Meet Shirah Benarde | CEO & Co-Founder of NightCap

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shirah Benarde and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shirah, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
Most people don’t think drink spiking happens much or at all. The reality is that drink spiking goes unreported because victims are accused of drinking too much and hospitals don’t have the resources to prove they’ve been drugged. Everyone that I’ve spoken to about NightCap, has some kind of a story about being drugged or knowing someone that has. Another misconception is that it only happens to young women. Men have become a huge target, especially those with money. In Buckhead Atlanta, men were drugged and robbed as the predators used their face ID’s to hack their bank accounts and send them money. It is a very scary world we are living in and everyone should be extra careful. No matter who you are, watch your drink being made and never leave it unattended.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I invented the NightCap Scrunchie in a dream I had when I was just 16, after a close friend of mine had her drink spiked during a night out. I woke up inspired, went to my mom’s closet, grabbed a pair of pantyhose, cut them up, and attached them to a scrunchie to create the first NightCap prototype. NightCap started as one product, scrunchies that unfold into drink covers to prevent roofies and other unwanted substances from being dropped in your drink.

Since then, we’ve worked to expand our product line to make sure no matter who you are or what you’re drinking, we will have a product to make you feel safe. Today, NightCap offers a lot of potentially life saving products, including the hero NightCap Scrunchie, StopTops, bottle caps, keychains and more. We also aim to be as widely accessible and impactful as possible, and we frequently work with bars, clubs, universities, police departments, local governments, non-profits, and other organizations to get these products in the hands of their students and customers.

What sets us apart is our genuine care for our customers. We continue to check in with our community to see what products would make them feel safer.What I’m most proud of is the work that we’ve been doing with legislators and senators to be a voice for those that have been roofied, robbed and/or assaulted because of this problem.

We got here with the combination of working hard everyday, being focused on our mission and putting ourselves out there. I wouldn’t call it easy. Entrepreneurship is failing all the time with an occasional win.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love this question! For all of my Miami friends reading this, I am located in West Palm Beach so save this for your next time up here… I would start the week with a bike ride to Palm Beach Island. On our route we’d stop at Celis in the Royal Poinciana Plaza and get their turkey sammy and an iced vanilla latte with oatmilk. Throughout the week I would take them to Buccan for dinner, The Ben rooftop for the views, and shopping at Cityplace with a pit stop at Pura Vida.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Watching Shark Tank as a kid with my brother opened my eyes to entrepreneurship. I always admired people that started something from nothing. I would think about how possible it was for me to do the same thing especially when they brought young kids on. I learned a lot about business when the Sharks asked the entrepreneurs questions, more than school taught me about business. After going on the show in 2021, it prepared us for anything. If you can stand in front of the Sharks, anything is truly possible.

Website: https://nightcapit.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nightcapit/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirah-benarde-951083195/