Neil Blumenthal

Loves helping people see - co-founder & co-ceo of @WarbyParker, former director of @VisionSpring, husband of @rocketsofawesom

[Neil Blumenthal @NeilBlumenthal]

I'm honored to judge @Omaze's #StandingOAwards this year! Do you know a person or nonprofit that's making a big difference in their community? Your last chance to nominate them is this Sunday! https://t.co/EDlJUvalEf

[Neil Blumenthal @NeilBlumenthal]

@vntrlab @Wharton @Penn First and foremost, our classmates! We relied heavily on the expertise and experience of our classmates for everything from ecom to UX/UI to branding to ops. We sought advice from our professors & participated in the Venture Initiation Program & the Penn Wharton startup challenge

[Venture Lab @vntrlab]

Q4: “The greatest teacher, failure is.” What teachable moments in your startup journey can you share with our entrepreneurship community? #venturelabchat

[Neil Blumenthal @NeilBlumenthal]

@vntrlab When building @WarbyParker, we often spoke about all aspects of the business. However, we realized we were oversharing and risking our audience losing interest. Leveraging our fellow classmates, we used polls to understand what messages resonated most and emphasized that first.

[Neil Blumenthal @NeilBlumenthal]

@tranglanimous @vntrlab @WarbyParker Trust! You want bd members you truly trust (both their integrity and their advice). You want someone that will push you to your best. Of course, you'll also want specific domain expertise and varied perspectives (investor, operator, etc).

[Neil Blumenthal @NeilBlumenthal]

@tranglanimous @vntrlab @WarbyParker Do you homework first, your business plan/deck should be perfect before starting the fundraising process, here is a resource for writing a business plan https://t.co/qJhy7kOgnG, make sure you know your market (size and dynamics), make sure you know the competitive landscape cold.

[Neil Blumenthal @NeilBlumenthal]

@tranglanimous @vntrlab @WarbyParker It's really hard to get comfortable with taking a lot of risk, the trick is to de-risk any venture, getting as much customer feedback as early as possible while spending as little money as possible (focus groups, surveys, etc). @AdamMGrant wrote a great book about this, Originals

[Neil Blumenthal @NeilBlumenthal]

@tranglanimous @vntrlab @WarbyParker Absolutely, that's why we held focus groups and conducted surveys before launching the business, the feedback we received led to our home try-on program. But, ultimately, you don't know how customers are going to respond until you start selling to them.

[Neil Blumenthal @NeilBlumenthal]

@tranglanimous @vntrlab @WarbyParker Brands that sell directly to their customers (D2C) have an inherent advantage over wholesale brands because they have a direct relationship with their customers that enables them to provide more value (lower pricing, learn directly from customers & apply those learnings, etc).

[Venture Lab @vntrlab]

Q3: @WarbyParker has been raising awareness around voter registration and access ahead of the upcoming election. Why is it critical that business play a role in encouraging civic engagement? Can you tell us more about what Warby Parker is doing? #venturelabchat

[Neil Blumenthal @NeilBlumenthal]

@vntrlab @WarbyParker @VOTE411 @bfamericaus @CivicAlliance https://t.co/1KNtgVEduQ

[Warby Parker @WarbyParker]

Happy #NationalVoterRegistrationDay! We’d like to introduce Buddy the Blue-Footed Ballot, the brainchild of our unofficial mascot, the blue-footed booby, and our passion for civic engagement. He’s here to make sure you have everything you need to vote:

[Neil Blumenthal @NeilBlumenthal]

@vntrlab @WarbyParker @VOTE411 @bfamericaus @CivicAlliance We created an easy step-by-step guide along with an informative video that features non-partisan information regarding how to register to vote (or check to see if you’re registered), plus state-level voting guidelines and information about who is on the ballot.

[Venture Lab @vntrlab]

Q2: The brand promise of @WarbyParker is designer quality glasses, affordable pricing, and social mindedness (Buy A Pair, Give A Pair). Was there ever a concern that your business model couldn’t deliver on all of that promise? #venturelabchat

[Venture Lab @vntrlab]

Q1: Hi @NeilBlumenthal! As Co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker, you’re already a household name at @Penn and @Wharton. What don’t people know about who you are and what you do? #venturelabchat

[Neil Blumenthal @NeilBlumenthal]

@vntrlab @Penn @Wharton My wife is also an entrepreneur (actually a serial entrepreneur) and now runs the children's apparel company @rocketsofawesom and when we started @WarbyParker, we worked out of her office

[Venture Lab @vntrlab]

It's #FounderFriday w/ @Wharton alum @NeilBlumenthal co-founder and co-CEO of @WarbyParker! Join the conversation by using #venturelabchat!