Whose is Whooz?
Founder, 2010
Apple chargers are like socks and hairties — an endless cycle of buying and losing. Maybe you forgot it, maybe someone stole it. Everyone’s got a story. I wanted a solution, so I embarked on my first entrepreneurial adventure, created the company Whooz, LLC and started designing a world of characters to turn boring white chargers into friends that would stand by our side no matter what. I launched the company with my first kickstarter, raising $20k. With over 30 skus and worldwide distribution, Whooz customers included Urban Outfitters, MoMA, and Uncommon Goods. In 2015 I sold the non US portion of the company to my Asian affiliate, automated the US supply chain, and ran the company passively on Amazon until 2019.
Kickstarter Page
Branding Strategy
Whooz is a fun, whimsical brand that was created to turn the conflict of charger confusion into a source of amusement and connection. The brand is character based with accompanying bios for each character. Packs include four characters arranged by theme and are intended to be shared with friends. Whooz aren’t just stickers, they’re creatures, pets, and friends that you will interact with every day of your plugged in life.
Building the Right Product
Whooz was my first entrepreneurial venture, and I had to be strategic to make it work. I was self-funding, handling everything alone, so I needed an idea that was simple yet served a broad market with little direct competition—something I could store and ship from my living room to start. Tech accessories were booming, so I explored concepts from iPhone cases to earbud organizers. The breakthrough came after a fight with my roommate over identical chargers. At the time, there were no accessories for Apple power bricks. I mocked up a prototype and handed it to people—no explanation needed. They immediately groc’d it and loved it. That’s when you know you’ve hit on the right product: it solves an obvious problem and delights customers at first touch.
Building the Product Right
As an impulse item that would likely live near checkout, Whooz needed more than clever utility—it needed a strong identity that stood out from a sea of pegged products. I designed playful packaging that felt like opening a tiny envelope of treats, with a single die cut across all SKUs to streamline costs. Packs fit four designs, inviting sharing and boosting perceived value. Fulfillment was equally strategic: product assembly was as simple as stuffing envelopes, and the flat packs shipped with the lowest postage rates. I could keep thousands of units in my home office, ready to ship. It was a lean, joyful system that turned a small idea into something big.
