Reviving American Craftsmanship: Vortic Watches

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Lindsay Roselle of Vortic Watch Company, as she shares her remarkable entrepreneurial journey and how she’s transforming antique US pocket watches into modern timepieces. Lindsay shares her diverse background in business development and entrepreneurship, the challenges of managing a business while being a mother, and stepping in as interim CEO after her partner experienced a medical emergency. Additionally, we talk to Jeff Green, Carrot-Tops business development manager, about the profound impact of breast cancer on his family and the importance of awareness and support. Learn about Vortec's commitment to American craftsmanship and the larger implications of American-made products in today's economy.

00:00 Introduction and Guest Background
00:48 Lindsay's Entrepreneurial Journey
02:00 Balancing Motherhood and Business
04:05 RT's Medical Emergency
08:09 Stepping in as Interim CEO
08:52 The Story of Vortec Watch Company
21:15 American Craftsmanship and Challenges
27:57 The Art of Watchmaking: Skills and Challenges
29:14 Advocating for Trade Schools and Skilled Labor
30:14 In-House Manufacturing and Clean Room Assembly
31:15 Partnerships and Veteran Training Initiatives
32:04 The Importance of Trade Schools in the AI Era
33:25 Future of Vortec: Balancing Tradition and Modernity
35:58 Challenges in American Watch Manufacturing
41:59 Consumer Choices and American Craftsmanship
47:55 Flags of Change: Breast Cancer Awareness

Creators and Guests

Host

Bill LuMaye

Former talk show host at WPTF680 in Raleigh, N.C.

Host

Liz Morris

Chief Executive Officer at Carrot-Top Industries, Inc.

Guest

Lindsay Roselle

Helping you succeed without self-abandonment building @wearereallyhuman CEO @vorticwatches

What is Freedom and Glory - Tales of American Spirit?

Welcome to Freedom and Glory: Tales of American Spirit—a podcast celebrating the heart of American craftsmanship, resilience, self-reliance, and the power of disruption. Through inspiring stories and authentic storytelling, we shine a spotlight on individuals and communities who embody these values, proving that small, determined efforts can spark meaningful change.

Join us as we share personal tales of triumph, innovation, and hope—moments that define the American spirit and shape our nation’s identity. Whether you’re seeking motivation to pursue your dreams or a reminder of the power of community, Freedom and Glory offers a powerful dose of inspiration rooted in resilience and determination.

Listen, be inspired, and take action.

10 Freedom and Glory - Lindsay Roselle
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[00:00:00]

Liz: Today we're joined by Lindsay Rosell, a Vortec watch company where American Craftsmanship and Resilience come together to turn antique US pocket watches into modern time pieces. Thank you so much for joining us, Lindsay.

Lindsay Roselle: You are welcome. I'm happy to be here.

Liz: Um, can you start by telling us a little bit about yourself? What's your background?

Lindsay Roselle: Yeah, I, um, well, I mean, it depends on how far you wanna go back, but I, I spent nine years in corporate business development. I worked for an energy company and so I, I cut my [00:01:00] teeth as a professional, um, traveling all over the world, selling energy software. So it's pretty boring, but it was definitely good experience for being an entrepreneur.

Um, taught me a lot about operations, taught me a lot about. People and sales and management and all of those things. And then, um, when I, you know, I, I turned 30 and decided that I didn't wanna work for anybody else and set out on my own. And, and since then I've had a number of different businesses in every entrepreneurial facet you can imagine.

I've had brick and mortar businesses, I've had e-comm, um, I've, you know, I have a personal brand now. I have a podcast. I'm a professional speaker. I've, I, I've kind of run the gauntlet in terms of ways of being in entrepreneurship. And I also, you know, my partner rt, which we're gonna talk about, he's the founder of vortec.

Um, we met just about 10 years ago, and so we've been kind of in parallel paths as entrepreneurs. Over the [00:02:00] last 10 years. And so I also, we also have two kids and motherhood came in to play in my entrepreneurial journey. And I've, I talk a lot about that on my own platforms because I do think being a parent and having a business, it just compounds the mental load of all of it.

And also the legacy and, and the, the passion and the purpose a lot of us have for our businesses, um, when perhaps the business is the first baby that you had, you know? And so I have a lot of passion and a lot of. Experience around managing a lot of different things at the same time and, and also feeling very lit up and excited about being an entrepreneur no matter what I'm selling.

Um, and, and I think that's why it's worked so well for me to kind of bounce between all the different things that I've tried. Um, so yeah, you know, I have an MBA, I have traditional business background, very traditional corporate experience, and an MBA. And I have over almost 15 years now of entrepreneurial [00:03:00] experience in a wide range of different types of businesses, different sizes of businesses.

So I, I think at this point in my life now, I am quite well-rounded. And I, I fancy myself an operator. Like I, I'm, I, I have lots of ideas and, and things that I'd love to do in the world, but none of them are, start big businesses anymore. Um, now. But I do love to operate. I love to help people operate their businesses.

I am, I'm very, you know, I've had so much experience and I've worked inside of other people's businesses so much as a coach or a consultant that now I, I can almost always identify where there's opportunities for optimization and growth and management changes, leader, better leadership, all of that. And that's really where I've settled now in terms of passion.

Um, and contribution is, is to come in and help people operate. So, and that's what I'm doing now with Fortech, which I'm sure we're gonna get into.

Liz: Yeah. Yeah. Um, no, I, I'm glad you mentioned your mom. I was gonna jump in and say, and on top all [00:04:00] that,

um, you know, that's a really cool, you know, experience. And, um, I know you mentioned, you know, you're currently serving as interim CEO for Vortec, um, after your husband rt, you know, suffered a medical emergency.

Can you, can you talk about what happened?

Lindsay Roselle: Yeah. So back in April actually I quit. I was, um, the COO of a big online brand, and I quit in mid April. Because I was, I wouldn't say burned out, I just was no longer aligned with where, you know, how it felt to be inside the business and, and what I really wanted to do. And so I left in April thinking I'd have the summer to kind of figure out what I was gonna do next, and then, you know, pick something or really go all in on my podcast in my speaking.

