FUTURE:PROOF

Expanding a company is a hard thing to do, especially in an industry as saturated and complex as the watch industry.

During the first few months of 2019 we discussed the possibility of raising capital to enable the business to grow, whilst also creating a community of like-minded individuals who felt passionately about what we’re doing - to ultimately become the first ever customer-owned watch company.

We had little to no understanding of equity, shares, and the legal and financial implications around these things; but we do know crowdfunding, and we do know community. Marloe Watch Company owes much of its early success to the very first Kickstarter campaign that we ran – launching the Cherwell – and the later launch of the Lomond on the same platform. Kickstarter gave us our very first community; many of whom remain as good customers to this day. We also had a clear understanding of what we didn’t want; namely for one large corporate investor to swoop in with a big chunk of cash (as appealing as the prospect had sounded at times) and essentially take a controlling share of the company. Marloe Watch Company has been our baby for over 4 years now, and we love what we do; we very much wanted to continue our days jobs and allow the company to grow at the right pace with the right people on board.

We have always been driven by design evolution, and in order to bring more fantastic timepieces to market – including some designs that we had been forced to sit on for some time – we needed to invest in production. It was therefore the only logical conclusion that we would use a crowdfunding model to raise capital for the company.

We have big ideas here at MWC, and big goals, matched only by our optimism and the confidence we have in achieving them. We don’t just have confidence in ourselves and the company; we have confidence in our community, and we knew we had to find the right platform that would allow our customers to become part of the company as seamlessly as possible. We spent over 12 weeks researching pretty much every platform and avenue for equity crowdfunding; meeting with solicitors and financial advisors, wrapping our heads around the jargon and the legalities, and slowly but surely, through the fog of confusion, competition and uncertainty, Crowdcube emerged. They stood out to us as clear leaders in their industry, and we knew that we had found the right platform to partner with.

We spent the next 12 weeks or so pulling together all the collateral required for such a funding round. This involved comprehensive financial, pipeline and stock analysis, collating manufacturing plans and timelines, ensuring that we had a clear idea of where we wanted this investment to take us as a company, not to mention creating a video and content that we would use on our Crowdcube page and website. A large part of this process centred around developing a timeline of when and how we would launch this campaign, and this, in turn, prompted us to think about our product pipeline in greater detail. This was invaluable in beginning the process of freeing up space in Gordon’s mind to truly design without barriers; mapping out a careful balance of entry-level models with more premium options, chronographs and dive watches; timepieces inspired by a multitude of fantastic sources, people and places.

This was always a key aim of raising funds; to allow Gordon creative freedom and enable a clarity and focus on designing rather than on making or saving money. We don’t like cutting corners or compromising here, so having financial security provides a safe environment in which to create, manufacture and release timepieces which are of the quality with which we have become associated.

Once we had gone through the necessary duediligence and created the significant amount of collateral we needed for accountants, solicitors, Crowdcube, our board and the general public, we were ready to go live. We wanted to initially launch privately to our customers; to give them the first opportunity to invest in the company. It seemed almost a birth right for them and we wouldn’t have done it any other way. We were, as always, blown away by their support and eagerness to be involved and to claim their own part of Marloe Watch Company.

Thanks to our customers, we reached our baselevel funding target within days – which was a very humbling experience - and then opened the campaign up to the public. We had no real expectation of what would happen at this stage; how would we resonate with people across the globe who had never heard of us before? Who hadn’t experienced our products, who hadn’t met or spoken to us, who knew nothing aside from what they could learn from a simple web page? As we watched investments pour in – anything from £10 to £25,000, and each one welcomed with wideeyed amazement – we wondered who these people were; what had attracted them to invest, and trust, in our business?

We were able to quite quickly identify that there were two main types of investor; the watch enthusiast, and the investment enthusiast. We met with some investors in person, we spoke with others over email, telephone and via Crowdcube, we immersed ourselves fully in getting to know as many investors as best we could. It was incredibly interesting to talk with prospective investors who had queries; to begin to get an understanding of our new community, spread across the world and all with their different motives, yet united in their belief that together, we could grow Marloe Watch Company and do great things. We shared financial forecasts, our plans for many years into the future, the inner workings of our timepieces, our business and our minds, and everything that we legally and safely could. This period was equal parts invigorating and vulnerable; as a company, we had never been subject to so much scrutiny, and that can be unsettling, but we felt a renewed sense of community and purpose in breaking down the customary corporate walls and being on a level with our investors. There’s nothing to hide, and this process assured us of that. We knew, at this point, that we had made the right choice in sharing ownership of our company.

Our campaign closed shortly after we breached the £600k mark - a phenomenal and humbling achievement. We had initially made plans for our baseline target of £100k, and some slightly more tentative, hopeful plans for multiple levels above this – which now became our concrete plans. Doors were opened, plans drawn up, and processes set in motion.

Now that we are working on behalf of our investors, and not just for ourselves, we feel a far weightier sense of duty. We check every nut and bolt is tight, every t crossed and every i dotted; for we are no longer just Gordon and Oliver - we are a community, and with that comes a certain responsibility; one which we are embracing.

The dust has barely settled on the investment round but we’ve already put plans in motion. Investments have already been made in production for future models and we’ve appointed new marketing and PR agencies who are actively actioning our communications plan. We’re also beginning to look for new talent to help deliver our strategy, which isn’t a task we want to rush, but we’ve been talking to some really interesting and eager candidates already.

The thought of the future is now palpable. Thinking where we could be in 6-12 months has never been so exciting – new releases, new team members, our very first AGM, not to mention the first Shareholder’s Edition timepiece that we’ve been secretly working on – we’re keen to see all these achievements and more come to fruition, but we also want to enjoy every last moment of them too.

To the future, and whatever it may hold.