By Ilene Dube

Remember Lasik eye surgery that could correct less than perfect vision? That was in the day before Warby Parker made wearing spectacles cool. Girls don’t make passes at boys who wear glasses unless they’re wearing Warby Parkers.

The company is named for two of Jack Kerouac’s earliest and unpublished characters, Zagg Parker and Warby Pepper. Warby Parker’s founders came across the characters in an exhibit of Kerouac’s private diaries at the New York Public Library. Google the characters’ names, and all you get are references to the eyeglass company. In fact, Google the names, and ads for Warby Parker will follow you everywhere.

Wharton Business School grads, Neil Blumenthal (doesn’t wear glasses), Andy Hunt, Jeff Raider and Dave Gilboa (he’s near sighted and has astigmatism and has worn glasses since the sixth grade) put those names together over four pints of Yuengling in Philadelphia in 2008.

The name suggests the literary life, well-lived. Kerouac inspired a generation to take a road less traveled and see the world through a different lens. In testing, the founders learned, people found the name familiar. But it wasn’t that easy they went through 2,000 other ideas first.

Warby Parker was founded with a rebellious spirit and a lofty objective, according to its website: to create boutique-quality, classically-crafted eyewear at a revolutionary price. Did we mention that Warby Parker prescription eyewear starts at $95 a pair? For those who haven’t bought eyeglasses recently, that’s about a quarter of what many pay. And if that’s not reason enough to buy these eyeglasses, for every pair Warby Parker sells, the company gives away a pair to the more than 1 billion in the world who have no access to eyeglasses.

“We believe everyone has a right to see,” say the founders. Without glasses, people can’t read, learn or work. Before Warby Parker, Blumenthal ran Vision Spring, a New York non-profit that trains low-income men and women to start their own businesses selling glasses in their own communities, helping to alleviate poverty by creating jobs. Warby Parker continues to work with Vision Spring to give away glasses.

How can they afford to do this? “The industry is controlled by a few large companies that have kept prices artificially high, reaping huge profits from consumers who have no other options,” according to the website. “By circumventing traditional channels and engaging with customers directly through its website, Warby Parker is able to provide higher-quality, better-looking prescription eyewear at a fraction of the price.”

Most high-end fashion house brands don't design or produce their own eyewear. They sell those rights to large companies that do it for them. These large companies design, manufacture and sell branded glasses for astronomical prices directly to optical shops and then pay fees to the fashion brands for using their name and logo. Then, optical shops mark up frames and lenses an additional two to three times before selling to the consumer.

Before Warby Parker, Luxottica was the only game in town. Luxottica owns Oakley, Ray Ban, Oliver Peoples, Persol, and Arnette, and licenses most of the major fashion brands (Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Prada, DKNY). While the Federal Trade Commission was seemingly asleep at the wheel, Luxottica acquired retail chains Lens Crafters, Pearl Vision, Sunglass Hut, Sears Optical, Target Optical, and the second largest vision insurance company in the world, EyeMed.

“For us, it just didn’t make sense that a pair of glasses should cost just as much as an iPhone,” says Blumenthal. “We knew we could manufacture glasses using amazing materials, but do it for a fourth or a fifth of the price. We know what kind of facial characteristics we are designing for and trying to make sure that we leave something for everyone.”

Warby Parker is independent, creating its own designs and selling directly to the public. The original business model was to sell exclusively via the internet or popup stores, keeping overhead low. In keeping with Kerouac’s on-the-road spirit, Warby Parker began, in its pre-showroom days, touring the nation in a retrofitted school bus, complete with wood paneling, leather couches, vintage books, and more. Glasses are for reading, so visitors can pick up a book and flop down on one of the bus’s luxe leather couches. The shelves are stocked with classic page– turners and Beat Generation favorites, including a couple of titles by Kerouac.

In order to make its online eyewear business model effective, Warby Parker offers free shipping both ways on up to five pairs of glasses for five days. In winter 2012, a temporary shop at 45 Grand Street in Manhattan included a giant yurt inside a raw, 4,000- square-foot garage for a sort of shopping party, eschewing the concept of a salesman behind the counter. “We wanted to reflect SoHo’s creative movements like Fluxus and the Wooster Group,” says Blumenthal. Now they have added showrooms in Manhattan, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago and elsewhere.

The three-year-old start-up counts Millard S. Drexler, chief executive of J. Crew, and American Express, as well as General Catalyst Partners, Spark Capital, Tiger Global Management, Thrive Capital and Menlo Ventures as investors.

In order to create buzz about a Warby Parker retail operation opening in The Standard Hotel, Hollywood, young musicians Nikki Lane, Sophie Auster, Cillie Barnes, Goldspot’s Sidd Khosla and Teddy Thompson were selected for a four-day residency. During their stay in the hotel, each artist produced two songs inspired by their surroundings to be released on a 7-inch record for sale during the holiday season at select Warby Parker stores, with royalties going to the artists.

Warby Parker style is influenced by 1940s and ’50s eyewear but updated with something contemporary to fit the personalities of people wearing the glasses today—the style has been described as “geek chic.” “We started the company because we wanted to make beautiful glasses affordable so people could think of them as fashion accessories, not just something you buy every time your prescription expires,” says Gilboa. “You could afford to own multiple pairs; you could wear them with different outfits for different occasions, for different moods.”

Some of the colors are named for cocktails: Tennessee Whiskey, Gimlet Rose. There’s a model named for Aldous Huxley. A new line, based on the ’70s and ’80s, has glasses named Winston, Jasper, Sayles, Jules, Becket, Preston, Percey and Roosevelt.

The founders consider Warby Parker a “B” Corporation—that is, for benefit, versus for profit. “We want to think of our ‘stakeholders’ in every decision we make. When we think of stakeholders we’re thinking about our customers: how do we provide exceptional value and great customer service; our employees: how are we going to create an environment where they are going to thrive; and about the environment: how do we minimize our environmental impact. We’re the only carbon neutral eyewear brand in the world.”

Shoe retailer Zappos was their model for an online retailer concerned with making customers happy with good service. Multinational consumer electronics corporation Apple was their model for simplicity and design. Warby Parker also looked to outdoor clothing and gear company Patagonia’s strong social mission—Patagonia gives 10 percent of profits to the environment.

Despite the success of the retail stores, there are no plans to retire the touring bus. “The founders are very involved in the start-up scene here in New York,” says a spokesperson for the brand. “They support student innovations as well as other start-ups.” When not traveling, the founders get together to exercise.

What’s the next big thing? The company is in talks with the tech giant to provide stylish options for Google glasses.

It should be noted that Warby Parker customers are young— progressive lenses are not available.