Warby Parker is the most relatable business that I personally have wrote about, seen in the news, and experienced first hand. The Glasses company started out by just a few college students who were given $2,500 through a seed investment via the college that they attended. After launching, the company was featured on Vogue.com and that is where it took off. In may of 2011, they raised 2.5 million in investments and then in September, the number had risen to 12.5 million. 
By April of 2015, the company was valued at 1.2 billion dollars.
The way the company works, and they way it is insanely different than the regular way of purchasing optics, is via their app or website, the user can choose 5 frames, have them shipped to you, the user tries them on, and then you send them back. From there, you revisit the site and order the frames that you want at an insanely low price for a high quality frame and glass lense. Their drive was to essentially make it easier to order glasses and after personally doing the process myself, I had new frames with my prescription with just 30 minutes of work.
These guys inspire me, and should inspire us all, because they took an industry that is huge and consistently needed and bearing, and simply asked the question, “How can we make this easier and more consumer friendly?”. It reminds me of Carvana. Look at how they completely changed the way you can buy and sell a car. Just like with Warby Parker where you don’t have to leave your house, the same method is applied to Carvana.
Really cool company. I believe I have seen advertisements from them. And it a lot like Carvana. It’s hard to believe a companies like these would be profitable with all of the shipping. I just saw another company that was built around a shipped service on Shark Tank. Instead of the service of finding glasses, they sharpened knives. It’s also cool how they only started with $2,500 that they got from a college. And yet, some of the winners from venture battles get $6K. Gives me hope!
I was also looking at writing about them because I have recently tried out their product. I have been wearing glasses for a long, long time, and usually I buy from my eye doctor. This year, however, I decided to shop from Warby Parker after seeing a TV ad. I loved my experience. The five day, free trial was awesome, and it helped me to make a decision. Too many times I bought a pair of glasses, that after a couple days, I ended up disliking. This five day trial was the perfect amount of time to make sure I liked my frames. Plus, it is super convenient and reliable. I am glad someone decided to improve the way we shop for glasses.
Warby Parker is such a cool brand! I personally don’t have a product, but I have many friends who swear by it. The mall that is right by my house has a Warby Parker store and it is so aesthetically pleasing that i want to go in a visit each time I pass it.
I love the post! Warby Parker is a great brand that many love. They have a great story that could motivate us all!
It’s interesting to see the work they could do with the seed money their school gave them. I wonder if anyone from Grove will be as successful with our school’s seed money!