By 
Avi and Co. is a family-owned business with one of the most highly trusted luxury watch retailers located in the heart of the Diamond District in Manhattan. They sell hard-to-find timepieces that are true investment pieces with great value and can be passed down for generations.
Avi is a business owner, an entrepreneur, a father and a brother. As an entrepreneur, he sells high end watches, creates custom pieces for celebrities, sells to jewelers in the wholesale industry, and he has a manufacturer where they set diamonds for pieces. Basically, he does a little bit of everything that has to do with the luxury world. But, before Avi was able to build this reliable company so near and dear to New York City’s Diamond District, he first had to make his way over here.
As I sat down to chat with Avi, he recalls moving to New York from Israel with his family when he was just 14 years old. When he arrived, the only English he knew was yes and no. He worked at his mom’s cousin’s store on the weekend downtown on Canal Street, as well as at his dad’s jewelry store in Long Island a few days a week. Not knowing the language may have been a barrier for most, but Avi’s charming personality was universal. “I was kind of a troublemaker, you could say,” the now thirty-five-year-old reminisces with a smirk. Well, everybody has their quirks.
“I was making crazy sales and getting paid, I remember, $40/day. But I would come out with $1,000 salary a week because of the commissions. It was crazy,” he reveals with a passionate smile. Yet, that was still not enough for the young entrepreneur. He craved more.
While most 16-year-olds ask their parents for new gaming systems or money to go out with their friends, Avi was ready to work hard for those things. At 16, he told his parents that he wanted to open his own store. With the experience he gained from working since he was ten, he felt motivated and ready; Avi was immersed in the hustle and bustle of the business world, and he sure had the personality to prove it. While his dad told him that he was out of his mind, Avi convinced his mom to give him a chance. “We had a whole back and forth. Obviously, you know, the women are stronger than the men, and she won,” he laughs. “We opened the store when I was 16-years-old in Downtown Canal Street.”
"I was never scared.
I believed in myself. I believed in the business."
Starting your own business can be intimidating, especially for someone so young, but Avi was confident all the way through. “I was never scared. I believed in myself. I believed in the business. I think I’ve experienced a lot of things in life since then with ups and downs, but the experiences were always good.”
Unfortunately, things didn’t always go according to plan. Two months into being his own boss, he was robbed by a customer who stole an entire tray of jewelry. This experience, however, didn’t hinder the young entrepreneur. Impressed with the amount of profit they made in the first two months alone, his father and he picked up and went across the street to a busier area.
“We opened the new store, and I was on Canal Street from 16 [years old] to 19. I was the best jeweler over there,” he says honestly. “People started knowing me. I did good by people. And since day one, I tried always to be real with people. I always cared about my reputation, not just with customers, with everybody: the community, my parents, and my friends. I always tried to be doing right by people. And that’s what kept me going.”
When Avi turned nineteen, he knew he wanted to make his way over to 47th Street. Located between Times Square and Rockefeller Center, the Diamond District in Midtown Manhattan has that classic New York feel to it. Diamond merchants first established a base of operations in 1795 on a street in Lower Manhattan called Maiden Lane. With banks and finance companies moving into building in the area, the district moved uptown to 47th Street because of the increase in rent prices. Jewelers fled from World War II, and many came to New York City to set up jewelry and diamond businesses, helping shape the neighborhood to what it is today. It’s no wonder why Avi wanted to sink his teeth into a slice of Manhattan’s history!
“Back then, you couldn’t get a store. No matter what you did or how much money you paid, you couldn’t get a store. I got lucky. I got the store.” And thus, Avi & Co. was born.
"I always loved watches. I have a lot of favorites.
My first watch was a Breitling Crosswind Special."
While his dad was a watchmaker in Russia, the hobby for the timepieces is what inspired Avi to go into watches. “I always loved watches. I have a lot of favorites.
My first watch was a Breitling Crosswind Special. It was my favorite watch. I bought it for myself for $2,500 and sold it for $3,000. I saw that there was a better future for me as an investor to go with watches. So, before you knew it, I turned all my engagement rings and all my wedding bands into diamond bezels and tennis chains.”
Believe it or not, Avi was a shy kid growing up. He was always more interested in being behind the scenes. It wasn’t until he sat down with friend and marketing/sales author Grant Cardone that he realized he needed to change that mentality. Grant convinced Avi that people don’t want to deal with Avi & Co. unless they know who Avi is. Who is Avi from Avi and Co?
“The difference is now, I’m out in the open doing all these interviews, social media and YouTube videos, which I think made us very different than other people.” Avi felt that putting his own self into social media is what truly made the company feel more personal. People enjoy seeing the authentic self because it radiates confidence, especially when you’re dealing with such high-end pieces. He first posted to Instagram on June 22, 2014, officially launching the company’s digital presence.
After learning that 75% of profits were from appointments as opposed to customers walking in off the street, he decided he wanted to move more into real estate. Eventually, he sold the storefront and moved upstairs into a small office to focus more on growing an e-commerce profile. After building about 8 websites, the company created the one we have today. Avi was enthusiastic about creating an extravagant showroom for when customers visit, as that was not something that he had seen before. This gives customers the experience of feeling right at home while they shop for their next (or first) timepiece.
"99% is already not good.
You've got to be 100% with everybody.
No matter if you lose or win. Just keep it real."
With high-end jewelry and timepieces comes high-end buyers, including celebrities. Avi has always been natural at creating relationships with people, no matter who they are. He doesn’t chase after people. Instead, he likes to have a direct relationship with everyone to create that bond between buyer and seller, and more importantly, person to person. “99% is already not good. You’ve got to be 100% with everybody. No matter if you lose or win. Just keep it real.”
Pride radiates from the owner’s eyes as he speaks about how far his company has come, but he knows that he couldn’t have done it alone. When speaking about the people that make up the “& Co” part of Avi & Co, he said, “Everybody is special. [This company] is like a car. If one wheel is out, you can’t drive. I don’t look at anyone as smaller than another person because they are very important to this company to keep growing.”
At the end of the day, Avi is a proud father and family man. After being in the business for almost 20 years, Avi finds that the most difficult part of what he does is dividing himself into so many worlds. As a father of four with one on the way, it’s important for him to just go home, turn himself off from the business world, and just be there for the kids. “Family is the future,” Avi says after explaining how he teaches humbleness. “This [the company] is all fun and good, but family is what is the most important thing in my life.”
Avi’s passion lies in giving back to his community. He holds regular Shlom Bayit, meetings for young couples seeking council. With the help of experienced couples and a rabi, Avi donates his time and necessary finances to unite couples in need. The love he has for his family gives him the strength to lend a helping hand or listening ear to keep other families together.
"I had a dream. All I needed was a dollar.
They say in America all you need is
a dollar and a dream, right?
My dad gave me the dollar. I had the dream.
I put it together."
Avi doesn’t look back on any of his accomplishments with regret. There is nothing he wishes he knew sooner. He believes that he got what was his at the right moment and that everything happens for a reason. “I had a dream. All I needed was a dollar. They say in America all you need is a dollar and a dream, right? My dad gave me the dollar. I had the dream. I put it together.” He believes that to follow your dreams and start your own business, you need to keep your word, always give 100%, and be smart. Avi is proof that you can do anything no matter where you come from as long as you have the enthusiasm to work hard.
Want to know what’s next for Avi & Co? Follow @aviandco to keep up to date on all of Avi’s milestones and adventures.
