James talks Clear Business Vision
Founder of ‘Glasses Direct’ James Murray Wells will be speaking live at Ideal Business Show Thames Valley 2007.
The show will bring together thousands of owners, directors, entrepreneurs and a high profile bill of inspirational speakers at Royal Windsor Racecourse next month, including the former Director General of the BBC Greg Dyke; former retail tycoon Gerald Ratner; and Ben Kench, the UK’s No1 Small Business Growth Specialist.
James has won a plethora of accolades including the Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the Start Up Awards Entrepreneur of the Year.
“The fact that James achieved this accolade at aged only 22 makes him a particularly inspiring individual” says Will Allen, Sales and Marketing Director of Ideal Business Show.
The proposition of finding a consumer problem to fix and then developing a solution, might sound like a cliché but that is exactly what James Murray Wells did when he launched his business ‘Glasses Direct’ from his parents’ front room as a 21 year old university student.
In 2004, James Murray Wells invested the remains of his student loan to sell prescription lenses online at a big discount to high-street opticians.
The notion first presented itself, when James purchased a pair of prescription reading glasses for £150. Annoyed at paying through the nose, he took a closer look to see if there was a real business opportunity. He said:
“I just thought there’s got to be a business idea. This is a piece of metal with some glass and there is more metal in a teaspoon than a pair of glasses and how come they’re so expensive?”
Despite encountering significant resistance from the optical industry and challenged the very real prospect of failure during the early stages of the business, James pursued his vision of an internet business selling prescription glasses and challenged the dominance of the high street retail giants.
In two short years the business has grown from one young mans moment of inspiration to the largest direct-seller of glasses in the world, selling a pair every seven minutes around the clock and enjoying multi-million pound turnover.
The future success of the business appears to be secure with forecast sales in excess of £10m by 2008. Talks are underway for a worldwide brand rollout and the possibility of a Glasses Direct.com USA operation is being mooted.
But the story doesn’t end there - James has recently signed an investment deal injecting $6 million into the fast growing internet business. The additional funding has been secured through high profile venture capitalists Index Ventures ($4m), the no.1 VC firm in Europe, Highland Capital Partners ($2m) and The Accelerator Group.
James Murray Wells has major plans for the growth of the business over the next financial year and aspires to make Glasses Direct a household brand name within a year in the UK. Other developments include white-label initiatives with some of the largest household names in UK retailing and the launch of a range of designer frames from brands such as Storm, Diesel and Gucci.
Ideal Business Show runs from 25 to 26 September and expects to see more than 3,000 visitors and over 100 exhibitors. Speakers will provide a valuable insight into their experience and offer advice for visitors throughout the two-day event. The show is in partnership with Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group and is supported by the Institute of Directors, the Federation of Small Businesses and Vendita Consulting Ltd.