Company Profile:
Opternative Inc.
Opternative is the world’s first online eye exam that delivers a valid prescription, signed by an ophthalmologist, for glasses and contacts lenses. The exam takes 10 minutes and can be completed on any computer or tablet without the need for a web camera. Opternative's mission is to help the world see and feel better. Current eye exam technology was originally invented in the 1800s, and hasn’t seen any significant innovation since 1921. The opportunity to help the 75% of people worldwide that need vision correction is now within reach. Our technology will assist licensed eye care professionals in delivering eye care by increasing access to refractive eye exams and lowering costs. Opternative will be conducting an NIH registered, IRB reviewed study, to test the accuracy and efficacy of the Opternative technology prior to licensing the technology to eye care professionals for use. How does it work? Opternative displays images on your screen that are designed to look different depending on how you see. Based on responses to a number of these images and the answers to a few questions, Opternative is able to accurately provide a glasses or contact lens prescription.
Q: Please tell us how your business idea was conceived. Was there an "aha" moment or did it evolve gradually?
A: Dr. Steven Lee, our Executive Vice President, came up with the initial
idea back in 2009 when he was practicing as an optometrist. Having done
over 20,000 refractions, he found phoropter-based refraction to be
tedious and difficult for patients. Eye exam technology hasn’t seen any
significant innovation since 1921. Lee thought there had to be a better
way to refract patients rather than rushing through the traditional and
inefficient exam. After meeting his co-founder, now our CEO, Aaron
Dallek, the two explored the concept of online refractions as an
alternative. After numerous iterations, they created a solution that has
been tested and proven to be as, if not more, accurate than a
phoropter. In the last 6 months Opternative has graduated from the
HealthBox business accelerator and scaled the team from 2 co-founders to
12 innovators who are ready to show the world that online eye exams are
a reality.
Q: What's the most inventive, innovative, or disruptive aspect of your initiative?
A: Opternative is innovating by creating a solution in eye care that no one
thought was possible. We are not just disrupting a market, but helping
the entire world see and feel better. The opportunity to help the 75
percent of people worldwide who need vision correction is now within
reach.
Q: How will it help people live to their greatest potential or contribute to making the world healthier?
A: Many people don’t even have access to an ophthalmologist. Our initial
offering of an online refractive eye examination solution will allow
many individuals in the world to obtain a vision prescription to see
clearly for the first time.
Q: Five years from now, what would you like to be able to say has been your most important contribution to health?
A: In five years, we would like to empower the world with the ability to
monitor and detect eye disease through our online platform. Through this
system, we will help to prevent blindness by detecting serious eye
conditions that are routinely missed due to a lack of doctors, thereby
reducing the cases of blindness throughout the world.
Q: What single word or phrase best describes the culture of your startup and why?
A: Always curious.