And then on June 30th, I was up in the mountains here in Colorado where we live with my two kids, and RT was on a business trip in Detroit, Michigan. And I, I didn't have service at our cabin. So I was coming back down the mountain into [00:05:00] town and I got a text message from his phone and I thought it was him giving me an update on the meetings that he was having while he was there.

And it was this weird, cryptic message that said, your husband's in the hospital, please call this number. Um, and it was, I was like, oh, what? You know? So I pull over on the side of the road. And call the number. And, and he was in neuro ICU recovery and I, and she was like, yeah, he is outta surgery. Um, this neurosurgeon's gonna call you in a little bit.

We just wanted to let you know he is out. He's in recovery now. And I was like, what happened? Like, I don't have any idea what you're talking about. I've been out of service. I don't, haven't gotten any messages. I don't know what's going on. And she's like, oh, well he had a stroke. And I was like, okay, what?

Like, can you give me more information? She was kind of combative at first because I think she. Didn't know that. I didn't know. Um, and they told me that he had collapsed in the hotel gym and that somebody had found him and recognized signs of a stroke and gotten him care quickly, got, you know, gotten an ambulance and gotten him to the hospital there in Detroit.[00:06:00]

He he had a over 90% blockage clot in his right cerebral artery. So it had blocked blood flow to the right side of his brain, rendering the left side of his body mostly paralyzed. Um. And, you know, here we are almost three months later and he's, he's walking again. You know, he, we stayed in Detroit for 10 days in ICU awaiting transfer back home for him to go to rehab.

Um. We got home and then he was in rehab here for a couple weeks learning to walk again and like take care of himself again. Um, so physically he's made quite a, an amazing recovery and you know, he is still has, he may never recover full dexterity and feeling in his left fingers. Um, and the left side of his face is still quite.

Paralyzed, I would say, you know, like lacking movement, um, which you'll take, they say could take 12 months to come back. Um, and then, you know, cognitively he was, he was all there from the beginning. He remembered falling down in the, in the gym and like [00:07:00] feeling really tired and not knowing what was wrong.

He remembers being in the er, all of that. Um, what's so interesting though, and, and the reason I am in the business leading the business is that. You know, it's technically a brain injury, like a large chunk of his brain is dead, and, and the brain now has to regrow and adapt around that, that dead spot, just like if you were to have a car accident or any other kind of brain injury.

And, um, that means that his overwhelm and his like sensory. He gets, he gets overwhelmed, he gets overstimulated very quickly. He really can't spend time on a computer or a phone. It's, it's so interesting, and I talk a lot about this on my podcast, but, um, scrolling, like the motion of scrolling makes him not only like nauseous, but it makes him agitated.

Like his brain. He's like, it feels like my brain wants to scream it, like stop looking. And I'm like, how interesting that our human brain as it recovers doesn't wanna be on a screen. Um, [00:08:00] but you know, obviously because of how overstimulated he gets and how tired. The day-to-day stuff still makes him, he can't run a business day-to-day right now.

So we explored, you know, there was a, we can talk more about all the, the things that occurred for me to be stepping in, but ultimately this is the decision that made sense and, and um, although I know really nothing about the watch industry other than what I've picked up from him in proximity over the last 10 years.

I, I know how to operate a business. I know how to lead a team. I know how to deal with investors and vendors and accounts payable and the bank and all of that, you know, and so I was like, it just makes sense for me to do this. Um, so we made that decision about a month ago, and it is drinking from a fire hose to say the least, but it, you know, it's going as well as it can be, I think.

Bill: Well, that's so wonderful that he is doing. Better. I mean,

that's scary. It really is.

Let's talk a little bit about the company. Even though you don't know a whole lot about watches, it's, it's intriguing. I mean, it really is. It's a wonderful idea. I [00:09:00] can't tell you how many people I've had an opportunity to talk to and have walked away saying, I wish I'd thought of this, and

this is another one of those kinds of companies.

Tell us about it.

Lindsay Roselle: Yeah. So it started with him and his original co-founder, who's no longer part of the business. It started when they were on the golf course in college and they were talking about his, his co-founder was more of a watch guy, art's an engineer by training. And they were talking about American made, they went to Penn State.

So, you know, they're steeped in the founding of America and American made. And, um, they were talking about watches and American made in that. There was, it was interesting to both of them that there was nothing a hundred percent American made in the US anymore. And RT actually grew up in, um. In Reding, Pennsylvania, which is close to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which is where his parents still live today.

And that's where the Hamilton Watch Factory was. And so he was aware of these watch brands that had been in America, but didn't, he never learned what had happened to the, the pocket watch and the watchmaking [00:10:00] industry in America when it all shifted out of America. And so they did a little bit of research and were like, oh wait, this is really interesting.

And um. You know, this is a manufacturing challenge. This is a storytelling challenge, but I think Americans would respond to American history and the cool factor of this, so let's try it. Um, and, and that's when I first met RT, was when they were in their very first shop here in Fort Collins, Colorado, where we live.

And the very first versions of the watches they did were 3D printed cases that they, you know, they printed each side and then they had to lock them together around. An old antique pocket watch that they had restored. Um, and they really built it from the ground up with that idea. They found watchmakers that could restore old pocket watches.

They found, um, estate sales and, and pickers and scalper or salvages that would have buckets of movements, you know, and, and the, they could buy them for cheap and, and have 'em [00:11:00] restored and, you know, and so they really put the whole business together piece by piece. And RT Ult ultimately is a visionary.

He's a storyteller. He's, you know, he loves to sit and talk to people about it all. And I think what really propelled it forward from that initial idea was that as RT started to meet people and tell them the story, people said exactly what you said, which is like the, such a cool idea. Um, and I wish I thought of that.

