Startup is a pioneer in selling low-cost glasses lenses

Vision problems are so common that people who live a long life are expected to have at least one eye disease. This estimate was presented by the World Health Organization (WHO) in World Vision Report 2021. According to the document, there are at least 2,2 billion people with some type of visual impairment or blindness. The treatment can be more invasive, requiring surgery, or simpler, when glasses ensure that the patient has high definition vision.

It is this last niche that Marcus Makoto Ikegame, a computer engineer graduated from the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the State University of Campinas (FEEC), focused on when founding the Lenscope. The startup is the first healthtech which uses artificial intelligence to help patients choose the best lenses for their glasses, with a cost reduction that can reach 70%, compared to lenses traditionally offered on the market. “Lenscope’s purpose is to bring perfect vision to more people, in the most uncomplicated and convenient way possible. Today, we fulfill this role by focusing on lenses, because they represent between 50% and 70% of the annual expenses of someone who wears glasses”, explains Ikegame.

Another differentiator of the company, which already serves all of Brazil, is that the consumer has the convenience of carrying out the entire process online. Lenscope's system measures the distance between pupils (DNP) from a photo and then offers a choice of eyeglass frames. When the customer already has one, they can purchase just the lenses, with a collection and delivery service for the glasses. “There are almost 130 million Brazilians who need some type of visual correction, that is, the majority of the population. Even though it is common, buying glasses is still a slow and expensive process. By using technologies such as computer vision and machine learning, more people can buy glasses more affordably and quickly”, adds the former Unicamp student.

From investor to entrepreneur

The founding of Lenscope was not Ikegame's first foray into the world of innovation and entrepreneurship. His career began when he was a student at Unicamp and became involved in the junior companies movement, having been executive director of Federation of Junior Companies of the State of São Paulo (FEJESP).

After graduating, he began working as a business development analyst for companies invested in by a large Brazilian venture capital investment fund. “It was an important experience, because this fund was very hands-on and invested in technology companies from various segments and at different degrees of maturity. Being alongside entrepreneurs put me on the other side of the negotiating table,” she said.

In addition to his immersion in the investment market, Ikegame also had academic experiences, having attended renowned universities, such as Sussex and Cambridge, in the United Kingdom, and Tokyo, Japan. In these opportunities, he participated in competitions and challenges, and it was then that he had the idea of ​​starting a business in the Lenscope business. “During my MBA, I participated in an investor panel at the University of Cambridge, and my group won. That day, a student said that if I had other ideas, we could talk. When I started putting together Lenscope's business plan, I remembered it and got in touch to receive Feedback. After a meeting, he decided to invest himself”, shares the entrepreneur.

Today, in addition to being part of Unicamp's entrepreneurial ecosystem, Lenscope is present in several innovation and entrepreneurship environments, such as Itaú Cubo, the Albert Einstein Hospital's startup incubator, called Eretz.bio, and Parque Supera, at the University of São Paulo (USP). To enable the development of technology and business, Lenscope has already received angel investment and financing from Samsung Creative Startups and the program Innovative Research in Small Companies (PIPE) from FAPESP. “A tip for those who want to start a business is, from the beginning, to integrate into the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems. In my case, they brought great value and, most importantly, connections. Not to receive investments, but to exchange information, experience and knowledge. This is very important. In the worst case scenario, you will get a free lesson on what that person thought of your idea or business”, he advises.

Unicamp's entrepreneurial ecosystem

One of the entrepreneurial ecosystems that Lenscope is part of is Unicamp Ventures, fostered by the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency, which produces content and events, bringing together the University's daughter companies. The ecosystem can be comprised of ventures founded by people who have or had ties with the University, such as students, alumni, faculty and staff or former employees, as well as startups that were incubated at Incamp or created using technology developed at the University, the so-called spin-off companies. Inova Unicamp has open registration to map new companies in its ecosystem. Registration is free. Access and take part at: https://www.inova.unicamp.br/cadastro-filhas/.

This article is part of the series of reports produced by Inova about the companies that make up Unicamp's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The text was originally published on the Innovates Unicamp.