Annual Report 2024: In Review, and a Look at 2025!
Overview
Dear ODoF Community!
Can you believe it's already one month into 2025? First, we would like to acknowledge that annual reports normally go out at the beginning of the year, however with so many moving parts and exciting projects we had to delay this a bit - our apologies in advance!
In 2024, we witnessed continued global growth across various fronts: our Facebook community, ODs on Education (CE) events, website resources, partnerships and in house services like ODs on Finance Merchant Services & Cold Start/Practice Purchase Accelerator. Equally impressive was our growth at a personal level. We've engaged with so many of you through private messages, virtual calls, or in-person meetings!
As a member of ODs on Finance, you're likely aware of our team's fascination with data and metrics. This passion is precisely why compiling this Review was such an extensive process.
In the next 15 minutes of reading, you'll discover metrics that mirror our community's overall progress, along with the resources and offerings this growth has enabled us to continue providing.
Next, we'll transparently outline the methods ODs on Finance employs to generate revenue. Lastly, we'll offer you a sneak peek at some major projects we're embarking on for 2025, aiming to further our profession and assist every OD in achieving financial freedom.
✅ (I) A Review of 2024
✅ (II) Preview of 2025 Projects
(I) A Review of 2024
(1) Growth and Engagement
Growth and engagement at the highest level were definitely ongoing themes of the past year. We're thrilled to announce that our current Newsletter subscriber list now includes nearly 67% of U.S. ODs!
With average email open rates typically ranging between 12-15% and the average email click-through rate around 2.5%, as reported by Emma Email Marketing & Automation, we're excited to see our readers' eagerness to engage with our content and trust us with their contact.
Our biweekly newsletters feature news articles, CE/event announcements, and current deals on equipment/services.
ODs on Finance began in January 2018 with our Facebook group, starting modestly with around 100 ODs. As of 2023, over 6 years, we're pleased to report that our Facebook group now includes:
20,143+ ODs, growing at 17.3% annually
To maintain productive and high-level conversations, membership remains exclusive to ODs and student ODs. The only non-ODs in our group are our vetted partners, who make up 0.30% of our membership.
An exciting change we have seen in membership growth this year is the amount of students that have both joined and engaged in the group.
91.5 % daily engagement
According to Meta's Group Management Dashboard metrics, it's no surprise that ODs on Finance is optometry's most engaged community, limited to doctors and students only (per Facebook Analytics).
We champion free and productive speech, accompanied by accountability and tactfulness. We strive for a community that builds itself up, embracing open-mindedness and recognizing the learning opportunities in our differences.
Discourse is vitally important for growth both at a personal level and for our profession as a whole.
This means over 18,432+ ODs/students are viewing or commenting on content daily, with Monday, Tuesday and Friday being the most popular days.
5,791+ posts | 149,204+ comments | 307,944+ reactions
This equates to roughly 16+ insightful posts, over 408+ comments, and more than 843+ reactions daily. While we appreciate humorous memes, ODs on Finance is primarily an informative financial platform where doctors can discuss crucial wealth-building strategies and practice management topics.
While, ODs on Finance's focus is on practice/personal finance, we do acknowledge that many doctors have found the forum to be the most safe and productive space to have conversations with industry colleagues. Thus, the discussion floor has been opened for select conversations on student issues/board exams and general optometry questions.
Ultimately - all of these discussions can have contributions to the financial health of our profession in an indirect way.
65% Female | 35% Male
In our demographic breakdown, a significant majority of our members are female doctors, with the average age falling within the 25-34 years range. The second most common age group is 35-44 years old. Our community includes over 19,990+ practicing U.S. ODs, with the top cities being New York, NY; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; San Diego, CA, Memphis, TN. Additionally, we have a notable presence of international ODs, especially from Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia, and the UK.
Our Instagram account has 3,553 followers, primarily ODs. We regularly share content through posts and stories, mirroring the material found in our Facebook group with quick financial tips.
Throughout 2024, our website has undergone continuous enhancements, adding new features and resources to our extensive collection of financial articles, resources, and calculators.
