FOUNDERS STORY

 

NicX didn’t begin in a lab or office. It was born in a garage in Cleveland, Ohio, where founder Nick Dottore spent countless late nights obsessed with building something the world desperately needed but hadn’t yet imagined. He wasn’t an engineer by trade. He became one out of necessity.

Nick grew up during the height of the Juul era—when flavored vapes swept through high schools and created a generation hooked before they understood what addiction meant. He watched friends, teammates, and peers struggle to break free, trapped in a cycle of dependence with no tools that worked.

While earning his Marketing degree from Morehead State University and playing Division 1 football, Nick taught himself mechanical engineering and how to write code, building the first NicX prototypes from scratch. He reverse-engineered existing vape hardware, wired his circuits, and programmed early firmware—all from his parent’s garage. There was no roadmap. Just relentless vision, discipline, and a belief that technology should liberate—not enslave.

Nick’s mission was never to create just another cessation product. He wanted to design the iPhone of smoking cessation—a smart, beautifully engineered, AI-supported device that delivers a gradual, stress-free quitting process backed by neuroscience and behavioral psychology. A tool that didn’t shame users or shock their systems—but instead, met them with empathy, precision, and intelligent support.

Inspired by the bold simplicity of Apple and the impact of purpose-driven design, Nick founded NicX to wage war on nicotine addiction. Today, he leads a company with the same focus that drove its inception: building elegant, effective tools that help people reclaim control over their lives.

NicX isn't just a product—it's a movement to end the addiction that corporations profit from. One user at a time, one phase at a time, it’s helping people quit for good—and it all started in a garage.