The basic idea of a hackathon is to erase all routine obligations for the day so that employees can clear a mental space for creativity.

The word 'hackathon' was born out of 'marathon' for a reason. It's exhausting.

Hackathons are an amazing way to engage the team, foster collaboration, and knock out great work.

One of my favorite products at Warby Parker also happens to be our worst-selling item: the monocle.

In general, obsolete technology is obsolete for a reason. Monocles are no exception.

Millennials in particular get a lot of flack for their supposed entitlement and narcissism, but these evaluations have never matched my experience with hiring young people at Warby Parker.

We've built a company that distributes a pair of eyeglasses to someone in need for every pair sold; that purchases carbon offsets; and that hosts mentoring programs at the office.

I believe that the concept of 'design' encompasses every aspect of customers's exposure to a brand, from the moment they hear about us to the first time they visit our store to the process of ordering and anticipating the arrival of their glasses.

Warby Parker designs experiences, not products.

One of the core values of the startup world is that you must have a list of core values. Like all abstract ideas, they're easy to dream up and tricky to implement.

When we were creating Warby Parker, for us it was about having a positive impact on the world and having a strong social mission.

What happens when kids don't have glasses - they get bored in class. They disengage and they may be disruptive. They may be misdiagnosed for A.D.D. or put in special needs classes.

Often, companies are trying to chase growth and get into other categories or go international too quickly, and they can get in trouble doing that.

Brands are only powerful if they're real and authentic.

The rules of optical dispensing vary from state to state. Dispensing eyeglasses is not that complicated, and even if it were complicated, there should be uniform rules.

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 peek behind the curtain at any type of company, you'll see that things are far less organized than you'd expect.

I'm not as smart as I think I am.

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

Successful entrepreneurs are pretty methodical about the problem they're trying to solve.

For every Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, there's 30 other entrepreneurs that started their business after working for several years.

Nothing creates cool like scarcity.

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.

I previously worked as the director of VisionSpring, a non-profit dedicated to distributing glasses to people in need.

No matter what product or service your company offers, people have a way of finding out if you are genuinely providing value.

We've built our own technology platform in-house, which operates our website and powers our retail stores.

Regardless of what you plan to use it for, the goal should always be to raise money right before you need it. You don't want to get into a situation where you need cash and you're unable to raise it - or you're unable to raise it on favorable terms. As with any negotiation, you want to raise from a position of strength.

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

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.

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.

Asking for money can be especially intimidating.

Just because one company is able to succeed with a specific model doesn't mean others will follow with equal or any success.

I completely believe in the lean startup and minimum viable product; I just I think that people are setting the threshold for minimum viable too low.

At Warby Parker, we ask ourselves a number of questions when deciding whether or not to partner up with a designer, or a nonprofit or brand. Is the potential collaboration new? Is it unexpected? Will it result in something worth talking about over dinner? Will it do good? Will it introduce us to a new audience?

Creativity is always intense.

I have a very large forehead. I have a pronounced skull. Maybe producers think that there is a lot going on up in there.

My parents own a restaurant in Albuquerque.

Rather than ignore those who choose to publish their opinions without actually talking to me, I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love.

You just take things as they come.

Chef's choice is my favorite. I'm super adventurous.

I'm a big proponent of monogamous relationships regardless of sexuality, and I'm proud of how the nation is steering toward that.

I have more artistic control in a smaller show. But it doesn't really matter. Sometimes you can have the smallest role in the smallest production and still make a big impact.

I've been taking a trapeze class for the last couple of years. I'm working on my double back flip right now.

It's like, the more you commit, the happier the animators are; if you're at all iffy and concerned, then it doesn't free them up to do as much fun stuff, so you have to just go for it and, again, trust the people around you and not be seemingly guarded and numb. Throw caution to the wind a bit.

I've got no plans to be a ballet dancer at the moment.

I like to make decisions based on things I'm interested in doing, not what seems like the next move in my quote-unquote career.

It's good to have a lot of once-in-a-lifetimes in your lifetime. If you get the chance to skydive, go skydiving. If you're offered a part in a weird Shakespeare play in San Diego, slap on some tights and rock out some iambic pentameter.

Whether it's a double take or a spit take or an extra-long pause before a reaction or a line, I try to be as cognizant as possible about the technical end of it. So I think the physical stuff works easier for me than maybe for others who are more just going on instinct.

I like the tube more than the NY subway though, you've got cushioned seats.

I'm probably my biggest critic. I worry that if you spend any quality time reveling in good things then karma will slap you upside the head, so I try to stay as even keel as I'm able.