As Lenskart gears up for stock market debut, investor Ronnie Screwvala recalls early days
Ronnie Screwvala was one of the early investors in the omnichannel eyewear brand that is expected to ring the bell on Dalal Street on November 10th.
As an investor, your contribution to the company’s cap table is the focus and vision you have for the company, said Ronnie Screwvala, Co-founder of upGrad and Swades Foundation at TechSparks 2025.
As one of the omnichannel eyewear retailer’s earliest backers, Screwvala recalled that he invested in the Peyush Bansal-led company at a time when spectacles were not considered fashionable, much less a tech accessory.
In a fireside chat with Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, Screwvala recalled an earlier conversation he had with Lenskart’s founders when the company was building accessories for separate verticals such as Lenskart, Jewelskart, Watchcart, and Bagskart.
“Part of my conversation with them was that let’s go with this (Lenskart), but I really think you should shut the other three. I think they thought I was negotiating with them at that particular point in time, because that is a 75% revenue source I was asking to shut down,” he said.
The company’s founders, after six months of consideration, shut those three verticals completely. “I don’t think Lenskart today would be the Lenskart if they had a Lenskart, Bagskart, and Watchkart,” Screwvala said.
The choice to shift focus has paid off for the Peyush Bansal-led company. Today, the company operates about 2,806 stores worldwide, with 2,137 in India and 669 internationally in countries like Japan and the Middle East region.
Lenskart’s IPO, which opened for public bidding on October 31, saw overwhelming demand. On the third and final day, the total issue was oversubscribed 28x with robust demand pouring in from qualified institutional buyers.
Shares of the Delhi-based company are likely to be listed on BSE and NSE on Monday, November 10.
Edited by Suman Singh