Write 1-2 paragraphs about your thoughts and insights about the topic.

What competitive advantage(s) do you think Warby Parker has? What competitive challenges do you think the company faces?

(b) What potential issues might Warby Parker face as it continues to grow? How could the company best prepare itself for addressing these issues?

(c) Leading an entrepreneurial venture can be a challenge, in and of itself, just for one entrepreneur! Heres an organization that has two co-leaders (co-CEOs). Would that make the job of leading the EV easier or more difficult? What do you think? And write a list of questions that you would use to explore this unique arrangement. What would you want to ask in order to better understand what having co-CEOs would mean and how it would work?

What competitive advantage(s) do you think Warby Parker has? What competitive challenges do you think the company faces?

(b) What potential issues might Warby Parker face as it continues to grow? How could the company best prepare itself for addressing these issues?

(c) Leading an entrepreneurial venture can be a challenge, in and of itself, just for one entrepreneur! Heres an organization that has two co-leaders (co-CEOs). Would that make the job of leading the EV easier or more difficult? What do you think? And write a list of questions that you would use to explore this unique arrangement. What would you want to ask in order to better understand what having co-CEOs would mean and how it would work?

What competitive advantage(s) do you think Warby Parker has? What competitive challenges do you think the company faces?

(b) What potential issues might Warby Parker face as it continues to grow? How could the company best prepare itself for addressing these issues?

(c) Leading an entrepreneurial venture can be a challenge, in and of itself, just for one entrepreneur! Heres an organization that has two co-leaders (co-CEOs). Would that make the job of leading the EV easier or more difficult? What do you think? And write a list of questions that you would use to explore this unique arrangement. What would you want to ask in order to better understand what having co-CEOs would mean and how it would work?

To appreciate what Warby Parker is doing, we need to look back at how the idea for the company came about. After leaving a $700 pair of Prada frames in a seat-back pocket on a flight while backpacking in Southeast Asia, Gilboa began questioning why he had a $200 iPhone in his pocket that had the technology to do a number of really cool things and yet replacing that pair of glasses-a technology that's hundreds of years old - would cost way more than that $200 iPhone 47 Like many other entrepreneurs, he believed there had to be a better way. His research exposed an industry that was a virtual monopoly with a very powerful eyewear supplier, thus the reason for the high-priced eyewear. Gilboa and a friend, who were both in Wharton's MBA program, weren't even sure they could take on such a powerful competitor until they teamed up with Blumenthal (also at Wharton). Blumenthal was rumored to know more than pretty much anyone else in the world about how to work outside of the traditional eyeglass-supply chains."48 Well, it didn't take long for the crew to start selling eyewear online from a Philadelphia apartment. Today, Warby Parker designs and manufactures its own trendy, stylish frames and sells them directly to consumers over the Internet for an affordable $95 a pair. That price also includes prescription lenses, shipping, and a donation to Vision Spring, a not-for-profit where Blumenthal served as a director. The company has begun opening brick-and-mortar stores, with 63 open currently. Other growth plans include expanding their product mix, diversifying their frame selection into areas such as kids' frames and glasses with progressive lenses, and exploring revolutionary technologies that would do eye exams online. In May 2017, the company launched a Prescription Check app in which users can complete virtual eye exams at home. It also opened its first optical lab where it cuts the lenses to fit the frames.49 Warby Parker was named Fast Company's Most Innovative Company of 2015 and was honored as a finalist in the 2014 USA Today Entrepreneur of the Year.50 Another thing Warby Parker does is its Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program, which benefits visually impaired individuals in developing countries. Meanwhile, to carry on the company's success, Gilboa and Blumenthal will continue being disciplined in all they do, fanatically focusing attention on execution and brand. That future vision should help Warby Parker continue on its successful journey