48 hours: Critical Mass 600 Reached & #RedBarCrew Fist Bump

FLIGHT CREW! We just hit 600 watches as I typed!

On Tuesday, when I took a deep breath and launched COURG, I had no idea if anyone would actually back us. I picked launch day July 21 inspired by when Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon (UTC).

And in a teeny tiny personal way that’s how I felt, after the strain of months of preparation and sweating over details small and large — taking a step into who knows what. And yet I’ve always been a believer and that together there’s a way people can be more than the sum of our parts.

Now, under 48 hours later, we are ready to seriously start thinking stretch goals already!!! THANK YOU for trusting us and continued sharing with your crowds!

As you know I’m flying solo right now in terms of responding to all of the outpouring of ideas and questions. I REALLY appreciate all of the patience you all have shown in giving me time to respond. I want to respond personally rather than delegate to someone else, so thank you for understanding.

In the next couple days as we level out to cruising altitude I’ll get some space to regroup and forge ahead with the next phase of the mission. In the meantime …

Mission Phase 1: Amplify Awareness
Update: #redbarcrew

Thanks to all the ruckus you all have made, Zach Weiss, the editor in chief of the illustrious WornandWound.com, invited us to join #redbarcrew last night in Manhattan’s Korea town.

Red bar crew is an invite only watchnerd fest founded by Adam Craniotes and Dr. Jeffrey Jacques, which is adding nodes across the globe.

I thought it would be a good use of our time to check in with these watch aficionados and say hello from you all and show up on their radar! It was a blast to take the COURG for maneuvers into that stratosphere of watches:

maneuvers with some “other” pilots in #redbarcrew roll call

Long time members welcomed us warmly, with zero hint of pretension. Many shared great responses, very kind words, and design discussion.

Let me just say that I thought I was a watch nerd. Until last night. I learned a ton about manufacturing, development considerations, the (even more than I thought) shady side of some luxury watch business (&brands).

These are friends worth having in our corner, team! Here’s Zach rocking the COURG Type-A last night and sharing it on Instagram with his crowd:

Zach Weiss, Worn & Wound EIC rocks COURG Type-A

Let me know if you dug this update, and what you like to hear about in updates and I’ll do my best. More if news warrants it.

If you see other Kickstarter campaigns out there that you dig and think backer communities can work together, hit me up and I’ll see about adding them into our awareness campaign.

Oh, and if you haven’t joined us on IG, we’re there too: https://instagram.com/reduxwatch/

If you’re not on the ‘gram, our FB is connected and you’ll get updates when you like our fan page: https://www.facebook.com/reduxwatch

Lunch break over.

Thanks again, and Godspeed my friends —

elbert, over and out.