Today we’d like to introduce you to Brad Keiller.
Hi Brad, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba and educated in several Canadian cities. My parents were immigrants who fled apartheid South Africa. I’m incredibly grateful for the sacrifice they made, leaving all they knew, to give me the gift of opportunity in Canada.
In 2000, I was finishing up an MBA program in Toronto when I came out to be the best man at a long-time friend’s wedding. After a couple of conversations, I changed my flight, extended my stay an extra week, drove my friend to the airport for the honeymoon and began a job search. Three weeks later, with some paperwork, I moved to San Diego to work for a startup software company.
Eventually, I ended working for another software company for another 9 years, but it was a 90-100% travel job and inevitably I burnt out. Looking to make a change I began thinking about starting my own business. One day I went surfing with a friend and between waves, I asked him what he wanted to do with his life. His answer started it all, “I want to own a gourmet donut shop!”, I offered to help him with the business plan thinking it would help him now and me later when I would need to do this for myself. I did the financial projections and decided to invest in the company. My accountant cautioned me against it. When I insisted, he gave his blessing if I agreed to be involved in the day to day of the business. In December of 2013 we filed the incorporation papers and that was the birth of Nomad Donuts.
We opened our original shop in 2014 after building out a space in the 4500 block of 30th St. That location does hold a special place in my heart, but we realized after a few months that the shop was too small, so I started planning for a larger location. Also, about that time my co-founder realized that the donut dream wasn’t for him and I bought him out so he could move on. In 2016 we started construction on our 3102 University Ave location and today that is our home and only shop. How we have survived this long sometimes amazes me. It took a ridiculous amount of risk taking, hard work and more sacrifice than I could have ever imagined. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat, but if given the chance I might do a few things differently.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nomad has been an incredibly rough road. To the outsider, it probably looks great, but it has been a struggle from day one. There were so many struggles and obstacles that I don’t even know where to start. My friends often say I should write a book, it would not be a boring read!
Short of writing that book here, we’ve struggled to get loans and raise money, to control costs, with employees, with managers, HR issues, partnerships and so much more. I’ve made many mistakes but fortunately the company, brand and I were strong enough to survive them. The biggest mistake I made was to underestimate how much moving from the original location to the current one on University Avenue would change the business. From the cost of the move to the management team we needed to run the new business, I underestimated it all.
All mistakes come with costs though and I’ve paid for them all. There were years where I could barely pay myself and some very dark mental health moments. There were times I was on the receiving end of social media and online anger. Probably the most interesting of those was when a Yelp review where a customer complained and one starred us over Ray, homeless man living outside the shop, went viral. I was in a dark place at the time. The year before I couldn’t afford to pay rent and lost my apartment. I couched surfed for a couple of months. Eventually, a friend and investor in Nomad, let me move into his studio office behind his house. Ray and I would joke about how I was at the high end of homelessness. The irony is that I was a “technically homeless” guy defending another homeless guy. There I was giving media interviews as this magnanimous business owner when I’m just a guy who understands, first hand, how close homelessness is for so many of us.
Nomad has given me a great appreciation of my friends and family. While we think of the entrepreneur as this self-made person with superhuman drive and work ethic, the reality is that it takes a village. It was largely my OB crew, and even my co-founder, that believed in me and invested in Nomad when we hit hard financial times. They took me in and gave me the support I needed to get Nomad and myself back on our feet. Even my friends and family in Canada sent or lent money. If you enjoy Nomad, then they are the ones to thank for our survival and hopefully our longevity.
For those entrepreneurs looking for some nuggets of wisdom I can only offer cliché type mantras that kept me going like “there’s no such thing as a failure who keeps on trying”, “when you’ve hit bottom you can only go up”, “why are you afraid if you have nothing left to lose?”. Words of caution, please question whether you’re sacrificing everything for a bad idea that won’t work.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
First and foremost Nomad Donuts is focused on building a better community through our contributions and being a welcoming and safe space for all. We also strive to be a great place to work and to empower our team members. To enable that we focus on making great products so we can be relevant and have staying power in the community. Our products are donuts, bagels, bagel sandwiches, coffee beer and wine. We make everything from scratch. Everything is inspired from our travels and experiences. Our bagels are inspired by my love of Montreal bagels combined with some techniques from different bakers and NYC bagels. Our donut flavors and bagel sandwiches are inspired by our travels, favorite meals, favorite cocktails, beers and more. We’ve consistently been voted the best or runner up for donuts and bagels in San Diego media polls.
What sets us apart from others is also what I’m most proud of and what I would want readers to know. Through all the struggles I learned that it is the team that makes the difference. I now have a relentless focus on recruiting, training and supporting our team members. Nomad needs to be a fun place to work because if we’re having fun, then you’re having fun too. We also need to pay well to retain our people. We need to give them autonomy and responsibility so they can grow. We also stand up for what we believe, for the disadvantaged and those in need. Doing this allows all of our team to feel good about what we do and attracts the right type of team members and customers. Oh yeah, we also make the best donuts and bagels in San Diego!
We also have a new food truck for events and popups. The truck serves the savory side of our menu, bagel sandwiches, poutine, fries, etc. So if you would like breakfast or lunch catered let us know or book us through nomadtrucksd@nomaddonuts.com or info@nomaddonuts.com.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
When I was about 5 years old my parents bought me a dog for my birthday. I vaguely remember the moment I held him but it was really all the moments after that were special. We named him Buster and he went almost everywhere with me! In Winnipeg, summer days are incredibly long and I remember sometimes playing outside with him from early morning to sundown. We moved a few times when I was young, which is always difficult, but Buster was always there.
Pricing:
- Donuts are $2 to $4
- Bagels are $2
- Bagel Sandwiches are $6.50 – $14
Contact Info:
- Email: info@nomaddonuts.com
- Website: nomaddonuts.com
- Instagram: @nomaddonuts
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nomaddonuts/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nomaddonuts
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nomad-donuts-san-diego-9
Image Credits
Kimberly Motos (@k1mberly)
James Tran (@jtran_photos)
