Pink Certified

Everyone’s been talking about a certain student-made business that goes by the name of Pink Certified. So here’s the scoop.

What is Pink Certified? To start, it's a company, and all companies have a front-person, a CEO. The brains at the forefront of the operation, Zakir Rothstein, is the 7th grade businessman (and talented athlete) that created Pink Certified. 

When asked what he believes Pink Certified is, he answered, “From a business perspective it’s just a discount business.” To explain a little more, Pink Certified is based on stamps, coupons, and supportive local businesses. You sign up online, on a website Zakir made using a server called Wix (This is not an ad for Wix, don’t worry), and then on Thursdays Zakir goes around giving stamps that you use to get discounts at restaurants and delis. Each week Zakir partners with a different store. It’s smart, but why is it favorable?

Why Zakir created Pink Certified

In his own words, Zakir created it to- “Make sure my generation could have an opportunity to see all that New York has to offer.” To summarize a little more of what he said, in the Big Apple there are millions of local, high quality places to get food that don’t have star- or Dunkin’- as the first part of their name.

“The goal of Pink Certified is to bring chains down and uplift local businesses,” Zakir said as he spoke about Pink Certified. It’s important to give attention to places that aren’t big fast food chains. No matter how deliciously fulfilling they might be. Some of the local shops he has had deals with include Nacho Macho Tacos, Bird, Kung Fu Bubble Tea, and Pizza Town. But no one just dreams up this idea overnight. So how did Zakir come up with this impressive business pitch?

From Start to Finish

Originally, Zakir wasn’t into opening up all our minds beyond Chick-fil-a. He was in it for the profit. He wanted to charge his friends for just a useless stamp on their hand. They would get nothing out of it. When talking to him, he compared his original idea to the brand Supreme. Their overpriced shirts or hats have nothing but their name on them and yet they build up a huge amount of sales.

A bit of a scam right? His parents thought so too. They were the ones who ended up convincing him to do something else. That’s when Zakir realized how genius a company like Pink Certified would be. It’s beneficial to him and others and it’s perfectly ethical. So yeah, this business is ingenious. But nothing lasts forever. Especially in middle school. But Zakir has already thought ahead to the future.

“I'd say a premium plan is coming and I’m gonna branch out to different schools,” he told the Wolf Press. 

When asked how long he plans to continue Pink Certified he responded, “Hopefully until eighth grade, but I probably can’t do it in high school just because wherever I go to school probably won’t have the same geographical location that’s easy to hype in.”

So we’ll have another year of discounts from our favorite businesses thanks to Pink Certified. We all hope to see how it will continue to grow and develop. Make sure to sign up online and support local restaurants and shops near MS447.