Like there's millions and millions of pocket watches. Out there that are American. You know, at one point America was by far the best in the world at making these things. And something happened where all of that got shipped overseas, and now it's China and Japan and Switzerland. Um, and, and so there's this undercurrent of interest in it because it's American history and, and because so many people have pocket watches from their grandparents or in their family.

There's that nostalgic aspect to it too. And so, as you [00:12:00] know, as the last 10 years have gone, now the manufacturing is all done on big CNC machines that we have in our, you know, a new, a new facility here in Colorado that we own. And, um, the precision has gotten a lot better, the watchmaking. Now we have in-house watchmakers.

Um, now we work on all the different brands of pocket watches. And now, you know, we have. Um, special additions and all these different things, like he's built it into a real company. But the, the history and the story of all of it is really ultimately, I think, what he loved the most from the beginning and then what has made the business have longevity like it has.

And, and when everything happened, that was the message that we got so much, was like, please don't let this die like this is, this is more than just a product. This is. American history, and if you aren't doing it, nobody else will. You know, like you, you've really made the, you're the only one that's figured out how to do it like this.

Um, please don't let it die, you know? And that was also why I was like, gosh, there's so much public and [00:13:00] industry support for us. I've gotta do my best here. Like, I can't, I can't just let it die. Um, so.

Bill: Well, you know, I, I love, um. Antiques vintage stuff, probably 'cause I'm a little vintage myself, but it's, um, I was

Liz: like, there's a joke there. But you know,

Bill: it's the, you mentioned RT as a storyteller, but each one of these pieces, especially if it's something in your family, tells a story, it's

also remembering that individual. Can you just tell us, I mean, are you restoring them? But are you putting in modern technology into these things? Just give you an idea of what you get when you turn in an old pocket watch.

Lindsay Roselle: Yeah. Yeah. So one of the, we sell 'em in a couple different ways. One is you can convert your family pocket watch into a wristwatch if it's, if it's a, of a certain, you know, if it's one of the sizes that we can, can take. And so, um, we have done hundreds of what we call heritage editions, which are someone's.

Family pocket watch that we convert. And then we also [00:14:00] sell prefab ones where we've done, you know, we picked the movement, we picked the dial, we put the strap color, like we picked the, the aesthetics of it and put it together. Um. And so what we do is we take the move, so we, most of what we get, we get from, um, salvages or pickers or jewelry, estates and stuff like that.

And what comes to us is just the guts. It's like, it's the dial and the hands and then the movement itself. What's been scrapped has is the golder silver. Case that the original pocket watch was in. And it's, it's kind of, it's crazy to go with RT on some of these buying trips because people literally have like five gallon buckets in their garages.

Or these, like estate sales will have five gallon buckets filled to the brim of pocket watch movements and dials the face with the hands and stuff. But they're, they're no longer in a case, so they're just kind of discarded. And so, um, we have thousands of those in the shop, and what we do is we find.

The movements that are in the best [00:15:00] shape, the best quality, and, and we, we match them with dials from the same brand as the movement and we restore that movement. So we, um, we have watchmakers that will take the whole thing apart, clean it replace parts that are broken with other, because we have thousands of movements, sometimes we do have to switch out a movement apart from another of that same brand.

That, um, is in better condition or something like that. But we don't use anything modern because there no one makes modern pieces anymore for these things. And so everything that we use to repair the watch is also hundreds of years old and is just from our scrap pile. It's like if you had a card junkyard, you know, like you have to go to the Ford, the Ford model, T junkyard and pull all the different parts you need for the Model T's.

'cause nobody makes Model T parts anymore. Um. It's the exact same idea. So we just have this huge inventory of parts and pieces that are all from antique pocket watches. We pick the best pieces, put it back together [00:16:00] restore it and make sure it's keeping time. Well put a, put a dial on it, an antique dial, all the antique cans, and then what's modern is the case.

And so we now make in our CNC mills out of titanium or steel or bronze. Cases that are, that we engineered to fit the pocket watch inside and we have o-rings and like all these terms that I don't really, you know, there's all these components that go inside of the modern, um, metal case that's around the pocket watch.

And then we use glass, um, on the front and the back so you can see the movement. I wish I had grabbed one, I could show you, but, um, you can go to the website or the Instagram and see it so. The, the outside of the watch is, is new. It's, but it's still all a hundred percent American made and then everything inside the glass is all over a hundred years old or a hundred years old.

At this point, pocket watch components. So, um, it, it looks [00:17:00] stylish and, and modernish, but there's nothing else like it on the market because what's inside no one makes anymore. Um, and it's, it, they're all manual, so you do, there is a crown. You have to pull and wind it every day. Nothing is run on a battery, anything like that.

Bill: I would love a Gen Z to get one of those and see if they could figure out how to

Liz: to it and

wind it. Yeah.

Bill: that'd be great.

Liz: Yeah. I mean, it sounds like just. Painstakingly beautiful. I mean, just when you described, I don't know, I mean, can you even produce like a line of similar looking watches or it's like every single one is entirely unique.

Lindsay Roselle: Everyone, everyone is one of a kind because, many were mass produced, many styles were mass produced. Um, but even out of hundreds of millions of pocket watches that were made, we the inventory now there's still millions available. So it's not like we're ever gonna run out. But it's rare that we find [00:18:00] two identical ones because even back when they were being made in mass production.

You could, so like each dial was made by someone by hand, essentially. And so there, there are variations even in similar runs from the bigger watch companies a hundred years ago. So what we do is they're all named, um, we have, I think, oh gosh, I should know this, but there's like eight or nine, um, lines that we have in our, one of a kind artisan series.

And, and they're named for the city where the original factory was. And so it's like the, um. The Boston, the, the Cleveland, um, the Lancaster, those, and, and it's where the original factory was, and then inside those lines. So it's all the, those are all the same brand, the original antique brand. But the, the faces will be different on most of the watches because they're, they're now one of a kind.

