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How My Grandfather's Watch Gave Me the Life I Always Wanted An entrepreneur received a watch from his grandfather, which inspired him to open up an ecommerce store.

By Ben Clymer

This story appears in the January 2018 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Stephen Lewis

My grandfather was an entrepreneur. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, and he made his own money -- starting, believe it or not, a cigarette lighter company in the '60s. He was a cool guy -- someone who lived a glamorous lifestyle (or at least what the Rochester, N.Y.-raised, 13-year-old version of me thought was glamorous). He was my hero.

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He had this watch, an Omega Speedmaster, that I loved. It had a chronograph and what's known as a triple date complication: the day of the week, the month and the date. And it didn't look like the usual watch. It was blue and white and gray. Anytime I went down to visit him, I'd ask him about it. He'd even let me wear it from time to time.