Shared Vision —Wes Stoody and Cole Sanseverino
F
or 24-year-old Wes Stoody (BA11), the idea for a business didn’t begin with a product. Instead, it began with a cause. “I took an economic development class
during my junior year and we watched a documentary about vitamin A deficiency in Third World nations,” says Stoody, who graduated with an economics degree. “I was shocked to learn about the impact of this problem, which is the number-one cause of childhood blindness. It’s an issue that’s largely unknown in the U.S.” Stoody decided to bring vitamin A
deficiency into sharper focus by creating Aframes, an eyewear company dedicated to supporting vitamin A supplementation programs internationally. “You hear a lot about cause-driven brands
and viral philanthropic campaigns, but no one was supporting vitamin A deficiency,” Stoody says. “I think Aframes can be the organization that ties a campaign to an amazing product.” In addition to taking classes and competing
on Eastern’s cross-country team, Stoody spent his senior year formulating his business plan, examining frame samples and finding investors. He didn’t have to look far. Cole Sanseverino (BA11), his roommate and cross-country teammate, invested his entire savings in the venture. “I saw Wes in the process of creating a
great product that has a strong market,” says Sanseverino, who earned a Computer Information Systems degree. “I was on board
22 Eastern | SUMMER 2013
the moment I learned that nearly one million kids are in jeopardy of going blind or dying from vitamin A deficiency.” After graduating, Stoody moved to
Chicago, secured more investors, and connected with an eyewear production facility in Turkey. After building relation- ships within the eyewear marketplace, he launched Aframes in January 2012. San- severino moved to Chicago and joined the company as a full-time partner last summer. “We sell frames and fill optical pre-
scriptions online,” Stoody says. “Our business model is similar to other home and virtual try-on eyewear companies, but our cause and product quality make us different. Our glasses are handmade and head and shoulders above other products made in China.” During its initial launch, Aframes
established a presence in 21 optical bou- tiques and donated about $2,500 (five percent of its revenue) to Helen Keller International, a non- profit dedicated to preventing blindness and reducing mal- nutrition. More recently, Aframes has entered a transitional stage.
through a retailer, the store becomes the owner of the sales pitch. We want to sell our story directly to the customer.” Stoody and Sanseverino are reformulating the business
“W
e have the branding and product in place— now it’s time to re-launch and sell exclu- sively online,” Stoody says. “When you sell
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