u/Fabulous-Jump-35

We will do a small elopement in Lisbon in July, just the 2 of us. I'm looking for a place for dinner. Local but that feels intimate, nice looking but not fancy or luxury we just want to sit in a nice place, have a bottle of wine and dinner

A few years ago I started a niche watch brand, watches that don’t tell time. They just say “NOW” as a reminder to be present.

It started as a personal hobby with the hope that maybe one day I could make money from it. I'm very much into mindfulness and being present. I'm into reading about modern spirituality, everything related to being present, so it's a perfect match for me. I love this project.
For 5 years ​I​ wasn't making money. I was doing it as I liked it and I believe in the message, that's why I never gave up on it. For me it's a statement, also it might be my egoistic side but I caught myself saying to myself it defines me as well.
I had a full time job when I was starting and I was slowly funding this side project and working on it. After a few years of building connections it started picking up (mostly through a few influencer shares). ​Now it is profitable thanks to the hard work I did before. I'm now doing it full time. I'm already 8 years in.

The challenge: This product is not “obvious.” Some people instantly love it. Some people completely don’t get it. It’s hard to​ explain ​the product quickly (especially in ads)​. ​I was initially introducing it as a mindfulness reminder, a reminder to be present here and now, a statement, a conversation starter, a message to convey. I’ve started leaning into letting people interpret it their own way (mindfulness, motivation, gift, etc.), which helped a bit.
People who order usually have their own reasons. Some are looking for something unique or different as a gift idea, because most gift guides online are filled with the same repeating mass market products. This is where NOW Watch works well, because it has meaning, carries a message, and can be a gift for someone who has everything.

Where I’m stuck is scaling / marketing.

Paid ads are tricky because the concept needs explanation

Organic works, but it’s inconsistent

Influencers worked, but hard to systemize, not very reliable option.

Would love to hear from people who scaled products that needed some explanation before people understood the value.

That was actually not a joke in the title. I make watches that don't tell time, they just say NOW. By our mission: a reminders to be present, here and now. They have different meanings for many people: mindfulness, living the moment, meaningful gift idea, for some people fun conversation starter, for some people it's a statement of what they believe in.

We don't they too hard to explain what it is as people like to give these watches their own meaning.

People love the watches if someone explains them, many people don't get the concept straight away though.

8 years in the market, no profits first few years, now small to moderate profits. I love working on it as I'm myself deeply into mindfulness, being present, I like learning about meditation, ancient yoga and so on.

It's a small niche brand with happy clients. It's ok like that but I'm sometimes thinking, maybe we should try to scale, and if yes, how?

A few years ago I started a small niche project​, watches that don’t tell time. They just say “NOW” as a reminder to be present.​

It started as a personal hobby with hopes that I will make money on it one day. I'm very much into mindfulness and being present. I'm into reading about modern spirituality, everything related to being present, so it's a perfect match for me. I love this project.

For 5 years ​I​ wasn't making money. I had a full time job and I was slowly funding my side project and working on it. I have a background in marketing, so​ that helped me a lot. Eventually it started picking up (mostly through a few influencer shares). ​N​ow I have some small/medium profits. I'm now doing it full time. I'm already 9 years in.

The challenge:

This product is not “obvious.” Some people instantly love it. Some people completely don’t get it. It’s hard to​ explain ​the product quickly (especially in ads)​. ​I was initially introducing it as a mindfulness reminder, a reminder to be present here and now, a statement, a conversation starter, a message to convey. I’ve started leaning into letting people interpret it their own way (mindfulness, motivation, gift, etc.), which helped a bit.

Where I’m stuck is scaling / marketing.

Paid ads are tricky because the concept needs explanation

Organic works, but it’s inconsistent

Influencers worked, but hard to systemize

How would you scale something like this?

Thank you in advance.