Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Beltran.
Hi Andrew, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew in a small town near Eugene, Oregon with my 4 brothers. After high school I joined the USMC and was stationed in Camp Pendleton, CA.. Following an 11 Month Deployment I was returning home & we stopped in Hong Kong for 2 days R&R. While at the port I contacted my brother Ryan who was living near-by in Guangzhou China, He caught the next train to HK where we celebrated with a few beers.
During that trip, he showed me a Wood watch he got from a supplier trade show. Immediately it reminded me of home, growing in the Pacific Northwest.
We discussed how unique it would be to reclaim products that have affinities like Whiskey, Craft beer, Military surplus. From there we launched on a website called Kickstarter for initial funding. Our internal goal was to raise 30K during the campaigns. We raised 30K in 24 hrs. We had an excellent launch with 2 successful campaigns raising over 800K
We’ve worked with a variety of reclaimed woods & world class brands through collaborations like Taylor Guitars, MLB, Yankees & Cubs, New Belgium Brewing, Rawlings, Golden State Warriors & Jim Beam Whiskey. Tapping into new audiences and sources authentic materials that carry a story.
Each watch sold is dedicated to a charity, to date we have planted over 500K trees, raised money for Veteran families and non profits like Active Valor & Guitars for veterans.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As a first time business owner, nothing came smooth, I didn’t know that exists. There was a lot to learn but our attitude & ability to learn and react has allowed for us to not make the same mistakes twice. Profitability at scale took serious adjustments and modeling. Scaling where we could while trimming expenses that were no longer needed. As the years pass by it was important to review YOY data to find our pitfalls and fill the holes with opportunity.
Personal struggles –Don’t lose yourself in the hustle, build yourself in the struggle. It was always important for us to remember why we got into this. It was never to be the biggest watch company on earth, but it’s easy to get wrapped in other companies’successes & want it for yourself. We’re a core brand, when you lose track of that, you lose track of your base & why you started in the first place.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Original Grain Watch?
We use reclaimed materials to tell unique stories, These watches are more than a timepiece, these are a piece of time; meant to passed down from generation to generation.
The watch that you wear says a lot about who you’re, our timepieces bring cultures & communities together through materials & charitable donations. We partner with companies to collaborate & raise awareness to the issues we want to bring attention to. We recently partnered with Taylor Guitars, taking their scrap guitar wood to create a unique collection of watches. Each watch sold donations are given to Guitars For Veterans. During 2021, this collection with have raised over 100,000 in donations. We’re constantly pushing the envelope of the type of materials we use, we have expanded from primarily wood based stories to using sIngle-use Ocean Bound Plastic, WWII aluminum plane parts, or Baseball bats., Each piece is intended to tap into the culture & tell a story of craftsmanship & sustainability.
In 2021 we began to expand outside of just watches, releasing sunglasses, apple watch bands and other accessories.
Pricing:
- Avg price $249
- $199 – $599
Contact Info:
- Email: Andrew@originalgrain.com
- Website: www.originalgrain.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/originalgrain/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/originalgrain
Image Credits
Jose Coli
TJ Kolesnik
Jake Sutherline