The only thing that we do in the Artisan series where we actually can find enough of the same exact thing to have like a, a, [00:19:00] um. Release or an addition that's multiples of the same thing are our military additions. And we do that once a year on Veteran's Day. And those are watches that were flown in the B two bombers in World War ii.

And those are all, those are much harder to find. And so we spend all year long accumulating those watches from collectors and from Salvager and all of that. Um, this year we'll have about 55 of them. And our, you know, it takes months for our watchmakers to restore all of them, and then we launch them on Veteran's Day, and we've done that for, I think this will be our sixth year of doing that.

Um, and they typically sell out because everyone knows how rare they are. And, and they have, they carry this military history, which is really, really cool. And of course, America really appreciates. Um, so, so yeah, the American Artisan line in general though, is almost always one of a kind in that even if you're dial that on the watch you're buying, they made millions of those it's a hundred years old, so it has been weathered [00:20:00] or used or, um, you know, affected by age in a, in a different way than a very similar one.

So it may have a different patina on it, or it may have a different. Um, you know, some of them are cracked or, or have a numeral that's fallen off. And believe it or not, those are sought after because people really like the it to look interesting and to look imperfect because it's in antique and it tells a story.

And so, um. You, you know, as, as we grow here, we're starting to look at modern watches and, and, you know, ways of kind of growing the business beyond the one of a kind product. Um, but all of it is in homage to this idea of having a really unique conversation piece type product.

Bill: I keep hearing something over and over again. It's American made. American product the military series. That's phenomenal. That really is. I'd love one of those. I imagine you have a long [00:21:00] waiting list, but it seems to be kind of a theme with the way you do business or

an appreciation for something that I think is lacking in a lot of businesses.

You know where, where I'm going with this,

Lindsey? Yeah. Tell us about that. How important is that to you?

Lindsay Roselle: It's really important. right now in America, just even the last year and, and tariffs and all these different things and you know, I was again, just kind of tangentially paying attention to all of this stuff because it really wasn't my context. RT was running the business.

Um, but you know, that we've always had opportunities to reduce cost by sending things overseas in this business. Like many, many micro brands in the watch industry. Get their parts or have their watches assembled in China or in other places overseas. And, um, RT and Tyler, his co-founder, you know, just through the years, they insisted if you're dealing with an antique American product, even if it costs more and it's a lot harder, we're gonna make the whole watch in America to honor the fact that the insides of this watch [00:22:00] are a hundred year old American made one of a kind antique that can never be replaced.

And, you know, it's interesting because I strongly believe as a, I'm more of a marketer, I'm more of a, a strategist than, than a watch collector. But I strongly believe a lot of our customer base, you know, they're, they're their number one for the story and, and for the a hundred percent American made product, and then they're their number two for the watch.

And, um, same with the military edition. You know, a lot of people that buy that every year are buying it because it's, it's an artifact of American history. First, and it's, it's something that's rare and sought after. And it flew in planes that dropped bombs in World War ii. Like the story is so real and visceral for people.

Um, many of them don't even wear the watch necessarily like they're buying it because it's part of American history. And I think that reverence for America, American history has fed our [00:23:00] insistence on making everything for that watch in America because. You know, we're patriots, we're Americans, like we were, we're.

We want to honor the craftsmanship and the history of what these things represent. And there's just something that feels wrong about taking all of that and shipping it overseas to have it made more, less expensively. Um, now what's interesting is that's the genesis of the brand and it's incredibly important to us.

And when you start to talk about growing a business in this economic climate and. You know other opportunities we have to make a, a more accessible watch, you know, because our price point is quite high on these artisan series, as you can imagine. 'cause they're one of a kind, they take an immense amount of work and, and we're trying to find ways to grow the business and reach everybody who wants a watch that looks like this, but maybe can't afford the, the highest end.

You know, one of a kind military editions and, and what we, what we face in the watch industry is no [00:24:00] one in America makes. An American made movement watch movement, it doesn't exist at this time. And so if you want to make a watch in America today, you have to buy the parts overseas from China, from Switzerland, from Japan, from India.

Um, and so, you know, you can say that it's assembled in America. You can say that it's mostly American made, but nothing is a hundred percent American made because nobody can make a movement here. And there's a lot of people working on it. Um, and maybe within the next few years, you know, somebody will be able to do it.

But, um, we grapple with that because even, you know, wanting to add some of our, our more modern ideas in where we're, we're making, um, modern watches that are reminiscent of the look of a pocket watch or our. Kind of off takes of that with a, with modern movements inside of them, we have to go and buy them from Japan or from [00:25:00] Switzerland or from India or somewhere, and we can tell the story.

You know, like, I think American consumers understand that it's, that's just what's happened in America. We've lost a lot of these trades. We've lost a lot of this manufacturing capability because it got shipped overseas in the last, you know, in the last few decades of the two thousands or of the, the 20th century, like, um.

When everybody thought the best thing to do was send that kind of stuff overseas to make it cheaper. And we kind of maybe shot ourselves in the foot around art, art and craftsmanship. Where now, you know, in order to make something here, we have to go overseas to get the most critical component. So, and, and I don't think that's just the watch industry.

I, I, you know, obviously there's so many. Facets of American manufacturing where we've lost the capability by, because the trade has diminished because we, we shifted overseas decades ago, um, and now people trying to do it here are faced with immense cost to, to restore the capacity [00:26:00] in America. And you grapple with that as a brand because I think American consumers really appreciate American made more now, more than ever.

But they're also discerning with their money and, and it's hard to justify. Paying twice as much for something to have it fully made in America versus, you know, finding something equivalent that's half is half the price that's mostly made overseas and then assembled here. Um, so you know, we're, yeah, we're facing kind of the same thing as a lot of brands around in lots of industries where we'd love to make everything fully in America, but it literally, the parts literally don't exist here.

We have to source them overseas.

Liz: I was gonna say, I know that that same thing definitely impacts the textile industry, the broader textile industry for sure. [00:27:00] I just feel like the, the dedication and skill that goes into, um, I. It, it seems like there are aspects of production that have to be, um, hand done, you know?

