IBJ Podcast: How did Indy logistics guru turn hobby into a watch company?

Adam Fleddermann approached the watch-making industry from two directions. He brought a hobbyist’s deep respect for the role mechanical watches used to play in business and family life while leveraging his up-to-the-minute professional expertise in logistics. Over a few years he turned a hobby into a family business, designing his own watch models, sourcing parts from the global supply chain and arranging to have them assembled by artisans in Kokomo. His brand of watches inspired by German culture is named Fleddermann Von Rieste, and one of the latest models is a limited-edition timepiece licensed by Purdue University using several of the school’s signature design elements.

In this week’s edition of the IBJ Podcast, Fleddermann discusses the entrepreneurial origins of his Indianapolis-based company during the pandemic and his drive to create sophisticated timepieces that can survive to become multigenerational heirlooms. He also discusses finding the right entry point when nearly everyone owns a device that tells time and the high-end watch market is populated with several famous brands.

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