Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy Vontélle Green.

Tracy Vontélle, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Size Matters! For centuries, many of us have been wearing ill-fitting glasses. From our research and personal experiences many optical wearers have endured the painful line across our noses, indentation on the cheeks and headaches. Thus, Vontélle created comfortable fitting eyewear with wider bridges for your nose, longer temples for behind the ears and larger & wider lenses for high cheekbones and larger head shapes; plus, we added luxurious materials, colors and patterns.

I [Tracy] lost a pair of glasses in 2019. I call my best friend Nancey whom I’ve known since college (Morgan State University) to complain that all the glasses looked the same but most importantly, they were too tight for my face. Nancey had also lost a pair of glasses but didn’t realize the fit was bad until I explained it. She also wanted more culture and patterns on her eyeglasses. The concept for Vontélle was born out of a need of both founders, who each lost their expensive eyewear within the same year and decided to focus their efforts on making their next purchases from a Black-owned brand. After searching high and low for glasses that were stylish, better fitting, and had an ethnic flair, they realized it simply did not exist. That is when Tracy suggested we start our own line and Nancey booked our fate determining trip to Paris. Due to their loss, the company offers unique protection for consumers by providing a one-year/one-time replacement warranty from date of purchase if your eyewear is lost, stolen, damaged, or broken.

Today, Vontélle is the first (1st) Black Women Owned Eyewear company to design a collection [Official by Vontélle Collection] for America’s Best 900+ stores nationwide and obtain a licensing agreement with Nickelodeon Paramount to create a children’s line (also sold online at Amazon & Walmart). In addition, Saks Fifth Avenue carries a curated collection online, designed a commemorative 50th Hip Hop Collection and we have partnered with VSP Insurance to also sell our frames to their 80 million members via their website VSP Eyeconic. Significantly, Vontélle has partnered with WIN (Women In Need) a New York City organization with over 14 homeless shelters and we provide free eye exams and donate prescription eyewear to men, women, and families in need.

Vontélle has been in several magazines: InStyle, LA Fashion Magazine, Forbes, Essence, Black Enterprise, Vision Monday, etc. In addition, we also have celebrities such as Queen Latifah in her hit show The Equalizer in the Moroccan Wayfarer Burgundy; Chef Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster Restaurants & TV personality in Keys to Kenya Blue; Pauletta Washington, Actress in Hulu series Reasonable Doubt, Tiffany Whitlow, Reality Star of Love & Marriage Huntsville on OWN, Steve Harvey, the Comedian, Actor and Radio & TV personality in Acacia Aviators, Tamika Scott from R&B group Xscape and so many more.

Our tenacity, perseverance, and prior work expertise has guided us to where we are today. This is our “second act”, both Co-founders worked hard for our employers and now transferred that work ethic and experience into our own company.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not smooth at all. Entrepreneurs need 3 things to be successful: Capital, Opportunity and Resources/Support. We have had many obstacles & struggles below are a few that were high on the list:

1. Capital – early on we could not get approved for a bank loan. Note, we bootstrapped with our own savings but needed more money to meet the demand – we were trying to obtain government contracts with the military and peace corp. The banker who wore glasses said, “you don’t have a proven concept”. I [Tracy] replied to him, “you are wearing eyeglasses!” Nonetheless, we understand that women entrepreneurs receive 1.9% of funding and black women entrepreneurs even less approximately 0.34%.

2. Distribution – Distribution is high on the list as it provides opportunity for our products to be purchased and sold. We had a hard time during the pandemic to get distribution. Selling direct to consumer via our website was a challenge as we needed to pay for marketing/ads, and we used all our funds to design & make the glasses. We learned early on about the Wholesale market and how we needed to sell to (ECPs) Eye Care Professionals (optometrists, opticians, eye stores). We began calling and emailing every eye doctor to introduce ourselves and our collection.  

3. Website Operations Support: We launched our website October 2020 and were on WIX (maybe 30 days to launching our website). We could not accept FSA/HSA Flexible Saving Account and Health Savings Accounts insurance credit cards. We didn’t understand why. We were losing customers as they wanted to use their insurance cards as payment. It was 10am when the customer called me. By 4pm, I found a work around and signed up with our bank to take credit cards via a POS (point of service_ app. We then found out that WIX only allows fashion glasses, not medical devices on their website. We eventually moved to Shopify and ensured we had the proper medical access code to accept the insurance card payments.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Tracy Vontélle Green is Co-Founder & CEO of Vontélle Eyewear and oversees overall designs, finance, and direction of the company. Tracy has amassed a strong professional career which has developed her leadership skills, business, and financial acumen. She has been involved in funding procurements as a Budget Analyst for the New York City Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget; wrote grants for the New York City Department of Health; managed financial mergers as a Consultant for Accenture; oversaw the NYC public assistance budget of $6.1 billion as the Deputy Commissioner at Human Resources Administration; worked at Harlem and Bellevue Hospitals in key financial positions before becoming the Chief Financial Officer to the Department of Education School of Support Services and at Health + Hospitals Corporation- Metropolitan Hospital Center and One Brooklyn Health System – Interfaith Hospital Center.

Nancey Harris is Co-Founder & COO of Vontelle eyewear, focuses on operations, including marketing and the design of the products. Nancey is a highly experienced senior executive who has worked at international companies such as Viacom (MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon), as a Sales Executive, and at Black Enterprise as the Multi-Media Sales Director. With a strong history of revenue generation, sales management, cross-platform product marketing, and in program integration, she moved to (BET) Black Entertainment Television as a Senior Sales Executive where she grew her portfolio of advertising clients from $13 million to $28 million in 3 years. She is an excellent communicator who drives strategic initiatives through to completion.

Ms. Green is known for using the phrase, “challenge yourself…once you’ve reached a new place, challenge yourself all over again.” A true New Yorker – born in Harlem and raised in Queens, she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in accounting from Morgan State University (where she met Ms. Harris who was a Communications major and born in Brooklyn, NY). Tracy also received a full scholarship to attend John Jay College of Criminal Justice where she obtained her Master of Public Administration degree.

As a result of these experiences, Ms. Green was named to the Network Journal’s “Top Forty Under 40 Achievers” and appeared in Black Enterprise magazine’s 2007 “Hot List” amongst other publications. Moreover, Ms. Green is a licensed Real Estate Agent in the State of New York and owns rental properties which afforded her the opportunity to retire early after a health scare and start her own business [Vontélle Eyewear]. Today, both Co-Founders have been named to the 50 over 50 Forbes 2024 List, an accomplishment that proves at any age you can provide value and experience.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Oh Yes!

We have many people who have helped us in our 4 years of business. We have joined accelerators, women focused programs and bank programs who all assisted in our company’s growth. However, early on we met a phenomenal mentor whose company has 75 years in the eyewear industry as his dad started it. This mentorship is priceless. We meet monthly and he assists us with resources, distribution and the structure of our business. It’s a learning lesson and a guidance all in one. He has introduced us to power players, including National Vision, Inc. they own America’s Best stores and when we launched in February 2024, we sold out in 3 months in over 900+ stores around the US. Yes, the entire United States! This is HUGE! We are the 1st Black Owned brand and 1st Women Owned brand to partner with America’s Best and to sell out is proof that size inclusivity in eyewear is priority and needed.

Pricing:

• our frames range from $99 to $369
• our prescriptions range from $35 to $110
• Lens add ons (blue light, transition, polarized or high index lenses $25 to $60

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vontelle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vontelleeyewear
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vontelle
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vontelle
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/VontelleEyewear
• Youtube: Vontelle Eyewear – YouTube

Image Credits
Felix Natal Jr. Darren Talent