Peyush Bansal created a market disruption 15 years in the past when he launched Lenskart with companions he met on LinkedIn, rising his eyewear enterprise right into a multi-billion greenback startup through the years. Now, he’s in line to enter the billionaire membership with the upcoming Lenskart IPO (preliminary public providing).
Lenskart is planning to debut on the inventory market as early as November, as per Bloomberg who quoted individuals within the know, focusing on a valuation of $9 billion throughout its itemizing on the Dalal Avenue primarily based on the IPO dimension.
That may give the entrepreneur a stake near $800 million after promoting a small portion of his shares within the IPO based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Peyush Bansal’s inventory might cross $1 billion if Lenskart shares pop about 25 per cent on debut.
Peyush Bansal’s path to the Lenskart IPO reveals how investor confidence is returning for some founder-led ventures after a interval the place the nation’s main startups struggled to outlive and funding dried up. Lenskart has carved out a distinct segment with robotic manufacturing in India utilizing machines imported from Germany to supply its glasses, together with an internet site that makes it straightforward for purchasers to order and take a look at their purchases remotely.
Beginning with an enormous home market, Lenskart is already increasing throughout Southeast Asia the place Bansal notes demand patterns in Indonesia and Vietnam mirror India’s trajectory a decade in the past.
“India is the myopia capital of the world, and a variety of our individuals want glasses,” Bansal mentioned in an interview in Mumbai. “If we will clear up that, the whole lot else, together with scale, revenue and rising market capitalisation, will observe.”
Bansal’s pitch is that he stands other than earlier Indian consumer-tech listings and already makes cash. The Gurugram-based firm, which designs, manufactures and sells eyewear on-line and thru shops, reported its first-ever full-year revenue within the yr to March 31.
Shark Tank
He’s additionally bought the tailwind of a longtime retail fanbase behind him. Outdoors of Lenskart, Bansal is a choose on the Indian franchise of the American present Shark Tank and has amassed greater than 9,00,000 followers on Instagram.
In enterprise, he says he has benefited from timing and persistence. Bansal jokes that he and co-founder Amit Chaudhary spend sooner or later each week brainstorming new concepts, with combined outcomes.
“Our hit charge is about 50%,” he mentioned. “A coin toss might need labored simply as properly.”
This yr, he’s contended with a inventory debut buffeted by commerce wars and geopolitical headwinds along with extra cautious buyers.
Whereas India’s startup scene is likely one of the world’s largest, valuations have nosedived for a number of firms that struggled to develop and as buyers ask harder questions. The household workplace of tech billionaire Narayana Murthy not too long ago pointed to steep reductions pushed by funds that must exit their investments. Oyo Motels, which like Lenskart can be backed by SoftBank Group Corp. was as soon as amongst India’s most valued startups, value $10 billion in 2019 earlier than its valuation nosedived and later recovered.
Peyush Bansal’s strategy has drawn backing from buyers preferring persistence over flash. SoftBank, which owns about 15% of the corporate, has described its stake in Lenskart for instance of affected person capital that may wait a long time for compounding progress. Earlier this yr, investor Constancy Administration & Analysis valued Lenskart at $6.1 billion.
The Lenskart IPO will take a look at whether or not the rebound in investor urge for food for Indian consumer-technology shares has endurance. City Co.’s blockbuster debut final month, which noticed shares of the rent-a-service market surge 62% on opening day, rekindled optimism after a string of disappointing post-market performances from different startups had cooled enthusiasm for the sector.
Nonetheless, Lenskart stays depending on China for greater than one-third of its purchases, together with frames, molds and uncooked supplies, a reliance Bansal acknowledges however describes as manageable. Such dependence leaves the agency uncovered to China’s supply-chain swings, the place tariffs or export curbs might hit deliveries and erode margins.
Now Peyush Bansal is overseeing manufacturing of a brand new manufacturing facility in Hyderabad, which is anticipated to be the world’s largest, masking 50 acres with a manufacturing capability of tons of of 1000’s of glasses every day.
First Ventures
A graduate in engineering from McGill College in Montreal, Bansal started his profession at Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Washington, earlier than returning to India to pursue entrepreneurship. His first enterprise, a student-housing platform, gave technique to a broader mission after he acknowledged a a lot bigger hole in imaginative and prescient care. From a small workplace in Faridabad, on the outskirts of Delhi, he and three companions he met on LinkedIn started constructing Lenskart.
The corporate now controls practically each hyperlink in its worth chain, from lens design and manufacturing to last-mile supply. It employs tons of of ophthalmologists in Kolkata who present distant eye consultations and is growing AI-based testing instruments to achieve smaller cities the place eye care entry stays restricted.
Lenskart plans to make use of proceeds from the share sale to open new shops throughout India, spend money on expertise and synthetic intelligence capabilities, make acquisitions, and fund normal company functions, based on filings.
As of March, it operated 2,723 shops – throughout India and in markets such because the Center East and Southeast Asia. Almost 40% of its income now comes from outdoors India, underscoring its rising worldwide footprint.
Its subsequent huge wager is sensible eyewear. A 70-member group is engaged on integrating options reminiscent of UPI, AI instruments, cameras, and headphones.
“It’s tempting to go all in,” Bansal mentioned. “However timing issues.”
