Beau Garrett

Beau Garrett is a commercial pilot and the founder of Call Sign, an American aviation watch brand designed for pilots by a pilot. Based in Franklin, Tennessee, Beau built the brand from the ground up using community-driven market research—spending just $2,000 on a Facebook survey that generated over 1,800 responses and a warm email list that became his first customer base. What followed was a design patent, a Wright Brothers partnership, and a flight school affiliate program.

Aviation Career

Beau’s flying career spans military training contracts, corporate aviation, and general aviation instruction:

• CFI & Initial Flight Screening Instructor: First role out of training was teaching IFS for the school holding the Air Force and Navy contract, putting military officers in the left seat for their first 15–20 hours before branch training
• Corporate Pilot: Flew for a bank based at Peachtree DeKalb Airport (PDK) in Atlanta for several years
• Commercial Pilot: Based in Franklin, Tennessee with a broad background across general aviation, corporate, and training environments
• MBA: Earned his MBA at night after the 2008 financial crisis grounded his corporate flying career, pivoting into business consulting with aviation clients

Building Call Sign

The idea for a pilot’s watch came from years of hangar talk at FBOs and flight lines, where Beau noticed pilots loved discussing watches but rarely wore the expensive, complex pilot watches the market kept producing. His research-first approach set the brand apart from day one:

• $2,000 Facebook Survey: Filmed an intro video at a local Middle Tennessee airport, ran paid ads for seven weeks, and collected 1,800+ responses—over 1,100 respondents left their email asking to be updated
• Data-Driven Design: The top pilot request was a clean, at-a-glance Zulu/local time comparison—not added complexity
• The Discovery Watch: Features a patented crescent-shaped window displaying Zulu time alongside standard analog hands for local time
• Design Patent: Call Sign holds a design patent on the Discovery watch’s distinctive Zulu time display
• Rebrand to Call Sign: Originally launched as Bravo Golf (a phonetic play on Beau’s initials), rebranded in 2025 after expanding beyond aviation markets where the name created confusion

The Wright Brothers Partnership

Call Sign’s first major inflection point came at Sun ‘n Fun in Lakeland, Florida, where a booth visit led to one of the brand’s defining relationships:

• Ken Botts: Spent 15 minutes at the Call Sign booth before asking about a licensing partnership—representing the Wright family
• Historical Research: Partnership development included a research trip through archives in Dayton, Ohio
• Wrights of Passage Collection: Three limited-edition watches honoring Wilbur, Orville, their sister Katharine, and their father Bishop Milton Wright
• Gerstner & Sons: Each piece ships in a wooden chest handcrafted by the same Ohio toolbox maker Orville Wright used in his own workshop
• Wright Brothers Family Foundation: A portion of proceeds from the collection goes directly to the Foundation

The Flight School Affiliate Program

Call Sign offers a free affiliate program built specifically for flight schools:

• Free Sign-Up: Schools enroll at no cost through mycallsign.com
• Custom Co-Branded Brochure: Call Sign designs and prints a brochure with the school’s logo and ships it at no cost
• Commission on Sales: Schools earn a commission every time a student from their school purchases a watch
• Exclusive Student Discount: Affiliated students receive a discount not available anywhere else
• Pilot Journey Milestones: The Discovery watch can be engraved with a student’s Airman certificate number, tail number, solo date, or checkride pass date—making it a meaningful milestone gift

Areas of Expertise

• Community-Driven Product Development: Proven methodology for validating product ideas directly with target customers before building
• Aviation Brand Building: Experience growing a niche aviation brand from a single survey to a nationally recognized product
• Event Marketing: Strong advocate for in-person marketing at aviation events (Sun ‘n Fun, Oshkosh, Pacific Air Show) as the primary revenue driver
• Digital Marketing Funnel: Runs a layered strategy from Google search → Meta/Instagram → email → website conversion
• Partnership Development: Track record building meaningful partnerships, including licensing relationships with legacy aviation institutions