We had the good fortune of connecting with Elise Brisco and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elise, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I am the Founder of a new vision wellness company called NearSight because I kept seeing more and more vision problems related to our heavy dependence on digital devices. Our screentime increased dramatically during the pandemic with working from home, online learning, and zoom meetings. This has resulted in even more vision problems.

Vision problems include not being able to see a mobile phones without needing to carry reading glasses with them, dry/tired/red eyes. and the myopic epidemic. Patients were complaining that the current solutions weren’t good enough and haven’t adapted to our changing needs.

After being in practice for 33 years, I sold my practice to launch NearSight so that I could use what I learned to create solutions and help more people around the world.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My success is based on not compromising quality, love for my patients, and being on a mission to improve the lives of friends, family, patients and now followers. I do this by educating them how to care for themselves. I often gave my patients “homework” to continue taking care of themselves between visits. This often consisted of lifestyle medicine recommendations as well as prescriptions as needed. So many people have health problems that could be mitigated by eating better, moving more, and being mindful. We need to let people know that they can do things to live a better life which is why I am writing a book, and why I create posts on social media to motivate and inspire others to take care better care of themselves. I’m mainly on Instagram, but I also post on Facebook, YouTube and a little on TikTok all under the name HollywoodEyes.

I realized that I’ve become a spokesmodel for the Healthy Aging movement which is why I started competing in pageants. I want to help fight ageism because midlife is actually when we are the most productive, confident and the best problem solvers. It is also a liberating time of life if you’ve put in the work to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are so many wonderful places to visit in Los Angeles. I love the vibrant culture and creative energy in our city.

When my BF visits me in LA, I will definitely take him to the beach to go bike riding, roller blading, or just walk on the beach enjoying the sand massaging the soles of our feet. Then we would enjoy some of the locally owned seafood places and restaurants along the beach.

I would take him shopping in DTLA where there is a mix of high fashion and great deals.

Of course we would eat our way through Los Angeles. Some of my favorite restaurants include: Vitos Restaurant, Barton G’s, Fogo de Chao, Sur Restaurant and Blossom. I also like Tao LA and Beauty and Essex for a night out with the girls, or guys for that matter.

No visit to LA would be complete for a tourist without driving around on Hollywood Blvd, taking a hike to see the Hollywood sign. I also love the Petersen Automotive museum because I’m a car gal.

I’m sure I’m forgetting so many other amazing places because Los Angeles is full of life!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are four main prongs to my success:

1. The success of my practice was largely dependent on the wonderful team members that I worked with over the years, and my loving family of patients who trusted me with their vision for over three decades. I am especially grateful for Mitra Adeli, my head optician, and Joyce Rivera my vision therapist who cared for patients with me to help make a difference in our patients’ lives.

2. I want to give a shout out to my hardworking NearSight team. Starting a new company takes courage and dedication. We have worked together to make our vision wellness company a reality and especially helped me to become a better leader and CEO. My team includes Greg Halstead our VP of Strategy and Marketing, Mark Wallrapp our Strategic Advisor and Customer Acquisition, Juan Carlos Giron our Financial Advisor, Aaron Ang our Marketing, Finance and Social Media intern, and Peter Pham, MD our Advisor. I also want to thank our investors who support our vision and have the belief in our team of entrepreneurs to give us the capital we need to commercialize NearSight.

3. My pageant family including my coach Tara Rice who encouraged me to compete in my first pageant and turned me into a Queen! I truly adore my pageant sisters and Queens who have become like a large extended family. I’d also like to thank my sister queen Yvonne Nguyen who has opened doors to get me started as a model by making introductions and coaching me. I was not born with the face or body of a model. The reason I decided to step outside of my comfort zone to model for designers and on the runway was to show up for women in their midlife. Middle-aged women are vivacious and beautiful, but are underrepresented in the world of fashion and entertainment.

4. Finally I’d like to thank my friends and family who have supported me through thick and thin, and who give me a sense of belonging and purpose in this world.

Website: www.NearSight.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollywoodeyes/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-elise-brisco-od-6796748/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hollywoodeyesbrisco

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ZiZfm8yJoFBm_LyB711Lw

Other: https://www.supadata.net/cards/NearSight_Elise_Brisco_OD_28891.asp www.linktr.ee/drbrisco

Image Credits
Greg Zabilski Jose Burrola Kam Koushan

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