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A Grad Student Lost His Glasses and Was Broke. So He Started Warby Parker
Warby Parker changed the eyeglass industry in all the best ways
Steve Strauss
December 11, 2025
It is no secret that college kids can create some incredible startups - Michael Dell and Mark Zuckerberg did it, and so did . . . David Gilboa? Yep, you bet. Check it out.
David Gilboa was backpacking through Southeast Asia when he lost his glasses.
Not great timing. He was broke, on the other side of the world, and the replacement price was so high he refused to buy new ones.
When he got home and back to the Wharton School of Business, he was still squinting at everything because he didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars he didn’t have.
That small frustration led to a bigger question. Why were glasses so damn expensive in the first place? Why did every store sell the same frames? And why did one giant company control almost the entire market?
It didn’t add up.
The Monopoly
He talked to a few classmates and they all felt the same way.
They were all annoyed by the high prices and the lack of competition, and the more they researched, the clearer the picture became:
The eyewear industry was basically a monopoly.
A handful of companies controlled manufacturing, distribution, retail, even insurance relationships. Customers had no choice but to overpay.
Opportunity knocks!
The Big Idea
The four student founders realized the internet offered a potential workaround.
If they went direct-to-consumer, they could cut out the middlemen entirely.
They could conceivably lower the price, increase selection, and make buying glasses feel more like shopping and less like a medical chore. The idea was simple but incredibly fresh, they thought that they could offer:
Glasses for $95, lenses included
A home try-on kit that let people test five pairs for free.
A clean, modern brand that made eyewear feel accessible instead of intimidating.
So they cobbled together a bit of startup capital, found suppliers, and got to work. But what to name the company? They wanted a name that was distinctive, not tech, and easy to say.
They also like Jack Kerouac because of his spirit of independence. So they went to the great NY Public Library and pulled out some of his books. Inside those books were two character names:
Warby Pepper
and
Zagg Parker
Mix and match and Voila! Warby Parker.
They launched in 2010 and expected a few dozen orders.
How Many Orders?
Instead, they sold out in three weeks and built a waitlist of 20,000.
They didn’t even have enough inventory to photograph, so they shipped empty try-on boxes just to keep up. The demand wasn’t for glasses. The demand was for choice.
Warby Parker grew fast because they solved a problem everyone had but no one questioned.
Today the company is valued in the billions, has beautiful retail stores, and has set the standard for how modern Direct-to-Consumer brands operate.
But it didn’t start with any of that.
It started with a student who couldn’t afford a new pair of glasses and finally asked why.
The Takeaway
Great businesses often begin with tiny annoyances that everyone else has accepted as “the way it is.” If something in your world feels broken, overpriced, or unnecessarily complicated, don’t shrug, lean in. Problems that make life harder for lots of people are the best opportunities of all.
You got this!
Ready to Create Your Own Digital Product?
I’ve opened a few spots this month to help you turn your expertise into a sellable digital product. This is the same system I taught in my 3-part SCORE webinar series, and the response has been incredible. Most recently, I worked with Heather DeBrock to create her Menopause Journal. Here’s what she had to say: “Working with Steve has been an honor. He took the time to truly understand who I am and connected deeply with my story. He helped me express the message my heart needed to share during one of the most significant transitions in a woman's life. His writing and content were of the highest quality, bringing clarity and depth to every chapter. Steve's guidance was a gift, and I am forever grateful.” — Heather DeBrock, CRT, President If you’ve been sitting on an idea for a journal, workbook, course, or toolkit, now is a great time to finally build it so we can launch it in the new year. If you want help bringing it to life, email me with “INTERESTED” in the subject line and a sentence or two about the idea: [email protected] A quick note: I’m only taking a few more clients this month. |
Steal This Strategy!
📖🛠️ Book: 50 Ways to Lose Your Glasses
An illustrated gift book that shares the many witty, harrowing and absurd ways to lose a pair of glasses..
📰 Article. The founders story
How four Wharton students cracked a closed industry and created a billion dollar brand.
📚 Book. Blue Ocean Strategy
The classic framework behind creating a new market instead of fighting in an old one.
About Steve
Steve Strauss is the best-selling author of The Small Business Bible (and 17 other books), Inc.’s small business columnist, a lawyer (non-practicing), and an entrepreneur. He sold his last venture, TheSelfEmployed.com to Mark Cuban & Zen Business. Need a ghostwriter or a newsletter for your business? Contact Steve!
“Be bold! For boldness has genius, magic, and power in it.”
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