E115 · Republish. The full original E041 conversation with Dr. Brian Samartino and Tyler Mills, co-founders of Premier Eye Associates. First aired May 22, 2025. 42:09.

What does it take to grow a cold-start practice into a thriving multi-location empire? On this week’s episode of Optometrists Building Empires, host Ankit Patel sat down with Dr. Brian Samartino and Tyler Mills, co-founders of Premier Eye Associates, to uncover their journey from opening their first doors in 2014 to running three successful locations. From overcoming early cash flow challenges to building a strong culture that attracts top talent, Brian and Tyler share candid lessons learned, including both wins and failures, like a bold neuro lens trial that didn’t pan out. Whether you're thinking about scaling your practice or refining your operations, this episode is packed with practical wisdom.

Takeaways:

• Start thinking like a big practice early. Even if you're just getting started, approach decisions with a growth mindset. Negotiate like a larger business and build scalable systems from day one.
• Don’t grow without a solid foundation. Before expanding, make sure you have clear SOPs, strong leadership, and the infrastructure to support multiple locations. Growth without structure leads to burnout.
• Invest in your culture. Define your core values and live them. A strong culture isn’t just good for morale, it helps attract and retain top-tier talent who believe in your mission.
• Define roles and stick to them. Use tools like EOS to clearly assign responsibilities and decision-making authority. It’ll minimize conflict and help your team move faster with confidence.
• Pilot everything before going wide. Whether it's a new treatment, software, or process, test it in one location first. Learn from the rollout, refine it, and scale only what works.
• Don’t be afraid to fail. Innovation comes with risk. Embrace failure as part of the growth process.

Quote of the Show:

• “ We want to develop leaders, we want to develop people who can be better interpersonally and at work.”

Links:

• Brian’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-samartino-36ba221b7/
• Tyler’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-mills-864389a0/
• Company website: https://www.premiereyedoctors.com/
• Brian’s Email: drbrian@premiereyedoctors.com
• Tyler’s email: drtyler@premiereyedoctors.com
• Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!: https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Numbers-Straight-Talk-Profits/dp/1608320561

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5w1H9BBwRXvBSSkexePYxG
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/optometrists-building-empires/id1762685070
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/689a039b-54ce-4f04-b641-66d8640d93d0
• Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/optometrists-building-empires-5812208

E114 · Republish. The full original E089 conversation with Dr. Kyle Maxam, owner of EyeDocs Family Eye Care. First aired April 16, 2026. 30:57.

The short version

Dr. Kyle Maxam started college as a business major. A talk about eye exams on mission trips to Haiti moved him into optometry.

Today he owns two locations in the Dayton, Ohio area with three associates. This is the full conversation, back in the feed: mentors, a slow two-year handoff, when to add a doctor, opening a second office, and hiring for culture.

If you own a practice and the culture feels like something that happens to you, start here.

The named problem

Most owners can see the culture problem. One teammate drags the room down. Hiring feels like a gamble. The team does not follow the change you know is right.

Kyle names the difference early: leading a team is not the same as dragging it along with you.

The hidden mechanism

Culture starts before day one. Kyle picked his first practice for the doctor who wanted to teach, not for the best numbers on paper. He learned the P&L, payroll, and the team from the inside before he took over.

He planned his second office the same way. Staff and leadership were in place and cross-trained before the doors opened. Same systems. Same equipment. Day one felt seamless.

And he hires slow. He waits for people who work hard, work well with a team, and are there to help patients.

When a hire does not fit, he does not wait it out forever. His words: "It's our job to fix that."

The convincer

Kyle treats a full book as a signal, not a badge of honor. When the schedule runs about two weeks out, he adds doctor time. Patients who wait too long go somewhere else.

Ownership is the control

He watched practices and surgeons he referred to get bought by private equity. Now he sees owners coming back to private practice. His line on it:

"We don't want someone telling us how to take care of our patients."

And the line he closes on:

"We being practice owners, we're creating the culture in the workplace. So if we don't like it, it's our own fault."

What to do this week

1. Write one sentence on why you became an optometrist. Read it at your next team huddle.
2. Check how far out your schedule runs today. If it is two weeks or more, plan the next doctor day.
3. Name one thing in your office that makes it hard for your team to take care of patients. Decide who owns fixing it this month.

If you want help thinking through hiring or culture, book time with Ankit below.

Chapters (ASR stamps, approximate)

• 00:00 Cold open
• 00:22 Show intro
• 01:28 Mentors and picking a first practice
• 04:06 The two-year handoff, and leading vs dragging the team
• 05:24 Taking over in 2018 and finding a coach
• 08:14 When to add an associate
• 10:25 Stepping back to work on the business
• 12:02 Going from one location to two
• 15:39 Staffing across two offices
• 16:40 Hiring slow for culture fit
• 18:16 When a hire does not fit
• 20:04 Private equity and "enough is enough"
• 22:18 From business major to Haiti
• 26:25 Advice to his younger self
• 27:36 Shout-outs
• 28:57 Where to find Kyle

Connect

Ankit Patel (host) - Optometrists Building Empires: https://buildingempires.live - iCare Grow: https://icaregrow.com - MyBCAT: https://mybcat.com - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankitpatelcvc/ - Book time: https://mybcat.com/book/discovery

Dr. Kyle Maxam (guest; copied from the live E089 page) - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-maxam-24b10290/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kyle.maxam.1 - Company website: https://www.eyedocsbrookville.com/index.html - Email: kylemaxam.od@gmail.com

Original E089 page, "Creating the Culture": https://buildingempires.live/episodes/creating-the-culture-kyle-maxam-optometrists-building-empires-episode-089