CEO & Co-Founder at XP Health | Innovating Vision Care | Impact Investor | 40 Under 40 Class of 2023, Silicon Valley Business Journal | M.A. in Healthcare Policy from Stanford | Social Equity & Health Tech
In the past, I’ve shared my #FounderStory in various interviews, but today I want to share it with all of you. Some of you may know the story, and for anyone new here, comment and let me know what you like to see changed in the healthcare benefits space. 👇 Growing up in Brazil, my nickname was "Antoculos," meaning "Antonio glasses." With -7.5 myopia, my thick glasses made me a target for bullying. 👓 At 18, LASIK surgery gave me perfect vision, letting me forget about vision care for a decade. Shortly after the LASIK surgery I attended a spiritual retreat, in which I set a bold goal: to impact one million people. 🌍 I started VOX Capital, a VC firm, and after nine years, two of the companies I invested in reached this goal. Stanford University broadened my ambitions as I decided to set a new moonshot: finding a way to impact a billion people. I met James Wong, a machine learning engineer, frustrated with outdated vision benefits, who made me believe that goal was achievable. Together, we founded XP Health to provide an eye doctor experience to 1 billion people using technology 🚀 A pivotal moment came during a trip to China. We discovered that high-end glasses costing $500 retail only cost $10 to produce, exposing a $40 billion scam in vision insurance. This insight, combined with our experiences, shaped XP Health's mission. 💡 Vision is one of the most important senses, if not the most pivotal one. It lets us see all there is in this world. This journey hasn't been easy, but our dream to impact one billion lives keeps us driven and determined. 💪 #HealthEquity #SocialEntrepreneur #DigitalHealth #PurposeDriven
Jayanth BHUVARAGHAN i think you will love this.
Antonio, it's amazing how your experiences shaped XP Health. How do you plan to expand access to eye care globally?
I have been a fan since we met years ago.
Have always loved this story, it’s so personable and relatable. You should be very proud of your journey!!!!
Sua trajetória é inspiradora, Antônio. Muito legal ver onde podemos chegar quando estabelecemos missões nobres. Como também tenho 7,5 de miopia, pude me "enxergar" nessa sua história. Parabéns
Such a great story, and disruption of a gigantic market. Thanks for sharing this and all the best for continued great success!
Que incrível... parabéns pela persistência no seu propósito.
Thanks for sharing. I always wondered how did you come up with the XP Health dream. Congrats for living your purpose!
Go meu querido 👊 🙏 🚀 🚀 🚀
Vc sempre passos a frente, liderando mudanças profundas e impactantes. Parabéns pelo protagonismo positivo na vida de tantas pessoas. Um abraço forte, meu amigo.