Singapore — A watch startup founded in 2018 by 22-year-old local entrepreneur Bryan Koh has raised over SGD30,000 since it’s launch on 30th July through a crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.
Priced affordably at SGD$185 per piece, Tidal Moonphase is poised to be the next best steal in the watch industry. Bryan started Sekoni Original as he was tired of seeing fast fashion brands dominate the watch market and decided to take matters into his own hands.
“The mid-priced watch market is dominated by brands whose business model is to mass produce cheap watches and market them intensely to consumers,” said Bryan Koh.
“We were frustrated at how reliable watches with good design always had to cost a ton and we knew moving forward that had to change. Personally, good design is not comprised of lines thrown on a watch – with bland overseen touches dressed in popularised minimalism.
Reliable watches should not sacrifice quality whilst saving costs. Our first product, Tidal Moonphase, has its roots in Singapore. Globally sourced materials from countries like Switzerland and Italy, coupled with locally designed artwork help to create our horogically significant watch that empowers confidence with every wear.
Sekoni Original held a launch party on 30th July at We The People’s Flagship store at Millenia Walk and received a raving response from the 165 attendees. With their current standing of over $30,000 in pledges, production and hand assembling of their watches will begin when their campaign ends on 13th September 2019.
“Design, prototype, test, and repeat. A year in the making, our customers love how versatile and striking our watches are.”
Bryan has bootstrapped this entire journey starting a year ago. “I took the money that I have diligently saved up over the years working part time as a tuition teacher and investing money in the financial markets to invest in this venture. I am happy to see that people are responding well to Sekoni Original’s message and that taking on a gap year to start this company has paid off.”
Over the past year, Bryan Koh has gathered together a team of like-minded individuals to help bring Sekoni Original to market. A large part of this success came from Bryan’s digital marketing efforts – building a community of 1300 people in the first month before their launch.
Sekoni Original’s collaboration with WeThePeople, a physical chain store with 4 crowdfunding stores in Singapore, bridges the gap that online kickstarter businesses usually face. In our current day and age, trust in a business is one of the key drivers to providing great customer experience – from consideration to purchase, and even after.
They are able to provide customers’ with a view of the actual product, allowing them to inspect and try it on before purchase. Tidal Moonphase will be displayed in We The People’s Millenia Walk and I12 Katong stores for any interested buyers who may want to see it physically on their wrists.
With their Kickstarter campaign ending on 13th September 2019, Sekoni Original’s success in their first 48 hours will continue to prove useful – serving as social proof as more backers come in different channels to experience first hand, what makes this very watch unique.