Additionally, our website now consists of 3 different websites under the ODs on Finance umbrella:
ODs on Education still exists on the main ODs on Finance website for both monthly CE webinars and weekly podcast CEs, under its unique tab/page.
On average, our website attracts:
38,180+ Monthly Views | 17,625+ Unique Monthly Visitors
This consistent online engagement underscores our commitment to providing valuable content and resources to the optometric community.
(2) Current Projects
1) ODs on Finance Merchant Services
A big part of ODs on Finance's mission is ensuring practice owners save as much as possible, and one glaring issue we found with most optometric practices was overpaying for Merchant Services.
Thus, ODs on Finance Merchant Services was born. Through the program, we've been able to lower Merchant Service costs on 99% of practices that present their existing statements to us.
We run the program through a direct ISO partnership with Elavon that ensures fully transparent interchange plus pricing (average effective rate of 1.73%) with ZERO fees. Additionally, top of the line technology is used for transaction terminals.
Since its inception in April 2024, ODs on Finance Merchant Services has added the following number of practices to its network with respective estimated savings based on previous merchant statements:
325 practices | $6.3 million/yr estimated savings collectively
Here's the most awesome thing about our Merchant Service program: the more practices we add, the more leveraging power we have for even lower rates - so if you haven't done so yet, Text 📲 MERCHANT to 55444 or submit your statement online to get a FREE RATE ANALYSIS within 24hrs
Students and new graduates represent the future of our profession, and thus we view initiatives to help bolster their futures as doctors with the utmost importance.
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(1) Free Student Loans Help
Our website is a treasure trove of resources from student loan management to best ReFi Rates out there. It also includes student loan assistance with Dat Bui directly, accessible by texting 📲 STUDENT to 55444 or filling out this Student Loan Help Form to get a FREE customized plan, and a compilation of negotiated rates for student loan refinancing from all major lenders.
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(2) The Student Book
"The Optometry Student’s Guide to Financial Freedom" has been out for a bit over a year. Instead of selling the book, we opted for a more philanthropic approach, choosing to gift it to as many optometry students as possible across the U.S. Specifically to over 22+ schools.
6,000+ books | $150,000+ Value
The book is packed with vital knowledge essential for navigating the complexities of student loans, acquiring appropriate insurance, making informed investment decisions, and choosing the right career path.
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(3) Basic Financial & Career Student Courses
In addition to the book, we have developed financial and practice management courses for multiple optometry schools. These have been incorporated into their existing Practice Management courses by the faculty. This initiative is a significant part of our endeavor to enhance the educational resources available to future ODs.
Additionally, we have given our 1 hour Financial Basics 101 seminar to nearly every school in the US. If your school still has not received the seminar, or is due for your yearly one - please reach out to us (admin@odsonfinance.com)! This is a free service given to all schools.
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(4) Student Ambassador Program/ FREE EyeDock Pro
As a gesture to further promote clinical education, we have granted every student and faculty member free access to EyeDock Pro via the Student Ambassador Program. In 2024, we gave away more than…
3,805+ Free EyeDock Pro subscriptions | $547,920 Value
We invite students to gain access as soon as possible, use the program consistently, and give us feedback! If you are student/faculty/resident, please sign up here to get free access
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(5) Scholarships + Support for Current Crises
We all went through optometry school and understand both the financial and emotional burden it can place on a budding doctor. Thus, we have created a couple revenue models for filling scholarship funds that will be awarded to select students throughout the year.
Additionally, we have been engaged in open and frank dialogue regarding current issues facing students, most notably NBEO boards. We have been strategizing internally with Rick Guinotte of Acquios Advisors and hope to make some immediate initiatives to help students navigate this. If you've been affected by the recent board exam controversy, please email us at info@acquios.com
In 2023, EyeDock (founded by Todd Zarwell) merged into the ODs on Finance network.
EyeDock provides free clinical tools such as contact lens parameters, medications lists, patient diagrams, billing/coding information, Clinical CALCS and in-depth ocular pathology breakdowns. It stands out as the #1 Clinical Online Tool for optometrists.
32,488+ Users | Each visitor averaging 3.60 hours daily
This impressive user engagement reflects EyeDock's essential role in the daily practice of optometrists.