Are, are you, and then I'm just thinking about the same things, like all these watchmakers and stuff, they're probably overseas, you know, are you training people or how do you how are you, how are you, are you able to find people that wanna work with you? Or, you know, how, how are you

Lindsay Roselle: Yeah,

Liz: them to do what they need to do?

Lindsay Roselle: staffing is hard in this industry and it's, it's, that's also a bigger conversation that I'm super interested in as an entrepreneur, a long time entrepreneur. And then with AI coming into our cultural zeitgeist so, so heavily now, and I'm like, you know, what's gonna, what AI can never do, or it's gonna take decades for AI to be able to do is precision manufacturing, right?

Like. The skills that a watchmaker [00:28:00] has and, and the, the tiny tools, like the guys in our shop, like they wear these crazy glasses with like telescopic lenses and they're using these tiny little tools and they have a thousand pieces of a disassembled watch in front of them, and they know where every single screw goes back in and they know exactly how to use this tiny paintbrush to oil, this one little section, you, you know, like a robot being able to do something like that.

We aren't there yet. And a robot having the, not only the precision but the intellect to know where that screw needs to go and how to oil it perfectly and all of that, or decades from that. I think, I mean, I don't know, maybe, maybe I'm speaking wrongly about AI and it'll be here in a few years, but right now it, there no machine can do that stuff and so I, I'm coming in from the outside being like, wow.

Th we need to talk more about this because we need more people in the trades. We need more watchmakers. We need more machinists. Like, we've got three guys that run our CNC machines. We have eight or nine machines. Those guys are hard to find, and, and the good ones are [00:29:00] heavily recruited and highly paid, um, by, you know, the weapons industry or the space industry.

Those kind of, you know, there's, there's plenty of industries that. Use manufacturing and want machinists, and there aren't very many of them. And so, um, I'm a huge advocate becoming more and more of an advocate for, hey, like if you're raising Gen Z, you're Gen Z right now. Like I, I have a liberal arts degree that I never used, like trade shows.

Trade school might be the, the play if you want to have a job in an AI world, just saying. But luckily, we have found great, a great team, and they love living in Fort Collins, Colorado. It's an incredible place to live. We pay pretty well. Um, and it's cool. Like what we do is really cool, and it is incredibly hands-on work.

It is in person, in a shop. Like it's loud, it's messy, you know, it's, it is dirty work. Just like we would think, like when you think of a machine [00:30:00] shop or you think of oiling little tiny parts, like it's, it's very different than I think a lot of us have grown up in where we're on computers all the time or.

We're in, um, you know, we're out and about choosing our schedule, right? So we work on shifts, the machines run on shifts, and, um, our watchmakers sit at their desk in the, we have a clean room in our building where we installed in special ventilation. And so the watches are all assembled in. Cleaned and everything in a clean room.

And it's all in-house. I mean, the at literally we mill them, we make all the parts in one part of the building, they are put in trays and they are scooted down to the other side of the building where the watchmakers and assemblers are, and it's assembled in there and put back together as a watch. And then our front of house, they're all on display and then, you know, they're on our website and we ship 'em out and, um.

You know, I, I haven't been in the business long enough to have to hire yet. I did have to lay some people off when I took off, [00:31:00] took over because of the financial situation we were in after the ca catastrophic, you know, effects of RT stroke. Um, but I do expect that hiring watchmakers and hiring machinists is, is very difficult.

There aren't very many. Um, one of the, the things that we do with Vortec, we work with an nonprofit called the Veterans Watchmaker Initiative. They're based in Delaware. And that business or or nonprofit, takes military veterans, trains them as watchmakers for free and then helps them get jobs as watchmakers.

And that's been an incredible partnership. They're actually helping us right now. We shipped a bunch of movements to them. To help us with a new project. And, um, we have a great partnership with them. They named a building after RT because he's, he every year when we launch the military edition, we give them a portion of the, of the proceeds.

And so you know, a few places like that exist that are training veterans to be watchmakers, [00:32:00] but trade school, I think we could shout from the rooftops. I could shout from the rooftops beyond running this business, beyond being an entrepreneur that, like today in America, going to trade school could be the best decision you make as a young person because you will have a job no matter what trade you pick, whether it's watchmaking or machining, or electrician or plumber or HVAC technician.

I mean, these are these. These are things that no AI is gonna be able to replace, and every single person needs at some point, a plumber, an electrician, an HVAC technician. Lots of businesses need machinists. Fewer businesses need watchmakers, but because watchmakers are rare, they're highly paid. Um, so yeah, I, I, I think.

For us personally, luckily we have an incredible team and we've, we've curated that team over years now. Um, but at, at a grander scale, I think my soapbox moment here is, is go to trade school, or if you're a parent and you've got teenage kids kind of aimlessly [00:33:00] looking at different, you know, paths out, out after high school, trade school would be an incredible choice to guarantee, you know, a, a career path that would be fruitful and, and profitable off the bat.

Bill: That's so true. Plus you don't have a, a huge bill

weighing down, you know? It's, I I agree a hundred percent. Well, you've, you've, um, consulted businesses. We've, we've listened to you. I'm just wondering now if I can pick your brain as to where you hope and maybe where you see the whole company going, because it seems like your,

your product's main attraction is the fact. And it's American. There's a certain amount of patriotism. Virtually everything you've said seems to come back to that. Um, and it sounds like you're having a bit of a struggle yourself. Where do you take it from here? But I am curious overall, as you, we seem to see a resurgence in this country for wanting more of those kinds of products.

Where do you think we're gonna be from now 10 years from now?

Lindsay Roselle: Yeah, I mean, [00:34:00] the microcosm of a Vortec watch company, you know, I, we just, we've been in these conversations because right before RT had his stroke, he had launched a second company called the Colorado Watch Company, and that brand was. Modern watch mostly made most of it made in America except for the movement itself, because no one in America makes movements.

