Amber Leong was the first Malaysian to pitch her business, Circadian Optics, on US reality TV show Shark Tank. Here's what she learned
In 2019, Amber Leong became the first entrepreneur from Malaysia to pitch her idea on the TV show Shark Tank.
Leong successfully acquired a US$750,000 investment for a 20 percent stake in her company, Circadian Optics. The startup designs and manufactures desk lamps that mimic daylight to help users improve their energy levels, mood and reset their internal body clock.
Here, we talk to Leong about her lightbulb moment and what she learned from the sharks.
The initial spark
"I was feeling sluggish and couldn’t concentrate, especially when days are so short during winter. I was working long hours at a corporate job and not exercising. I never saw the sun! I found an article about seasonable depression and the benefits of light-therapy lamps and purchased the best-selling one, a big fluorescent lamp that took up a lot of my desk space. My colleagues laughed at me, but I quickly felt the benefits: I was more awake, I had more energy, and I slept better at night.
"Lamps that mimic daylight—it’s so simple yet such a great mission! We design beautiful, minimalist lamps that people are happy to have on their desks. All you need to do is turn it on and you’re giving yourself therapy. It’s simple, reusable, and effective. Our mission is to put a light therapy lamp on every desk in the world. We were poor, hungry and desperate to make something work. We used our savings and [me and my husband] sold our cars to fund the initial orders. We made capital investments from the get-go, put the money into our design and bought our own moulds to ensure that no one would be able to use the same designs as us."
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