What does it take to face and take down a behemoth? How does one break a monopoly, disrupt an industry, hit the status quo in between its eyes with a slingshot of vision and innovation?

Brick-and-mortar stores, taxis, and hotels were all upended by the likes of Amazon, Uber, and Airbnb. Digital platforms have superseded select analog processes. What’s next?

Luxottica has for the longest time been the market leader in eyewear—owning designer brands (Oakley, Ray-Ban), licensing its frames to many more (Versace, Coach, Armani, Chanel, Prada, among others), and even having their own stores (LensCrafters, Sunglasses Hut). The eyewear industry is worth about 150 billion dollars. Anyone who’s had to buy glasses from these stores or even other optical shops knows that eyeglasses and sunglasses are expensive! Yet, if you trace them back through the supply chain, you’ll find out that glasses can be manufactured for as low as $5. If you’ve ever visited Southeast Asia, you’ll know what I mean.

Disruptors like Warby Parker and Zenni have made a (very small) dent in this industry. They did this by bypassing middlemen and retailers, but also because they’ve done away with brand licensing and all the marketing dollars that come with that. I’ve been a big fan of Zenni for a couple of years and always recommend them to friends and whoever cares to listen.

I’ve thought about establishing a similar service in the Philippines, but I just checked and Zenni delivers there and to most other countries too. Good on them!

Now how can we replicate their success in other domains? Is there anywhere else that small people like us can beat giants?