We couldn't source it and we can't do it ourselves with what we, the machines we have. Um, and that business, he started it as a separate brand because he was worried that people wouldn't understand. You know, wouldn't be able to separate the story of Vortec being a hundred percent American made and the only a hundred percent American made watch in the us.

Um, versus a mostly American made watch that's more modern and lower priced and more accessible to the masses. It still looks really cool. Um, and you know, there's, there's thousands of, of small watch brands, right? And then hundreds of very large watch brands and all of them [00:35:00] are of, in varying levels assembled in the United States.

Um. And so we, right now we're grappling with my belief is having two brands as a business is hard because it means you have, you have to teach customers to discern between two different brands and make a decision. It's paralysis, you know, decision paralysis too much. Um, but the, the other side of that coin is well, does a Vortex customer who's only ever known us to have a hundred percent American made product.

At this premium price point that is, you know, an antique, one of a kind product, can I teach them and educate that customer that we are now going to have lower end products that are, you know, still beautiful craftsmanship, mostly made in America, um, at a lower price point though because they are for, we have to source the movements from Switzerland or from Japan or somewhere like that.

Um, and. I go around and around [00:36:00] on that because I do think the American consumer is smart enough to, to understand that the story that we, that we hear a lot, which is, I'd love to make this a hundred percent in America, but the capacity does not exist. Like there is no one in America that knows how to manufacture a watch movement.

All the, the machines and the technology and the parts only exist in China, Switzerland, Japan, and India. To my knowledge, um, there are people working to build that capacity in America and it's tens of millions of dollars to get the machines here, to train people, to test and, and manufacture. And, um, as of yet, no one's made an investment of that size to do it.

And so, um, you know, we are, we're gonna take a risk this fall and I, I don't know when this will air, but you know, we're gonna take a risk this fall and launch a. A modern watch under the Vortex brand, and that will, it will still be beautiful craftsmanship. It will still be mostly [00:37:00] American made, and we will have to explain to the customer why it's not a hundred percent American made, because the movement can cannot be sourced from America.

That we as Americans, we lost that capacity at some point in the late 19 hundreds when the industry decided to ship it all overseas. You know, we have our, our, our parents or our grandparents or whatever to blame for those decisions from a manufacturing standpoint. And, you know, so inside of our business, I think in order to keep Vortec growing because our capacity to make an American artisan like the, the one of a kind watch, they're, they are very intensive from a work standpoint, as I already explained.

You know, we can maybe make 350 to 400 of those a year. Like one a day is pretty much the pace that we can go at. With those because they take so much to restore. So that caps our business out at a certain level. And anytime you're an operator and owner of a business, you don't love to have [00:38:00] an artificial ceiling that's like, well, even if you did everything perfectly, this is the absolute max this business can ever grow to, you know, and it's like, okay, that's cool and that's great and, and we, we would be very happy with that.

But also. We might be really well positioned to make a mostly American made watch at a lower price point and tell a story that loops in some of what we're talking about, bill, like that hey, we should bring some awareness to the fact as Americans and as consumers, that we, we literally don't have capacity in America to do this anymore.

Why not? And, and so in buying this product, not only are you getting a really cool product that's mostly American made, but we're educating you on the fact that. We have lost this capacity as Americans, and, and maybe we don't wanna restore it because maybe watchmaking or, or American, you know, American made watch movements isn't a priority for American citizens and that's okay.

Um, but I think anytime we can tell a story that helps helps, helps us all understand from an economic [00:39:00] standpoint what we've done and that we can then choose with our dollars and our votes, you know, what we care about. I'm a big fan of doing that. And so, you know, 10 years from now I think we'll have American watchmaking capacity or like watch manufacturing capacity.

I think there's enough people working on it now. It's extremely expensive. Um, and so the people who are working on it are doing it because of this conversation, because they care about bringing it back to America and restoring American craftsmanship in that sense. Um, but a little business like Vortec is, you know.

RT decided a long time ago there was no way we could do it ourselves in house because it takes tens of millions of dollars to build that manufacturing capacity. Um, so, you know, I hope that we bring things back to America, especially things that are manufacturing and trade based because I have this bigger existential concern.

Me personally, I have a bigger existential concern that. [00:40:00] We are going to displace a lot of workers over the next five to 10 years from career paths that AI can do now that way better than a human. And I'm very concerned about opportunities for those humans. And so I, I would love to have trades and, um, career paths that require an actual human to do them.

I'd love to have that stuff. Um, and that workforce be the reason that we as consumers demand that some of these companies that we, we give our money to pull manufacturing back here and employ those people. And, and I think, you know, I'm, I'm not a political expert and I, I'm not here to talk about politics, but I think ultimately some of these economic policies with tariffs and, and things like that are trying to encourage that at some level.

And it's just, it gets super messy, obviously very quickly when you're dealing at the global scale. But I, I do hope that we can be advocates in our own little industry here for educating and helping people understand that, you know, the cost [00:41:00] differential between a hundred percent American made and 85% American made is so big because that, that final 15% takes a massive amount of investment to, to pull back to America.

Liz: These niche industries, um, are really powerful because they each have, you know, stories like this. It's, it's really cool to talk with you and take the time to kind of dive in because I, I think this, this kind of thing, you know, impacts a lot of other industries, but, um, I don't know.

I just think it's really powerful and I, I agree with you. I hope. A and I think there are a lot of businesses, you know, who want to bring things back to the, to the US and, um, it takes time and, and you're right, in some cases it takes a lot of investment.

Um,

Lindsay Roselle: Yeah. And it, and it takes,

Bill: I wanna watch, how do I get a watch? Yeah,

Lindsay Roselle: yeah.

Bill: go, how do I get with those watches?

Lindsay Roselle: Yeah. Well, I, well, I just wanna say one last thing. You know, it also, if you're [00:42:00] listening, I, it, it also takes a consumer making a decision to invest in a higher price, but higher quality. Good. That's a hundred percent American made. Not saying that everything that's sourced from overseas is not good quality.

