M
y grandfather was an
entrepreneur. He was
born and raised in
Brooklyn, and he made
his own money—starting,
believe it or not, a cigarette lighter
company in the ’60s. He was a cool
guy—someone who lived a
glamorous lifestyle (or at least what
the Rochester, N.Y.–raised,
13-year-old version of me thought
was glamorous). He was my hero.
He had this watch, an Omega
Speedmaster, that I loved. It had a
chronograph and what’s known as a
triple date complication: the day of
the week, the month, and the date.
And it didn’t look like the usual
watch. It was blue and white and
gray. Anytime I went down to visit
him, I’d ask him about it.He’d even
let me wear it from time to time.
Whenmy grandparents sold their
house, we were all helping them
carry out boxes. He pulled me aside
when no one else was around and
handed me his watch. He said, “I
want you to have this.” That was it. I
was 16 years old. I was awestruck.
Skip ahead to 2008. I had a good
job working for a major bank, and I
absolutely hated it. When the
economy imploded, my boss said,
“Look, we prefer not to let you go in
case things pick back up, so you have
to come in every day, but just bide
your time. Come in and do whatever
you want to do.” I said, “Great.”
Sitting in my cubicle one day, I
did some research on my grand-
father’s watch. I recounted what I
learned in a post on Tumblr, simply
to pass the time. Then I started
researching other watches, like the
Rolex worn by Steve McQueen,
and the Patek Philippe worn by
John Lennon, and writing about
those, too. From there it just got
bigger. I suddenly saw there may
be a future in this. I quit my job
and applied to Columbia Journal-
ism School. I got in somehow.
Meanwhile, the site—which I
named Hodinkee, a play on
hodinky,the Czech word for
“wristwatch,” for reasons I can’t fully
explain—was making money. I
graduated and hired my first
full-time staffers. Then I met Kevin
Rose, Tony Fadell, and Jason Fried.
All three were great entrepreneurs
and fans of Hodinkee. They became
great friends. Together we raised
some money and built out a “dream
team” of writers, designers, and
developers. We were off to the races.
Hodinkee now has a booming
e-commerce wing, pop-up stores,
and a staff of 25. And I have a
career I love—one that allows me to
travel, be creative, meet people, and
try things.None of this would have
happened had my grandfather not
given me his watch. It’s been with
me through all of this, and will be
with me until the day I die. If we
have children, I hope to pass it along
to them and say, “The house we live
in, the cars we drive, and everything
else we have came from this watch.”
It changed everything. It gave me a
career. It gave me my life.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Tell us about a story, person, object, or something else that pushes you forward, and we may include it in a future issue. And we may make you
photograph or illustrate it, too. [email protected] the subject line“WHAT INSPIRES ME.”PHOTOGRAPH BY STEPHEN LEWISThe Gift of a Lifetime
by Ben Clymer, founder and CEO, Hodinkee
228 / ENTREPRENEUR.COM / January-February 2018