The three simple business lessons that launched Vincero Collective watches to wild success
0The three simple business lessons that launched Vincero Collective watches to wild success.
The greatest success stories usually start with a fairly simple idea. They cut through all the overgrowth and clutter to uncover the hidden, yet often straightforward path to profit. Of course, getting from an inspiring idea to shepherding a world-beating success isn’t usually so simple. But despite some bumps along the way, the simple idea of crafting unique, quality, stylish watches for a reasonable price is the business model that took Vincero Collective from hungry startup to successful player in the competitive luxury watch game in three short years.
Vincero’s rise started with three friends who also happened to be business majors at Gonzaga University. When Aaron Hallerman, Tim Nybo, and Sean Agatep graduated, they started looking for the entrepreneurial idea that would launch their careers. That search eventually led the trio from the Pacific Northwest halfway around the world — to the manufacturing hub of the planet: Guangzhou, China.
Working every day in the heart of the world’s product creation center, the guys came up with a handful of business startup ideas. From smartphone and tablet cases to wine accessories to promotional items, some were modest successes, yet most failed to catch on and died. Yet, the lessons learned in those real-life trials by fire helped the group focus on the factors that led to those downfalls—and ultimately into the world of watches.
The technical aspect of watchmaking was challenging from a production standpoint, but intriguing enough for the team to pursue a business in overseeing manufacturing of thousands of watches for outside brands. After a few years under their belts, the team pinpointed major flaws in how and at what cost the watches were produced and sold—learning a few critically important lessons: