Susan Galvin was on maternity leave in March when she was made redundant from her role as a watchmaker at Swatch Group in Sydney. Rather than wallow in indignation or despair, she seized the moment to pursue her long-dormant dream of owning a watch company – launching a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter days later.

Within six minutes of going live and much to her surprise, the Galvin Watch Company had reached its fundraising goal of $15,000. At the time of going to press, more than 180 backers had pledged more than $78,000.