Modify Watches
Modify Industries, Inc. is a 3-year-old, San Francisco-based startup passionate about designing interchangeable, customizable products that let YOU show your colors! Our first products, Modify Watches, are fun, colorful, water-resistant timepieces that feature mix-and-match faces and straps available in over 2,000 combinations. Modify enables customers to have a personalized experience and construct the perfect - and affordable - accessory on a daily basis. Our interchangeable products, designed with deep insight into our community's aesthetic preferences, allow us to offer looks that feel "made-for-me". We have three major channels. ModifyWatches.com showcases our entire collection. We retail with Best Buy, Amazon, and 30 boutiques globally, including Brazil, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia. Finally, we customize watches for brands big and small. Clients include Google (14 designs), the WNBA, ShutterFly, Startup America and many more. Modify has been featured by the Today Show (3x), the New York Times, Lucky, Self, and many more.
- Industry: Consumer Products & Services
- Year Started: 2010
- Organization Type: For-Profit
- # of Employees: 7 ( as of Dec 31, 2013)
Aaron Schwartz
CEO
Aaron Schwartz is the co-founder and CEO of Modify Industries, Inc. The company’s first product, Modify Watches, can be customized to allow individuals to tell their story. Prior to starting Modify, Aaron co-founded Refill Revolution, a sustainability startup that was acquired by True20. He earned his MBA at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and was a (very happy) strategy consultant before that. He's involved with Up Global (formerly Startup America), and spends the majority of his free time serving on the Board of Larkin Street Youth Services, which provides a continuum of services to at-risk and homeless youth. He's from Cleveland, OH.
- Age: 42
- Ethnicity: Caucasian
Ashil Parag
Creative Director
In 2005, Ashil founded Design Apart Studio in Atlanta, Ga. The studio was created to redefine the conventions of visual communication. In 7 years he grew the studio into a relevant design practice with a client base ranging from independent musicians, to regional healthcare systems. He also had the privilege in designing for the Atlanta Development Authority. In May of 2010 with the help of 2 partners and an industrial designer, Ashil helped brand and launch what is now Modify Watches. He continues to act as lead creative for Modify Industries Inc. Ashil also served on the Board of Directors for WonderRoot, a non-profit in Atlanta that’s mission is to unite artists and community to inspire positive social change. Ashil is driven by the romanticism of intelligent design. He says, “Design is everywhere, and in everything we see. It’s an awesome responsibility to practice an art that touches everything.
- Age: 43
- Ethnicity: South Asian
Gary Coover
Co-founder
Gary is a passionate tech-enthusiast and entrepreneur-in-training currently working to drive innovation in Samsung through the development of new start-ups. Gary spent his first four years out of college in economic consulting at Navigant Consulting, before leaving to get his MBA at Berkeley. While at Berkeley, Gary co-founded Modify Watches with Aaron Schwartz, but moved to an advisory role post-Berkeley in order to work for Samsung Electronics in Seoul, South Korea. At Samsung, Gary served in a business development role before moving to his current role where he has helped architect, launch and scale a startup incubator called the Samsung Accelerator.
- Age: 42
- Ethnicity: Caucasian
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