Noh Filter (Fridays with Ada Noh, OD)

Time to Get to Work

I’ve been juggling a lot of plates lately — consulting, traveling, friendships, being a wife, and, most importantly, opening a new practice.

There have been more bumps, delays, and unexpected twists along the way than I anticipated. But I’m grateful that after Academy, the travel calms down a bit, I’ll be home, and I can finally give the practice the time and focus it deserves.

It’s been a journey getting here, but now it’s time to get to work.

Beyond the Business

One of the unexpected benefits of getting involved with industry has been the friendships that have come from it. There are plenty of people I first met because they worked for a company I worked with, or because we happened to be at the same conference, who I now genuinely look forward to seeing. One of the best examples of that for me is my friendship with Aziz Mottiwala.

I first met Aziz when I was only a few months into my career. I was at a national conference and ran into my Tarsus rep, who introduced me to his boss, who introduced me to his boss, who introduced me to her boss, and this somehow continued for about two minutes. Before I really knew what was happening, I was shaking hands with Aziz, who was the Chief Commercial Officer of Tarsus at the time, and Bobby Azamian, the company's CEO. I was brand new to the profession and definitely wasn't used to being in those circles yet, so I mostly remember trying to keep track of everyone's names and probably wondering how I had ended up there in the first place.

It would be about six months before I saw Aziz again in person, this time at a Tarsus speaker training. This was the first speaker bureau I had ever been invited to, and I was already nervous enough about being there. I was still very early in my career and surrounded by people who had been doing this a lot longer than I had. The training went well, and afterward I ended up going through airport security around the same time as Aziz and Scott Youmans, Tarsus' VP of Sales, who I had interacted with a few times before.

We talked for a little while after getting through security and eventually it was time to go our separate ways. I shook Scott's hand, and then Aziz started raising his arm toward me. I had about half a second to figure out what was happening, and apparently the conclusion my brain reached was, "Oh, I guess he's a hugger." So I put my arm around him. It was at that point that Aziz very kindly informed me that he was actually just trying to fix the collar of my suit, which was sticking up. I don't remember exactly what I said afterward, but I do remember being absolutely mortified.

Fast forward a year or so and it's now one of my favorite stories to tell. More importantly, Aziz and I have become actual friends. We've discovered a shared appreciation for steak frites and bands like Yellowcard, and when we're at the same major conferences, we try to make a point of getting together. Usually Ada Noh and Patrick Vollmer are there too, and the four of us will find some time away from everything happening at the conference to grab dinner and catch up.

Aziz has since moved on from Tarsus and taken on the role of CEO at RxSight. With my practice focused almost exclusively on dry eye and RxSight primarily involved in cataract surgery, there's a little less overlap between our professional lives these days. But we've stayed in touch all the same, and I think that's a pretty good indication of how much our relationship has changed since that first introduction. We originally met because of a company I was working with, but we certainly don't need that connection to find reasons to get together anymore.

I really enjoy those nights because they don't feel like industry events. We're not talking because one of us needs something from the other, and nobody is trying to network. We're just four friends having dinner, talking about what's going on in our lives, and enjoying the rare opportunity to all be in the same city at the same time. If you had told me during that first two-minute introduction that Aziz would eventually become someone I consider a friend, I probably wouldn't have expected it. Then again, if you had told me six months later that I'd accidentally hug him in an airport because he was trying to fix my collar, I probably wouldn't have expected that either.

I've met a lot of people through optometry who initially entered my life because of work. Some of those relationships stay professional, and that's perfectly fine. Others gradually turn into something more without you really noticing when it happened. People change jobs, move to different companies, and take their careers in directions that may have very little to do with your own. It's nice when you realize that none of those changes have much bearing on whether you'll still make time to see each other. Aziz and I may have a little less business to discuss these days, but I'm pretty sure we'll always be able to find somewhere to get steak frites.

Have a great weekend.

Ada Noh, OD

Andrew Zagelbaum, OD

Special thanks to our 2026 Founding Presenting Partner, Bausch + Lomb!