1. What’s the quick origin story of your brand, and what makes your product or positioning genuinely different from other options in your niche?

Hila Shtram: FORK was created from a very simple observation: eyewear is often treated either as a purely functional product or as a trend-driven fashion accessory, but real life sits somewhere in between.

We wanted to build a brand for people who move through different environments throughout the day, from work to dinner, from daylight to lower-light settings, without feeling like they need to change who they are or how they present themselves. The idea was not to create another “seasonal” eyewear brand, but to build a cultural product with a clear point of view.

What makes FORK different is the balance between restraint and character. The frames are fashion-forward, but not loud. They are designed with premium materials, lightly tinted lenses, and an understated unisex aesthetic that can live across different moments. We also come from deep eyewear experience, so the creative side is supported by real manufacturing, product, and operational knowledge.

For us, eyewear is not a disposable trend piece. It is a design object people should want to keep wearing.

2. Since launch, what have been the 1-2 real turning points for your brand-specific decisions, pivots, or experiments that noticeably changed your growth or profitability-and what did you learn from them?

Hila Shtram: One of the biggest turning points was realizing how important product clarity is in a category like eyewear. Customers do not just buy a frame because it looks good in a campaign. They need to understand fit, lens color, size, material, and how the product will actually feel in real life.

That pushed us to be more intentional about how we present the product online, from imagery and product pages to customer education and fit guidance. The more clearly we explained the product, the more confident customers became.

Another important learning was that brand building and performance are inseparable. In e-commerce, it is easy to chase short-term tactics, but for FORK, we saw that the strongest results came when the creative, product, site experience, and customer journey all supported the same point of view. The lesson was to build systems around the brand, not just campaigns around individual products.

3. Which 2-3 channels drive most of your revenue right now (for example SEO, paid social, email, marketplaces, influencers), and what have you learned about making those channels work in your category?

Hila Shtram: Paid social is an important channel for us because eyewear is highly visual. People need to see the product on real faces, in real environments, and understand the brand’s attitude quickly. What we have learned is that overly polished content is not always the most effective. Customers respond to imagery that feels real, intentional, and wearable.

Creators and organic social also matter because they help translate the product into real life. In this category, trust comes from seeing how the frames behave outside of a studio. The more naturally the product appears in someone’s routine, the more believable it becomes.

The biggest lesson is that every channel has to do more than generate traffic. It has to build confidence.

4. How are you thinking about search in 2026 – Google, AI assistants like ChatGPT, and other discovery platforms? What, if anything, have you changed in your content or site to stay visible as AI search grows?

Hila Shtram: Discovery is becoming more fragmented. Customers are no longer finding brands through one path. They may start on Google, ask an AI assistant, see a creator, compare reviews, check social platforms, and then come back through direct search.
Because of that, we are thinking less about “SEO tricks” and more about clarity. The brand, product pages, content, and customer experience all need to answer real questions clearly: What is the product? Who is it for? How does it fit? What makes it different? Why should someone trust it?

As AI search grows, I think brands will need to be more specific, useful, and consistent. Generic content will become less valuable. We are focusing on making our product information stronger, our positioning clearer, and our content more helpful across different discovery environments.

The goal is not to chase every algorithm. The goal is to build a brand and product experience that is easy to understand, easy to recommend, and easy to trust.

5. What do you do to turn first‑time buyers into repeat customers and advocates? Are there specific experiences, content, or community touches that work especially well for you?

Hila Shtram: For us, repeat purchase starts with the first product experience. If the customer receives the frame and it feels better than expected, that is the foundation for loyalty. No amount of marketing can replace delivering on the promise.

We focus on product quality, clear communication, and a customer experience that feels consistent with the brand. That includes how we present the product before purchase, how we explain fit and lens details, and how we follow up after the order.
Content also plays an important role. We want customers to see FORK as something that fits into real life, not just a product they saw once in an ad. When people connect with the design, the tone, and the way the brand shows up, they are more likely to come back and recommend it.

Advocacy happens when customers feel like the product says something about their taste without trying too hard. That is the space we are trying to build in.

6. If you had to write a short playbook for an ecommerce founder one stage behind you, what would you double down on over the next 12 months – and what would you stop doing entirely?

Hila Shtram: I would double down on clarity.

Clarity in the product. Clarity in the positioning. Clarity in the customer journey. Clarity in the numbers. In e-commerce, it is very easy to move fast and add more: more channels, more campaigns, more messages, more tools. But growth usually comes from making the core stronger.

I would also double down on customer feedback. Not every customer comment should change your strategy, but patterns are extremely valuable. They tell you where the product, messaging, or experience is not clear enough.

I would stop chasing noise. I would stop reacting to every trend, every platform shift, or every competitor move. A young brand needs focus. It needs to know what it is, what it is not, and what it is building toward.

The brands that last are usually the ones that make fewer, better decisions consistently.