Quotes from Neil Blumenthal

Avoid the 'squeaky wheel gets the grease' habit of overreacting to the loudest feedback. The first time you hear a particular piece of feedback, treat it like a clue and do some investigating. Find out how deep it goes - maybe it stops at the surface and won't be an issue, maybe not.

I came to Washington primarily to meet other entrepreneurs. That being said, I was also curious to hear how our federal government was thinking about entrepreneurship.

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

It's impossible to predict crises - or to control them once they hit - but you can absolutely prime yourself to ride them out as best as possible.

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 Warby Parker, we use the survey platform Culture Amp to take employee engagement surveys that help us become ultra-responsive to the needs of our teams.

I was captain of the soccer and basketball teams in high school, and I was the equivalent of class president.

People who are passionate about Warby Parker are passionate about creating a company that can scale, be profitable, and do good in the world - without charging a premium for it.

Within an office, it's important to create opportunities for anonymous feedback.

Share your personality with interviewers, but keep a professional filter safely adhered to it.

If you don't plan to dive in and dedicate all of your time to your startup, you probably shouldn't be looking for funding. It's hard enough asking for money when you believe in an idea; asking for money to fund something you're iffy about is ten times more strenuous.

A good collaboration pushes the boundaries of both partners.

Florence Nightingale. She is one of the most dynamic social entrepreneurs in history.

For any collaboration to work, each partner must have a strong sense of identity. If one overpowers the other, it's like mixing lemonade with water - you wind up diluting the brew.

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

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.

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

My goal is to get in bed by 11. That rarely happens. But I celebrate when it does happen.

Theoretically, an open-plan office is a great format for a changeable work environment, a place where employees have a say over how they work and a place that can adapt to their needs and to the needs of the business.

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

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.

It never gets old watching someone receive their first pair of glasses and regain their vision and their life.

From the beginning, we believed that it was possible to develop direct relationships with customers at a relatively cheap cost, and our plan was to build a lifestyle brand that was also an Internet company - a rarity for eyewear.

If faced with two competitive candidates, every company will hire the person who evinces more enthusiasm.