The founder of Circadian Optics aims to bring healing light to every corner of the world
The first Malaysian to pitch her idea on the American business reality television series Shark Tank in 2019, Amber Leong successfully acquired a US$750,000 investment for a 20 per cent stake in her company, Circadian Optics. She shares about her light-bulb moment and the early days of her startup.
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Why light therapy lamps
"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 sold our cars (hers and her husband’s) 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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