Neil Blumenthal

“Self-aware employees make a self-aware company.”

“I personally try to buy the best-quality items at the best price that do the least harm and from companies that are striving to do good - many of those companies are run by young entrepreneurs.”

“I believe that the concept of 'design' encompasses every aspect of customers's exposure to a brand, from the moment they hear about us to the first time they visit our store to the process of ordering and anticipating the arrival of their glasses.”

“I previously worked as the director of VisionSpring, a non-profit dedicated to distributing glasses to people in need.”

“When a person has work, she has income and can achieve financial self-sustainability. She can prioritize her family's health and education. Her standing in the community is lifted, and so is her confidence.”

“At the end of the day, an entrepreneurial journey is all about de-risking: How can you spend the least amount of time and money to accomplish your goal? The more information you can gather, the more comfortable you'll be investing time and money into a particular offering.”

“We have never met with politicians. I don't know the first thing about how to get heard. My suspicion is that it's to donate a lot of money.”

“We've built our own technology platform in-house, which operates our website and powers our retail stores.”

“Successful entrepreneurs are pretty methodical about the problem they're trying to solve.”

“Millennials in particular get a lot of flack for their supposed entitlement and narcissism, but these evaluations have never matched my experience with hiring young people at Warby Parker.”

“If you think about what are glasses, they are the best example of form and function.”

“During times of plenty - when venture funding is abundant and startups multiply like rabbits - every business looks like a winner.”

“A workplace that encourages self-awareness is an environment where the most productive, curious, and innovative people thrive.”

“Creativity is always intense.”

“All those articles that scold Millennials for their supposed entitlement? Forget them. Millennials are great employees.”

“I'm not as smart as I think I am.”

“Self-awareness is a trait - or maybe 'practice' is the more accurate way to put it - that everyone can always improve at. It is part emotional intelligence, part perceptiveness, part critical thinking. It means knowing your weaknesses, of course, but it also means knowing your strengths and what motivates you.”

“All companies - and not just startups - face the same eternal challenge: resource allocation.”

“We all have a personal recipe for productivity. One person may need six cups of autonomy and just a pinch of collaboration. Another person may require heaps of sociability and noise, with just a teaspoon of occasional privacy.”

“When my three co-founders and I started Warby Parker in 2010, our primary intention was to sell good-looking, affordable eyewear online.”