In the dynamic world of healthcare startups, a name that is usually synonymous with success and innovation is Beth Samenuk. With over 15 years of invaluable and unique experience, Beth is a seasoned professional in the field, renowned for her expertise in sales, business development, and marketing. 

Currently serving as the Head of Business Development and Marketing at Eyelation, a leading provider of automated safety eyewear solutions and safety benefit management, Beth holds a pivotal role in establishing the company’s vision and bringing it to life. Her responsibilities include overseeing the strategy, execution, and performance of all new business and marketing initiatives, ensuring they align with Eyelation’s vision for the future. 

Beth’s track record of success is a testament to her ability to build and lead successful teams, particularly in the context of scaling up start-ups, securing strategic partnerships, and driving substantial revenue growth. Her unique talent lies in her capacity to see the big picture while simultaneously creating a precise roadmap with specific KPI’s and metrics that will then dictate the go-to-market strategy, a critical skill in the ever-evolving landscape of growth-stage startups. 

Beyond her professional prowess, Beth is a natural leader who excels at motivating, coaching, and empowering her teams and stakeholders to overcome challenges and deliver results. Her passion for innovation, consumer psychology, customer satisfaction, and making a positive social impact further distinguishes her as a visionary in her field. 

An Experienced and Accomplished Entrepreneur  

As Beth reflects on her journey she credits a significant turning point in her career for her success, when over six years ago, she made the decision to depart from her corporate job and embark on her entrepreneurial path. This decision wasn’t just a career move; it was a pivotal moment that shaped her life. The courage to trust her instincts and the vision she held for something new, and to take that daring leap of faith, has proven to be a decision that continues to pay off. While she came from a family of entrepreneurs, the desire to start her own business wasn’t a childhood dream. It wasn’t until 2017 that Beth recognized that there was an unmet consumer need in the contact lens market for options that made purchasing contacts easier, more affordable, and even healthier. Her determination led her to create something unique and bring a superior service to the market. From there The Lens Butler was born, and Beth aimed to be the first subscription delivery model in the healthcare space.  

This entrepreneurial journey became the most rewarding and enriching chapter of her life. Moreover, it led to another pivotal career moment – eventually making her transition from startup founder to whatever the next phase of her professional journey would bring. Leaning into the startup world was a transformative decision, enabling Beth to collaborate with a diverse array of people who have built amazing companies, come up with remarkable ideas, and have faced both successes and failures along the way. These individuals were full of sage advice and invaluable insight and were happy to share it. During her career, Beth has met and worked alongside incredibly talented and creative individuals and has been able to secure a seat at the table – and even start a few new tables – in rooms she had never dreamed of. These experiences taught her invaluable lessons in resilience and the power of genuine support and relationships.  

Had Beth not ventured into the startup sector, she believes her professional trajectory would have been starkly different. She asserts, “If I wouldn’t have leaned into the startup sector, I definitely would not be where I am today. I would’ve found myself back in a corporate work environment where I would have felt “stuck,” I would’ve had a singular function and title and little to no experience doing anything differently or cross-functionally. The opportunity you have to learn all aspects of the business while creating and leading in a startup environment is invaluable. These are skills I would never have been able to experience and develop had I been forced to stay in one role at a larger organization.” 

From Early Retail Leadership to Thriving in Eyecare Sales 

Beth’s management career started with a remarkable female leader and mentor in the retail industry. She believed in Beth’s potential and provided invaluable guidance, offering her significant responsibility at a young age. Beth thrived under her mentor’s guidance, particularly in her role involving people management. It was here that she learned to manage individuals with more experience and maturity. This experience enriched her understanding of the importance of communication and relationship-building, offering a solid foundation for her future endeavors. While she relished her time on the retail side of business, Beth’s strategic learnings and business success prompted her to explore new horizons. She soon found herself with an opportunity to leverage her leadership and team-building skills in the medical device sales industry. 

Beth got her start in medical device sales at a small orthopedics distributorship, a demanding and challenging environment where she had to build everything – including her territory and list of offices – from scratch. Despite the lack of a defined territory, existing account list, or prior reps to lean on, Beth embraced the opportunity to learn and excel. During this period, she discovered her innate ability to sell and succeed in any scenario.  

