Armed with a spirit as adventurous as the Swiss mountains that inspire him, Ben Küffer founded Norqain with Mark Streit and Ted Schneider in 2018.
Ben has Swiss watchmaking running through his veins, following in both his grandfather and father’s footsteps.
His first foray into the industry was with Breitling, where he says he learnt invaluable lessons from industry legend Thédy Schneider, who sold Breitling to CVC Capital Partners.
Since launching Norqain, Ben has ensured he always keeps a laser-focused plan for the company as it grows.
“Our mission is to establish Norqain as a strong independent player in the market with a long-term vision,” he shares.
Keeping Norqain independent gives them a lot of freedom.
“Without any pressure from the stock market pushing for profit, we promise to continuously invest into the quality of our products and innovation,” he says.
It was not long after Norqain was launched that the pandemic hit, but Ben managed to push through and embraced the challenges those years brought him.
“It felt like somebody shut down our dream for two months,” Ben remembers.
“My main message to the team was always that we will come back stronger and that we are lucky to have a small speedboat and not a cruise ship in this storm.”
And what a comeback they made, opening their first flagship boutique in the mountain resort of Zermatt in Southern Switzerland at the end of 2021.
His secret?
“Believe in yourself, trust your instincts and always stay true to your value,” he states.
Norqain has plenty of exciting projects on the horizon, including the launch of its totally new concept for the sports watch; the result of more than two years of hard work. The new watches will be ultra robust, ultra light and will use a proprietary Norqain material.
