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Jonathan Nichele
Founder & Chief Buddy Officer
Jonathan has always been a dreamer, full of ideas, an entrepreneur at heart. That’s how his friends and family would describe him if you asked them.
Jonathan was born in Brazil and at the age of 20 he dropped out of college and moved to the United States. He didn’t speak any English at the time, so he taught himself by watching Hollywood movies with subtitles.
For the next few years, living in New York City, he worked a few jobs as a waiter and as an Observatory Guide at the Empire State Building, until one day when one of his friends asked if he was interested in a two week job making calls for Inc. Magazine to invite companies to one of their events. Once he started talking to Entrepreneurs, he knew immediately he wanted to stay there, and he did for almost 5 years, until he moved to California.
He describes working for Inc. as one of the most profound experiences of his life, where he was able to work alongside very smart and fantastic people while learning the stories of failures and successes of many brilliant entrepreneurs.
He was empowered and determined to start his own business, and after moving to California, for the next few years he tried to bring to life some of his ideas but nothing really felt like the right fit. He was looking for something meaningful that would make a social impact, not just another company selling a product. After some failures, he finally had a breakthrough, and inspired by his niece Nicolle’s incredible journey fighting Thyroid cancer, he had the idea for Super Duper Buddy, and he knew that this time, it was going to be different.
Jonathan lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his partner Matt. He enjoys traveling, spending the weekends in Napa and Sonoma and visiting his family and friends in Brazil whenever he has a chance.
Junior Ambassadors
About us
Delivering Kindness, One Buddy at a time
Our Story
While our Founder and Chief Buddy Officer Jonathan’s young niece Nicolle was undergoing her years-long treatment for thyroid cancer, he soon learned of many other diseases, conditions, struggles and challenges that all children are faced with during their young lives.
He decided he wanted to do something to make a difference.
The idea for Super Duper Buddy came one day when Jonathan was looking at a sock monkey he had bought for himself a few years earlier, that he had named Buddy. Yes, he did buy a sock monkey for himself as an adult. It was adorable, why not?! And he thought that every child deserves a Buddy. He thought that if a sock monkey could make him as happy as an adult, it would certainly bring smiles to children's faces.
Jonathan then decided to design and start manufacturing his own sock monkey: Buddy.
Determined to make a positive social impact, he chose to follow the One for One business model:
for every Buddy purchased, another Buddy would be donated to a child in need.
That's when Super Duper Buddy was born!
Our goal is for Buddy to bring joy and comfort to every child, to take them to a happier place every time they hug their Buddy, to remove their minds from whatever hardships and challenges they might be facing; to remind them that they are not alone, to hopefully inspire them to play and give them the strength to overcome their challenges.
Our very first design: Buddy the Kind Monkey
Nicolle
Chief Inspiration Officer
Nicolle is a beautiful 10 year old girl who has been battling thyroid cancer for over 3 years. She was diagnosed in August of 2016, just a few weeks before her 7th birthday. Since then, she's had 4 major surgeries, 2 rounds of radiation and countless exams and blood draws every month. She is also coping with the side effects of her treatment and for no longer having her thyroid to produce the necessary hormones that her body needs.
The resilience, love for life and determination that she shows everyday is inspiring to everyone around her.
Nicolle is kind, smart and wants to be a supermodel when she grows up. And even though she lives in Brazil, she has been involved throughout the entire development process of Super Duper Buddy, expressing her opinions and suggestions and thriving in her role as Chief Inspiring Officer.
Nicolle lives in Santa Catarina, Brazil with her dad, her mom, her brother and sister, and two dogs.
Jonathan Nichele
Founder & Chief Buddy Officer
Jonathan has always been a dreamer, full of ideas, a social entrepreneur at heart. That’s how his friends and family would describe him if you asked them.
Jonathan was born in Brazil and at the age of 20, he dropped out of college and moved to the United States. He didn’t speak any English at the time, so he taught himself by watching Hollywood movies with subtitles.
For the next few years, living in New York City, he worked a few jobs as a waiter and as an Observatory Guide at the Empire State Building. Until one day when he was asked by one of his friends if he was interested in a job making calls for Inc. Magazine, for two weeks, to invite companies to one of their events. Once he started talking to entrepreneurs, he knew immediately he wanted to stay there, and he did for almost 5 years as a Senior Project Specialist for the Inc. 500|5000 List. It was a very exciting experience. He worked alongside very creative and fantastic people while learning the stories of failures and successes of many brilliant and inspiring entrepreneurs.
He was empowered and determined to start his own business, and after moving to California, for the next few years he tried to bring to life some of his ideas but nothing really felt like the right fit. He was looking for something meaningful that would make a social impact, not just another company selling a product. After a few ideas, he finally had a breakthrough, and inspired by his niece Nicolle’s incredible journey fighting cancer, he started Super Duper Buddy. He knew then, that it was going to be special.
Jonathan lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
