Is your team on a mission or simply going through the motions? Neil Blumenthal is the co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker, a mission-driven brand that has revolutionized the eyewear industry while focusing on social impact. Named “the most innovative company in the world” by Fast Company, Warby Parker provides high quality prescription eyewear at a fraction of the price. For every pair of glasses sold, a pair is distributed to someone in need through the Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program. Neil was named a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum and one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company. In our conversation today, we talk about how a business can scale, be profitable, and do good in the world.
Follow Neil: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Show Notes
- The founding story of Warby Parker (1:56)
- How Warby Parker successfully launched with a waiting list of 20,000 (4:50)
- The social mission of Warby Parker (11:16)
- Warby Parker’s social enterprise model and the “buy a pair, give a pair” program (14:04)
- How Warby Parker measures its social impact (16:16)
- Warby Parker’s core values and culture (17:43)
- Neil’s approach to leadership (19:14)
- How he keeps a good pulse on the organization (20:00)
- Finding opportunities for growth (24:12)
- Understanding the complexity of the customer journey (25:52)
- Why Warby Parker doubled down on physical retail in the midst of the pandemic (28:09)
- Anticipating the needs of the future (30:09)
- Lessons from high-performance athletes that we can apply to optimize our own performance (34:18)
Resources / People Mentioned
- Warby Parker
- Most Innovative Companies (Fast Company)
- World Economic Forum
- 100 Creative People in Business (Fast Company)
- The Wharton School
- VisionSpring
- Dave Gilboa, Warby Parker co-founder & co-CEO
- Andrew Hunt, co-founder of Warby Parker
- Jeff Raider, co-founder of Warby Parker
- Jack Kerouac, writer
- Eyeglasses for school kids boost academic performance
- Rachel Blumenthal, entrepreneur
- Rockets of Awesome
- Whoop
- Eight Sleep
- Roger Federer, tennis player
- Ted Lasso (TV series)
- Michael Jordan, basketball player
- Tom Brady, NFL player
Recommended For You
Did you enjoy this episode? Then listen to:
- Arthur Blank on Values-Based Leadership
- Whole Foods Founder & CEO John Mackey on The 9 Ingredients of Conscious Leadership
- Adam Grant on Finding Motivation and Meaning at Work
Thanks for checking out Game Changers with Molly Fletcher. Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app and leave a rating or review!