It was a recommendation from a friend that eventually landed Beth a job in the eyecare industry selling contact lenses. Beth’s transition to eyecare came at an opportune moment, as the company she joined was about to undergo a merger with another large pharmaceutical corporation. Her role as a field sales representative allowed her to run her territory like her own business. She took the opportunity to implement and test strategic hypotheses, determine where to focus her energy, and learned to adapt swiftly to changing circumstances. However, she also valued the collective brainpower and camaraderie that came with being a part of a team, as well as the invaluable support she received from extensive training and resources that were made available through the broader organization. 

Over the years, Beth has chosen to remain and continue her journey in the eyecare industry, finding new opportunities and learning daily. Each decision, experience, and skill-honing moment has left its mark on her career. As she looks ahead, she recognizes that there is more to learn, more to achieve, and more to create. The continuous process of growth, evolution, and impact is what fuels her as a businesswoman and a leader. Beth’s career journey is a testament to her ability to adapt, learn, and thrive in a dynamic and ever-changing professional landscape.  

Navigating New Business Opportunities, Partnerships, and Creative Ventures 

Beth’s role is a dynamic one, where no two days or weeks are ever the same. Currently, her primary focus revolves around communication and building a framework and automated infrastructure for direct communications, both internally and externally.  It’s worth noting that this company has never been communication-focused, so this initiative is massive in its scope and reach and requires a total mindset shift from everyone within the organization. Building the processes and making sure each user journey is well thought out and streamlined requires a significant amount of careful thought, strategic planning, and coordination. 

One of Beth’s key responsibilities involves seeking out new business opportunities and partnerships. Beth researches potential collaborators and products, finding synergistic companies and identifying opportunities that align with her goals and/or business objectives. Beth enjoys negotiating and structuring these deals, which often require endless contract reviews and legal vetting, the creation of pricing programs, financial forecasting, and structuring the rollout and implementation alongside the go to market strategy. Once the deal has closed, her attention shifts to the planning, preparation, and execution of the launch and organizing the priorities for the internal teams. 

On a day-to-day basis, Beth enjoys being hands-on and available to help problem-solve and support her teams in whatever way she can. Her to-do list usually includes a wide range of functions spanning multiple departments – things like establishing pricing structures, sourcing and onboarding new vendors, recruiting for new roles, procuring additional product lines, expanding service offerings and creating and executing marketing campaigns. Beth’s multifaceted role underscores her ability to adapt, lead, and excel in diverse aspects of her company’s operations, from strategic planning to the overall creative vision. 

Her current role also encompasses oversight of the marketing efforts for Eyelation, which recently underwent a complete overhaul and rebrand. This rebranding was a creative labor of love for Samenuk. It involved reshaping the company’s mission statement and crafting a comprehensive strategy to support it. The entire process was a collaborative one, which Beth says is the best kind. She brought in a talented creative director from the outside and the two orchestrated a corporate rebrand from the ground up.  

Beth emphasized the importance of hiring and partnering with individuals who are good at what they do, are experts at their craft and have a track record of success. Beth draws a lot of inspiration from her love of sports and the time she spent playing, and finds there are so many parallels between sports and business. Like a coach, her job as the leader is to create the vision, articulate and map that vision, and then find and hire the best talent on the market. Beth says one of her strengths is not being afraid to hire and/or bring on people smarter, more experienced and/or more knowledgeable than her and then giving them the space and support they need to succeed. 

A New Era of Leadership and Strategic Coordination 

Eyelation has been a fixture in the safety industry for over a decade, although for most of its existence it functioned as a small business with a tight-knit and dedicated team. The landscape changed in 2022 when Beth came on board, ushering in a new era for the company. Her mission was clear: to spearhead the development of the company’s future vision and to implement and scale innovative sales and marketing initiatives. 

The leadership team collaborated closely to define these initiatives, ensuring cohesiveness across departments and teams. The advantage of actively participating in the goal-setting and planning process helped ensure Beth’s success downstream in managing the alignment of teams and priorities across the organization. However, Beth maintains that consistent and effective communication are still the cornerstones of success. 

Keeping this in mind, an internal system was established to keep everyone informed and ensure consistency among all the moving parts. At the heart of this system is the Creative Director, who plays the role of an “Air Traffic Controller.” As the one responsible for creating and bringing the vision and strategy to life for omni-channel consumption, it made sense for her to own and manage internal communications. She ensures that the internal teams are well-informed and aligned with the new business drivers and initiatives that command the company’s focus. This concept of using the Creative Director as the central hub for driving and orchestrating awareness and alignment around internal communications was a bit foreign at first, but has proven successful. Samenuk says it’s all about having a solution-oriented mindset and finding a way to tackle every problem you face. It’s a testament to the power of strategic coordination, and goes to show how much you can accomplish when you maximize and utilize the assets and talents you already possess. 

Resilience in the Face of Adversity 

The road for Beth hasn’t always been paved with success. In fact, she credits the numerous challenges and hardships for helping her become the person and the leader she is today. One of those challenging times in her career was when she found herself embroiled in a punitive two year arbitration between the company she created and her former employer, a multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical giant. Despite having already begun multiple acquisition discussions and initial meetings with potential investors, Beth was unable to move negotiations forward due to the pending arbitration. The experience left her feeling disgusted, defeated and demoralized. 

In the face of such adversity, Beth adopted a powerful and resilient perspective on life. She emphasizes that the only way forward is through, and that it’s crucial to embrace all facets of life’s challenges. There is always something to be gained from pain. These moments of setback and failure have the potential to reveal one’s true character, hopefully prompting introspection and personal growth. They underscore the ability to rise again, rebuild, and recapture one’s purpose.  

Beth has a powerful habit that has aided her in making crucial decisions and charting her course forward: the post-mortem review process. She is a strong advocate for this practice, applying it not only in her professional life but also to various aspects of her personal life. By methodically reviewing past actions and decisions with the benefit of hindsight, she can objectively assess what went well, what could have been done differently, and what should be avoided in the future. This consistent practice of self-reflection and self-evaluation coupled with actionable change has become a recipe for success. Beth’s strategy helps her avoid repeating mistakes and serves as a powerful tool for personal growth and continuous improvement.  

A Vision for a Healthier Future 

Beth’s passion is deeply rooted in eyecare and consumer engagement, and she believes there are many exciting opportunities to innovate in spaces that greatly need it, particularly when it comes to improving overall access to care, elevating the patient experience and lessening the apathy around health and personal ownership of one’s healthcare journey. However Beth is equally passionate about simplifying healthcare, making it more accessible, and enhancing its affordability. She values products and services that contribute to improving the patient experience, such as telehealth platforms and apps or tools that empower patients to navigate and understand, and be a more active participant in their own overall health and well-being. Looking to the future, Beth is excited about the role artificial intelligence (AI) will play in shaping new products and services in the healthcare sector.  

Roadmap to Professional Excellence 

Beth imparts valuable advice to aspiring professionals looking to excel in sales, business development, or marketing. Here are some of the key take-aways from what she shared: 

• Take Every Meeting: Beth encourages individuals to take every meeting, even when it may seem counterintuitive. You never know what might come from your discussion or interaction. There’s always a learning, an “ah-ha” moment, or something of value. 
• Understand Your Customer or Audience: Beth emphasizes the importance of thoroughly understanding your customer, client, or audience. Think beyond their basic needs and aim to provide them with a result that exceeds their expectations.  
• Be Coachable and Humble: Beth advises aspiring professionals to remain open to coaching, learning and growing, to stay humble, and to avoid thinking that they are above the work. 
• Invest Energy and Effort: Beth emphasizes the role energy plays in success. What you think is what you become. The amount of effort and intention you put into something is usually indicative of and directly correlated to your future success. 

Beth’s advice encapsulates the importance of curiosity, continuous learning, and networking in achieving professional success. She states, “In life, everything comes back to energy and the energy you exude. You will get out of something what you put into it. Anyone can be successful in sales or in marketing and in any industry. The keys to success are universal. Put in the time and energy. Find someone you admire in your field that you have access to – could be a coworker, or a boss, or maybe even someone at another company you’ve been working closely with on a project – and try to create a standing catchup call or meeting with them just to talk shop and life. Try to learn as much as you can from them. Chances are they’ll be flattered you want to know more about them, their role, the things they are working through at the moment, their accomplishments, etc., and they will gladly give their advice and opinion and share all kinds of things with you. Having insight into their thought processes, decision making strategies, philosophy on leadership and how to get to where you want to go will shortcut things along the way for you. Going forward, this person will also have a vested interest in you and your goals, your success, and your upward mobility. It’s always good to have someone advocating for you in rooms you aren’t in.” 

Website: eyelation.com