Episode 2: interview with Jordan Kassalow, the founder of VisionSpring, and co-founder EYElliance
Jordan Kassalow is the founder of VisionSpring, an organisation that works to provide affordable access to eyewear, everywhere, and eliminate poor vision, due to the lack of eyeglasses-- the largest disability in the world.
VisionSpring’s initial focus was on distributing ready-made, non-prescription reading glasses via a network of Vision Entrepreneurs… an on-the-ground sales team, later evolving a broader approach using sales through distribution partners, and an emerging “full service” model, providing affordable, high-quality prescription glasses
By Autumn 2019, VisionSpring had reached 7 million people with eyeglasses and generated over $1.2 billion of economic impact for its customers.
Notwithstanding VisionSpring’s success, Jordan has been looking for ways to increase the scale of impact on this problem, for a more systems-based approach, and in 2016, he co-founded EYElliance, a system change, multi-sector alliance of over 60 organizations working together to eliminate poor vision due to the lack of eyeglasses.