Nicola Rivett, founder and CEO of Kids Eye Gear, an Australian business helping parents access the best outcomes for their vision impaired children, has been named as a Finalist for the 2022 AusMumpreneur Awards in the Regional Business category.
Presented by The Women’s Business School, the awards celebrate and recognise Australian mums in business who are achieving outstanding success in areas such as business excellence, product development, customer service and digital innovation. The awards are designed to recognise the growing number of women who successfully balance motherhood and business.
Through Kids Eye Gear, Ms Rivett has been able to help more than 10,000 Australian families improve their child’s vision
“The recognition as a Finalist in this category is a huge win for the business. So many eyecare professionals and customers are surprised when they find out I operate the business from the Sunshine Coast – thinking I should be based in Sydney or Melbourne,” said Ms Rivett.
“It’s gratifying to contribute to the local region as much as possible, including employing local people to fulfil orders and create amazing packaging, sourcing local printers for our marketing materials, and engaging wonderful photographers to bring my products to life.”
Among the fun optical products Kids Eye Gear provides, the company also offers valuable information, and personal support through an online store and blog, drawing on Ms Rivett’s own experience. In 2011, her six-month-old son was diagnosed with a rare eye condition that resulted in surgery, a contact lens, and patching.
“The frustrations of patching a baby, and then toddler, were immense. Accessibility to this vital, but simple, medical device was limited in Australia and large multinationals that did distribute them made sure the pricing for Australian families hurt the hip pocket. I just knew there had to be a better way,” said Ms Rivett.
“I wanted to help out the few other families I knew that were also struggling with patching, so the business started when one large carton of brightly coloured eye patches arrived on my doorstep.
“That carton lasted three weeks, so I knew what I had created was urgently needed in this country – and so Kids Eye Gear was born.”
Through Kids Eye Gear, Ms Rivett has been able to help more than 10,000 Australian families improve their child’s vision.
The winners of the 2022 AusMumpreneur Awards will be announced at the AusMumpreneur Awards Gala Dinner in Sydney in September.
