6 Sunglasses Business Success Stories [2023]
Here are some real life success stories of starting a sunglasses business:
1. Woodies ($2.28M/year)
Cory Stout (from Santa Monica, CA, USA) started Woodies about 11 years ago.
I’m Cory Stout, Captain of Woodies. I started a wood sunglasses brand when I was 28 years old.
In 2018, I topped 3.5 million in revenue and somehow ended the year with less money than when I started! I bought a Bentley to celebrate…
2. Grown Eyewear ($168K/year)
Jeff Phillips (from Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia) started Grown Eyewear over 12 years ago.
Hi everyone, my name is Jeff Phillips and I am the founder of GROWN® Eyewear. We focus on designing, manufacturing and selling handcrafted & sustainable wood and bamboo sunglasses.
Learn more about starting a sunglasses business:
Where to start?
-> How to start a sunglasses business?
-> How much does it cost to start a sunglasses business?
-> Pros and cons of a sunglasses business
Need inspiration?
-> Examples of established sunglasses business
-> Marketing ideas for a sunglasses business
-> Sunglasses business slogans
-> Sunglasses business names
-> Sunglasses business Instagram captions
Other resources
-> Sunglasses business tips
-> Sunglasses business hashtags
4. Tomahawk Shades ($240K/year)
Andrew & Ryan Shapiro (from Farmingdale, New York, USA) started Tomahawk Shades over 12 years ago.
My name is Andrew Shapiro, and I am the co-founder and CEO of Tomahawk Shades. Tomahawk Shades is the Eyewear Brand I co-founded with my twin brother, Ryan Shapiro. Our goal was to create affordable eyewear while providing the best quality in the market.
We have made our eyewear from a handful of different materials and, at the moment, are putting a strong focus on acetate, which is what is used in our best-selling Ranger Class. Within the last 3 years, we have seen a 175% increase in sales year over year, to increase this going forward.
5. Hawkers ($6M/year)
Alejandro is the president of Hawkers, a fashion sunglasses e-commerce. Thanks to influencer marketing, they've raised +€70M while generating €6M/month.
Alejandro is the president of Hawkers, a fashion sunglasses e-commerce. Thanks to influencer marketing, they've raised +€70M while generating €6M/month.
Hey! 👋 I'm Pat Walls, the founder of Starter Story.
Get our 5-minute email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.

- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings