Having a plan and vision as a dentist or DSO is crucial in order to successfully utilize a private equity investment to grow and expand.
Oussama Founas, DDS, is a founder of Chicago-based Dentologie. He recently joined the Becker's Dental + DSO Review podcast to discuss the importance of effectively using private equity dollars to grow dental practices and businesses.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What aspects of the dental industry are you excited about, and which are making you nervous?
Dr. Oussama Founas: I get excited about seeing certain dental businesses growing in a way that I would never have thought to grow the way they have. It is fun to see our colleagues do well in the industry. Some of the things that maybe make me nervous is, on the flip of that, seeing colleagues being interested in capital investment, but not quite certain what their vision is. Taking the money is one thing, but to have a vision about where that money is going to take you, other than just going back into your pocket.
I think that part has me very nervous of having more and more dentists going after private equity dollars, but not really having the foundation of what their business truly is. You don't want to have purely financial outcomes as the sole output of your business, but if you only have pure clinical outcomes and that's your only driver, how do you plan on trying to scale a business if that's what you're interested in? It's an interesting road of having to make sure, are you solid clinically; Do you have your foundations in place; And are you being financially smart to be able to take the next step?