Jake Plonskier, co-founder of watches.io, discusses the platform's unique approach to the watch industry. Watches.io aims to provide an investment asset perspective, allowing users to make data-driven decisions when buying and selling watches. Jake shares his personal journey in the watch industry, from his first watch purchase to his passion for craftsmanship and the investment potential of watches. He also explains the concept of watch-backed NFTs and the future vision for watches.io as a marketplace and analytics platform. Early user feedback has been positive, with excitement around the platform's uniqueness and potential. In this conversation, Jake Plonskier, the co-founder of Watches.io, discusses the future of luxury watch trading and the potential for financial products built on top of assets like watches. He emphasizes the emotional experience of buying a luxury watch and how it can never be replaced by digital platforms. Jake also talks about the importance of building a strong team and the evolution of his own team at Watches.io. He shares advice for those building in the crypto space, highlighting the disruptive potential of crypto and the importance of mindset and alignment. Finally, Jake expresses his excitement for the launch of Watches.io's exchange and the positive impact it can have on the watch industry. Takeaways Watches.io offers a game-changing platform that provides an investment asset perspective for buying and selling watches. The platform allows users to make data-driven decisions and view watches as potential investments or assets. Watch-backed NFTs are a unique feature of watches.io, allowing users to own an NFT that represents a physical watch stored in a secure vault. Early user feedback has been positive, with excitement around the platform's uniqueness and potential. The emotional experience of buying a luxury watch should never be replaced by digital platforms. Building a strong and trusted team is crucial for the success of a startup. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Overview of watches.io 01:09 The Investment Perspective of Watches.io 03:00 The Significance of the First Watch Purchase 04:00 The Evolution of the Meaning of Watches 06:41 Introduction to the Mad One Red Watch 08:09 Background and Career Endeavors 11:44 Transition from Horace Straps to watches.io 16:30 The Ideation and Rebranding of watches.io 20:49 The Vision for watches.io and the Marketplace 25:40 The Creation of the Horodex Marketplace 29:46 User Experience and Early Feedback 37:43 The Future of Luxury Watch Trading 40:41 Building the Team 44:44 Advice for Building in the Crypto Space 50:48 Excitement for the Future