In 1995, while attending Brigham Young University, Jonathan C. Coon and John F. Nichols noticed something frustrating: getting contact lenses was unnecessarily complicated and expensive. Traditional channels made the process cumbersome, so they built a better way. They founded 1-800 Contacts in a dorm room, creating the industry's first online platform for purchasing contact lenses. What started as a simple idea - make buying contacts easier - has grown into the world's largest contact lens retailer, serving over 20 million customers and changing how people think about vision care.
Today, 1-800 Contacts is headquartered in Draper, Utah, and operates as part of SeekWell, a parent company that also includes Luna, Hello Eyes, and The Framery. Owned by KKR, the company has expanded beyond just selling lenses from major brands like Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Alcon, Bausch & Lomb, and CooperVision. They now offer online prescription renewals, glasses, lens replacements, and their own AquaSoft Daily brand. But what really sets them apart is their culture: they put their people first - before customers, before the business. This unconventional approach, built on values of being big-hearted, tenacious, and better together, has created an award-winning workplace that's been recognized by Great Place To Work. Their 'Gajillion Percent Promise' reflects their commitment to both customers and employees, proving that when you take care of your people, everything else falls into place.