"Continuing our journey with the ODs on Finance community has been nothing short of extraordinary. Over the past year, we’ve introduced a wave of innovative features and fresh content such as billing & coding that pushed EyeDock to new heights. But rest assured, the pot is still bubbling—2025 promises to be an even bigger year as we roll out advanced calculators, new clinical tools, and more resources to support ODs everywhere!"
- Dr. Todd Zarwell / Founder of EyeDock
4) ODs on Finance Practice Owners
Recognizing the increasing number of vendors, financing, and practice solution companies offering exclusive pricing to ODs on Finance members, we realized the necessity of a dedicated website for Practice Owners.
ODs on Finance Practice Owners is a hub for all our current deals tailored for practice owners. This includes equipment, consumables, dry eye supplies, financing, marketing/website solutions, billing/RCM services, and other essentials for a thriving private practice. Moreover, many topics discussed in our CE webinars, which can benefit a private practice, are also covered on the website in one form or another.
5) Practice Purchase/Cold Start Accelerator
Following the launch of ODs on Finance Practice Owners, we began receiving numerous inquiries from ODs interested in starting their practices from scratch. Many were disillusioned with the existing "help" for practice purchasing or cold starting, which often involved overpriced consultants who steered new owners towards expensive buying groups and encouraged early debt accumulation for their own financial benefit.
We identified a straightforward solution to this issue, achievable in four steps:
- Offer free guidance through video calls and email correspondence to assist ODs in starting as lean as possible. An OD can access this by simply texting 📲 PRACTICE to 55444.
- Increase cold start financing (up to $500K through our negotiations), providing favorable terms/conditions without the need for an SBA Loan, as well as partnering with the 3 most competitive banks in the practice financing space.
- Leverage all the practice owner resources we offer, including equipment and services, at even lower prices for first-time owners.
- Maintain a trusted network of consultants with proven track records, who offer their services at affordable monthly rates, specifically tailored to assist cold starts.
Mirroring the concept of Accelerators in the tech world, the Practice Purchase/Cold Start Accelerator aims to help budding private practices launch successfully. In the year 2024:
117+ ODs have utilized the program for their Practice Purchase or Cold Start
The Cold Start Accelerator can be found on the ODs on Finance Practice Owner website - 30 mins calls are done for free with either Dr. Aaron Neufeld (co-founder of ODs on Finance & multi-practice owner), or Dr. Jenn Stewart (industry titan and practice owner).
Utilizing our network of over 30,000+ ODs, we have successfully negotiated equipment deals with various companies at prices substantially lower than those offered at tradeshows and by other buying groups/alliances.
This service is offered 100% FREE, largely thanks to the major efforts of our Marketing Director, Dr. Julie Phan. We have partnerships with:
48+ Vendors / Equipment Companies
You might have noticed that we typically feature around two resources per sector, occasionally three if there's higher demand. This approach is intentional; it compels our ODoF team to conduct thorough research and collaborate with a diverse array of partners. Our selection criteria span from brand popularity to budget-friendliness.
This strategy effectively reduces waste in two categories for owners:
- ⚠️ Waste #1 - Time navigating multiple vendors to secure the best deals as.
- ⚠️ Waste #2 - Joining a pay-to-play buying group, which ultimately negates any savings and often does not offer competitive pricing at the same level as ODoF.
This streamlined approach is designed to simplify the decision-making process for practice owners, ensuring they have access to top-quality resources without the hassle of extensive comparison shopping.
In fact, through our diverse deals, we've diligently tracked and aggregated data from all our vendors. The result for 2024 is quite impressive. We have managed to save ODs:
Over $11M+ collectively on equipment and consumables
This significant saving is in comparison to prices offered at other tradeshows and by different buying groups/alliances. Our ability to provide such substantial savings is a testament to our commitment to the OD community, ensuring our members have access to the best possible deals and resources.
Moreover, we've established partnerships with three financial institutions: Bank of America, US Bank, and Huntington Bank, to secure the best financing rates for our members. The year-end report from our banking partners has been nothing short of incredible.
49+ Practice Loans | $32M Funded
A total of 49 practices/ODs were able to finance their practice purchases, equipment, start-ups, or building projects. Impressively, the total amount financed in 2024 reached $32,000,000.
