Team Optimist: What gave you the idea of Light Doctor?
Prachi Laud: The core team of Light Doctor comes with in-depth knowledge of the subject. Both founder-members Akash Kakar and I are successful professionals of interior designing, lighting designing and integration background, who have been working in this segment for 18-20 years. While working in the niche luxury market segment, we observed that well-designed lighting plays an extremely positive role in our lives. However, many Indian homeowners lack access to professional lighting designers because of extremely high prices and unavailability of proper lighting professionals. We strongly believe that lighting design need not be a luxury, but should be available to all. Light Doctor was born out of recognising the need for good lighting designs among the multitude of Indian homeowners.
Team Optimist: How’s Light Doctor different from other lighting solutions in India?
Prachi Laud: Light Doctor is a first-of-its-kind platform. It addresses the mid-market home segment in India. We pride ourselves in offering cost-effective, yet professional, services to the emerging mid-market segment of Indian homeowners. Our diverse team of professionals lends a different perspective, making our approach holistic. We believe in developing solutions that create lighting as an overall experience, rather than simply providing a set of equipment for your home. Not only do we guarantee that all our products are genuine and 100% original, but we also provide the option of installation services.
Team Optimist: Do artificial lights change lifestyle into better living?
Prachi Laud: Lighting has a tremendous effect on our moods, vision and general health — whether it’s natural light or artificial light. We often walk into a room and feel positivity in the room that lifts up our mood. And we often attribute it to ‘positive energy’ or some X-factor that we can’t explain. The next time you feel that way, observe the kind of lighting the room has. Here, we’re talking about the overall lighting design for a room, or space and not just about a light product. The right kind of lighting design ensures that we’re able to perform our day-to-day tasks well — from cooking, cleaning, watching TV to family gatherings. Designing lighting isn’t just about adding lights in every corner of the home but is a play of shadows and light. Good lighting enhances home décor. If lighting is designed correctly, an inexpensive tiled floor can look stunning, whereas an expansive marble floor can look awful if the lighting is incorrect.
Team Optimist: What’s the idea behind the ‘LD-enabled’ suite that you’re offering right now?
Prachi Laud: Light Doctor’s flagship suite, ‘LD-enabled’, is in collaboration with builders and developers across India. If your home is LD-enabled, you can choose between 3 customisable, pre-designed lighting packages — Standard, Premium and Luxury. In this, you have the flexibility to choose products from a range of basic lightings, such as LED downlights to decorative lightings, such as chandeliers and fancy LED lights, to create the perfect ambiance for your new home according to your style and budget. At ‘LD-enabled’, we ensure that your chosen fixtures fit your new home perfectly because our online system displays only those options to you that are suited to the size and electrical set-up of your apartment layout.
Team Optimist: How’s Light Doctor assisting such professionals as architects, interior designers and turnkey contractors in providing lighting solutions?
Prachi Laud: Light Doctor’s core team comes from a professional background of interior design, lighting design and integration. We understand the nitty-gritty of this segment. So, we’re in the process of launching a specialised online system to assist such professionals as architects, interior designers and turnkey contractors in providing lighting solutions to their clients.
Team Optimist: What are your plans for Light Doctor? Are you looking to introduce new products?
Prachi Laud: We have plans for expansion. Currently, we’re catering to the Delhi-NCR region and we’re in the process of expanding our reach to other major cities in India, such as Mumbai and Bengaluru. Also, as mentioned earlier, we’ll be launching our professional segment soon.
