Entrepreneur shows success isn’t an optical illusion

FORWARD-THINKING Optix managing director Trevor Rowley isn’t one to be complacent – starting his own firm at the age of 22, before even qualifying as an optometrist.

With what he calls the “arrogance of youth”, Mr Rowley started his opticians practice, which will be 30 years ago this July, and has since owned two more companies.

“I think now, how did I dare do that?” he said, on negotiating a lease in York for his first opticians business. But he has moved much further than that audacious student, launching opticians software firm Optix, which now has annual revenues of £2.5m.

He said: “As we got towards the end of the 90s, the internet was coming in and I knew everything was going to be online, including sales.”

So before he went into the software business, Mr Rowley owned Postoptics, one of the biggest online contact lense retailers in the UK at the time, which he sold six years ago.

In 2004 he became aware that the firm needed a new software management system for Postoptics own retail site. “We looked around the market and none of them was even as good as our old system, so we saw a gap there.”

A small IT team from Postoptics internet sales operations began work on new software. However the project didn’t go to plan initially, and a six-figure project predicted to take four months, took 18 months. A crisis meeting discussed the two options left, writing off the project or turning into a separate business.

Mr Rowley saw the opportunity in the crisis and formed Optix as a separate firm. “Now,” he says, “our only problem is managing growth, which I can’t complain about!”

He did however say that this was one of the most dangerous phases of a business’s development – times of rapid growth and the first two or three years of expansion, Mr Rowley said, are the times when a business is most vulnerable.

The firm has expanded its operations to accommodate a growing workforce, investing £450,000 in a refurbishment of its buildings.

Employee numbers come in north of 30 with the aim of 50 in the next few years and doubling turnover in two.

Mr Rowley said: “We are unashamedly at the top end of service levels and price, and also have the biggest market share. Optix is not a niche brand, despite high quality.”

On keeping the business in York, the entrepreneur said: “We stayed in York because we feel at home here. As a software business need good supply of good people and good infrastructure. only reason to consider moving out would be infrastructure and people.

Though opening another office is off the agenda, it doesn’t stop the firm wanting to expand outside the UK. As Mr Rowley said: “Once you’re connected you can reach anywhere.”