Warby Parker
A Serendipity Story
Serendipity Stories bring the practice of serendipity to life in real-world examples.
Warby Parker founders Dave Gilboa and Neil Blumenthal met in the MBA program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Both had deliberately chosen Wharton for its entrepreneurial focus, and they spent their early days there constantly discussing potential business ideas.
In the summer of 2008, before starting at Wharton, Gilboa experienced what turned out to be a pivotal moment: he lost his glasses while on a backpacking trip. As he recalls: “I went most of the first semester without glasses because I was shocked at the cost [to replace them]. I could buy a new phone for $200, but a pair of glasses cost $700. I started complaining to anyone who’d listen that I couldn’t believe glasses were so expensive.”1
This personal frustration, combined with their MBA program, inspired Gilboa, Blumenthal, and classmates (and future co-founders) Andrew Hunt and Jeffrey Raider to do some research. They soon discovered that one company, Luxottica, had a near monopoly on the eyeglass and sunglass market, and it was ripe for disruption. Prices were too high, the products weren’t great, and the customers’ shopping experience was poor.
Gilboa and Blumenthal’s backgrounds had primed them for opportunity: Gilboa was simultaneously pursuing an MBA and a master’s degree in public health, while Blumenthal had worked at VisionSpring, a nonprofit that trained women in developing countries to start their own eyeglass businesses.
The final piece of the Warby Parker puzzle fell into place when they realized they could leverage the internet not just for sales, but to revolutionize the entire eyewear shopping experience. They also saw how vertical integration could solve the problem of price and make them a strong business for the long term.
The team moved quickly from idea to action. They developed a direct-to-consumer model that would cut out middlemen and reduce costs. They created an innovative at-home try-on program to solve some of the barriers of online shopping, and they developed their signature “Buy a Pair, Give a Pair” program, integrating social impact directly into their business model.
Since launching their online-only store in 2010, Warby Parker has added 276 physical stores and now serves over 2.28 million customers. In 2021, they went public with a valuation at $6.78 billion, and in 2024 had revenue of $771 million.2
Gilboa, Blumenthal, and their partners’ willingness to seek opportunities, recognize meaningful events, connect disparate ideas, and take bold action helped them create a company that has dramatically changed the eyewear industry. They weren’t just passive beneficiaries of good fortune; they were practicing serendipitists who turned chance interactions into a revolutionary business.
Your Serendipity Practice Starts Now
The Warby Parker story reveals serendipity's secret: it's not passive luck, but active preparation meeting opportunity. Dave didn't just lose his glasses—he recognized the frustration as market research. The founders didn't just have diverse backgrounds—they connected the dots between them.
Three ways to cultivate your own serendipitous breakthroughs:
Stay curious about your frustrations. That problem everyone accepts might be your billion-dollar insight waiting to be discovered.
Seek intersections. Surround yourself with diverse thinkers and experiences. Serendipity loves when different worlds collide.
Act on the sparks. When you feel that meaningful connection forming, trust it enough to explore where it leads.
Your next breakthrough might be hiding in plain sight, waiting for you to pay attention. Start practicing serendipity today—because preparation plus opportunity equals transformation.
References
1 Fortune. (2024, September 29). Warby Parker’s founders saw success from being ‘nice guys’. https://fortune.com/2024/09/29/warby-parker-founders-on-the-key-to-their-success/
2 PitchBook Data, Inc. (2025). Warby Parker. PitchBook. https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/52838-11
Warby Parker Announces Third Quarter 2024 Results.” Warby Parker Investor Relations, https://investors.warbyparker.com/news/news-details/2024/Warby-Parker-Announces-Third-Quarter-2024-Results/default.aspx. Accessed Oct. 20, 2025.
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