A Problem, A Solution, An Idea And Now Zakibox

By Hansol Hwang

Courtesy photo / ZakiBox

ZakiBox did not randomly occur to Morcos’ mind, but the idea was prompted by the introduction of a problem. One day Morcos was helping his son-in-law find a file in one of the storage boxes in the garage, which required them to rummage through all the boxes in a disorderly manner.

“My son-in-law had all these boxes in the garage and he came to pick out a file, and after an hour he found the box and it was all the way on the floor and he had to put all the boxes out to get what he wanted from there,” Morcos said.

That is when he thought “there has to be a better way” of finding stored items without going through any hassle.

The original idea was to just have a stackable box that had access in the front, Morcos said. And that is when ZakiBox became an idea April 2017.

The Organizer/Storage ZakiBox stacked on top of each other

Morcos shared it with his three friends as they were getting coffee. And the three friends said “it’s a great idea.”

His first prototype was made four months after this conversation, but it was not made with the desired materials because it was only a prototype.

Be Zaki, Be Smart

In regards to the name “Zaki,” it actually means smart in Arabic, Morcos said. This was not the first name that came to Morcos’ mind.

Originally, Morcos wanted to call it “Smart Box,” but the domain name for it was already purchased and unavailable.

“One day I was with my family, my children and I were at the Angel game in Anaheim and my brain couldn’t stop. I couldn’t watch the game. I was preoccupied with the name, what would I call it?” Morcos said. “My daughter-in-law said, ‘Why don’t we call it smart in a foreign language.’”

“So we thought about smart in French, Spanish and different languages and it didn’t sound good,” Morcos said. “I am Egyptian and I speak Arabic. I wondered what is smart in Arabic? It is Zaki.”

Even though Morcos thought of the name that day, the name Zaki was always a part of his family and himself.

“So zaki means smart in Arabic and to make things more interesting my father’s name was Zaki. So my father’s name is Zaki and my middle name is also Zaki,” he said.

The Box Without Limit

ZakiBox has its intended use for organization and storage, but Morcos said there is no prescribed way for its use.

“When people ask me, ‘what can I use it for,’ I say the sky is unlimited. You just think of what you need it for and you will come up with a use for it,” Morcos said. “Believe me, you will find a use for it.”

When people see a demonstration of the ZakiBox at tradeshows, it only takes them a minute before they start to come up with their own ideas and uses for the ZakiBox, Morcos said.

Angelica Contreras, has been friends with Morcos for 25 years and is a retired manager, said she plans to use it when she goes to the grocery store, laundromat and gym. She also likes the ZakiBox for its durability.

Another long-term friend of Morcos of 23 years, Mark Parker said versatility is the best aspect About Zakibox. He is currently a retired from the commercial property and risk management field. But he also noted that Morcos is always thinking about innovation for his product.

“He is always thinking about how he can make it better,” Parker said.

Additionally, ZakiBox has the potential to save not only space, but also money.

Frank Yashar, an electrical engineer, has been friends with Morcos for 38 years and he said he wished he had ZakiBoxes instead of purchasing a $10,000 custom installed cabinet in his garage. He said he probably would have been able to purchase about 24 to 30 ZakiBoxes with that money.

Moreover, Morcos also intends on creating custom made ZakiBoxes for the future.

“You imagine it, we will build it,” he said. He said it can be tailored to be any size and dimension. There will also be a plethora of color choices as well.

Outside of home use, he said ZakiBox is useful for college students, mothers for their children’s activities, real estate agents, attorneys, actors and actresses, and musicians to name a few.

“I have a lot of passion for ZakiBox and I believe very strongly that every household has a use for ZakiBox one way or another,” Morcos said. “Homes are getting smaller and our junk is getting bigger, maybe this is the future way of storing and organizing our home.”