Focus on bringing in good partners, not maximizing valuations: Lenskart’s Peyush Bansal

Startup founders should focus on getting the right partners and investors rather than maximizing valuations, as the latter is fairly short-term in nature, said Peyush Bansal, co-founder and chief executive of eyewear unicorn Lenskart, at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2024 on Thursday.

“The right partner will see what you are seeing, trust you not just during good times but also in bad times, and think along with you for the long term. When we got investors like ADIA [Abu Dhabi Investment Authority] or Temasek, we knew these funds could stay with the company for 10 years,” Bansal said during a fireside chat with Prashanth Prakash, founding partner of early-stage venture capital firm Accel India.

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He said one huge problem with the Indian startup ecosystem today was that founders were rushing after valuations. “Valuations are good for the short term, but in the long term, what matters is the transformation and the value you are creating. And that cannot be achieved by optimizing for the short term.” 

Founded in 2010, Lenskart is an omnichannel eyewear retailer with presence in Singapore, UAE, and other geographies. It sells prescription eyewear, sunglasses, and contact lenses. The company is gradually shifting a large proportion of its manufacturing to India with a new plant having commenced operations recently.

Speaking of white spaces in the consumer industry, Bansal said India has a huge inherent advantage in manufacturing thanks to the quality of engineering talent. “Our engineering and optimization ecosystem allows us to be 10 times better at manufacturing than anyone else.”

Moreover, Bansal noted India has the ability to solve global environmental problems, as its diverse tropical climate can help solve them at a low cost.

Bansal, who first appeared in Shark Tank India in 2022, will appear in a few episodes of this year’s season as well, he said.

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“I grew up watching Shark Tank, and I became an entrepreneur because of that show. When they approached me [to join the show as a shark], I was hesitant because I like to be under the radar. But my wife and co-founder pushed me. I learn more from Shark Tank than I do sitting in my office,” Bansal added.

Lenskart, which is on its way to a public-market listing in the next two years, cut its losses in 2023-24 by 84% on-year to ₹10 crore, helped by operational efficiency achieved from expanded product lines. Its losses in 2022-23 stood at ₹64 crore.

The Gurugram-based company’s operating revenue rose 43% to ₹5,427 crore while expenses surged to ₹5,549 crore from ₹4,025 crore in 2022-23, showed financial statements sourced from business intelligence platform Tofler.

Lenskart has raised upwards of $1.7 billion in funding from marquee investors, including ChrysCapital, Temasek, and Fidelity. 

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The eyewear marketplace has raised nearly $1 billion in capital in the last 18 months alone.

Recently, fund manager Fidelity marked up its valuation by 12% to $5.6 billion as the company plans for a public-market listing in the next two years.