The Gold Kiosk’s  mission statement is simple: Give customers the best deal possible when selling their unwanted gold or silver. Why not just go to a jewelry or pawn shop, one might ask. It is because the Gold Kiosk offers unparalleled simplicity. When you use the Gold Kiosk, your are ensuring that you get the money for the true value of your item.

In 2012, Nakia Geller had the vision of an easier way to go about selling gold and silver. This vision led him to form the Gold Kiosk, a high-tech start-up, based on the Space Coast of Florida. Like most startups, especially those which are self-funded, the company faced various hurdles; from design to hardware to software to user interface to testing to deployment. However this did not stop Nakia from assembling a team to help him create a state of the art, five-hundred and thirty six (536 lbs) pound machine.

Starting the Gold Kiosk was not an easy task. The first step was to research and create a “method” as the basis for seeking a U.S patent. Once this was done, a reputable patent attorney was needed to ensure that the ‘pending’ patents were approved.

When it was time to engineer the machine, Theodore Scone (Sr. Hardware Systems Engineer) and Mykel Douglas Sr. (Senior Strategic Consultant, then Sr. Project Manager), put together a small team of developers, designers and engineers, and the work began. The biggest challenge the team faced was integrating its custom user-interface (designed in-house) with the hardware and software. Working alongside the engineers, Nakia focused on the machine’s innovative design to keep the look of the machine as clean, sleek and simple as possible.

Determined to see the Gold Kiosk succeed, Nakia never wavered the pursuit of his goal. Buying jewelry at a fair price has always been – and always will be – the main focus. However, offering people a fair deal for their gold wasn’t his only reason for building the machine. It became apparent that the Gold Kiosk was an extremely safe way to sell gold as well. Even in the case of stolen items, he envisioned the Gold Kiosk partnering with law enforcement to quickly return items to their rightful owners.

With the prototype almost completed, it was time to get feedback from other entrepreneurs, investors and tech enthusiasts alike. What bigger stage to do so, than the respected TechCrunch DISRUPT. The Gold Kiosk generated worldwide buzz and anticipation after thousands saw and touched the ATM machine on Hardware Alley at Disrupt NY 2016, which was held at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in New York City. Shortly after returning to Florida, Gold Kiosk was then invited to the Silicon Valley Open Doors 2016 Technology Investment Conference, where it was honored to be interviewed as an upcoming startup to watch.

Finally, after months of testing, the Gold Kiosk made its public debut on June 23, 2017 at the Merritt Square Mall in Merritt Island, FL. The Gold Kiosk is currently active and open to all members of the community.