# David Roger

> David Roger is the cofounder and CEO of Hetal Retail, a New York-based startup that uses computer vision and a crowd of everyday shoppers to tell brands what is really happening on store shelves. Before Hetal, he co-founded and ran Felix Gray, the company that pushed blue light glasses into the mainstream and onto the shelves of Target, CVS and Best Buy before selling in 2023. A self-described generalist who lives at the intersection of analytical and creative, Roger turned the frustrations he felt as a brand operator - expensive, slow, unusable retail data - into the company he runs today.

- **Role:** Cofounder & CEO at Hetal Retail
- **Organizations:** Hetal Retail, Felix Gray
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), Cornell University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and led Felix Gray, a brand widely credited with bringing blue light glasses into the mainstream, Grew Felix Gray from D2C into nationwide retail distribution (Target, CVS, Best Buy) before a 2023 sale, Co-founded Hetal Retail and raised a $6.48M Seed round in June 2025

## Career timeline

- **circa 2016** — Co-founded Felix Gray, pioneering mainstream blue light blocking glasses, as cofounder and CEO
- **2016-2023** — Scaled Felix Gray from direct-to-consumer into national retailers including Target, CVS and Best Buy
- **2023** — Sold Felix Gray
- **2023** — Co-founded Hetal Retail with Michael Rostowsky, Bobby Shomrony and Mike Walters
- **2025-06** — Closed a $6.48M Seed round led by investors including nvp capital, Ludlow Ventures, Barrel Ventures, GTM Fund, Nomad Ventures and MXV

## Achievements

- Co-founded and led Felix Gray, a brand widely credited with bringing blue light glasses into the mainstream
- Grew Felix Gray from D2C into nationwide retail distribution (Target, CVS, Best Buy) before a 2023 sale
- Co-founded Hetal Retail and raised a $6.48M Seed round in June 2025
- Built Hetal's computer-vision shelf analytics product priced at $1.75 per store per month
- Founded a campus newspaper, the Odyssey, while a student at Cornell

## Latest updates

- **2025-06** — Hetal Retail raised a $6.48M Seed round
- **2025-11** — Roger publicly promoted Hetal's 'Know your shelf' platform and merchandising-coordination feature, Dispatch, on LinkedIn

## Links

- Website: https://hetalretail.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-ray-roger/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/david-roger
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-24