This achievement highlights our commitment to facilitating growth and expansion within the OD community, by providing access to optimal financing solutions.
8) ODs on Finance Recruiting Services
Over the last three years, our Career Director, Dr. Chris Lopez, has been instrumental in aiding over 750+ ODs to better understand contracts and negotiation tactics. His experience spans both associate and owner perspectives. Through years of building relationships with ODs nationwide, we have developed a database encompassing over 1000 OD owners and associates. This network is actively seeking to fill positions or find suitable candidates for their practices.
Many practices are also looking to find buyers.
For those interested in connecting with Chris, the most straightforward method is to text 📲 RECRUIT to 55444.
This initiative marks a significant step in bridging the gap between ODs and potential employment opportunities, streamlining the process of finding the right fit for both practices and practitioners.
9) Continual Building of Resources
- A) Comprehensive Guides
A big point of pride for ODs on Finance was the creation of fully accessible and unabridged comprehensive financial guides - ranging from practice ownership, student loan managements, investing for retirement and understanding insurance. All of these guides exist on our website and are updated annually.
- B) Income Survey/Report
A new initiative that stemmed from sorely lacking current data was the 2024 Income Report. We were tired of seeing inaccurate OD income data taken from small sample sizes, so we sought to change that by conducting the largest Income survey our industry has ever undertaken.
With over 1912+ OD participants verified - the results were eye opening and have helped both employers and employees all over the country better understand and negotiate pay.
10) Booth Presence at Major Industry Conventions
In 2024, the team was present and had a booth at major conferences such as Vision Expo East/West and Optometry’s meeting, as well as co-hosting a social event at Vision Expo West.
Additionally, both Chris and Aaron have given CE lectures on a variety of financial and practice management topics for these events and many others.
(3) CE/Non-CE Educational Webinars
Our virtual webinars and CE events have quickly become a Sunday morning staple for thousands of ODs nationwide. Renowned for their attendance and engagement, ODs on Education Virtual Webinars are frequently cited by speakers, attendees, and sponsors as among the best in the field. In 2024, we were proud to offer:
55 Hours of COPE-ACCREDITED CE | 101,750 Certificates
Our webinars cover a range of COPE accredited CE courses, spanning topics from practice management to ocular disease. Our aim is to educate ODs on the clinical aspects of each specialty, while incorporating a financial component through discussions and Q&As to enhance practice profitability.
Moreover, we also hosted several high-level, non-COPE financial webinars. These included our popular annual financial summit.
4 Hours of Non-CE Financial Lectures
Our mission remains to offer these high-quality, financial-focused webinars completely FREE to ODs. We will never charge for these events.
(II) Preview of 2025 Projects
We're thrilled about the array of exciting offerings in the pipeline for 2025. Our aim is to continually provide value to both ODs and students as they navigate their journey towards financial freedom, both in their personal lives and within their practices.
We are happy to provide another 56 hours of COPE-accredited CE through our Virtual Webinars. Our speaker line up consists of many industry recognized experts and each of our events will cover clinical aspects of a certain topic as well as financial aspects.
The feedback from many ODs has been overwhelmingly positive (over 95%), and they often mention that our CE surpasses other offerings. We attribute this success to four key factors:
- ✅ All CE is 100% FREE with instant CE Credit and quick certificate approval
- ✅ Our CE is easy to navigate and features high engagement levels, avoiding the confusion of multi-room setups.
- ✅ The ability to earn 4 hours in one morning. Unlike other providers, we don’t spread the hours over 2-3 days.
- ✅ Our webinars are always scheduled for Sundays, eliminating the need to miss office hours!
👉 Sign up now for next event this SUN 2/2 Glaucoma Summit: Pressure Points for Treatment (4hrs FREE CEs)
(2) ODs on Education PODCAST (Asynchronous) | 40hrs Free
In addition to ODs on Education Webinars, 2025 marks the start of the ODs on Education PODCAST. The Podcast, hosted by Chris and Aaron aim to release 0.5 hour episodes on a near-weekly basis on a variety of clinical and practice management topics.
