To Survive Rapid Success, Remember to Slow Down My sunglasses brand was blowing up. I tried to keep up, and moved too fast. It almost sunk us.

In 2010, I realized a dream: I launched my own namesake eyewear and sunglasses brand, Garrett Leight. The business is in my blood. My father, Larry Leight, is the founder of Oliver Peoples, a decades-old eyewear business where I'd spent years working and learning. I created Garrett Leight to capitalize on that expertise but better serve a consumer I identified with, one who was a little younger, with an easygoing West Coast sensibility.

The brand took off fast. Within a few years, we had stores in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. Retail was our strength. We literally never had a zero day at our stores. We understood how to create a great customer experience via an educated staff of opticians -- who just happened to have really great style.

But that success created a confidence that quietly became a liability as we continued to grow.