The Glossy Podcast

In 2015, Rob Ronen and Michael Herman co-founded Material Good, a retailer specializing in fine jewelry and rare timepieces that first opened in New York City's Soho neighborhood. They had no backers — and still own 100% of the business — but they had years of experience working for Audemars Piguet and in the private jewelry sector, respectively. And they'd defined a white space that was particularly glaring in lower Manhattan.   "The retail experience that was being offered was subpar," Ronen said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. "I would go to different retailers … that were carrying high-end timepieces, and I noticed that it was all about product and price. A client would walk into a store, they would ask for a specific product or ask to be shown different price point products, and then they would haggle and negotiate over price — because that was still a time when discounts were prevalent in the watch world. … It was not experiential. I felt like there would be something we could do better."