[2] In 1961, at age 19, following an offer from an uncle to work part-time at his hearing aid shop and inspired by medical breakthroughs, Austin attended the University of Minnesota with the intent to become a doctor and one day serve the needs of the poor in the developing world.
“I felt that if I did the hearing-aid business that I would be able to impact more people.”[3] In 1970, Austin paid $13,000 for Starkey Labs, which at the time was a hearing aid parts shop.
[3] Then, in September 1983, the company's fortunes soared after one of the world's best known figures, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, was photographed wearing Starkey hearing aids.
Even as his company grew, his determination to help the poor never abated, and he began traveling to developing nations on charitable trips.
For example, in 2013, he joined former President Bill Clinton on a mission to Africa to give customized hearing devices to nearly 400 people in Zambia and Rwanda; that same year, he traveled with former President George W. Bush to provide hearing devices to more than 200 people in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
[5] Some of Austin's clients have included Mother Teresa, Walter Cronkite, Arnold Palmer and Billy Graham.