This past Sunday, the New York Times profiled four Wharton MBA students who started Warby-Parker, an online eyeglass retailer. Under the headline “Defying Conventional Wisdom to Sell Glasses Online,” the Times explained that eyeglasses are such a particular “fit” that they seemingly require a visit to a retailer. However, in this case, the business school students turned logic on its head and provided such exceptional service that they were able to make an online eyeglass purchase convenient. Although the Times may be right and these students may be eyeglass revolutionaries, what is probably even more contrarian about them is that they are pursuing entrepreneurship at all. According to Wharton’s own stats, only 3.6% of its Class of 2010 could be categorized as “self-employed/starting own business,” compared with the almost 70% of its class that accepted positions in consulting or finance. Twice contrarians, these students deserve the NYT’s attention.
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