Back in 2010, David Gilboa founded the innovative eyewear e-commerce company Warby Parker with his Wharton Business School buddies Neil Blumenthal, Andrew Hunt, and Jeffrey Raider. Since then, the brand has sold over a half a million frames. What sets this company apart is the added value it gives to the customers. Us millenials connect with this company because of its charitable aspect, every pair that is bought, one pair of glasses is donated to a needy person. This is appealing and tugs at the heartstrings of those who want a pair of glasses but also wish to make the world a better place. Warby Parker satisfies both of those desires and that is where they went right in creating this company.
As Gilboa said, “I think the best businesses are always thinking about not ‘how much margin can we squeeze out of our customers’ but ‘how can we provide more value to our customers’.” Who wouldn’t want to buy from a company who believes that?
Sometimes the best way to create a profitable business is to be charitable because it sells. Toms does the same thing and many people can justify the high price of shoes in the fact that somebody will get another pair for free. Its a Genius marketing strategy but it is not exactly selfless all the time.
I think one of the greatest things about social entrepreneurs is their ability to see opportunities that the average person could not. When we think of charity we often think of world hunger, or clean water, but would rarely think of such a real-life problem as providing good eyesight to a person in need. It is these entrepreneurs who open our eyes to a real problem with an easy solution: one pair bought, one pair donated. We see the need, we see the result, and we are happy to make the purchase. That is a golden business plan if I have ever seen one. Good find, Sarah.
It’s like Zappos for glasses but better! Not joking, I really want my next pair to be Warby Parkers. I didn’t know about their social betterment slant though, now it just makes me like them better. I’ve always appreciated their unique business model, very streamlined and focused.