EP#456 - Leonie Flückiger: Why Luxury Watches Need NFTs
Nov 24, 2024
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Leonie Flückiger, co-founder of Adresta, shares her journey from a STEM background to redefining luxury watch ownership with NFTs. She discusses how blockchain technology and digital twins enhance authenticity and insurance processes for luxury watches. Leonie reveals secrets about navigating the secondary market and customer acquisition in a niche industry. She reflects on the challenges of startup funding, the importance of resilience, and her preference for entrepreneurial freedom over corporate consultancy after her company's acquisition.
Leonie Flückiger's journey into entrepreneurship was inspired by her passion for materials science and the realization of creative potential through business opportunities.
Adresta utilizes blockchain technology to create digital certificates for luxury watches, ensuring authenticity and transparency in a competitive market.
Deep dives
Empowering Female Entrepreneurs
The Female Founders Initiative plays a crucial role in supporting female entrepreneurs across Switzerland by providing access to events, workshops, and resources. It also features a map showcasing female-led startups, fostering community and collaboration. This initiative emphasizes the importance of empowering women in the business world and creating a network that enables them to thrive. Such support is vital for increasing the visibility and success of female entrepreneurs in a traditionally male-dominated landscape.
Leonie's Journey to Entrepreneurship
Leonie's path to becoming an entrepreneur began with her academic background in material science at ETH Zurich, which she initially pursued at the suggestion of a student counselor. Despite wanting to study design, she discovered her passion for materials and technology, leading her to engage with entrepreneurial activities through a student association. Her creative drive and competitive spirit, evident from her involvement in sports, fueled her journey and motivated her to explore business opportunities. The pivotal moment came when she read about Nike's founder, which inspired her to realize that entrepreneurship could be a way to channel her creativity.
Creating Digital Certificates for Luxury Watches
Leonie co-founded Adresta, a company focused on developing digital certificates for luxury watches using blockchain technology. The idea emerged from a project with Helvetia Insurance and ETH Juniors, with Leonie and her team innovating a way to provide consumers with secure digital representations of their luxury goods. These digital twins include all relevant details like production data and ownership history, making transactions more transparent and trustworthy. By addressing the needs of the luxury goods market, Adresta positions itself at the intersection of technology and high-value items.
Navigating Challenges and Success in Startups
Throughout her entrepreneurial journey, Leonie faced significant challenges, including securing funding and navigating a competitive landscape dominated by established brands. She emphasizes the importance of persistence and creativity in overcoming obstacles, as well as the value of effective communication with investors. By involving investors in the process and leveraging their networks, Leonie was able to build a supportive ecosystem around Adresta. Ultimately, her company achieved successful acquisition by the Bucherer group, underscoring the potential for startups to thrive when driven by a strong vision and collaborative spirit.
Leonie Flückiger is a co-founder of Adresta, a company which creates digital certificates for luxury watches. She holds a MSc in Micro- and Nanosystems from ETH and previously worked for ETH Juniors and BCG before starting Adresta in 2019.
Adresta is a Swiss tech company redefining the ownership experience by creating digital certificates or NFTs for physical products purchased and owned by end consumers. The Adresta ecosystem embeds an end2end digital watch insurance process, enabling owners to get insurance for their watch in under 90 seconds. The NFT proves the product's authenticity and represents a tamperproof, scarce, and tradable asset.
The company was acquired in Autumn 2022 by Bucherer, one of the world's largest retailers of luxury watches and jewelry. While the Adresta CEO, Mathew Chittazhathu, stayed on, Leonie preferred to take a new consulting job at McKinsey.