It’s an honor to speak with you today. Why don’t you give us some details about you and your story. How did you get to where you are today?
As a graphic designer, business analyst, MBA, and “lazy” organizer, I invented the DailyLens to be as easy as humanly possible. I wanted a solution to the mess of contacts in the bathroom but I knew I wouldn’t have the patience or willpower to use any of the already available solutions that required tearing the blister packs apart to organize. Starting with a ruler and pencil, sketching out dimensions and concepts in mid-2021, I doubled down and figured out what would work that I would use. I have worn contacts for over a decade and I wear them as my primary vision correction as the lack of peripheral vision in my glasses drives me insane. I know firsthand how skewed the vision industry is toward glasses accessories and making glasses more “fun”. For so long, contacts have been the way to “hide” poor vision.
My goal is to make contacts, especially daily disposable contacts, as enjoyable and fun as glasses are trying to be. The CDC estimates that 1 in 6 people wear contact lenses. It’s long past time we take care of their non-medical barriers, happy and healthy lens-wearing (like organization) and not just the medical ones (like comfort). I started OptoOrg with that goal in mind and so far we’ve released 4 products towards that goal with another on the way.
I’m sure your success has not come easily. What challenges have you had to overcome along the way?
We are building a niche that doesn’t exist yet. Not in mass market format. There is an established market for glasses accessories, but not for contact lens accessories. Contact lenses themselves, yes, and the medical needs around them, yes, but not accessories. Nothing that solves contact lens wearers’ non-medical problems. But there are 47 million people in the US who wear contact lenses, and they have non-medical problems that need solving. Our challenges are finding out the biggest pain, solving those pain points, and then the biggest challenge of all, letting contact lens wearers know that we can solve their problem.
So far we’ve been able to find solutions for easy recycling separation, remembering to replace contact cases every 3 months per FDA recommendation, and daily contact lens organization/storage. We are working on finding solutions for doctor’s contact lens organization and traveling for 3 weeks or longer easily with daily contacts.
Let’s talk about the work you do. What do you specialize in and why should someone work with you over the competition?
Our flagship product, the DailyLens is a patent pending solution for organizing, dispensing, and storing daily disposable contact lenses. The DailyLens features 3 compartments, a hanging mechanism, and a lid for optimal storage and dispensing needs. It comes in neutral colors, is able to be accessorized, and is less expensive than the competition. The benefits of owning a DailyLens include the peace of mind of knowing where the contact lenses are and how many are left, the neatness and cleanliness of having the contact lenses out of the way, and the ease of them remaining easily accessible. Our end goal with all our products is the easiest solution to a pain point so that working it into daily life is zero hassle. Some of our competitors require a daily lens user to rip apart each individual daily lens blister pack in order to reload the dispenser.
For me, that was just exchanging one pain point for another pain point. So our overall company goal is to achieve zero pain points for our customers. When we get feedback that a design doesn’t completely eliminate the pain, we revise the design until we succeed. Above all, we value our customers and their experiences with their contact lenses.
What’s your best piece of advice for readers who desire to find success?
If you are looking for success you need to find mentors that will help build you up but also tell you the truth and steer you in the right direction. You don’t want only yes men surrounding you but you also don’t want to be surrounded by people who can’t see your vision and can’t see the potential you have. They don’t have to be in your specific industry per se, but they have to get it. They have to understand the problem you’re solving or the path that you’re walking, believe in your solution and your ability to walk your path, and have a wealth of knowledge from their past that they can share as it applies to you to help steer you to where you’re going. There are transient mentors that give you a few words of advice and you never see them again but those few words of advice make all the difference in the world. Then there are dedicated mentors who are with you for every step of an adventure. I think you need both types of mentors to truly succeed.
Speaking of success, what does the word mean to you?
I think success is when you’re happy with the goals that you have accomplished. Some people have work goals to achieve the life they want, and some have life goals to achieve the career they want. But every goal that is accomplished is a success and a step towards success as a whole which is happiness with what has been accomplished thus far. As long as you are setting goals and working to meet them, you are successful. They do not have to be lofty goals, necessarily, and accomplishing a goal doesn’t have to mean 100% completion. If I set a goal to walk the dogs every single day next year, but I end up skipping every Sunday, I still walked the dogs 313 days or 86% of the time. A B grade, if you will. That is still a passing grade, I still accomplished something. That is still a form of success, and one that can be built upon for further future success, should I desire.
What’s next for you?
We have successfully navigated our first year selling our flagship product, the DailyLens, launched a second product, our Eco-Friendly Seasonal Contact Lens Cases, and have two more products, our Recyclens and Travelens on the horizon. For optometrists, we are also launching our contact lens fit set optimized organization service where we work with doctors and our proprietary software to optimize their contact lens fit sets in the available space.
Finally, how can people connect with you if they want to learn more?
We have business accounts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, and LinkedIn as @optoorg. We also have a newsletter you can sign up for on our website www.optoorg.com and you can buy any of our products on Amazon, Etsy, or OptoOrg.com. Optometrists can learn more about our contact lens fit set optimization at www.optoorg.com/optimize
