"JUST START" PART 2 - Newsletter from the CEO 3/7/24
Just Start: Part 2 of newsletter from the CEO
So, where's Part 2 of the newsletter I promised last week? I know, I know—but things have been crazy. Apologies for the delay—I got caught up running the business, and time just slipped away from me.
Now, let's pick up where we left off. Let me find the last part… Ok here it is..
"Did you really make this, uce?"
"Matai Watches? What the heck is this thing?"
I was stunned, amazed, and impressed.
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Wednesday night, finding the motivation to push through and continue this story for you guys and girls. Shout out to those watching part 3 of the Adeaze video on Manu Samoa, Lani Alo and Black Series— This is how you know the timing and sequence is correct and that I’m writing stuff unfiltered for you all. Excuse any mistakes, but I will use Microsoft word to help correct spelling.. Let’s continue….
"What the heck is a matai watch? Doesn’t 'matai' mean high chief, uce?" The look on my face said it all.
"No way you made this watch, uso!" He responded, "Yeah, uce."
"What's your plan? Your marketing plan? Your business plan?" "Well, uso, that's why I came to see you." "
And do what?" "Yeah, uce, I need some help with it."
"So, you got no plan, uce?" "Well, yeah, that's the shrug-the-shoulders thing Andrew does. LOL."
I knew from the moment I laid eyes on it—it was special. I told Andrew, "This makes me feel real spiritual, and you know me, uce, I ain't been about that life for a minute now." I couldn’t help but feel shivers, an overwhelming feeling running through my veins—goosebumps, in fact. I hadn’t felt this way since attending Excel Performing Arts in 2005.
"How many did you make uce?" "2500!" was his reply.
I had the biggest "WTF" jump up and down moment ever.
"What do you mean, 2500 watches!!!!!!!!?"
I'm in fits right about now having this conversation. But the seriousness and look on Andrew's face when he told me—he could read what I was thinking.
"Yeah, uso. You are freaking actually should say that other F Word - crazy. But why would you do that, uso?" His reply to me "God spoke to me, uso."
He’s luck this is the answer because my spirit calmed.
The idea of starting a company as an entrepreneur—generally, any person would tell you to start with a few items, right? But Andrew, as mad as I was, spent four years of income producing one watch variation—the original gold and black. We’re not talking thousands of dollars; we’re talking tens to hundreds of thousands invested.
My heart sank, thinking the worst but this is also very specia. I had never seen anything like it.
I often talk with friends, and the common thing growing up was seeing people start something—an idea, a business—and give up months later. One moment you're lit, the next you're all out of it. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would see something like this from any Polynesian brother I’ve ever had in my life.
Now, my experience in starting things from scratch—I’ve always followed through, and yes, I’ve switched up the game many times to try my hand at business. My first business started with 5 bucks, investing in some cheap cell phone covers around the time the Samsung Galaxy S3 was released. Flipped that $5 into a couple of grand via TradeMe in NZ.
The other thing I had at the time was a record label—no money, trying to be famous, broke as heck, but managed to creep onto the Mai FM charts and grab the number one spot on the station several times. What did I make from music? I got a debt of about 20k but let's carry on cause that’s a whole other story.
Moved to Australia, became a personal trainer, training several clients before trying my hand back at collectibles over COVID. This time had a 3k budget to work with and flipped it to about 125k in revenue in my first shopify store. Ive tried my hands at many things all while maintaining a 9 to 5 or in security a 6pm to 6am.
I’ve never been afraid of failing and being laughed at, but I’m sure some of my close friends have talked smack in the past, and I’m okay with that. But when you tell me you're going to do something and never do it, the reason I do what I do is because I’m always trying to break through away. Its been a calling all my life. We all have those friends who talk and talk and never do but how many drunk conversations do you need to have with them right?
Imagine finding someone who has courage. This is what Andrew was. He did something I would never have the balls to ever do. He worked four years in a job, saved every dollar, made a watch, and dropped it all on mass production. He didn’t buy a flashy car or put a down payment on a house. No, he sunk it all into one watch, 2500, and had no real plan in what to do with it, apart from understanding that God had spoken to him and pushed him through to complete.
And then God tells him to come see me?
I’m breathing and sighing right now, putting myself in that spot.
I almost cried, and as a matter of fact, I think I was, and my eyes were so watery. He had done something I'd never seen before and didn’t have a plan. My heart told me, my spirit told me, and my mind told me. I cried for him inside, but I knew that night was for a reason.
I say to Andrew, "Uso man, this is nuts. I'll be honest, I don’t evern know if I can sell one watch let alone thousands! That’s ok uso. We try he said
"I’m going to help you get your money back." The idea was to help him get all his money back and tap him out of the buisness.
2500 watches, one watch, and how the heck do you sell that many watches? Can you hear how insane this is to figure out?
I go home that night. I’m not a man of faith, but I believe. And for the first time in many years, I talk with God after I tell my wife what happened.
I said in my mind to him, "Andrew is crazy, but I know this is special. I feel for my uso, and I don’t want to see him lose. I don’t want to see people laugh at him, and I don’t want to let him down. If you can just tell me what it is, I should do, , I would be thankful. I just want to get his money back for him so he never makes a crazy investment again and im sorry I aint talked in a while but bro you know me." My conversation literally went like that , I talked with the Lord for a bit while I drifted to sleep, thinking about this black box and gold watch that Andrew had made.
I wake up in the morning, feeling a little dazed. And go figure, God speaks to me. “Do what you’ve always done—just start.”
I knew what this meant straight away. So I rang Andrew.
"Uso, so what do you think?" he asks.
"Well, uce, I’ll be honest, man. You got me good last night. And you know me, uce, I don’t mess with the spiritual side, but I spoke to him lastnight
"What did He say?" he asks. "He said, 'Just start, uso.'"
Now, what did that mean to me? To me, it meant everything you have learned. You know how to build from nothing, so do it again and use everything you have been gifted with knowledge and power this thing through. Every time I did something, I got better and better. I never took LS, I took lessons.
I said to Andrew, "Uso, we have nothing to start with. I need content. What are you doing today?" "Well, I’m going to Samoan Independence Day… click… perfect…."
"Uce, before we can sell one watch, we have to give it away. The first idea."
"Go to Independence Day and take a box with you and find anyone that serves of value and gift them this watch."
Hours go by, he rings me. I ask him, "Uce, did you find somebody?" He says, "Yeah, uce. There was one dude who was a bodybuilder and a really nice guy, and I gifted him a watch. And then the other was the policemen walking around. Did you get a photo, uce?" "Yeah, uce."
"Send me them now… click, click." I opened an Instagram page and post a photo of the side of Genesis, The second ever photo was the reason why I attached this one. It’s the first ever content we ever posted so go check out IG to confirm.
…I'm tapping out for now but much more to share soon, but I will continue to write for yall as soon as MALAGA is launched
Thank you for your love and support always. Talk soon Nick
