They also wanted to try to start a cooler watch company, one that appealed to their own demographic.
"We both like watches. And there wasn't any type of watch brand out there that we could really resonate with," says Kassan. "We are online shoppers. We started this business when we were 21, 22 years old. Being millennials, shopping online, seeing the growth of e-commerce before it really blew up ... we saw that coming."
MVMT Watches is part of a burgeoning generation of e-commerce manufacturing businesses that relies on third-party suppliers, shippers and processors.
"All of our partners and agencies are less than five years old," says Kassan. "This is a new industry that we all got in on at the right time."
Their digital strategy is working: In just over three years, their team of 25 has sold more than 600,000 watches.
And they have retained their independence. MVMT has scaled their start-up without taking any investment from venture capitalists or angel investors, though more than 20 have approached the entrepreneurs, eager to get in on their growth.
"What we have learned: If you don't have to raise, you shouldn't," says Kassan. And so, at least for now, the team is holding off.