Neil Blumenthal’s Post

Five years ago today, Warby Parker became the first Public Benefit Corporation to go public through a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Simultaneously, we launched the Warby Parker Impact Foundation with 1% of the company’s outstanding shares to expand access to eyecare. Going public was the culmination of an incredibly rigorous process—and a milestone that gave us an opportunity to demonstrate something we had believed since starting Warby Parker: companies can scale, deliver strong results, provide incredible value to customers and do good in the world. Five years later, Warby Parker has grown tremendously. But what excites me most is that our ability to serve our customers and advance our mission has grown right alongside it. Since going public, we’ve more than doubled our retail footprint to 350+ stores, with nearly 90% now offering eye exams. We’ve expanded our US manufacturing capabilities from one optical lab to two, grown #TeamWarby to more than 4,000 people, and more than doubled the number of people who can use their in-network vision insurance at Warby Parker.  And, we’ve more than tripled the impact of our Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program—from 8 million pairs of glasses distributed at the time of our listing to over 25 million today. I’m proud of how much has changed over the last five years and equally proud of what hasn’t. Our mission of vision for all remains our North Star, guiding how we grow, innovate and serve our customers. Thank you to #TeamWarby, past and present, and everyone who has supported us along the way. We’ve come a long way, and we’re just getting started.