Repair, Replace, Recycle: Taking the industry green.
Zach Ellman, owner of Just Wireless Inc, was just seven years old when he built his first computer. While most kids played games on the computer, Zach alongside his father, built them. “My dad was a visionary when it came to computers,” Zach said as he reflected on the memory of his father coming home with a computer in 1982, well before computers were a household item. Coming from a legacy of techies, Zach learned his curiosity from his father who he said “wanted to know everything he could about electronics.”
Surprisingly Zach took a turn away from electronics and started law school. It didn’t take long for him to acquire a side hustle that involved working with electronics, primarily pagers. He needed to earn some extra cash to survive during law school and he found the job interesting, so he stuck with it for a year.
He soon came to the realization his heart just wasn’t in law. After dropping out of law school, he moved to San Diego to work with Sprint’s corporate office and other cellphone companies in the area. He worked at the corporate level of technology for 3 years in California until an opening for Verizon was available in Flagstaff- Zach’s home where always wanted to return to and put down roots in the place where his love for computers and electronics first blossomed.
He worked under the Verizon umbrella for 8 years before realizing he had his own vision for the industry. People needed quick repairs, needed phones that were unlocked without contracts and wanted to be able to buy a phone easily without breaking the bank. He wanted to make all these things possible. From these realizations, he cultivated his business model: repair, replace, recycle.
Beyond repairing and selling devices, Zach is thinking big picture. He believes wholeheartedly in repair and recycle. He wants to change the cell phone industry into more of a fix-it industry and steer away from over consumption. He believes this is the way he can make a difference in our world.
Zach struggled with wholesale redistribution and finding quality products, when a friend referred him to Certified Cell. “What they’ve done, in my opinion, is such a great help to the repair industry dealers, to the low-end retailers, to the guys in this industry that really grind.” He said. “Having somebody who has the ability to harness and procure product that is quality is pivotal.”
In terms of expansion, he sees his business expanding online. His goal is to get the word out more, so consumers know to go to his repair shop rather than big box stores- which are overpriced and take longer. Harnessing the power of consignment pre-owned inventory, Zach most definitely is chipping away at his goal of making the industry more “green.” He wants people to know you don’t need a brand new device to get something of great quality.
“I have been very blessed and comfortable with Certified Cell. They have been amazing. Their system has been super easy. Most importantly they have great products that are top shelf and match the quality of a brand new device.”
