From a Coates Street Garage to Global Growth: How GiftTree NZ Joined the Ranks of Garage-Born Giants

Success stories in business often begin in places most people would never expect — basements, spare bedrooms, and garages.

Some of the world’s most iconic companies grew from these humble spaces: Amazon, founded by Jeff Bezos in the garage of his rented home in Bellevue; Microsoft, started by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in a tiny Albuquerque garage with a couple of desks and second-hand computers.

And now, a new name is rising from New Zealand with a remarkably similar beginning: GiftTree NZ.

Auckland’s Coates Street — The Garage That Sparked a Vision

The founder of GiftTree NZ, Sardsha Hareed, didn’t have investors, corporate support, or glamorous office space.

In late 2019, Sardsha cleared out a small garage on Coates Street in Auckland and turned it into a starting point for a new idea — a simple gift business built on honesty, personal service, and carefully curated products.

There was nothing special about the garage.

It leaked when it rained, it was freezing in winter, and the shelves were made from leftover timber.

The “office” consisted of a cheap second-hand table and a laptop that overheated whenever too many browser tabs were open.

But that garage became the heart of a dream.

Parallels With Amazon and Microsoft

When Jeff Bezos launched Amazon in 1994, he started with nothing but a garage, a door-turned-desktop, and an idea to create an online bookstore.

He packed books by hand, drove boxes to the post office himself, and spent nights coding until 3 a.m.

When Microsoft was founded, Gates and Allen built their software in a small Albuquerque garage, surrounded by wires, circuit boards, and empty coffee cups. They didn’t have funding — just determination and belief that computers would change the world.

Similarly, GiftTree NZ was not built by money.

It was built by commitment.

Sardsha packed early orders by hand.

Labels were handwritten.

Customer messages were personally typed one by one.

Every order felt like a milestone.

Just like Amazon’s first month, GiftTree’s early days were slow: four orders, then ten, then twenty. But it was enough to prove something important — people loved the service, not just the products.

Word of Mouth: The Force That Big Companies Can’t Buy

GiftTree NZ didn’t take off because of advertising.

It grew because real customers shared real experiences:

• “This company actually replies.”
• “They treat every order like it matters.”
• “Their gifts feel personal, not mass-produced.”

Soon, courier vans became a daily sight on Coates Street.

Neighbourhood kids used to watch boxes being loaded and joked that “this little garage looks like a warehouse now.”

That was the turning point.

Growing Beyond New Zealand — Slowly, Carefully, Honestly

As demand increased, Sardsha reinvested every dollar back into the business.

There were no shortcuts. No investors. No outside ownership.

One country became two.

Two became five.

Today, GiftTree has expanded with dedicated sites including:

• GiftTree NZ – https://www.gifttree.co.nz/
• GiftTree AU – https://www.gifttree.com.au/
• GiftTree US – https://www.gifttree.us/
• GiftTree CA – https://www.gifttrees.ca/
• GiftTree UK – https://www.gifttree.co.uk/
• The Node NZ – https://www.thenode.co.nz/

It’s a model reminiscent of Amazon in its early international expansion — one step at a time, focusing on quality before scale.

The Hard Years That No One Sees

Every successful company has a chapter that outsiders never witness.

For GiftTree, this included:

• months of almost no profit
• late-night customer support
• lost shipments and supply delays
• learning logistics the hard way
• working alone while others slept
• moments of doubt where giving up felt easier

But similar to how Jeff Bezos once said,

“You have to be stubborn on the vision and flexible on the details,”

Sardsha stayed committed to the mission:

to build a gifting brand rooted in sincerity.

From Garage Dreams to a Recognised Name

In 2024 and 2025, GiftTree began to compete with larger players in the gift market, proving that a small New Zealand business could go head-to-head with established retailers.

Customers returned because:

• service felt human
• pricing was fair
• support was fast and honest
• the brand felt trustworthy
• quality stayed consistent

Just as Amazon earned loyalty through reliability,

and Microsoft became known for innovation,

GiftTree grew through personal connection.

A Kiwi Business With Global Ambition — And a Garage Heart

GiftTree NZ now operates as an international brand, yet it still holds the DNA of its origin:

• simple beginnings
• personal service
• genuine care for customers
• resilience in tough times
• the belief that small businesses can become great

It is a modern reminder that the world’s biggest and most influential companies didn’t start with advantages — they started with courage, a small space, and a vision.

Today, GiftTree stands proudly among the new generation of garage-born success stories.

A small business that dared to grow.

A New Zealand brand with a global future.

And a story that proves one powerful truth:

Great companies don’t start big.

They start brave.