What started with a surprise gift from his grandfather led to quite the career for Ben Clymer '05, the founder and CEO of Hodinkee. After receiving his grandfather’s OMEGA Speedmaster watch, Clymer began blogging about vintage watches in 2008, and he quickly discovered there was a tremendous market out there for content about watches. Today, Hodinkee has grown from a one-man shop to a company with more than 60 employees. Hodinkee buys and sells new and vintage watches as part of its growing e-commerce arm of the business, while featuring a print magazine, a podcast, and a series of videos with watch aficionados like musician John Mayer, actor Fred Savage, comedian Aziz Ansari, and golfers Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman. Clymer, who holds dual degrees from Whitman and the iSchool, discusses his passion for watches, his keys to growing Hodinkee, the role Syracuse University played in his career, and how smart watches will help keep us healthy.
