When Jeff Zeiders opens a box of fine cigars, it’s questions like ‘how do you drink your coffee?’ and ‘what’s your favorite late-night munchie’ that help him pick the best smokes for his customers.

“We saw that in the whole cigar market, there was no company that had a quiz-based platform,” Zeiders, the CEO of Mobile-based CigarClub.com, said. “When you come onto our website, there’s a quiz that you take. It asks ‘What is your favorite beer, type of drink, favorite food….’ and from that we hand-pick cigars for each customer. There’s no other platform that has the capacity to do that sort of specialization.”

Zeiders and his business partner Chris Yokley met at StartUp weekend in August and 9 months later they have a thriving business.

“It was a 60-second concept and in 6 to 8 months, it’s grown into a real company,” Zeiders said.

Zeiders said they launched the website in December and already have subscribers in roughly 15 different states.

His next step is to compete in the finals for Alabama’s Launchpad competition later this month.

“It’s kind of like ‘Shark Tank,’ but here in Alabama,” Zeiders said.

“We are so proud of Cigarclub.com. They’ve made it to the finale. They’re only one of 5 companies statewide,” said Danette Richards, director of Small Business Development for the Chamber of Commerce. “The companies that want to compete started in January and they go through phases. Cigarclub.com is one of the five who has made it to the finale.”

Richards said the winner of Launchpad could take home up to $250,000.

“It can be a game changer,” Richards said. “It’s free money. It’s not a loan.”

You can take the CigarClub Quiz HERE>>>https://cigarclub.com/signup/quiz