The times are changing for the wrist watch market and Brother Jake Plonskier (Florida, 2017) is helping his clients who are looking to buy and sell watches as investments by utilizing proprietary technology.
“I’ve always liked this idea of being the underdog that has to build their way up…I felt that was symbolic of the Jewish tradition and how we’ve always been able to stay strong despite being so small and having the odds stacked against us. I’ve always been the type to like being attracted to the startup that nobody believes in,” said Brother Plonskier.
Brother Plonskier graduated from the University of Florida with both a Bachelors and Masters degrees in accounting. His experience in AEPi’s Phi Gamma chapter helped shape the person and professional he has become. “I think being a new member is one of the best experiences when it’s all said and done. Just learning to put things aside and focus on the mission is like operating a startup. I saw that AEPi places people into good careers and paths. Having the right people in the right mindset around you is a big lesson and benefit. I think I really liked the community that AEPi brought when you’re at a big university.”
Brother Plonskier knew right away that he did not want to work a 9-5 job. “I did pretty well in school and got a job offer from a great accounting firm but I was also helping a high school friend build his company on the side. Then I just segued from the traditional accounting route into this business.”
Brother Plonskier found that social media, especially Instagram, made Miami the coolest and most popular place in the world. So, he doubled down on Instagram and started posting luxury content, aligning with the car and watch collecting community. He saw an opportunity to help two of his friends make watch straps popular and help create a social media brand to make it more efficient. He built his business by finding distributors online and using Instagram and Shopify to sell. “I brought a lot of that change and, the next thing you know, 150 jewelry stores worldwide are carrying the product and everybody on social media knew who we were. I know every watch model and I know people at every watch manufacturer. I saw an opportunity to build a brand, have fun, be with my friends and, at the same time, make money.” His interest in the technical side led him to start his own company next, Watches.IO.
Watches.IO is a proprietary technology that takes advantage of the growth in the watch market (rising faster than the stock market and crypto) by blending social media commerce and market analysis. “What we’re doing with Watches.IO is building a platform where people can go to be immersed in the watch market.”
By using machine learning and an NLP framework to organize happenings in the watch market, such as trades, transactions, and market data, gets users a more accurate watch value. “It’s got to be the most accurate watch market tracking in the game. We’re slowly but surely moving to having a collector pro model where users have the ability to get more advanced analytics and then have a marketplace.”
The company just launched its beta and is getting feedback and are soon going to focus on marketing. “I’m going to activate my celebrity and influencer network to put us on the map.” Brother Plonskier has gained angel investors and has built a team of engineers, advisors and lawyers to help him make this platform a success.
“I knew that I was really interested in the watch industry, trading, stocks and crypto and I’ve loved building a brand about something that I’m passionate about, investment watches.”
You can follow Brother Plonskier on instagram at @jakeplonskier and Watches.io on Instagram at @watches. AEPi watch fanatics can join the AEPi Facebook page.