TCM Sundaram’s Post

I sat down with Peyush Bansal over coffee and a bowl of beetroot crisps. What struck me wasn’t the scale of what he’s built with Lenskart.com. It was his ability to see luck for what it is and still take bold bets. Peyush is one of the rare founders who openly credits variance, or what Nassim Taleb calls the luck factor, in shaping his journey. Over two decades, he’s made calls that seemed reckless at the time. But in hindsight, they moved the needle in ways few could’ve seen. One story stayed with me. When Lenskart franchise owners threatened to strike because he insisted they all buy a few iPads each to record customer data in-store, he didn’t blink. He held firm. That single call transformed Lenskart into one of India’s most data-rich consumer brands. And it changed the entire customer experience. The coffee kept flowing. So did the conversation. Unhurried, reflective, the kind that finds its own rhythm. Today, Lenskart has cracked the eyewear game in a way few others have in Asia. With myopia rates rising, that bet still has a long runway ahead. And now, with the IPO around the corner, Peyush could become India’s first startup billionaire this year. After nearly two decades of conversations with founders, investors, and leaders across geographies, I’ve come to believe this: In startups, whether early or mature, the most important metric isn’t revenue or valuation. It’s the founder. Their disposition. Their awareness. Their strength. That’s what determines whether a company survives once the early luck runs out. That’s why Peyush’s story stands out. Because he can look back and see those turning points for what they were, a mix of timing, risk, and luck. He’s more cautious now. But if there’s one “reckless” bet I hope he makes again, it’s on smart glasses. I tried an early beta version. Lighter than Meta’s. Solid audio-video. Built-in payments interface. The AI still needs work, but the potential is massive. Taleb wrote: Mild success can be explained by skill. Wild success? That’s variance. Peyush Bansal sits right in that in-between. Where skill meets serendipity. #ConsumerTech #Startups #IPO #Lenskart #PeyushBansal #IndiaTech #NassimTaleb #SmartGlasses