Why would anyone abandon an incredible job at great financial
risk to start a business? That's what critics and naysayers
asked Carlo Crocco when he left his family's watchmaking
dynasty to start Geneva, Switzerland-based MDM Geneve, manufacturer
of the exclusive Hublot watch.
Crocco turned a deaf ear to the critics, convinced he could do
what they thought impossible. The result is a company that produces
one of the world's most distinctive watches. This year,
Crocco's company will rack up sales of $22 million. But getting
to that point was a study in perseverance, conviction and enormous
risk-taking.
When Crocco decided to leave the family fold in 1976 at age 32,
almost everyone who knew him was convinced he had a few screws
loose. As scion of Italy's premier watchmaking family, the
Milan-based Binda company, Crocco had it made. In fact, until he
defied tradition, no family member had ever left the firm.
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It's easy to understand why. Founded by Crocco's
grandfather in 1906, the time-weathered company was as solid as the
Rock of Gibraltar. Today, Binda controls the largest watch
distribution network in Italy. Like his parents, uncles and
cousins, Crocco grew up in the business. He had become its top
marketing and creative person, and was destined to take the helm of
the sprawling multimillion-dollar empire. But Crocco had other
plans.
The need to go off on his own became an all-consuming drive he
couldn't deny. "Growing up in a watchmaking family, there
was no question about what I was going to do for the rest of my
life," he recalls. "When I told my uncles I was leaving,
they thought I was crazy."
It was no snap decision, either. "I agonized over it,"
Crocco says reflectively. "But when I compared the pros and
cons, I felt I had no choice. I had been working for my
family's business since graduating from college. I loved the
business, but I had my own ideas I wanted to test. I wanted to make
my own statement."
Not only was Crocco bent on starting his own company; he decided
to relocate to Switzerland to do it. "If you're going to
be in the watch business, Switzerland is the place to be," he
says.
Crocco's most important reason for setting up shop in
Switzerland was to create a unique watch that would enjoy world
recognition. "My vision was to produce something
different," he says. "I envisioned a timepiece that
flawlessly merged Italian styling with Swiss craftsmanship."
Watch connoisseurs know that's as close to perfection as anyone
can get. If Crocco's plan worked, he'd capture the
hearts-and pocketbooks-of fickle, fashion-forward Europeans.
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