Here's what differentiates this Podcast from the thousands of other ones out there: you get 0.5 hrs of COPE-accredited CE every time you listen, for FREE!
Simply download the podcast, listen to the content, then take the quiz for instant COPE credit!
Podcast download:
(3) The Second Edition of our first Book is Coming Out in 2025!
Confession: this was supposed to happen in 2024, but we decided to focus on our Student Financial Book instead since it was highly requested by the student body!
So 2025 is the year!
We are diligently working on a second edition of "The Optometrist’s Guide to Financial Freedom." This upcoming edition will feature exciting tax updates and expanded content. We're committed to continually providing valuable resources to the optometry community, ensuring that both current doctors have the tools they need for financial success.
(4) The ODs on Finance Financial Ecosystem + More Clinical Technology
Pay to play buying groups, overpriced practice solution software, ineffective marketing companies and cookie cutter consultants - what do all of these things have in common?
They're a relic of the past.
ODs on Finance continues developing a Financial Ecosystem for practice owners, driven by cutting edge technology, by either creating, acquiring or partnering with companies that value efficiency. This ensures that your practice gets the best pricing and transparency with no additional fees for the following:
(5) More Group Deals
Julie is hard at work wrangling together some even better deals on optometry equipment and services. Additionally, we will be adding more consumables in the dry eye space as well as optical edgers, frame line and contact lens options as the year progresses.
Leveraging both the size of our platform and the high amount of sales from previous deals, we should have even more savings on cutting edge equipment and services coming to you every month throughout 2025.
We are currently look for 5-10 independent popular frame lines to bring into our community, if you have any connections with well-known frame companies, feel free to connect us!
(6) In Person Events / Social Events
The team will be present and have a booth at major conferences such as Vision Expo East/West and Optometry’s meeting, and we will be co-hosting a social event at Vision Expo West once again. Additionally, we are planning a major presence at AOA Optometry’s Meeting.
Make sure to catch CE lectures and learning labs from both Aaron and Chris at Vision Expo, AOA Optometry’s Meeting and a variety of other conventions.
Many members have requested an ODs on Finance/ODs on Education in-person event. We have done some research and conversed with a few partner companies in the events space that could make this a reality, however, realistically this will probably occur in 2026 or beyond.
(7) Billing & Coding Online Course | Low Cost
Chris Lopez and our team of OD Billing experts are excited to launch a fully affordable yet comprehensive Billing & Coding course, featuring over 100 hours of lectures, all at one flat, affordable price!
(III) Commercial Interests and Disclosures
We are profoundly grateful for our community and immensely proud of what ODs on Finance has evolved into. The positive feedback we receive from our members, detailing how ODoF has aided them in their financial journey – whether in practice, personally, or both – is always humbling. While negative feedback is infrequent, we ensure it is promptly addressed when it arises.
The ODs on Finance team comprises four ODs who contribute nearly full-time to the platform, as well as an expanded team of an additional 8 individuals. The team members and their respective titles are as follows:
Admin/Core Team:
- ✅ Dr. Dat Bui - CEO/Co-Founder/Merchant Services & Student Loan Lead
- ✅ Dr. Aaron Neufeld - COO/Co-Founder/Practice Consultant
- ✅ Dr. Julie Phan - Marketing Director/Group Buy Lead
- ✅ Dr. Christopher Lopez - Career Director/Clinical Lead/Recruiting Lead
Expanded Team:
- ✅ Ann Navarro - Executive Assistant/ Merchant Services Account Manager
- ✅ Cindy Poon - Executive Assistant
- ✅ Dr. Jennifer Stewart - Practice Consultant
- ✅ Dr. Jennifer Chu - Career Services
- ✅ Dr. Todd Zarwell - Founder/Developer (EyeDock)
- ✅ Dr. Rob Yacoub - Content Creator (EyeDock)
- ✅ Dr. Jasmine Nguyen/Dr. Jason Lam - ODs on Corporate Optometry group directors
All team and expanded team members are compensated for their work.
In addition to our team listed above, ODs on Finance also has a full legal team on retainer that oversees all operations to ensure we are upheld to the highest standards and protect our profession.
