Peyush Bansal founded Lenskart in 2010 after suffering losses in his previous start-ups. Lenskart became a unicorn in December 2019 and s currently valued at around 4.5 Billion Dollars.
AASHISH KUMAR JHA | Apr 20, 2023 |
Meet Peyush Bansal: Founded the Largest Online Eye Wear Company Worth 36000 Cr From Failure to Unicorn
From Failure to Unicorn: We all have seen Peyush Bansal as one of the Judges on the famous show Shark Tank India. He is the founder of one of the most successful unicorns. He founded Lenskart, an optical prescription eyewear retail chain, along with Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi. Bansal’s journey to success was not an easy one. He had to overcome many failures during his entrepreneurial journey. His initial startups were not very successful. But he overcame the feelings of fear of failure and created a successful startup.
Peyush Bansal’s life has been a roller coaster ride, beginning with quitting his job in America and unexpectedly moving to India to create a famous eyeglass firm. The Co-Founder and CEO of Lenskart formerly worked for software giant Microsoft, but fate had other plans for him, and he is now one of India’s premier businessmen. He is now a household name after becoming an investor in the Shark Tank India TV show. He revolutionized the unorganized eyewear industry in India.
Peyush had a stable job as a Program Manager in the USA at the technology giant Microsoft. Because of his zeal for entrepreneurship, he left his job during the Great Recession of 2007-09, shocking his family and friends. He developed a singular goal in his mind: to start an e-commerce company. For this purpose, he returned to his home country India.
Coming back to India, he began connecting with university students and decided to develop a website that was solely dedicated to their needs. In December 2008, his first startup SearchMyCampus was born. It was a student classifieds platform that assisted students with whatever issues they would have with jobs, housing, coaching, books, transportation, and so on. But after some time he realized that running a classifieds firm was not feasible. This inspired him to enter the online market for spectacles, sunglasses, and contact lenses. Initially, he chose to focus on the US market, launching Flyrr, a website devoted to the American eyewear sector. Flyrr was gaining popularity, but it was experiencing delivery and operational challenges.
Facing logistical and operational challenges in the US market, Peyush Bansal decided to use the same concept (of Flyrr) in his home market, India. He knew that India is one of the most severely affected countries by eye diseases. This led to the formation of Lenskart in 2010. The company began by selling solely contact lenses, but by February 2011, it had expanded its portfolio to include eyeglasses and sunglasses, as well as retail stores to improve the consumer experience.
Because of the online nature of business, Lenskart used two major approaches to earn the trust of customers. First, they established a chat line for resolving any problems faced by customers, and second, they offered a 14-day, no-questions-asked return policy with big savings. His business model was simple yet effective – cut out the middlemen, reduce overhead costs, and pass on the savings to the customers. The company’s online platform allowed customers to browse through a vast selection of eyewear, try on frames virtually, and get their prescription lenses customized, all from the comfort of their homes.
Lenskart is now the largest online eyewear retail company in India. It also expanded its footprint in the offline retail market. As of March 2023, Lenskart has more than 2000 stores. It is also operational outside India. About one-fourth of its stores are outside India. Its New Delhi manufacturing facility produces around 3 lakh glasses in a month. The company is currently valued at around 4.5 billion Dollars (more than 36000 crores).
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