MyEyeDr. CEO Sue Downes, HPU Health Care Expert, Mentors Students
High Point University’s Health Care Expert in Residence Sue Downes, CEO and co-founder of MyEyeDr., lectured about family business during her recent visit to campus.
HIGH POINT, N.C., March 28, 2024 – High Point University’s Health Care Expert in Residence Sue Downes, CEO and co-founder of MyEyeDr., recently returned to campus to mentor students and offer them advice on how to build a successful company.
As one of the global leaders who are part of HPU’s Access to Innovators program, Downes participated in the third annual Elizabeth Strickland Leadership Summit on March 18-20. During her time on campus, she networked with women leaders, spoke to business classes and had lunch with students.
Downes also shared the history of MyEyeDr., which she co-founded 23 years ago with one office and an original goal of establishing 50-60 locations near Washington, D.C. The eye care business has since grown to a $1.5 billion organization with more than 840 offices with 8,000 employees in 28 states.
“We were a mom-and-pop kind of business, and all the decisions were made by a board of advisors, which was made up of our friends,” said Downes. “When we reached 38 offices, we realized we did not have the capacity to grow in other markets. That’s when we brought in private equity. I’m now on my third private equity partner. It’s grown up from a mom-and-pop business into a bigger organization.”
Large-scale growth eventually leads to changes for nearly every company, she said.
“Today, as you probably know, there are not a lot of co-founders who are still in the CEO position that can grow with the organization,” she said. “The way your family does things today works for a small business, but as you continue to grow and as you want to bring talent along or change with the times, a lot of what you’re doing is not going to work. You’ve got to let go of that connection of what you knew as a family.”
Dr. James Fakunle, an assistant professor of entrepreneurship, asked Downes to share her expertise on how second-generation shareholders can infuse value into family businesses.
“My son does work in the business,” said Downes. “He worked throughout summers while he was in high school, college and then he came in because part of what we do to grow is buy local businesses. At the time, we were buying from a lot of older doctors who were looking at retirement access, and I knew my son would give them personalized care to get them acclimated to a bigger organization.”
“I admired the way she presented herself in the industry and also all the knowledge she had when she started the company MyEyeDr.,” said Reeve Fatuova, a sophomore entrepreneurship major from Ramsey, New Jersey. “She always led with grace and had great core values with the business need first in the company. For me starting my own business, something I will take with me is you don’t need to yell or be ruthless to stand your ground. It’s always how you lead and present yourself that will end up attracting others to follow and understand you.”
Finding out more about the roles of private equity investors was a key takeaway for Jade Isola, a senior business administration major with minors in economics and entrepreneurship from Charlotte, North Carolina.
“I also learned that knowing your business inside and out is just as important as having the passion for it,” said Isola. “You can be passionate about it, but it can flop if you don’t have the right team and the right people in place.”