Guy Raz avatar

Dexa/Guy Raz

Learn more
Published Feb 19, 2018

Warby Parker: Dave Gilboa & Neil Blumenthal (2016)

Dive into the transformative journey of Warby Parker founders Dave Gilboa and Neil Blumenthal, who disrupted the eyewear industry by introducing an innovative business model with direct-to-consumer sales and game-changing home try-on programs, setting new standards in pricing, accessibility, and customer engagement.
Episode Highlights
How I Built This logo

Topics covered

Popular Clips

Episode Highlights

  • Founding Moments

    The inception of Warby Parker was sparked by a shared frustration with the eyewear industry among , , and their co-founders. They realized the exorbitant cost of glasses was due to the industry's domination by a few large companies like Luxottica 1. This realization led to the idea of selling affordable glasses online, a novel concept at the time 2.

    We were kind of frustrated by different pieces of the eyewear industry. And we knew that Neil had spent a number of years working for an eyewear nonprofit and probably knew a lot more about this than we did.

    ---

    The founders' excitement was palpable, leading them to pursue this venture with determination.

       

    Resourceful Beginnings

    Warby Parker's founders demonstrated resourcefulness by pooling their life savings to launch the company. They invested $120,000 and worked without salaries for over a year, showcasing their commitment to the venture 3. leveraged his industry contacts to secure manufacturing, while the team focused on building a brand with limited resources.

    We basically, to start the business only invested in three things. Our initial inventory, our website, and some PR.

    ---

    Their strategic investments in inventory, a website, and public relations were crucial in establishing Warby Parker's presence.

       

    Business Plan

    The founders of Warby Parker utilized their time at business school to develop a comprehensive business plan. They enrolled in an entrepreneurship class that required a full business plan as its output, which helped them refine their idea and gain valuable insights 1. Despite initial skepticism from peers about selling glasses online, they remained confident in their vertically integrated brand model.

    We entered the Wharton business plan competition, and we got eliminated in the semi-final round. I think just kind of put a chip on our shoulder where we said, okay, well, now we got something to prove.

    ---

    This experience fueled their determination to prove the viability of their innovative concept.

Related Episodes