It was a desire Thomas Perretta had for awhile. He wanted to start his own watch company, but didn’t know where to begin. After working a monotonous work routine, he needed an outline. Creating a line of watches was going to be his form of self-expression.

As he sat on his couch one night watching Shark Tank, he kept seeing ads that included anchors. Oddly enough, those anchors became engraved in his head. They were a unique shape, and were rarely applied to products.

That’s when it hit him, he was going to create a brand of watches that customized the watch hands.

Thomas Felice creates unique watches where the minute and hour hands are shaped like anchors and sails. It’s an amazing level of customization, where the accessory aims to creatively represents the owner’s past.

The hard part of his process, was figuring out how to turn this idea of his into a product.

Whenever you look to go into a production run, if your designs are off, you’re going to be unhappy with the final result. Factories are not designers and if you don’t sort your specifications clearly before a production run, there is no way they’re going to get your designs right.

That’s why it can be important to create renderings of your product. For Thomas, he had the concept laid out in his head but knew that wasn’t going to be enough.

He went online to a freelancing website and ended up connecting with a freelancer who could help design his watches. After a few iterations, Thomas knew exactly how he wanted them to look. It was now time to find a factory.

With these awesome designs, Thomas obviously wanted to move forward with the process. This is the part where most people get stuck.

For Thomas, he had no experience in the watch industry and no experience with manufacturers. After browsing through open databases and trying to contact a few potential manufacturers, he realized the response rate was extremely low and most of these manufacturers didn’t seem trustworthy.

That’s when he heard of Sourcify. Since he had his designs set, all Thomas had to do was submit those designs to Sourcify’s platform and start production.

Within a few days, Thomas had connected with a pre-vetted factory that was ready to bring his designs to life. He was able to communicate through the platform, manage production, and he now had a confident understanding of the manufacturing landscape.

Thomas’s first step was to organize his designs with the factory. Once that was set, he started producing a sample that took about three weeks to complete.

Thomas says, “One of the coolest days was when that first sample arrived. It’s an incredible feeling to have an idea and then a few weeks later have it show up as a actual product!”

Once Thomas confirmed his sample, it was then time to start production. Thomas was able to work with a factory that had a lower minimum order quantity (like many on Sourcify) so he didn’t have to invest a lot in inventory.

The production run started when he paid 30% of the total production cost. The factory then began putting all his watch parts together– from the watch strap to the special watch hands Thomas Felice designs, all was managed and completed through Thomas’s factory.

Most watch production runs last around 40 days. By the end of that time, Thomas had steady updates from his factory, never missing a beat. When a new part was completed, Thomas was informed.

Once production was done and he paid the remaining 70%, his watches were shipped directly to his warehouse.

All in, Thomas Felice was ready to launch with great packaging, unique designs, and a awesome brand.

Now Thomas’s business is thriving and he is selling watches directly through his website. As Thomas says, “If you’re looking to start your own private label brand, you must use Sourcify.”