Hey guys - I'm Joel and I'm one of the Simple Contacts founders. We're really excited to be on Product Hunt today!
Those of you who don't wear contact lenses may not know that, in the United States, you need a valid prescription to buy contacts. Those prescriptions usually expire yearly, but many people's prescriptions don't change year to year.
We built out a test on the iPhone (web coming soon) that allows people to renew their contact lens prescriptions from home (or really anywhere). We aren't changing prescriptions, simply confirming that your current prescription is accurate. Right now you have to buy lenses to pay for the test in the app, but if you email us for just the prescription we can do that manually on our end as well.
Telemedicine is changing how people interact with our healthcare system and there are tons of interesting challenges faced by companies in this space, from a regulatory, operational, and technological stand point. We're excited to be featured here today and look forward to your feedback and thoughts on the telemedicine industry. We love Product Hunt, so if you install with this link http://go.simplecontacts.com/pro... you'll get $25 off your first purchase 😃
It's such an annoying problem! My prescription hasn't changed in 15 years, yet every year I have to get a new prescription.
How do you get passed the doctors requesting that I see them in order to be renewed?
@chrisbrisson We work with a number of Ophthalmologists who practice telemedicine and understand that an office visit isn't necessary for a contact lens renewal. Obviously we still advocate regular office visits for eye health, but holding your Rx hostage for an unnecessary office visit is wrong.
Almost a year ago I met Joel at a friend's birthday drinks in NYC. I was months late for my yearly eye exam and wearing my contacts many times as long as I should. With my work and travel schedule, I could never make the time for a doctor's visit, which anyway seemed pointless since my prescription hardly changes.
Joel pulled me out of the bar, administered the eye exam right there on Christopher St, and I had a new prescription and box of lenses within days.
Driverless cars, reusable rockets, and A.I. are the kind of technological advancements that grab headlines, but companies like Simple Contacts are the ones that really excite me: ones that address the unsexy, day-to-day inconveniences that we've forgotten to even question.
If you wear contacts, have had an in-person eye exam within the last five years, and live in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington, Colorado, or Rhode Island: save $$$ and time by trying out Simple Contacts
@gillianim 🙌🏼!🙌🏼!🙌🏼! Thank you for all the support since pre-day 1 ... Also since we last spoke we're now live in a few more states ;)
Oregon
Arizona
Ohio
Florida
North carolina
Maryland
Delaware
New jersey
Kansas
How are you positioning this versus Opternative (https://www.opternative.com/)? Just tried Opternative the other day and it was a really good experience directly integrated with 1800-Contacts.
@jonmrich We're fans of what Opternative is doing - We're both making it easier to get Rxs, but we do it in different ways and for different types of patients. If your Rx has changed and you need a full exam, Opternative is great. Most people (80%) don't have changes and want the quickest way to renew their lenses (not just their Rx). For them, our exam costs only $10 and takes 4 minutes vs. Opternative which is more intense of an exam and costs $40 and takes a little more than 30 minutes plus time to check out on a different partner site with your lenses.
My wife got contacts two months ago and the entire experience was super inefficient. She had to go back two or three times just to get things re-checked and retried. I'll have her give this a go. How does this detect things like astigmatisms to ensure the proper contacts? @joelwish
@davidsfeng Great! We get dozens of emails and notes a week from customers that basically say "OMG, finally someone made this contact lens renewal experience not suck", so hopefully she has a similar experience!
Unlike the Optometrist office, this service is just for patient's who are happy with their current lenses (including Astigmatism). So if she has lenses she likes, she can get a fresh Rx and reorder lenses in less than 5 minutes. No retrying, no lines at the doctors office, no hard sell on product at the end of your visit. Have her install from the link in my comment and it'll apply that discount for future use.
@davidsfeng Exactly. 80% of patient's get the same Rx when they go get their lenses renewed (like me for the last 10 years). This is meant to solve that problem.
@joelwish I wish you can do this for glasses. I've had the same prescription for 10 years and never went to the eye doctor. But if I want a new pair, I need to get a new prescription even 2 years or something even though I just want to use the old one. Apparently that's not allowed in CA. The prescription is never really the exact same and my custom sunglasses now don't match. First world problems...
@davidsfeng It's not coming out right this moment, but we're going to have a similar product for glasses. We actually do it on an ad hoc basis if you know all your Rx details including your Pupilary Distance. Just take the test in your glasses, checkout with any contact lenses (you won't be charged) then email us at support@simplecontacts.com and we can manually get your sorted. We do this for close friends while we build a more integrated solution.
Super smart. There are a series of mobile-focused startups removing friction from old industries. Here are a couple that come to mind:
🇺🇸 Scan your ID in 30 seconds with Register to Vote to (you guessed it) register to vote.
✈️ Notify AirHelp when your flight's delayed to avoid calling the airline.
🚨 Take a pic of your parking ticket and Fixed will do the work to reduce your bill (RIP, no longer around).
Love this team and their product. Happy customer of Simple Contacts. If you wear contacts and haven't tried them, you're just giving away precious time (and expense) to your optometrist. Product is so simple to use, and accurate.
Total game changer. My prescription expired 6 months ago and I just ran out of contacts. There's no way I'll find time to head to the optometrist this week and I just managed to order new lenses in a few minutes and paid with my fingerprint. I LOVE TECHNOLOGY. Thanks Joel for an awesome and necessary founder-time-saving product.
Used this to get a year's worth of contacts a few months ago! I actually had an optometrist appointment scheduled and cancelled it, saved a ton of time and hassle and got my contacts within a week! Awesome product and awesome team!
@fletchrichman We made the service for exactly that reason - save time and $! We can help you get a VIP treatment at Ophthalmologist when you are ready for a health checkup too. Just ask!
how can i get notified when the android app is out? i am European living in nyc and that has been always a pain. What happens to the ones that might have lost their prescription or it's too old?
@pfanis Want to email us team@simplecontacts.com and we'll add you to the Android announcement list. Also we'll be launching a web product that may be helpful before the end of the year. We made the app especially for people who need a valid Rx but whose eyes haven't changed - so if that is you, welcome to the family!
How is the cost different through your service than if I was to buy from my doctor? I love that you are making it easier, but am just curious about cost as well.
@goforwes Thanks for your question Wesley. The typical Optometrist exam costs $150 and lenses are generally marked up about 25%. Our test costs $10 and the average person saves about $85 on lenses in a year.
@w_zhou if you sign up for our newsletter on the website we'll hpdate you when they launch. We very rarely send emails to that list beyond new product launches
This is everything! Personally compelling because I experienced the exact pain point this tries to solve. 2 weeks ago I was forced to go to the eye doctor, (taking time off of work to do so) because my prescription had expired, and I was out of contacts. I did the routine eye exam as prescribed, and like many others, my eye prescription hadn't changed from last year. The concept of this is wonderful. Many Congrats.
@elegantunivers9 This warms my heart. Seriously, it feels amazing to hear from people that they experience the same problem as I did and that this thing we built solves their problem ;)
@nickstravelbug We are very close to being able to launch Texas ;) It could be any day. Follow us on Facebook, that's where we announce new state launches
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