Many business owners claim to have a vision for South Australia, but there are none clearer than Lachlan Hoy’s vision to make South Australia the hub of innovation.
South Australia is no stranger to innovation with the State Government investing heavily in new ‘innovation precincts’ throughout the State to create an environment to accelerate new ideas for local economic growth.
It is evident that the State Government has a clear vision to make South Australia an innovation leader in Australia, but Lachlan Hoy, Managing Director of Innovative Eye Care says why stop there? Because for Lachlan he now has a crystal-clear vision to make South Australia one of the premier innovation hubs in the world.
“I love South Australia – but when I did my university degree you couldn’t study optometry here, I had to leave to go to Queensland. But four years in Queensland was enough for me, it’s a beautiful place, I love going back there, but I didn’t want to live there, I wanted to be in Adelaide”.
“What I didn’t realise until I was lucky enough to be a finalist of the 40 under 40 awards; was that all these people in the medical industry reached out to me to congratulate me who I had no idea existed. Through that, I found all these connections that I didn’t know were even here in Adelaide, and I am proud to say the medical innovation in this state is just enormous”.
Lachlan knew from the second he graduated that he wanted to be at the forefront of innovation, something he is now achieving through pushing the boundaries of what it means to receive ‘eye-care’.
“I knew I wanted to own my own practices. I wanted to have the professional freedom to practice and push the boundaries of how optometry was practiced in this country, and this is not just about selling spectacles. This was about managing people’s care by providing things like paediatric care, contact lenses and dry eye management.
“Through developing this level of care we could then see gaps in the market and understand how new innovation and technologies would be coming available for the diagnosis and measurement of eyes. Then it was about seeing those technologies and seeing how we can turn those instruments into products that improve people’s lives and improve their sight”.
Lachlan is clearly infatuated with making South Australia the best place to do business, and he believes joining a group like the ThirtyNiners will allow him to show people interstate and overseas that South Australia is also the best place to live.
“A number of people on this podcast have been talking about our amazing beaches and the Adelaide Hills and its beautiful wineries, and I’m a Barossa boy so I think it’s fantastic that business owners are highlighting this.
“Because in South Australia we have a really good quality of life, and that is really important in attracting a skilled workforce where people are paid well and can have the lifestyle that we have here in South Australia.
“You can already see it with how we have attracted companies like BAE, the submarines and whether it be ‘medtech’ or other industries I think it is really going to stop the brain drain, because we are bringing people here with these skills that want his quality of life, and I just think that is fantastic”.
To listen to the full conversation with Lachlan Hoy and his vision to make South Australia the best place to live and do business, listen to the ThirtyNiners Podcast by the South Australian Business Chamber, search for it wherever you hear your podcasts.
