URGENT TIME CONSTRAINT Defining the Warby Parker Identity Early on, the founders recognized the importance of building a brand as a competitive advantage. They decided the brand would stand for classic, American heritage design, exceptional value, amazing customer service, and social good. During the process of naming Warby Parker, the founders created a list of more than 2,000 potential company names over six months. It was while browsing a Jack Kerouac exhibit at the New York Public Library that Gilboa took note of two memorable names in the authors unpublished journals: Warby Pepper and Zagg Parker. The founders agreed that Kerouac, a Beat Generation author, represented the literary spirit and disruptive ethos that they envisioned for their brand, and concocted the Warby Parker moniker by combining the two character names. Although Warby Parkers aesthetic identity and social mission had been clear components of the brand since the beginning, the founders recognized the need to prioritize the four brand pillars, or stories, that it wanted to share with customers. They decided upon the following brand hierarchy: 1. Aesthetic: Warby Parker is foremost a fashion brand. 2. Price: prescription glasses would cost $95. 3. Customer experience: Warby Parker would offer free shipping, free returns, and other customer-friendly policies. 4. Social mission: for every pair of glasses sold, Warby Parker would distribute a pair to someone in need. The founders ordering of the above messages was the result of discussions about the purchase calculus of potential customers, namely, that customers bought glasses first and foremost for how they looked on their faces. A Culture Based on Fun and Transparency Despite significant growth in two yearsand a move from Blumenthals Philadelphia apartment to a loft-style office in SoHoWarby Parker was able to successfully retain the elements of friendship, fun, teamwork, and transparency that shaped the company culture. The founders were careful to institute mechanisms with this purpose in mind. The initial team, for example, compiled a list of core values like take our work and our impact seriously, but not ourselves (see Exhibit 3 for the companys core values). Each department shared large tables, and only one room in the office was reserved for closed-door meetings. The co-CEOs communicated goals internally through formal meetings and company social events. Employees described the company as having a social atmosphere where people are not just coworkers, but friends. To further spur physical interactionsand to provide a visual analogue of the companys commitment to transparencythe SoHo showroom was constructed adjacent to the customer experience workspace, allowing customers to witness the daily operations of the company. Equally important to maintain, the founders agreed, were the twin rules of always presume trust and positive intent and embrace honest, but difficult conversations (see Exhibit 3). This ethos was maintained via ongoing, immediate feedback; monthly informal feedback sessions; and quarterly 360-degree reviews, which followed the best practices established by the founders when there were only four of them. Castro explained, We ask customer experience associates to give each other feedback if they overhear someone answer a question incorrectly. Noting the importance of culture in the company, Castro observed that when youre growing too fast, you might lose sight of who you are. As the first employee, Castro emphasized the need to make sure that the politics you see in most large companies stay out of the picture despite our growing size, and that team members continue to grow and have fun together. Hiring: Seeking Cultural Fit The customer experience associate position served as the starting point for most roles in the company, helping to reinforce a customer-centric culture and ensure a steady flow of talent. After establishing a candidates competency, the focus of interviews advanced to the question of whether an applicant would be a harmonious fit with the company culture. By January 2012, two years of operations experience had clarified the traits of successful hires. Adaptability, a strong work ethic, and intelligence all contributed to a successful hire; a devotion to delivering exceptional customer service and value, and a social mission were also essential. In addition, candidates needed to display a mastery of the English language,22 which, as Blumenthal pointed out, was a rarity given the tendency of many companies to off-shore their customer service to reduce costs. Castro and Tucker were in charge of hiring, and both collaborated with the heads of other divisions in order to hire people who could eventually grow into different parts of the company. Training to Perpetuate Culture As the customer experience team grew, company leadership realized that the learn as you go training approach employed during Warby Parkers first year needed to change. The company started to develop product- and process-specific training methods: flash cards featuring different frames and colors, for example, as well as more formal sessions about reading and interpreting eyeglass prescriptions, general eye health issues, and the steps in processing orders. Warby Parker also sought to make the onboarding process about, as Tucker put it, getting a new hire to feel like a part of something amazing. The company developed an online interactive microsite to welcome hires a week prior to their start date. The site included a letter from the founders, the list of core values, details on company social eventslike weekly lunches with four randomly selected employeesand a list of benefits and perks, such as weekly catered lunches, health insurance, and reimbursements for cell phones and monthly gym plans. In the new onboarding process, a hires first day of work featured a festive welcome package, including items like Jack Kerouacs The Dharma Bums and a gift certificate to a Thai restauranta reference to the early days when, as Castro explained, a local Thai restaurant was the only place that would deliver late at night when we worked from Neils apartment. A new employees chair was also festooned with balloons, and he or she was introduced to every single person in the company. During an employees first week at Warby Parker, he or she was welcomed at the company weekly meeting and asked to share a little-known fact about him- or herself. One new employee told the team about his fear of zombies and his corresponding relief when he learned that zombies have difficulty climbing stairs, which meant that New Yorks tall buildings constituted an effective protection mechanism. Another new employee confessed that he first wore jeans at age 21. Job- specific training filled out the next three weeks for customer experience employees. Even employees in other departments participated in limited customer experience training to emphasize the importance in all aspects of company.

Thoroughly explain the dual mission of Warby Parker.How would you describe the Warby Parker culture? How does it facilitate the attainment of a dual/hybrid mission (why does retaining it matter)?