Editor’s note: This article was first published in March 2013; the Warby Parker sales figures, Harry’s pricing and the founders’ plans to keep selling without intermediaries reflect that time. Harry’s later sold through retail chains.
We often say that business ideas are everywhere, but only a few people are able to see them. At the same time, a product has to meet a need or offer a solution to a specific problem. There is no better example than the entrepreneurs we are about to name, because they are repeating their success with a new business that was born in exactly the same way as the previous one.
We are talking about Andy Katz and Jeff Raider, two entrepreneurs who a few years ago created Warby Parker, an online glasses store whose designs managed to blend the classic with the modern. That idea came about because they felt people should not have to pay 300 dollars for prescription glasses, so they launched glasses for 90 dollars, with designs that had nothing to envy the rest of the market. The result: more than 300,000 units sold in less than three years, and still growing. Now they are pulling off the same move with another kind of business, insisting that they are doing it “out of respect for the consumer”.
Andy Katz was travelling and realised at the hotel that he had no shaving foam or replacement blades for his razor, so he went to a shop to buy some. In total he spent 25 dollars, which he thought was expensive, considering the blades were nothing special.
He went online to look for quality blades and found that men only have two options: spend a lot of money on a good razor, or spend little and put up with poor quality. Why not create razor blades with good quality, good design and a low price? That is how they created Harrys.com, a website that sells a set of shaving cream, a razor and replacement blades directly to consumers for just 10 dollars, with free home delivery.
They hired several European designers to create their own design, giving the handle a rounded shape that, according to its creators, improves the user experience.
See also: This woman’s business is being your mother for $40 an hour
I know many people will think, “For heaven’s sake, it’s only a shave”, and yes, it is. But when something is created with the passion these entrepreneurs seem to put into their projects, they turn these blades into the iPhone of shaving at “own-brand” prices. That has led to rumours that several big department stores have contacted them to sell their product, although, according to the entrepreneurs, out of respect for the consumer they will keep selling it without intermediaries, just like Warby Parker glasses, which were not only sold at a low price but also had part of their profits donated to various charities.
And that is how ideas come about: while you are shaving, while you are in the shower, or while you are doing whatever you usually do.
Further reading
- 15 questions to evaluate a business idea
- The mindset of an entrepreneur: Donald Trump
- Seven steps to define your market once you have your business idea
Featured image: Tools of Men, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
