1: Tell us a little bit about your business and what makes it special
Oscar Fenston is an inclusive luxury British watch brand that believes the truest level of success can be found in the quality of how our time is spent.
The company was started this year by myself and my partner, Robin Thelander, after both experiencing lifechanging events that left us in hospital for several months. The brand is named after a gentleman we met in a Copenhagen café last year. This man embodied the brand; he was sophisticated, elegant and stylish.
After talking to him about our misfortune, he gave us his most valuable piece of advice, which resonated with us so strongly we wrote it on a napkin and still have it to this day:
“Time, it is both the most valued and most wasted entity. Time is the most equal luxury possessed by all because we all have the same 24 hours in a day. We are encased in between the past and the present, what we do with our present and what we learn from our past shapes our future. Time is a gift. Therefore, it is the quality of how you spend your time that marks your truest level of success”
This is the core message that driven us to design the Oscar Fenston timepieces. Our brand purpose is to use our experienced to redefine how people perceive and value their time.
This has never been more important than now, a time when we have all been working together through the global pandemic and period of lockdown. Now more than ever, we’re encouraging people to rethink what’s important in terms of how they value their time, the quality of how they spend their time, and how to continue to stay motivated.
~Business Game Changer Special Promotion~
Being in hospital for months made me rethink what quality time means to me, and I want to encapsulate this within the brand.
We represent the power and motivation within every man to improve the quality of how his time is spent as it’s a luxury that you can never earn back. Oscar Fenston timepieces empower people to break down any limitations, so they can achieve their full potential.
We believe what makes it so special is this fresh approach to the watch industry.
2: How would you describe your business culture and why is this culture important?
The Oscar Fenston business culture can be described in three ways: transparent, social impact and inclusivity.
From day one, we have strived for total transparency. We are always open about our motivations for starting the business and the story behind the brand. Moving forward, we hope to continue to offer transparency within the marketplace, as well as within our internal team as the business grows.
Social impact is also an important part of our brand. We are forever conscious of how we can translate our message to help the communities around us.
While there are thousands of big companies that have their own CSR programs or that support charities, it’s less common among startup businesses. For us, it’s an integral part of the brand. From the start, it was a no brainer for us to support The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) as it’s an initiative that we so strongly believe in. For every timepiece sold, we have pledged to donate to this worthy charity, which creates a safe and supportive system for men to overcome their personal battles.
Finally, inclusivity. We want to be inclusive in all aspects of our business, from how we position our timepieces in the market as inclusive luxury to how we manage our business internally. Having an inclusive culture is important because it will enrich us with valuable input to produce the best output.
3: What or who motivates or inspires you in business?
For me, the biggest motivator is being able to be creative without the limitations of corporate red tape. I love brainstorming ideas knowing that they are possible without having to gain approval from the wider business. The ability of making my own decisions and for it to count towards something that I am building is a huge driver for me.
In terms of who inspires me, we learn so much from our clientele; the professionals and discerning gentlemen who invest in the Legacy collection timepieces as their everyday watch.
The relationships we have with our stakeholders, including clients, suppliers and business partners, means we’re always learning from each other. Launching the brand has been a fast track way of learning the ins and outs of how to positively work alongside and communicate with others.
Despite being considered a startup business, I want to keep this culture and collaborative approach alive as the business grows in the future. I never want to lose this moving forward as it allows creativity to thrive.
4: What are your business goals for the next five years?
Oscar Fenston has several big ambitions for the future. In the midterm, we hope to grow our network of retail partners.
Secondly, to continue to strengthen the brand, extend our product lines and build on the collections we offer. Tapping into different markets and industries also interests me. I’d love to offer creative collections inspired by the arts.
As I am sure most startups aspire to do, we want to grow internationally, establish ourselves across global markets and strengthen our brand hold in areas outside the UK.
Further down the line, we also have strong aspirations to develop our CSR offering. We’re currently working with CALM and hope to extend the number of organisations we support over the next few years.
Eventually – and one of my biggest aspirations – is to start an Oscar Fenston Foundation. I am from the Philippines and hope to eventually grow the brand to be able to give back to the Filipino community.
5: Name one book every businessperson should read and why they should read it.
The Chimp Paradox by Dr Steve Peters.
This was a powerful book that helped me rationalize any negative thoughts I had while bedbound in hospital, but it continues to help me in the business world today.
It helped me understand my emotions a lot better. For example, perceiving negative emotions, such as anger, frustration, or self-doubt, as a ‘chimp’ that will – if given the opportunity – steer me off course. It encourages you to always look at the bigger picture and not be distracted by the chimp!
Negative thoughts and feelings are just secondary emotions. Seeing them as such makes it easier to identify how I’m really feeling.
Being emotionally in-tune is so important in business. Emotional intelligence has a huge impact on how you conduct yourself, treat people and understand others. This also translates into your personal life. It’s changed my perception of how I deal with any negativity or pressures that come in business and in life and has taught me valuable life lessons.
For further information about Oscar Fenston, please visit https://oscarfenston.com/
