Leaving his stable job and patients at Dry Eye Group in Melbourne was a difficult but necessary step optometrist and entrepreneur Billy Chang had to take to grow the start-up he co-founded to help dry eye patients.
In May 2023, two optometrists in the early stages of their careers, Mr Billy Chang and Mr Jeremy Chan, swapped their clinical roles for a seat at a desk in Melbourne Connect, The University of Melbourne’s purpose-built innovation precinct. They represent one of 11 start-ups in the highly coveted Melbourne Accelerator Program (MAP) receiving $20,000 to fast-track their project through an intensive five-month program.
Chang and Chan co-founded their start-up, Aelo, in 2021, but the idea was born earlier than that. It’s an eyecare brand seeking to alleviate the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease, but with a twist. The ultimate aim is to beautify the dry eye customer journey in a similar style to the skincare industry, by creating a self-care experience centred around wellbeing.
“In today’s digital age, dry, red, and irritated eyes are becoming increasingly common due to the increased use of digital devices. We’re committed to revolutionising the way people think and care for their dry eyes and making it an easy, enjoyable part of their self-care routine,” Chang says.
Avoiding ingredients that are known to be harmful to eyes, Chang and Chan created Aelo’s eyecare package, including an eye mask with USB-C charging cable and eyelid and eyelash cleanser with application brush. Consumers can also purchase Aelo’s eyelid and eyelash cleanser separately.
“As optometrists, our patients look to us to solve the cause of their dry eyes, but we are often limited by the products available in the marketplace. Unlike many products on the market, our ingredients won’t make eyes feel worse. In fact, we have compiled a list of ingredients consumers should avoid when looking for eyecare products,” he says.
For Chang, the idea behind Aelo started to form once he began working in optometry and was regularly meeting dry eye patients. He completed a Master of Optometry at QUT, graduating in 2018 and immediately moved to Melbourne to begin his first graduate job at OPSM Southland in Cheltenham. A year later, he moved to OPSM Collins St, a boutique store in the city’s CBD.
“I began noticing how dry eye was such a common symptom that patients were reporting. Most people have some form of dry eye, but few know much about it. That’s when I decided to investigate it more from a clinical perspective. That motivated me to find a new practice with more exposure to dry eye diagnosis and treatment.”
Chang then joined the Dry Eye Group. Established in 2002 by Mr Jason Teh, the group has three locations in Melbourne – Brighton, Glen Iris, and Surrey Hills – and tailors a dry eye treatment plan to suit each individual’s needs. His increased exposure bolstered his resolve to pursue an idea that had begun brewing.
He saw an opportunity to raise more awareness that eye drops are not the only option – and not the first line of treatment for most cases. He bounced ideas back and forth with his good friend and fellow optometrist, Mr Jeremy Chan, and together they began building the foundations of Aelo.
Immediately, they realised the need for someone with a research background, so they approached Dr Kwang Cham – a senior lecturer in Optometry and Vision Sciences at The University of Melbourne and director of education research at Melbourne School of Health Sciences – for his advice.
“Given his background, we could go forward with more confidence. Every time we received new information, we ran it by him to check its credibility. He has also played an important role in translating the clinical message we’re sending to the general public,” Chang says.
Chang says Aelo – derived from the Latin word ‘eulo’, which means ‘to wash out’ – initially started as a company to build consistency and dry eye knowledge for optometrists and their patients. As an early career optometrist, he struggled to find a platform or database he could easily access that listed all available dry eye treatments.
“That’s why we have the Aelo dry eye database now, which optometrists can access online to better understand what dry eye entails and what treatments are out there.”
He also found patients lacked an understanding of how they could better manage their symptoms. He often used a dental hygiene analogy to explain the importance of self-care to his patients undergoing IPL.
“Every six or 12 months you go to the dentist for a deep clean, but if you don’t brush your teeth on a daily basis, you’re not going to maintain your dental health. It’s the same with dry eyes. If you don’t have a good daily self-care routine, over time you develop dry eyes, no matter how often you have IPL treatment.”
Chang says currently the most common research-backed self-care routine for dry eye is a heat compress and massage, and he also recommends using an eye lash cleanser.
“I felt there was a gap in the market where there was no brand that included all dry eye self-care products. That’s why we created the Aelo eyecare package,” he says.
“Our flagship clinic is coming soon to Melbourne. Aelo’s Dry Eye and Aesthetic Clinic will be a dedicated resource for both patients with dry eye symptoms and for anyone seeking clear skin and a little pampering with treatments and products that are focused on eye and skin health,” Chang says.
A winning sales pitch
Before they were accepted into the Melbourne Accelerator Program (MAP) in May 2023, Chang and co-founder Chan had been working on Aelo for the previous 18 months, with assistance from Cham.
In that time, the business was more of a side hustle. They were beginning to gain momentum but were limited in how much they could achieve while both working as full-time optometrists.
They discovered MAP, supported by The University of Melbourne: “Which we really value because the optometry school is there, and they can provide the mentorship and resources we need to help us realise our goals,” he says.
This year, MAP has invested in 11 start-ups, including Aelo, equipping them with $20,000 equity-free funding, inner-city office space and access to Australia’s best business minds to help them accelerate their growth.
Chang and Chan went through a competitive four-stage selection process, which Chang described as similar to a bootcamp, and involved a 1,000-word written application responding to a set list of questions, and a pitch to a panel of private investors.
“I think there were 120 applicants this year; over a series of stages, they [MAP] select 11. This involved pitching our business concept to a panel of 30 investors. It was quite daunting. You can’t see the room before you go in; you walk in to see them waiting with pen and paper for you to deliver your pitch,” Chang says.
The 2023 MAP cohort was announced at a launch event in May, which marked the beginning of a five-month intensive program for Chang and Chan and their MAP peers, who are all co-located at the MAP office in Melbourne Connect, the University of Melbourne’s purpose-built innovation precinct.
Aelo is the only eyecare related start-up in the program.
“One of the conditions of the program is that we have to be in the MAP office working on our start-up full time. As much as I didn’t want to, because of the patients I see and the team I worked with, I had to resign from Dry Eye Group,” Chang says.
“I had to carefully manage my finances. Five months can go by fast, but this opportunity is once in a lifetime so I felt I should make the most of that five months and take that leap and see how we go.”
Although it has required an all-in commitment, working in the MAP office in Melbourne Connect where they can share knowledge with other start-ups is paying dividends.
Chang says they are already gaining traction through Aelo’s website from the public wanting to know about dry eye disease. “We want to build a local Australian brand that’s reputable and evidence-based for optometrists to entrust and utilise as part of their own consultation routine.”
More reading
Dr Rolando Toyos – Challenging dry eye dogma
How Jason Holland uses the Lumenis OptiLight IPL system in his dry eye clinic
Glaucoma researchers deliver verdict on SLT versus eye drops in LiGHT study
