Alberto Destarac, the Naval Academy’s first blind graduate, joined In Depth with Kristine Bellino to talk about losing his vision during his time at the academy and how that experience eventually led him to create Ezra, an app designed to make receipts more accessible for people who are blind.
Losing his vision at the Naval Academy
Destarac, who is originally from Tyler, Texas, said he entered the Naval Academy with plans to serve in the Navy and was on the pilot pipeline.
That changed after his junior year.
Destarac was diagnosed with Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy, a genetic condition that affects the optic nerve. Over several months, he began losing his central vision and became legally blind.
Going into his senior year, Destarac said he did not know whether he would be able to finish at the academy.
He was given several options, including leaving for another school or taking time away. Instead, he decided to stay and try to graduate while meeting the same academic standards as other midshipmen.
At the time, Destarac said he had not yet learned how to use screen readers or other accessibilty tools on his phone and computer. He relied heavily on one-on-one help from professors and spent much of his free time studying.
That semester, he earned a 4.0 GPA.
“I managed to, you know, pull it off and have my best grades ever,” Destarac said.
Turning a problem into an idea
After graduating, Destarac eventually started thinking about a problem he faced regularly: he could no longer read paper receipts.
That meant he often needed someone else to tell him what was on a receipt or help when it came time to tip.
“I just didn’t like that,” he said.
That experience became the idea behind Ezra.
The app is designed to send a fully itemized receipt directly to a user after they pay, allowing someone who is blind to access the information using features like a screen reader.
Destarac said he eventually wants users to be able to do more through the app, including tipping, splitting bills and handling work expenses.
The company offically started April 1, and Destarac and his team worked quickly to get the technology ready for the National Federation of the Blind’s convention in Austin.
The app went live on Apple’s App Store July 1, just days before the convention.
Ezra’s first Florida partnership
Ezra currently works with businesses using Square, with plans to eventually integrate with other point-of-sale systems including Clover, Toast and Lightspeed.
For users, the app is free.
Destarac said the company’s first partner in Florida is Happy Brew Coffee Shop at 3500 Hendricks Avenue in Jacksonville.
Ezra is holding a launch event at Happy Brew on August 21 from noon to 4 p.m., where people can see how the technology works.
For Destarac, the goal goes back to something simple: giving people who are blind more independence when making everyday purchases.
The company describes its mission as “receipts made easy by the blind, for the blind.”
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