Build story · United States · 2010–2023
Warby Parker: $95 glasses and five frames at home
Four students launched online glasses at $95 with free home try-on. They hit their first-year sales target in about three weeks and later listed at a valuation of about $6 billion.
By Shivam Bhandari · Reviewed 31 October 2026 · How we write
by the numbers
- Price including lenses
- $95
- Frames in home try-on
- 5
- Time to hit first-year target
- about 3 weeks
- Valuation at listing (2021)
- about $6 billion
What happened
Four Wharton business school students started Warby Parker in 2010 after one lost his glasses and balked at the cost of replacing them. Prescription glasses commonly cost hundreds of dollars, partly because a few large companies controlled brands, manufacturing, and retail.
Warby Parker designed its own frames and sold them online for $95 including lenses. To overcome the fear of buying glasses without trying them, it let customers order five frames to try at home free. For each pair sold it funded a pair for someone in need. After early press coverage in GQ and Vogue, it reportedly met its first-year sales target in about three weeks and built a long waiting list.
Warby Parker later opened physical stores and listed directly on the NYSE in 2021 at a valuation of about $6 billion.
Timeline
- 2010
Launch.
- 2013
First standalone retail store.
- 2021
Direct listing on the NYSE.
what made it work
- Cut out the middlemen to lower prices.
- Removed purchase risk with free home try-on.
- Social mission built emotional connection.
the lesson
When an industry is dominated by a few players with high prices, a direct model with a clear risk-reducer can win quickly.
Apply it to your business
- 1Find industries where middlemen inflate prices.
- 2Remove the reason customers hesitate to buy online.
- 3Give customers a story they can share.
Laws at work in this story
Figures are rounded and drawn from public reports, company filings and widely cited coverage at the time. Check the company's latest filings before relying on any number.