Ambr Eyewear, which produces spectacles that block blue light emitted by screens, has won the ‘lead entrepreneur’ award at the TU Dublin/IADT New Frontiers annual showcase.
More than 100 startup stakeholders attended the event, where Ambr impressed the venture capitalists on the judging panel. The company has attracted customers in more than 60 countries and the glasses are stocked by Brown Thomas in Ireland. Ambr is focusing on expanding its distribution to the rest of the Selfridges network during this year.
Ambr chief executive Daniel Nugent (pictured) said: "We’re absolutely delighted to be chosen as the lead entrepreneur for the New Frontiers Class of 2018. It can be difficult for a consumer goods company like Ambr Eyewear to be taken seriously, as the startup world is dominated by tech startups."
The New Frontier programme delivers entrepreneur development from TU Dublin’s Hothouse and the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire. TU Dublin was formerly Dublin Institute of Technology.
Based in Dun Laoghaire, Ambr’s niche is that its glasses and lenses are trendier than competing protective eyewear on the market. The firm also bundles in lens coatings that cost extra with rival products.
In Association with
Ambr’s lenses block about 55% of the blue light emitted from most screens, wavelengths known to suppress the body’s production of the hormone melatonin, which is needed for sleep. They also use an anti-reflective coating to improve vision acuity, and they mostly do away with the distinctive yellow tint of some competing blue-light-blocking lenses.
The glasses, which are unisex, range in price from €53 to €188, depending on whether the buyer wants frames only, ready readers, or prescription lenses including varifocals or bifocals.
The New Frontiers programme is sponsored by law firm William Fry. Partner Leo Moore added: “This is the fourth year we have hosted the Showcase and I'm delighted to say that the quality and enthusiasm of the New Frontiers participants was really impressive. I'd like to congratulate Dan on a great win and wish him and the other participants the very best with their ventures. It's great to see so much talent and potential at the showcase.”
Frontline Ventures investor Finn Murphy, who was chair of the judging panel, commented that “choosing a winner was tough — each business was so unique as to make them almost incomparable”.
He praised all three finalists, Unitek.AI, UtilityAR, and Ambr Eyewear, and added: "Getting businesses to the level the finalists have achieved is a feat in and of itself. We’ll definitely be following their progress closely.”
Pic: Orla Murray/SON Photographic
