I first heard about Warby Parker before most people, I think.
I was friendly with Kate Spade (God rest her soul), who had just opened a store with her husband Andy. They were doing an event for Warby Parker. I attended. It was nice enough. I really didn’t think much about it until a few months later, when suddenly the company was everywhere.
At that point, almost everyone I met asked me what I thought of them. Many must have assumed nobody ever thought of selling prescription eyewear online before. I noted it was already a difficult space in which a notable player, Zenni Optical, was selling product at one-tenth the price Warby Parker was charging. As far as I knew, Zenni controlled their own production facilities and labs. A new company without similar infrastructure would be hard pressed to match their efficiency.
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