Can Lenskart IPO make Peyush Bansal India’s next startup billionaire? Here's what it would take

Peyush Bansal, the 41-year-old founder of eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions Ltd. and a familiar face on Shark Tank India, could soon join the ranks of India’s startup billionaires.

But that depends on how investors price his company’s upcoming IPO.

Unlike many Indian startups that went public while losing money, Lenskart has already turned profitable. The company, which designs, manufactures and sells eyewear both online and through its stores, reported its first-ever full-year profit in the fiscal year ended March 31.

“India is the myopia capital of the world, and a lot of our people need glasses,” Bloomberg quoted Bansal as saying. “If we can solve that, everything else — scale, profit and market capitalisation — will follow.”

Lenskart plans to list as early as next month in Mumbai, targeting a valuation of about $9 billion, reported Bloomberg. Based on that, Bansal’s stake would be worth around $800 million, calculations by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index show.

A strong market debut, roughly a 25% jump in share price, could push his net worth past the $1 billion mark.

That milestone would cap a 15-year journey for the McGill University graduate who left Microsoft Corp. in the US to build a homegrown eyewear giant from a small office in Faridabad.

Starting with a mission to make affordable glasses accessible in India, Bansal and his co-founders grew Lenskart into one of the country’s most recognised consumer-tech brands, with more than 2,700 stores across India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Nearly 40% of Lenskart’s revenue now comes from international markets like Indonesia and Vietnam, where Bansal says consumer behaviour mirrors India’s a decade ago. The company is also building a massive 50-acre manufacturing facility in Hyderabad, expected to be among the world’s largest eyewear plants.

SoftBank Group Corp., which owns about 15% of Lenskart, calls it an example of “patient capital.”

Lenskart’s planned listing comes as investor confidence in Indian startups is tentatively returning after a prolonged slump. Last month, Urban Company’s 62% surge on debut reignited optimism for consumer-tech listings, following several lacklustre performances.

From Microsoft employee to Lenskart founder

Peyush Bansal, the founder and chief executive officer of eyewear company Lenskart, is among India’s most prominent entrepreneurs in the consumer technology space.

Bansal, who is also known for his role as an investor on the business reality show Shark Tank India, began his career with a brief stint at Microsoft in the United States before returning to India to pursue entrepreneurship.

Born and brought up in Delhi, Bansal attended Don Bosco School.

He pursued higher studies abroad and earned a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) degree in Electrical–IT, Control and Automation from McGill University in Canada between 2002 and 2006.

Following graduation, Bansal worked as a Program Manager at Microsoft from January to December 2007. However, he left the position to return to India in 2008, driven by an interest in starting his own venture.

His first business, SearchMyCampus.com, was an online platform to help college students find accommodation, coaching centres, part-time jobs and books. Though the venture was modest in scale, it provided Bansal with early exposure to running a business.

In 2010, Bansal, along with Sumeet Kapathi and Amit Choudhary, founded Lenskart under the parent entity Valyoo Technologies Pvt. Ltd. The company initially sold contact lenses online but gradually expanded to include spectacles and sunglasses.

Lenskart later introduced a franchise model in 2013 and has since built an extensive omni-channel network across India. Its stores also offer eye check-up facilities, integrating vision care with retail operations.