All Eyes on Him

Peyush Bansal finds himself in the spotlight as India debates whether Lenskart's valuation is a bold gamble or clear vision

- By HIMANI KOTHARI

A DINNER WITH THE FOUNDER, especially when it's Bill Gates, usually converts 20-something employees into lifelong loyalists. For Peyush Bansal, it did the opposite. An evening at Gates's home in 2007 was a pivotal point in the then-Microsoft techie's life because he realised he wanted to solve big problems. Bansal decided to quit the next day and leave the US for good.

Back home, Bansal was stunned by a brutal truth: India was the blind capital of the world-where something as basic as clear sight was a luxury. Thus began Lenskart in 2008 as Bansal got down to solving an engineering problem hiding in plain sight. Delhi-based Lenskart is a technology-focussed company that designs, manufactures and sells eyewear both online and offline. It now operates in 14 countries.