Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marcel Benson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Marcel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Benson was founded by Marcel Benson, and the brand was built in the spirit of transformation. Marcel Benson was gifted his first watch at the age of 7. It was a square steel cased Kenneth Cole. He cherished this piece for years and was so thrilled about the watch, that he took it apart and learned everything about it. He developed a huge passion for timepieces, which lead him to collecting over 100 watches by the age of 25. However, somewhere in his journey, he was convinced that going to college, getting a degree and landing a great corporate job would make his life meaningful. The advice from his parents, the accolades that people received who came before him, as well as things he saw on TV and in society molded his decision to become more of a “serious” adult. After attending college and receiving a business degree, he went on to work as a consultant in the financial department at a major consulting firm. His life was seemingly great. He was making good money, he had a great career in a respected field, but for some reason, he was not feeling accomplished nor fulfilled. While everyone else was clapping, he was dying a little inside each day; he knew something was deeply wrong. After some careful reflecting, he realized that somehow his life was hijacked by the expectations of everyone, except the one who mattered most, himself. He realized that his job was not what he truly desired.; it didn’t fall within his zone of genius, and a change needed to be made soon. So, one day he decided to march into HR and hand in his resignation. He left the building, took his tie off, and tied it around his head in a symbol of freedom, and Benson Watch Company was birthed. He came up with the mantra, “Time Should Be Spent Doing What You Love,” which later became the company’s slogan. This was initially just a mantra that he would repeat to himself to keep him on the path of purpose as he began building the company, it then it became a lifestyle, and ultimately a phrase that would impact thousands of lives around the world. Marcel understood something that so many people in this world struggle with, which is we become better humans when we allow ourselves to do what we love. Marcel the “serious adult” transformed back to the fun, loving, curious and passionate child who marveled at that Kenneth Cole watch at 7 years old. It is his goal to use his beautiful designs to serve as a catalyst to ignite the same spark in each person who interacts with the brand. “Time Should be Spent Doing What You Love,” and an intentionally crafted timepiece is the perfect way to remind patrons across the world of that.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Marcel fell in love with watches at 7 and collected about 100 between the ages of 7 and 25. He developed a passion for watches early on and somewhere along his life he was scared out of pursuing his passion and convinced to get a traditional job and did so. He later realized he has lost his inner child and zest for life so he quit his job and created a watch company with the mission time should be spent doing what you love to inspire the masses to do the same.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Very simple be good to people because we’re all human. Humans are naturally loving and supportive especially when its reciprocal. When you need support, if you are able to communicate the vision those people you’ve always been kind to will want to support. We got our initial capital from raising money through crowd funding and a vast majority of supporter were relationships that Marcel built and honored over the years.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Benson’s initial inventory was never mailed to company and they were scammed out to around $20,000 and not only had to explain that to customers that preordered but also had to find and vet a new factory as well as come up with the money to pay them. The moral is that hard things happen and they make you wiser but there is always a way out of any circumstance. You must simply slow down and carefully assess.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bensonwatch.com
• Instagram: @bensonwatch
• Facebook: Facebook.com/bensonbymarcel
• Linkedin: Marcel Benson
• Twitter: @bensonwatch