Why We're Special.

NOT your typical business.

Andy's Handcrafted Shades is a concept business, purpose built to teach student entrepreneurs how to run and manage a rudimentary business model while producing a REAL-WORLD PRODUCT FOR ACTUAL CUSTOMERS.

We partner with local "franchises" across the Southeast region (scaling to national is in our growth plans) by offering startup coaching and "kickstarter" kits to help them get rolling.

We are NOT here to make double-digit profits; if we can make enough to sustain our primary mission to teach more students how to start and run a business, that's more than enough for us!

Run by STUDENTS.

Our entire C-suite turns over every 1-4 years, the current CEO is a business major at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, all other "corporate officers" (COO, CFO, CMO, CIO) are business- AND non-business majors who "think like entrepreneurs", and our "workforce" is made up of local college and high school students who are learning how to start up, build, and/or manage a business.

Advisory is provided by a "board of directors" with decades of experience in innovation and transformation across startups, global multinational conglomerates, Fortune 500 companies, and Big 5 consulting firms but ALL day-to-day decisions are made by the students who represent over 98% of the AHS team.

Handcrafted in the USA. Yes, really.

All of our sunglasses are produced and hand assembled in Franklin TN or one of our other Southeast US (for now) locations.

“Plants” at our HQ and each of our franchise locations are deliberately simple, consisting of ONE 3D printer with assorted filaments (depending on location) and an assortment of hand and power tools skillfully wielded by our local student workforce.

To the extent possible, we source materials from vendors with facilities or distribution centers located in the US.

More about our product

We learned. A lot.

We failed A LOT and wasted A TON of material to calibrate our equipment/materials but that’s okay!

Shareholder value (for us) is reflected by the number of students we teach NOT double-digit margins which is great because the product we offer is complex enough that you probably wouldn't want to try making it at this micro scale for profit.

The learning curve isn’t impossible but it does require a significant investment in both $ and time. If you still want to give it a try, join us with your own group of students as a “franchise” so we can grow together!

Learn more about franchise opportunities

Every purchase is an investment in OUR FUTURE.

The sunglasses you order are the REAL DEAL. You will receive an actual product which is "almost as cool as you" lovingly made to order by our students.

And if a defect somehow makes it out of our "test kitchen", let us know. As long as you notify us within 1 year of the original manufacture date, we will gladly ship up to 2 replacement kits (frames and/or temples) to make it right as long as you return the failed part(s) so we can learn from our mistakes and do even better next time!

In the end, though, your purchase is much more than a set of shades. Whether the students who made your sunglasses decide to matriculate as business majors or not, they will grow from the experience you afforded them to become our next generation of leaders… and that’s gotta be worth it, right?

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