Al Cleinman focuses on optometrists’ vision

ONEONTA — Alan H. Cleinman can’t help it; he is a serial entrepreneur.

At age five, he held a yard sale at his home in Gilbertsville in Otsego County and sold his mother’s jewelry. (She later recovered the items.) At age 13, he hawked popcorn from a wagon at the local speedway. By the time he was 16, Cleinman worked as a salesman for Brillen International Optical, selling imported eyeglass frames over the phone to optometrists. He soon found himself the national sales manager with six employees reporting to him. At age 18, the boy from Gilbertsville went off for four months to try his hand as a carnival barker, before returning to the world of optometry.

Cleinman launched his first company — Co-Optics of America — when he was 23. “I had just read ‘How to Borrow Your Way to a Fortune,’ ” says Cleinman. “The book recommended walking into multiple banks on the same day to ask for a loan. I … [visited] three, and two gave me $5,000 loans. The $10,000 let me create a buying group for eye frames and lenses, so that small optometrists could compete with the large retailers whose volume purchases warranted a discount. Co-Optics charged a one-time membership fee and took a percent of the purchase price.”

Co-Optics pioneered a new field when it made its first sale. On Dec. 1, 1979, the firm was able to get 15 of 19 optometrists attending a sales pitch in Tampa to sign up on the spot. “Membership grew very quickly,” remembers Cleinman. “By 1984, the company was strapped for capital and had a negative net-worth of $600,000. I brought in investors, led by Chemical Venture Partners (now Chase Capital), which initially committed $1.3 million.” Co-Optics subsequently received multiple venture-capital investments to fuel its growth.

Between 1985 and 1989, Cleinman created four new businesses within Co-Optics. “I launched Sight magazine, a quarterly, glossy publication with a circulation of over 1 million subscribers. The magazine was mailed to our members’ patients in advance of their next appointment. Co-Optics also created a lab, and the company offered managed services to HMOs (health-maintenance organizations). The fourth business was a computerized patient recall that mailed reminders to our members’ patients.”

When Cleinman left Co-Optics in 1989, the company had 50 employees, between the Oneonta site and an acquired business located in Seattle. His next venture was starting Cleinman Performance Partners, Inc (CPP), an Oneonta–based consultancy specializing in the business of optometry.

How would the company stand out from the crowd?

“Unlike most consultants, who take a narrow focus on an industry, CPP was designed to offer a wide array of services to just one industry,” states Cleinman. “We provide services to [industry] leaders and to organizations through six business units: ‘Solutions’ offers custom consulting in areas such as planning, organizational development, agreements, succession, and divestiture strategies; the ‘Network’ offers sharing of best practices and benchmarking; the ‘University’ is focused on education through training workshops and staff events; ‘Resources’ is the publishing arm, which includes white papers, webinars, data-mining, and research; ‘Services’ renders support services, such as IT, facilities design, real-estate development, accounting, and merchandising; and the ‘Connections’ unit handles supply-side, marketing support.”

Today, CPP is North America’s largest, general-business consultancy specializing in the vision-care industry, according to Cleinman. The company currently has a staff of 20 and another 15 professional consultants in its national network. CPP is currently looking to fill another five positions. The company operates from an 8,000-square-foot building in downtown Oneonta, which is owned by Cleinman. The Business Journal estimates annual revenue at more than $3 million.

“CPP is very segmented in its marketing,” continues Cleinman “We don’t handle start-ups, and we don’t consult with classic chains. We focus on those private optometry practices that generate more than $1 million a year [in revenue]. In the U.S., there are currently about 40,000 retail optical doors with about 20 percent in our target market. Half of all practices are still independent, which gives us a large domestic market. The demand for optometric services is also growing as more Americans age and as they require more eye care. In addition, the international market is exploding as developing countries like India and China develop a middle class. With 300 clients, we have barely scratched the surface of this market.”

CPP’s leadership team includes Cleinman as the company president, Pamela Sparaco as the vice president of finance and administration, Kathleen Avery as the senior director of client development, and Ginamarie Wells in the role of senior director of client services.

Cleinman has spent more than four decades in the optometry industry and has branded his name recognition not only nationally but also internationally. “When I started this business back in 1989, my telephone began ringing as soon as I let it be known that I was leaving Co-Optics. The press had already recognized my innovations in business development. I have written and continue to write extensively and blog regularly on subjects of interest to our industry, including addressing controversial topics. After 42 years in the industry, I don’t believe we have any [real] competition. Yes, like the construction business where anyone with a hammer and pickup truck can call himself a contractor, optometry has many who call themselves consultants. Most come into the industry as optometrists. CPP is comprised of business people with a diversity of backgrounds and experience.”

According to Cleinman, CPP is a knowledge business. “We’re a clean business, one that can operate virtually anywhere. We employ unique people from diverse backgrounds. The economic future of our area is tied to attracting similar types of knowledge businesses, businesses that can provide opportunity outside the norm. CPP has accumulated a vast storehouse of knowledge and continually seeks to monetize its asset. I’m a numbers guy. If you look at the numbers long enough, they’ll start talking to you.”

Cleinman, 57, doesn’t need to borrow his way to a great fortune. The numbers are talking to him. As the founder of more than 25 enterprises and the creator of scores of products and services, he is always focused on creative ideas that will help his clients see their businesses more clearly. That’s what serial entrepreneurs do.

Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@tgbbj.com

ONEONTA — Alan H. Cleinman can’t help it; he is a serial entrepreneur.

At age five, he held a yard sale at his home in Gilbertsville in Otsego County and sold his mother’s jewelry. (She later recovered the items.) At age 13, he hawked popcorn from a wagon at the local speedway. By the time he was 16, Cleinman worked as a salesman for Brillen International Optical, selling imported eyeglass frames over the phone to optometrists. He soon found himself the national sales manager with six employees reporting to him. At age 18, the boy from Gilbertsville went off for four months to try his hand as a carnival barker, before returning to the world of optometry.

Cleinman launched his first company — Co-Optics of America — when he was 23. “I had just read ‘How to Borrow Your Way to a Fortune,’ ” says Cleinman. “The book recommended walking into multiple banks on the same day to ask for a loan. I … [visited] three, and two gave me $5,000 loans. The $10,000 let me create a buying group for eye frames and lenses, so that small optometrists could compete with the large retailers whose volume purchases warranted a discount. Co-Optics charged a one-time membership fee and took a percent of the purchase price.”

Co-Optics pioneered a new field when it made its first sale. On Dec. 1, 1979, the firm was able to get 15 of 19 optometrists attending a sales pitch in Tampa to sign up on the spot. “Membership grew very quickly,” remembers Cleinman. “By 1984, the company was strapped for capital and had a negative net-worth of $600,000. I brought in investors, led by Chemical Venture Partners (now Chase Capital), which initially committed $1.3 million.” Co-Optics subsequently received multiple venture-capital investments to fuel its growth.

Between 1985 and 1989, Cleinman created four new businesses within Co-Optics. “I launched Sight magazine, a quarterly, glossy publication with a circulation of over 1 million subscribers. The magazine was mailed to our members’ patients in advance of their next appointment. Co-Optics also created a lab, and the company offered managed services to HMOs (health-maintenance organizations). The fourth business was a computerized patient recall that mailed reminders to our members’ patients.”

When Cleinman left Co-Optics in 1989, the company had 50 employees, between the Oneonta site and an acquired business located in Seattle. His next venture was starting Cleinman Performance Partners, Inc (CPP), an Oneonta–based consultancy specializing in the business of optometry.

How would the company stand out from the crowd?

“Unlike most consultants, who take a narrow focus on an industry, CPP was designed to offer a wide array of services to just one industry,” states Cleinman. “We provide services to [industry] leaders and to organizations through six business units: ‘Solutions’ offers custom consulting in areas such as planning, organizational development, agreements, succession, and divestiture strategies; the ‘Network’ offers sharing of best practices and benchmarking; the ‘University’ is focused on education through training workshops and staff events; ‘Resources’ is the publishing arm, which includes white papers, webinars, data-mining, and research; ‘Services’ renders support services, such as IT, facilities design, real-estate development, accounting, and merchandising; and the ‘Connections’ unit handles supply-side, marketing support.”

Today, CPP is North America’s largest, general-business consultancy specializing in the vision-care industry, according to Cleinman. The company currently has a staff of 20 and another 15 professional consultants in its national network. CPP is currently looking to fill another five positions. The company operates from an 8,000-square-foot building in downtown Oneonta, which is owned by Cleinman. The Business Journal estimates annual revenue at more than $3 million.

“CPP is very segmented in its marketing,” continues Cleinman “We don’t handle start-ups, and we don’t consult with classic chains. We focus on those private optometry practices that generate more than $1 million a year [in revenue]. In the U.S., there are currently about 40,000 retail optical doors with about 20 percent in our target market. Half of all practices are still independent, which gives us a large domestic market. The demand for optometric services is also growing as more Americans age and as they require more eye care. In addition, the international market is exploding as developing countries like India and China develop a middle class. With 300 clients, we have barely scratched the surface of this market.”

CPP’s leadership team includes Cleinman as the company president, Pamela Sparaco as the vice president of finance and administration, Kathleen Avery as the senior director of client development, and Ginamarie Wells in the role of senior director of client services.

Cleinman has spent more than four decades in the optometry industry and has branded his name recognition not only nationally but also internationally. “When I started this business back in 1989, my telephone began ringing as soon as I let it be known that I was leaving Co-Optics. The press had already recognized my innovations in business development. I have written and continue to write extensively and blog regularly on subjects of interest to our industry, including addressing controversial topics. After 42 years in the industry, I don’t believe we have any [real] competition. Yes, like the construction business where anyone with a hammer and pickup truck can call himself a contractor, optometry has many who call themselves consultants. Most come into the industry as optometrists. CPP is comprised of business people with a diversity of backgrounds and experience.”

According to Cleinman, CPP is a knowledge business. “We’re a clean business, one that can operate virtually anywhere. We employ unique people from diverse backgrounds. The economic future of our area is tied to attracting similar types of knowledge businesses, businesses that can provide opportunity outside the norm. CPP has accumulated a vast storehouse of knowledge and continually seeks to monetize its asset. I’m a numbers guy. If you look at the numbers long enough, they’ll start talking to you.”

Cleinman, 57, doesn’t need to borrow his way to a great fortune. The numbers are talking to him. As the founder of more than 25 enterprises and the creator of scores of products and services, he is always focused on creative ideas that will help his clients see their businesses more clearly. That’s what serial entrepreneurs do.

Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@tgbbj.com