Apple Co-Founder Awards NZ Startup

Apple Co-Founder Awards NZ Startup

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 24 of August 2016

An Auckland social enterprise restoring eyesight to the blind with smartphones has had its work recognised by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Sir Richard Branson.

oDocs builds physical iPhone attachments to help optometrists perform eye exams with smartphones, giving them tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment in their pockets for just a few hundred dollars.

WATCH: See how the oDocs product works here.

The startup was awarded “Best Start Up - Social Impact” at the Talent Unleashed Awards in Sydney, as judged by a panel including Sir Richard Branson and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who is currently in New Zealand.

The awards recognise the very best in game-changing technology throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific.

“It’s fair to say we were a bit of an underdog,” says oDocs Co-Founder Dr Hong Sheng Chiong.

“We were up against other winners like ResApp Health who’ve raised more than $13m, while we were sharing a hotel room to cut down on costs. We’re a lean operation.”

Dr Chiong had to pitch to Wozniak and the panel at the awards to take out the top prize.

“Steve Wozniak is the ultimate designer, engineer, maker and entrepreneur, so to earn his praise is incredibly gratifying.”

“He’s also a humble guy to talk to and shared a lot of wisdom with us about the importance of working creatively and quickly to stay ahead of the pack. It’s a lesson we’ll take forward as we push on with our mission to prevent the millions of cases of preventable blindness every year.”

Dr Chiong, oDocs CEO Hanna Eastvold-Edwins, and Design Director Alain Brideson will have plenty more time to pick Wozniak’s brains with the startup winning a trip to Silicon Valley and mentorship with “Woz” as part of the award.

“He gave us one of his stainless steel business cards for the plane ride,” says Eastvold-Edwins.

“Woz claims he uses them to cut his steaks when given plastic cutlery. It’s funny, but that shows his ability to look at things in ways most people don’t.”

oDocs was founded in 2014 to make eye-care more accessible to all and ultimately help eliminate all cases of preventable blindness.

“We’re passionate about preventing blindness; it’s the thing that drives us,” says Eastvold-Edwins.

“The eye health industry needs a revolution because at the moment good care is far too cost-prohibitive. 285 million people around the world are blind and 80% of these cases were preventable or treatable, most of these in developing countries.”

“We’ve packed $50,000 worth of optometry equipment into two iPhone attachments that we sell for less than $500 USD,” says Brideson.

“Paired with our app, this is truly game-changing technology that can deliver world-class eye care to those who need it most and help us decentralise medical care.”

And to make it even more accessible, oDocs commits half of all its net profits to saving eyesight in developing countries.

oDocs is currently raising a seed round of $500,000 and is preparing to ship products to its first customers later this year.

ENDS

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