Flex Watches raises funds for charity

You may have noticed others sporting brightly colored, plastic wrist watches around campus, but there's more than meets the eye when it comes to this fashion trend.

It all started when interpersonal and organizational communications senior Kaile Gurney was watching an episode of Real World: San Diego this past September. In the show, the founders of a new and innovative watch company, Flex Watches, struck up a conversation with one of the cast members at a restaurant.

Shortly after, Gurney hopped online to purchase one of the watches and saw that the company was looking for college-campus representatives to sell the product.

Within minutes, she had submitted an application; a few weeks later, she had the job.

"I thought, ‘it's so easy to sell them, it's so simple and it doesn't cost any money for me or anything,'" Gurney said. "So why shouldn't I do it?"

Flex Watches follow a "10-10-10" standard — they are sold in 10 different colors, and 10 percent of all sales are divided among 10 charities.

The charities are diverse and cater to causes such as housing for Hurricane Katrina victims, clean water for third-world countries and breast cancer awareness.

The product, though nontraditional, is eye-catching; the water-resistant watches are made from colorful and flexible silicone, and the face of the timepieces are large and square.

Gurney said that because the watches are so noticeable, they're easier to market.

"People ask me about it all the time," Gurney said.

While Gurney does not get paid for the watches, she does get one free watch for every five she sells.

Carly Trageser, a sophomore advertising/public relations major, is the other UCF representative for Flex Watches. Trageser, who is new to the game, doesn't have a watch yet, so she has to rely on other means to get the word out.

"I've sent out Facebook messages to all of my friends promoting Flex Watches," Trageser said.

Even though the watches come in all colors of the rainbow, both of the representatives said that black and white seem to be the best-selling colors because they match every outfit.

Trevor Jones, co-founder of Flex Watches, said that when he started the company this January he was looking to sell something unique and was inspired by the charity-based business model of TOMS Shoes.

"It had nothing to do with the watch; it could have been a shirt, a hat," Jones said. "We wanted to give back, and we did it with colors."

Each color represents a charity. For example, green watches advocate the support of the Be Perfect Foundation, a California-based initiative that benefits the victims of spinal cord injuries.

The foundation became involved with Flex Watches six months ago and said they've gotten a good impression of the company.

"A little money here and there helps our foundation out," foundation volunteer Lorie Hargrave said.

Hargrave said that she's not sure how much money Flex Watches has collected for the Be Perfect Foundation yet, and funds are to be divided among the 10 charities sometime in the next couple of months.

"We'll be able to give a pretty healthy donation by the end of the year," Jones said.

In the meanwhile, Gurney and Trageser plan to help keep sales up for the company.

The watches cost $30, and each interchangeable band costs $15. A "fan-pack," which features all 10 colored wristbands, checks out at $250 at flexwatches.com.

"It's right around the holiday season, and they make awesome gifts. You're not only giving a really cool watch. You're also helping charity," Gurney said. "You're helping out people who really need it."