Episode 114 - Building a Lasting Brand and Marketing in a Crisis with Ryan and Andrew Beltran of Original Grain Watches

Original Grain has an origin story that’s as cool as it’s products…and as cool as it’s founders. In this interview, we tackle some critically important topics for all DTC brands.   We discuss building a product that has an authentic story that resonates. We look at the Original Grain approach to sourcing and designing that next winning product. We hear the Original Grain example of launching successful kickstarter campaigns, and we talk about marketing during a crisis and much more.    Brother’s Ryan and Andrew Beltran grew up playing basketball together and starting businesses together from painting houses to mowing lawns. In 2013 while living in Hong Kong, Ryan had the idea for wood and steel watches.  The brothers took that inspiration and started what is now a leader in the watch and accessories space.   Here’s a look at what you’ll learn in this episode: How a chance meeting at a nearly failed event lead to their most successful watch line to date How wooing an investor (I love this story - and it embodies the entrepreneur’s spirit) led to some of their most popular collector’s edition watches How Original Grain is going up-stream while strengthening its core watch offerings How they plan to market and stay strong during the COVID-19 storm  How to build an authentic voice and truly connect with customers even when being together physically is impossible What’s ahead for Original Grain