Branding in a Crowded Market You've shelled out hundreds of pounds for a smartwatch, relying on its tech bells and whistles, only for it to break.

Then you face an expensive repair bill or the need to buy a replacement. This happened to my wife, who bought an Apple Watch, only for the screen to break after two days. She was faced with either a £300 repair bill or an expensive paperweight.

It was that dilemma that prompted me to come up with a sustainable solution. The $2 billion sector is dominated by Garmin along with Apple. Millions of people use their devices each day for health and fitness tracking, performance monitoring, productivity, and connectivity. Sometimes to even tell the time.

With the market growing by 5.6% annually, more people than ever are reliant on their smartwatch. But the more we rely on them, the more frustrating it becomes when they break. A cracked screen, a worn-out battery, or sensor failure usually means a pricey repair or a new watch. Typically, smartwatches are designed to be replaced, not repaired. That's where UNA Watch, the world's first repairable modular GPS sports watch, comes in. Here's how we're building a brand that can stand the test of time.

1. Identify the problem – then solve it better than anyone else
When my wife's smartwatch broke, I thought, as an engineer, there had to be a way to fix it. But smartwatches aren't designed for self-repair. That's the crux of the issue: they aren't made to last. Our solution is a modular, repairable, and upgradeable alternative. Consumers don't want to discard a perfectly good watch because one part fails, and with sustainability increasingly important, they don't want to dispose of something that could be fixed. In fact, 60 million tonnes of consumer electronics are discarded annually. Yet, big brands make repairs expensive or impossible, forcing customers into an endless upgrade cycle. The same problem exists in smartphones, where companies like Fairphone have disrupted the market by offering devices that last. We aim to find the pain point the big players ignore and design a solution that improves customers' lives.

2. Listen to customers and build a community
Too many companies build products in isolation, only engaging with customers once they launch. We did things differently. Before developing UNA Watch, we spoke to thousands of runners and other smartwatch users - everyone from "weekend warriors" to serious athletes. We certainly had a gut feel for what was wrong with the existing offering on the market, and what people wanted through our own network. However, we unlocked so much more when we began to build that data at scale, unlocking insights we'd never have uncovered on our own.

Not only did their insights shape the product, but they've also become our biggest advocates – rallying behind our Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, which launches next month.

3. Find the "Blue Ocean" of opportunity
We looked for a 'blue ocean' – a space where we could differentiate ourselves rather than competing. In the book Blue Ocean Strategy, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne argue that true innovation comes from creating new market space, rather than battling competitors over existing demand. Garmin and Apple dominate traditional smartwatches, but don't prioritise sustainability or repairability. By positioning UNA Watch as the world's first repairable sports watch, we shifted the basis of competition, much like Tesla did in the automotive industry.

To succeed in a competitive market, you have to redefine the game. What unique value can you offer that incumbents have overlooked? What new demand can you unlock? Finding your blue ocean means stepping away from price wars and feature battles and instead creating something so different that competitors feel irrelevant.

4. Learn from other sectors
Smartwatches aren't the only industry dealing with planned obsolescence. We studied companies that disrupted their spaces by offering long-lasting, repairable technology. Fairphone changed the way people think about smartphones by giving users control over their devices. Framework did the same for laptops, offering fully repairable, upgradeable computers. These companies proved there's a market for ethical, sustainable tech. By applying these principles to wearables, we weren't reinventing the wheel; we were bringing a proven concept to a new sector.

5. Build trust and tell a story that matters
Customers today don't just buy products – they buy into stories. Our story isn't just about selling watches; it's about challenging an industry to do better. From day one, we've been transparent about our mission: to create a smartwatch that lasts. That means not just selling a product, but providing spare parts, repair guides, optional upgrades, and customer support enabling users to keep their devices running for years. This is about customer empowerment as much as the tech.

By standing for something bigger, we'll build trust, and trust is the foundation of any great brand. Breaking into a crowded market isn't easy, but it's far from impossible. By identifying a real problem, engaging with customers, finding a unique position, learning from other industries, and building trust, any company can carve out its place -even in industries dominated by giants.

That's exactly what we're aiming for with our Kickstarter launch next month, which aims to sell 5,000 units in the UK and the US markets – equating to £1 million in revenue. We've already secured more than £300,000 investment from SFC Capital, the backer of some of the UK's most exciting consumer brands. We believe we can shake up a billion-dollar market -and reassure my wife that having a smartwatch doesn't have to come with a huge repair bill, along with huge tech capabilities.