ZOHR relocates HQ to Dallas; KC lauded as its test site, but too limiting to grow brand nationally
February 18, 2020 | Tommy Felts
Everything’s bigger in Texas for ZOHR — including the startup’s potential to drive onto the national automotive scene, said Komal Choong.
Photo courtesy of Zohr
“Kansas City has been our test market to prove out key elements of our growth and market expansion strategies,” said Choong, co-founder of ZOHR, confirming Tuesday that the on-demand tire service startup has relocated its headquarters to Dallas. “On the contrary, however, Kansas City has also limited our opportunity to grow into a national brand.”
“We’re getting much more traction with larger partnerships in Dallas compared to Kansas City,” he added.
ZOHR — one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2019 — offers its mobile tire service to customers in the Kansas City and Dallas markets. Its headquarters relocation from the West Bottoms is not expected to impact access to ZOHR’s service across the KC metro, Choong said.
Zohr’s elevator pitch: Zohr – Tires Delivered & Installed is basically a tire shop that comes to you. We sell, deliver, and install new tires at your home or your office. We’re changing the way you change your tires and just making that process as easy as possible for the end consumer.
Other market destinations on the horizon for ZOHR in 2020: Houston, Austin and Denver.
Founded in 2015 by brothers Komal and Anoop Choong, ZOHR previously completed the Y Combinator Fellowship and Techstars Mobility in Detroit. The startup also is a portfolio company of Techstars, the KCRise Fund, Firebrand Ventures and Chicago-based M25.
“Kansas City is our hometown and our early customers gave us the support we needed to grow the business organically,” Choong said.
Click here to learn more about ZOHR’s tire delivery service.
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
Featured Business
2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
This stay-at-home mom took risks in search of her identity; starting a business revealed authenticity was already in stock
There’s beauty in stepping out of your comfort zone, said Franki Ferguson. “Even if it scares you,” the founder of Fonti Collections added. Ferguson, a life-long Kansas Citian, launched her online clothing boutique Sept. 18, aiming to offer more than just trendy apparel. Her mission: help women feel empowered and confident — while using entrepreneurship…
KC’s worst food is wasted food: New app helps restaurants keep meals out of the trash can
Kansas City diners can soon dig into affordable, delicious food while helping the planet. Too Good To Go, the world’s largest marketplace for surplus food, will officially launch Nov. 13 in Kansas City. The app connects local food businesses with surplus food to consumers who can buy Surprise Bags of that food for half the…
Vintage-inspired Relikcs streams ‘anti-technology’ into the digital age with high-end audio furniture
A line of West Bottoms-built, high-end stereo consoles capitalizes on a gold rush for vinyl nostalgia, said Paul Suquet, noting their vintage-inspired business bridges the gap between a digital era and “the beauty of analog sound.” “Music is something that connects us,” added Dan Posch, one of Suquet’s partners at Relikcs Furniture, a local maker…
These KC nonprofits showed resiliency; their reward: $200K grants from Bank of America
Bank of America this fall continued the 20-year run for its Neighborhood Builder grants program, awarding two Kansas City nonprofits with $200,000 grants and access to exclusive leadership training resources and a national network of nonprofit peers. The 2024 honorees are Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy and Cultivate Kansas City — tapped for their work…