate base (dark, milk, or white) and then add up to 5 ingredients from a selection of over 100. Our ingredients range from the common like peanuts or almonds, to the very unusual like beef jerky or 23 karat gold flakes.
We knew we had a great idea with Chocomize but never would have imaged that things would catch on that quickly. Our mission is to change the way consumers shop online by making them an integral part of the product they purchase.
What led you to start the business?
When my two business partners and I graduated from Columbia University in 2009, the job market looked bleak and we had to reconsider the traditional career options.
One day the three of us visited the local supermarket. Nick visited the penny candy section and loaded up on candy, chocolate, and nuts. He accidently left the bag in Eric's car on a hot summer day, and when a day later we found the chocolate melted together into one giant ball.
We put the amalgamation of chocolate, candy and nuts in a fridge and noticed that it was actually pretty delicious. We decided to make a business out of it where people could create chocolate bars exactly the way they like it.
The concept caught on right away and we have had national coverage through magazines such as O - The Oprah Magazine, The Costco Connection, Brides etc.
Lessons Learned
It is in the definition of a web designer to miss deadlines. It takes a lot more time and money to start a business than you originally think. Get a good hosting provider - you get what you pay for. We were featured in urbandaddy.com and got 5000 visits in 20 minutes. And then 0 visits for the next 24 hours because our hosting provider canceled our account. We now have a dedicated host that is capable of handling large amounts of traffic. You can never be too young to become an entrepreneur.