Simple Contacts, a new startup launched by a former Techstars entrepreneur in residence and the co-founder of the 3-D printing startup Sols, is looking to make the process of refilling contacts cheaper and more affordable.
The company started from a pain that founder Joel Wish felt all too acutely. A lifetime wearer of contact lenses, Wish was pretty appalled by the cost of getting refills of the same prescriptions. A process that can cost well over $100.
Wishing for a better way, Wish, a serial entrepreneur, and Techstars entrepreneur-in-residence, launched Simple Contacts. Roughly, 80% of contact lens wearers visit an optometrist only to get the same prescription.
The trips, costly and time-consuming, are unnecessary with today’s mobile technology, Wish says. So he came up with a better way. Simple Contacts focuses the benefits of digital health and online consultations with a specific niche market that has recurring revenue and an easily addressable pain point.
Using a standard ophthalmological test administered through a mobile device and verified by a licensed ophthalmologist, users can expect to see a fresh prescription and a new supply of contacts ordered in minutes.
The contacts then arrive on a users’ doorstep.
The app is available in 20 states already, including New York and California, and the company has managed to rake in $2 million in seed stage funding.
The company’s seed round was led by Autonomous Ventures (the fund launched by Tikhon Bernstraum) and included angels like Justin Kan (founder of Twitch and Justin.tv) along with a number of doctors. Richard Park, the founder of the CityMD network of urgent care clinics also participated in the financing.