This 26-year-old from Hong Kong is transforming a ‘dinosaur industry’ — one luxury watch at a time

As a young, avid collector of luxury watches, Austen Chu said helium was scammed "many times" erstwhile helium bought timepieces from the secondary ticker market. 

"Once, I bought a ticker which had a dented dial and the seller told maine that the dial got dented during shipping," Chu recalled. And helium believed it. 

But now, the 26-year-old says helium knows better. 

"I cognize that's decidedly bullsh*t … it was dented beforehand," helium told CNBC Make It.

"If I wasn't truthful brainsick astir watches, I astir apt would person near the abstraction aft getting scammed the archetypal time." 

Not lone did his obsession with watches assistance him flooded those atrocious purchases, the experiences besides propelled him to commencement his ain consignment-based level for luxury watches, Wristcheck. 

The website boasts an inventory of timepieces worthy $80 million, each of which person been authenticated by in-house watchmakers, said Chu.

Started successful 2020, the startup recently bagged $8 million successful a backing circular led by Gobi Partners, a Chinese task superior steadfast that manages Alibaba's Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund and the AEF Greater Bay Area fund.

Chu shared with CNBC Make It astir however helium turned a hobby into a money-making business. 

When it comes to starting a palmy business, Chu's doctrine is simple: Start a concern to lick a problem, helium said. 

The spread that Wristcheck fills has ever been "very clear," Chu said.

"The concern exemplary of the accepted secondhand ticker marketplace is precise … usually it's 'buy low, merchantability high,'" Chu explained, adding that sellers were usually getting the abbreviated extremity of the stick. 

"How is that right? You're hoping to get bully proposal from idiosyncratic who is simply a professional, but if you cognize nothing, they extremity up debased balling you adjacent more."

The luxury ticker marketplace is what calls a "dinosaur industry" that can be "intimidating" for the younger procreation to get into, Chu said.

By starting Wristcheck, Chu hoped to supply much transparency and accessibility to his peers. 

"It's thing that I privation I had. We are trying to travel up with a tech solution … that allows the adjacent procreation to go much funny successful the [watch] abstraction successful a harmless way," helium added. 

For one, transaction fees are lower. Auction houses typically complaint 26% from a purchaser up to 12% from the seller, helium said. 

In contrast, Wristcheck makes a fixed complaint of 8% from the seller and 4% from the purchaser — but inactive allows users to bid for watches they tendency to own.

"You cognize erstwhile you emotion thing truthful much, you're besides reasoning astir it subconsciously erstwhile you're asleep?" 

That's however Chu describes his infatuation for watches, which started erstwhile helium was a kid — and lone got deeper successful his teens. 

"I was 15, I fell into the rabbit spread of researching, spending each waking 2nd fundamentally speechmaking online and learning astir watches," helium shared. 

"Obviously there's nary courses successful assemblage oregon successful precocious schoolhouse that teaches you thing astir this stuff, truthful it had to beryllium self-taught." 

Chu disagrees with the fashionable content that collecting good watches is simply a hobby for older folks. In fact, helium insists the younger procreation has much "wrist awareness" present — acknowledgment to the instauration of Apple Watch. 

"That was a large turning constituent … It abruptly went from the lecture hallway having possibly 10% of the people wearing thing connected their wrist to similar implicit 50% each of a sudden," helium said. 

"That was a infinitesimal that told me: 'OK, watches are going to beryllium chill for my generation.'" 

Chu's hunch was right. After all, Gen Z is projected to marque up a 3rd of the luxury market by 2030, owed to a surge successful wealthiness creation and the power of societal media.

Wristcheck is attracting a tech-savvy, youthful crowd, said Chu, and 43% of its paying customers are nether the property of 30.

"In our time and age, everything is benignant of temporary. But with a ticker it's thing that tin benignant of past forever. It's thing you tin really walk connected to your kids," Chu added. 

"I deliberation that's thing that besides resonates with our generation." 

Chu co-founded Wristcheck during the Covid-19 pandemic, which was a leap of religion that appears to person paid disconnected truthful far. 

The startup said it's experienced "75% year-on-year growth" successful its full worth of consigned watches, and claims to person been profitable successful its archetypal year. Chu did not stock the figures erstwhile pressed.