There's plenty of things that are incredible quality that come in from overseas, but, you know, like textiles and, and, um, you know, I. There's so many examples of how much more expensive it is to buy the fully American made version of something, but I think the reason I've started to pay attention to more of that stuff is like, okay, I can buy 10 of these cheaper versions and I'm buying an excess and they don't last as long.

Or I can buy one that's been built by, you know, an American craftsman that's much more expensive. But that's a, that's a family heirloom. Now, you know, that's a collector's item. That's something that I'll treasure that because I made an investment in it and I really care about the story. And so I think it is, as a consumer also, especially when we talk about like consumer products, like watches or clothing or shoes or handbags, those kind of things [00:43:00] wear where, you know, the, the investment in a really high quality piece, both because you love it and because it was fully American made.

May come at a higher cost initially, but, but if you can think of it as, this is the only one I need, like this is my, this is the beginning of my collection, or I'm really gonna treasure this, versus buying the fast fashion version, that is a throwaway piece, you know? Um, I think over time we can, we'll spend about the same amount of money and we have these higher quality things that last a lot longer, and it's just a mindset shift away from such heavy consumerism into.

You know, really choosing something because of the story and because of the quality. And I, I, you know, that's been a shift for me. I, I definitely, especially having kids and stuff, I'm like, I go to Target and I buy my stuff for $5, um, because they go through it and they ruin it, you know? And, and a lot of that is true for a lot of the things we buy as consumers, but when you start to get into these kind of products, I do encourage you to think about like, okay, if I [00:44:00] spend a little bit more to get the fully American Made watch.

This is now a family heirloom. Like this is a, this is an investment. Um, and that's how we shift the tide, I think, of, of consumerism being willing to sacrifice quality for, for a lower price to, to now being more concerned about quality and being willing to pay a little bit more for it, knowing it'll last a lot longer.

So, um,

Bill: I also think you're right. You know, with the the, um, the jobs are are gonna go away, we have to create other opportunities for people. And

doing that would be wonderful. In fact, it's the way it used to be. I, I

can't tell you how many people have come to repair something at my house that said. Boy, they, if you had kept the old one,

it'd still be running today.

And that's, that was the way Americans made things. It'd be nice to get back to that.

Really?

Lindsay Roselle: Yeah,

Bill: That's fast stuff. I, I, I still want one of those watches. I know. Nobody's telling me how, how am I gonna watch? [00:45:00]

Liz: Yeah, I was gonna say, Lindsay, how do, um, it, it's, it's been great talking to you. And how, how can viewers, you know, connect with you?

How can they find vortex?

Lindsay Roselle: Yeah, you can find me. So I'm, I'm an elder millennial, so I spend most of my time on Instagram. I don't even have a TikTok, so I'm just at Lindsay Rosell on Instagram. I share. A lot about my own stuff there. And as well as it peaks into, you know, the, the day-to-day of running Vortec. And then Vortec watches is also on Instagram at vortec watches.

Um, and then if you wanna get a watch. Just go to www.vortecwatches.com and we, we have a really lovely site. It's very easy to navigate. Our available inventory is on the site and you can see it there. We also have something that we're we were doing prior to our t stroke and we're picking it back up next week, um, called Watch of the Day.

So we, on our Instagram, every day we post a new watch and that and, and we tell its whole story and you get to see. The history and, and really get immersed in it, and it goes up for sale the, when we post that post. [00:46:00] And so, um, and they're all one of a kind. So if you see one that you like, you know, grab it as soon as you see it because it, it will sell.

Um, and so if you don't, you know, if you don't see something you love, that's currently on the site, every day we put a new one out. And then we also have what we talked about earlier, the heritage edition, where you can write on our site, you can fill out a form and tell us about your pocket watch, like your grandfather's pocket watch or whatever.

And we'll talk to you about what it would take to turn it into a wristwatch and, and all of that process. So we also have that. And then on November 11th, depending on when this is airing, November 11th is always our military edition launch. And so if you follow us on Instagram, get or go to our website, get on our email list, you'll have information about being able to purchase that day.

We, they go up for sale at 12 Noon Mountain on Veteran's Day. We don't do any kind of like pre-sale or holds. It's kind of first come, first serve. They've always sold out within. Last year sold out in 51 minutes. Um, yeah, so you, you, you gotta be ready if you want that one. If you want, if you want that one, you gotta be [00:47:00] ready.

Or, you know, if you're a listener of the show, you can write me an email and I might, I might put you at the top of the list. But, um, you know, we, that's a really special watch. And, and the, you can see that the demand really calls for it. Um, and if you go to the site though, you can, you can read all about all of these things and if you have questions or you want a very specific.

Watch just, just reach out to us at info, at vortec watches and we can help you, we can answer any questions, all of that, but yeah. Um, I, I highly encourage, even if you're, if it's outta your price range or you're not a watch person, but you're curious, just go to the site. There's so much history there and, and education about the, the watch industry and watch making and machining and everything that we talked about today.

Bill: Awesome.

Liz: Great. Well, thank you so much again, Lindsay. This has been a real pleasure.

Bill: Thank you, Lindsay.

Lindsay Roselle: of course.

Bill: it.

Liz: Welcome to the flags of Change segment, where we explore how powerful symbols are [00:48:00] often born from the bold vision of just one individual. And today we're joined by Jeff Green. Um, he's Carrot tops, business development manager.

Thank you, Jeff for joining us.

Jeff Green: I am pleased to do it.

Liz: So, um, Jeff your family has faced breast cancer firsthand, um, with your wife Shay's diagnosis. Can you share a little bit about what that journey has been like and how it shaped the way you see awareness efforts like this?

Jeff Green: Oh, I, I don't think we have enough time in the day to discuss how it's affected us in the long term. Let me say that not only has my wife Shea been diagnosed with stage four breast cancer, but my mom. Had two bouts with it and my stepmom had two bouts with it. And of course I have two daughters. So knowing how.

