When Rajat Goel left a high-flying corporate career to start a chain of eye hospitals in small-town India, the move didn’t quite follow the usual playbook. An IIM Ahmedabad graduate with years at Godrej and Bausch & Lomb, Goel had the kind of resume that typically leads to boardroom roles, not day-to-day problem-solving in tier-two towns. But in 2007, alongside ophthalmologist Dr. Ajay Sharma, he set out to prove that quality eye care should not be a privilege reserved for metro cities. Today, Eye-Q Super Speciality Eye Hospitals operates in more than 30 locations across India and Nigeria. In this interview, Goel reflects on what it means to build trust in underserved markets, the quiet power of consistency, and why healthcare’s next big opportunity lies in going small.
