$30k – $100k
~$2,000 watch
Solid microbrand watches. Even our lowest tier is fucking awesome!
Longines HydroConquest
Christopher Ward C60 Pro 300 Bronze
Micromilspec Field Testing FTU Compass
The Kelsus Referral Program
Send us a client.
Get a watch.
Refer Kelsus a net-new client. When the deal closes and the work starts, we pay your referral fee in a luxury watch. Bigger project, better watch.
Send a referralA confession
I’m doing this with you, not just for you.
Kelsus is in the watch business now. We’re shareholders in Micromilspec, and we’ve found more marketing success talking about AI and watches on TikTok than any other marketing campaign in our 15+ year history. Watch people are our people.
So when a referral closes, Kelsus will buy an equal tier watch alongside the one we’re shipping you and use it in our marketing material. You know what would be really fun? Let’s go watch shopping together. If you earn a $15k watch or above, I’ll come meet you somewhere and we’ll make a day of it!
How it works
Four steps from intro to wrist rolls.
01
You make the intro
Shoot us an email or a text intro so that we can get in touch with the potential client.
02
We close the deal
Once you make the intro, we’ll close the sale. The deal has to close within 12 months for the referral to count.
03
The work starts billing
The watch ships when we have collected the lesser of $50k or 10% of the contract.
04
You pick your watch
You choose the specific reference inside your tier. We buy and ship. If the project grows into a higher tier within year one, you can trade up or take the cash.
The tiers
Year-one revenue maps to a watch budget.
This referral program caps at a year, so additional work after that first year doesn’t earn additional referral fees. Also, we entertain projects below $30k, but those don’t earn referrals.
$100k – $250k
~$5,000 watch
Tier 2. We're leaving most microbrands behind and getting into Black Bay territory.
Tudor Black Bay 58
Omega Speedmaster
Panerai Luminor Blu Mare
$250k – $500k
~$10,000 watch
Entering the zone where many people would have to make to make tradeoffs for one of these watches.
Omega Seamaster 007 Edition
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust
IWC Portugieser
$500k – $1M
~$15,000 watch
You turn on Cat Stevens and imagine handing this watch down to your offspring.
JLC Master Ultra Thin
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms
Rolex Datejust 36
$1M+
~$20,000 watch
Finally, you don't need to win the lottery to get into haute horlogerie.
JLC Master Control
IWC Ingenieur Automatic 42
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Dual Time
Why we’re doing this
We’d rather pay you in something you’ll remember.
Most referral programs wire $20k that gets absorbed into a mortgage payment and forgotten in a quarter. A watch sticks around. You’ll wear it, lose it, hand it down, talk about it at dinners, second-guess it, fall back in love with it.
For watch lovers that thought that grail would always be out of reach or wildly irresponsible, here’s your way in.
And yes, you can flip it on Chrono24 the day it lands. We don’t care. The deal is done, the fee is yours, do whatever you want with it.
— Jon
Questions
Things people ask.
What counts as net-new?
A company we have not had active conversations with in the prior 12 months. Expansions of your own contract, if you are already a Kelsus client, do not count. Net-new is net-new.
What if two people claim credit for the same intro?
First introduction wins. We track this from our side, and we will use the email or message thread that started the conversation as the source of truth. If something is genuinely ambiguous, we will talk to both parties.
Can employees of the referred company refer their own employer?
Yes, with one extra step: we need written acknowledgment from your employer that they are aware of the referral and the watch payout. We are not trying to make this complicated. We are trying to keep the program defensible and avoid putting you in a conflict with your own company’s procurement, gifts, or ethics policies. If your employer does not want you participating, we want to know that up front, not after a watch has been ordered.
Can I just take the cash instead?
Yes. The watch is the default and the fun version. If you would rather have the equivalent in cash, ask. We will not try to talk you out of it.
What if the deal goes sideways after signing?
Payout triggers on the lesser of $50k billed-and-collected or 10% of contract value billed-and-collected. So if a deal signs and then falls apart in week two, no watch. If it gets to a real working relationship and we are billing successfully, you get paid.
What if the deal grows in year one and pulls into a higher tier?
Then you get the trade-up. We tier the watch off the signed contract value at the moment the payout triggers, so you do not have to wait twelve months for a watch. If year-one revenue ends up bumping you into a higher tier, you have three options at the year-one mark: (1) trade up — send the original back in original condition with box and papers, and we replace it with the higher-tier watch. (2) Keep both — pay us our cost on the original (with a 10% discount as a thank-you for the upside) and we still deliver the higher-tier watch on top. (3) Stay put and keep your original. If the deal shrinks below your tier in year one, we do not claw anything back. The original is yours.
How is the watch sourced and shipped?
You pick the specific watch within the tier budget. We handle the purchase from an authorized dealer or a reputable grey-market source (Bucherer, Hodinkee, Crown & Caliber, Watchfinder, etc.) and ship it insured to wherever you are.
Are taxes my problem?
Yes. For U.S. referrers, we will issue a 1099 if the value crosses IRS reporting thresholds, and you handle the rest. International referrers are responsible for their own tax obligations. We are not in a position to give tax advice. Talk to your accountant.
Can I flip the watch?
Yes. Chrono24 is a real exit. We do not care. The deal is already done, the referral fee is yours, and what you do with it is your business.
Fine print
- Cash equivalent available on request, in lieu of a watch. The watch is the default. Just ask if you want cash instead.
- Referrer is responsible for ensuring participation complies with their employer’s policies, codes of conduct, and procurement rules.
- Kelsus reserves the right to verify that the referral was genuinely the originating contact for the deal.
- “Net-new” means a company Kelsus has not had active conversations with in the prior 12 months.
- One referrer per deal. First introduction wins. Referred deal must close within 12 months of the introduction.
- Payout trigger: the lesser of $50k billed-and-collected, or 10% of the contract value billed-and-collected. Whichever comes first.
- Continued selling-in past year one is on Kelsus, not the referrer. Year-one project revenue is the basis for the final tier.
- Initial tier is set off the signed contract value at the moment the payout trigger fires, so the referrer does not have to wait twelve months to receive a watch.
- Trade-up: if year-one revenue lands in a higher tier than the initial watch, the referrer may, within 30 days of the year-one anniversary, return the original in original condition with box and papers and receive the higher-tier watch in exchange. Any number of tier jumps is allowed. If the deal shrinks in year one, nothing is clawed back.
- Buy-out option: at the trade-up moment, the referrer may instead keep the original watch and pay Kelsus our cost on it (less a 10% thank-you discount), in which case Kelsus still delivers the higher-tier watch on top. Or take the tier delta in cash instead of trading up.
- For international referrers, customs duties, VAT, and import taxes on the initial watch and on any trade-up shipments are the referrer’s responsibility.
- Referrer chooses the specific watch within the tier budget. Kelsus handles purchase from authorized dealers or reputable secondary-market sources, plus insured shipping.
- For deals where the referrer is an employee of the referred company, written acknowledgment from the referrer’s employer is required before any watch is purchased.
- Taxes are the referrer’s responsibility. U.S. referrers will receive a 1099 if the value crosses IRS reporting thresholds. International referrers are responsible for their own tax obligations.