Working from a quiet side street in Huntington Beach, Enhanced Vision Inc. aims to make life easier for those deemed legally blind.
Enhanced makes devices that magnify objects and reading material for people whose vision is 20/200 or worse. The condition’s also called “low vision” and can be caused by things such as macular degeneration, or the breakdown of the center of the inner eye.
“We see a lot of people who are not even aware that such a product exists,” said Barron Javaheri, the company’s cofounder and chief executive.
Products include portable magnifiers, such as Jordy, Nemo and Amigo, and desktop systems like Merlin and Acrobat, a 3-in-1 video magnifier that lets people read, write, and magnify images on a computer screen.
Enhanced’s products don’t require Food and Drug Administration approval, Javaheri said.
The company has forged some ties with big name technology companies that have local operations such as Samsung Corp., which has a printer and monitor making unit in Irvine. Samsung has provided display technology for the monitors used in Enhanced’s magnifiers for some seven years.
“Being an Orange County company, obviously our desire is to be able to work with local companies as much as we can,” Javaheri said.
Place in the Market
Enhanced did some $22 million in sales in 2007 and projects 15% revenue growth for this year. The company said sales could rise even more if it wins proposed contracts. About 20% of its sales come from overseas.
As for competition from laser eye surgery, Javaheri said the procedure doesn’t affect Enhanced. Customers who use Enhanced products generally have vision problems stemming in the retina or back of the eye. Laser eye surgery is performed on the cornea, which is on the front of the eye.
Javaheri said the company did have some concerns about the economy affecting its growth, particularly because its products are aimed at seniors, many of whom are on fixed incomes.
Its devices sell for $350 to $3,000, depending on their size and complexity.
Vision is so important that people will still seek out Enhanced’s products, Javaheri said.
Javaheri, an engineer by training who holds degrees from Boston University and the Anderson School of Business at the University of California, Los Angeles, cofounded Enhanced in 1996 with partner Kavran Siminou.
After doing research, the partners found that the technology previously used to assist people with low vision was “very old” and forced them to be confined to desks, Javaheri said.
“We were one of the very first companies in the field to introduce portable (devices),” he said.
Enhanced was established through “sweat equity” before it moved into the revenue stage.
The company hasn’t received funding from private equity or venture capital firms, and is not considering going public or being bought.
“We have not had any need for outside money. The company is debt-free and been able to manage its growth very strong and in a healthy way,” Javaheri said.
The company sells its products through various outlets, including ophthalmologists and optometrists who treat patients with low vision. It also uses distributors, some of whom are trained opticians or people with low vision themselves, who make house calls on potential customers.
Competitors include Netherlands’ Optelec Holding BV and New Zealand’s HumanWare Ltd. The three compete with their products, pricing and quality, Javaheri said.
“We have a product for every need,” he said.
The company has 60 employees in Huntington Beach, including manufacturing workers, and eight in a British office that serves Europe.