Breast cancer has not only affected my family but the community. And knowing what we went through from the [00:49:00] time that my wife Shay was first diagnosed, to going through helping her learn to self-advocate, watching her literally work to make sure that she was not victimized by cancer and then seeing all that she's done and all we did together to get through it it's.

It's enabled me to have a different view of not only breast cancer, but more importantly, what's important for those who are diagnosed.

Bill: Jeff, um, I, I kind of had a personal experience myself. My daughter was diagnosed and had to go on that journey. It wasn't, breast cancer was another kind of cancer, but. Initially it's, it's something that you, you feel like you're traveling this, this road alone. You know what I mean? I, maybe you don't, you, you know, it's you and your family against the world for a while and people didn't talk about cancer a lot, and then you, all of a sudden you saw the National Football League and they have pink on, and pink became a symbol of breast cancer.[00:50:00]

Um, how important is it for those symbols for just the overall fight and just. You know, having that camaraderie or support from just strangers when it comes to paddling cancer.

Jeff Green: You know, that's a great question. You know, I think the pink and the wearing the pink and the pink cleans with the NFL and the Bra Breast Cancer Awareness month and the walks and all the attempt to raise money are great. Um, but I think what's most important about all of this is that we need to use this opportunity to come forward and.

Help people become, as you said, not isolated, but become self-advocates, um, to give. Breast cancer patients choices to give them information to give communities the ability not to be victims of cancer. And I think most importantly, to spread hope to have unity and to have [00:51:00] solidarity and efforts to save lives.

And I think. That's what this is all about. It's not it. It's not just about awareness and making sure that women get mammograms and that we celebrate survivors. All that's important, but I think it's important at the end of the day to empower communities to move forward beyond this.

Bill: Oh, you have a flag. Tell me about the flag. What's going on with the flag? So we have pink as the color, but now the flag that represents breast cancer.

Jeff Green: Well, you know, I think the flag is symbolized not only by the color pink, but the ribbons. And I think as we move forward, like 50 years ago when survivor rate. Um, survival rates with breast cancer, um, were really, if, if you were diagnosed with breast cancer, your chances of survival were about 50%. Today, if you're diagnosed with stage two or stage three breast cancer, your [00:52:00] survival rate is almost 90%.

So the, the ribbons. Not only bring about that unity, but they talk about narrowing the gap. And if we ultimately narrow the gap, there won't be any space between those ribbons. And I think that's what's important when we look at that breast cancer flag.

Liz: I think you said that awareness, you know, it isn't just about highlighting, um, and celebrating people, you know, it's about saving lives and, um, we have closed that, that gap. I think that, um, thank goodness when people are diagnosed, my mother was also diagnosed, um, and, and, um, was able to, to kind of. I, I, I remember like it not being that big of a deal, almost like she had to go through radiation and stuff, but it just felt like, um, for her, you know, [00:53:00] thank goodness it was kind of like a smooth path.

Where do you think that we need to push harder? You know, if we've kind of closed this gap, where are the areas that we need to push harder?

Jeff Green: Well, the first thing is that even though we have breast cancer survivors, the treatments can be rough. My wife, Shay, even though she is a 14 year survivor, has continued to have. Issues and medical issues that are really serious, including hospitalizations and sepsis and all kinds of things. They don't tell you that in surviving the treatment can be rough.

But I think most importantly I think is we take a look, it costs between six and $800 a year to go forward and give. People, the resources to go forward and to go through the testing and everything necessary to stay ahead of breast cancer and to diagnose it sooner. We have now liquid biopsies and everything that are speeding things [00:54:00] up.

We've lowered the survival rate. We have new cell treatments and new drugs that have pushed things forward, but yet. It could cost over over a hundred thousand dollars and up to a million dollars to treat breast cancer. And then on top of that, when you take a look at the survival rate and disadvantaged communities and those people who don't have in, in insurance among younger women and younger breast cancer diagnostic areas.

Black women have higher mortality rates and those types of things, and we need to not only spread awareness related to that, but we need to make sure that everybody has access. Because at the end of the day, that not only affects those families, it affects our communities. So we need to do better. And on top of it, when you take a look at, we've made all this progress.

We have all these drugs, but in recent years. These [00:55:00] cancer research studies have not been properly funding. And then in the last year we've had NIH grants. We've had studies halted and canceled. We've had insurance companies that aren't covering things and on top of it, it's become harder and harder to navigate the medical system, the insurance systems and things like that.

And again, breast cancer, um, patients. Need options. They need knowledge. They need to everything. They need to be self-advocates. Their families need to do that, and we need to do better as a community to make sure that we continue to press forward and save lives.

Bill: Amen. I mean as I said, I know firsthand the position you were in and I know how lonely it can be and overwhelming it can be. So when you hoist the flag this October, or, um, the inspiration you would like to leave the folks [00:56:00] with today, Jeff, is what?

Jeff Green: Well, you know, I think for starters, when we wave the flag. It means that as a community, we're not willing to be victims. We need to celebrate that. And we need to celebrate the fact that we don't need to be victims of this. That we can support our communities, we can support those families and people who, um, have been sadly diagnosed with this.

And I think we need to look at that. I think we need to step up our efforts to support 'em. I think we need to step up our efforts to learn what we need to know about what. Going on to write our representatives, and most importantly, I think we need to move forward to support those charities and organizations that are in the know that are doing the right work to move this forward.

Bill: Well said. Yeah,

Liz: well said. Thank you so much for joining us, Jeff, and for sharing your story.

Jeff Green: Well, thank you for inviting me and I hope, you know, [00:57:00] I hope to not only see more flags this year, but I hope as the years goes on that we can see the number of people who survive this and the number of communities that get past this to increase. I think as we see that we can take more pride in the flag and in these efforts.

Bill: Thank you, Jeff. Appreciate everything you're doing. Pleasure to meet you.

Jeff Green: Pleasure to meet you. Thank you for inviting me.

[00:58:00]