We were lucky to catch up with Andrew Nussbaum recently and have shared our conversation below.

Andrew, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I’m a big golfer and I noticed that I was ripping through / losing grip of my gloves so quickly into use, forcing me to buy a new one sooner than I’d ever want to. I wanted to see if there were any golf gloves out there that I could buy that wouldn’t need to be replaced as quickly, but nothing like that existed. Every glove on the shelf is the exact same as each other, except the logo.

I spent a lot of time researching what materials / process could be used to solve the problems I saw in mainstream golf gloves. After hours and hours of research, I found what I was looking for; we use a higher-quality leather, that’s just as soft, thin and flexible but far more durable and moisture-resistant, thus solving those two big problems, and allowing consumers to save money on a performance-enhancing product.

It took me over a year to try and test different samples from different manufacturers and introduce the product that I currently sell.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I graduated from the University of Michigan in 2022, and started my career in Investment Banking. However, I had always wanted to start a business but didn’t have my aha-idea moment yet.

After college, and before starting work, I had nothing to do except play golf everyday — this is where I came across the idea for Kiko.

I started Kiko to solve a problem that golfers see in an extremely important piece of gear: the golf glove. For decades, gloves have been an afterthought in the golf industry — the big four golf companies (Titleist, FootJoy, TaylorMade and Callaway) have dominated the market. After looking into this, I found it interesting how companies that focus on clubs and balls, and pay no attention to gloves, are some of the only options out there.

This is when I realized there was no company that’s focused on solving those aforementioned problems in golf gloves. That why our focus at Kiko is solely on the golf glove. To innovate and enhance one of the most important, and forgotten about, pieces of golf gear.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Pure relentlessness. I spend hours sending cold outreach emails and making in-person visits to prospective clients. Most of the time I don’t even get a reply. However, the more I keep going, the more responses and interest I see developing.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

This is honestly my favorite part about running my own business. I love meeting people, getting to know them, and solving a problem that they may have.

It’s super important to develop personal relationships with clients and potential clients. I am truly grateful for everyone who has given us an opportunity and I try my best to go out of my way and let them know that. I will do anything to make sure my clients are happy and are getting more from Kiko than they could ever imagine.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kiko.golf
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kikogolfco/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kikogolf