When evaluating opportunities they say you should look for needs not wants, and you should find something authentic to yourself.  

There’s a long and stressful road  ahead when you are building something new. It helps if you’re working on something you really care about. I think I’ve stumbled on something that satisfies both of the above points.

For the last two years my vision has slowly gotten worse, and it will continue to get worse until I’m legally blind. And, I’m not alone, there are 3.3 million people with low vision in the US alone and 285 million globally (source).

As far as needs go, I don’t know if there is one more fundamental than being able to see (breathing maybe?).

I’ve been investigating what tools are currently available to people with low vision, and it looks like I may have stumbled upon a secret. There is an opportunity for creating accessible tools for people with low vision.

I’m going to continue doing market research, spending as much time as I can at the Lighthouse center and talking with as many people with low vision as possible.

I’m very excited–and more than a little scared–about the possibilities, but with luck, in the next few months there will be some major progress made in the world of accessibility.

PS: If you know of anyone who has low vision, please, please contact me. I’d love to talk to them.