ODs on Finance is often referred to as a platform, however it’s a bit more complicated than that. Here is a breakdown of how the ODs on Finance brand works:
- ☑️ It is a Limited Liability Company (LLC)
- ☑️ The name and logo have Registered Trademarks
- ☑️ It is owned by a 50/50 partnership between co-founders Dat Bui and Aaron Neufeld
- ☑️ Julie Phan and Chris Lopez provide their services as independent contractors and have minority equity in the company.
- ☑️ Acquisitions of other industry companies are handled as subsidiaries. ODs on Finance LLC acquires interests in these companies through stock purchases.
- Currently, ODs on Finance LLC has acquired significant stock in the following companies which it actively works with:
- ☑️ EyeDock (Majority owned by Todd Zarwell O.D)
- ☑️ Julie, Chris and Aaron all own multiple private practices. Dat works as a Lead OD at Apple, Inc.'s optometry division.
- ☑️ Dat and Aaron also run a private venture capital fund (ODoF Ventures LLC) that focuses on early stage/pre-seed emerging software and hardware companies. This is an entirely separate entity from ODs on Finance, LLC.
- ☑️ All partners and sponsors work through a two way contract basis
- ☑️ A few of our partners on the financing and student loan ReFi side are publicly traded companies.
- ☑️ CE/webinar speakers are compensated on a set per hour basis.
Since ODs on Finance is a business, it does generate revenue in order to pay for expenses, CE speakers, tools, etc as well as compensate its team members for their work & time. Here are all the ways that ODs on Finance generates revenue and the methods in which that revenue is generated:
The following are disclosure statements of transparency regarding our commercial interest to acknowledge our inherent bias:
- ⚠️ We are incentivized to recommend you to refinance your student loans and pursue a debt-free life over going for federal forgiveness.
- ⚠️ We are incentivized to recommend you seek out professional help with all our vetted recommended resources from insurance, CPAs, financial planning, negotiating contracts, borrowing a practice loan, mortgage and more over others.
- ⚠️ We are incentivized to recommend you read our financial books & articles over others
- ⚠️ We currently have over 65+ partners. We have a range of monetary relationships with them.
- ⚠️ All partners/sponsors come to us via referral. We do not actively pursue partners.
- ⚠️ All partners are selected through a rigorous 3 months vetting process that involves multiple virtual interviews with the admin team, review of customer feedback and utilization of products.
- ⚠️ Not all partners make the cut, in fact we have rejected more potential partners than we have active partners.
- ⚠️ Since the start of ODs on Finance, we have had to voluntarily end partnerships with a total of 7 partners. The reasons for ending these partnerships were due to 3 factors:
- 1) Excessive negative feedback from members (3 companies)
- 2) Uncovered activities deemed unscrupulous & potentially harmful to optometry (2 companies, 1 buying group)
- 3) Company dissolution (1 company)
- ⚠️ We have also mutually ended a couple partnerships simply because both parties chose not to renew a contract.
- ⚠️ Since we are compensated by our partners, this does present an inherent bias in our recommendation process, which we acknowledge.
With that in mind, it might sometimes be hard to believe, but our top priority has always been, and will continue to be, helping our fellow optometry colleagues in their best interest, no short-term financial gain is going to be worth that. Over the years, many of them have become dear friends to us. This commitment to support and guide our peers in the optometry community is at the heart of everything we do at ODs on Finance LLC.
Summary/Our Thoughts:
Whew, that was a lot!
If you've made it this far, you're a trooper.
We want to express our heartfelt gratitude. Your active engagement with ODs on Finance is the driving force behind its success as a powerful platform for advancing our profession.
We firmly believe that financial education is essential for the continued growth and prosperity of optometry. This belief fuels our determination to expand our initiatives and push boundaries. While a community with a focused vision can sometimes create waves, we recognize that these moments often signal meaningful progress and opportunity.
The connections we’ve built with so many of you—both online and in person—leave us deeply humbled and inspire us to keep pushing forward.
Here’s to an incredible and successful 2025! We’re excited about the chance to connect with you again, whether online, at a webinar, or in person.
Cheers to financial freedom.
-Dat & Aaron + Julie & Chris | ODs on Finance Team
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