Cam Elrod runs a dental group with 140 employees across 11 locations, plus DDSmatch Michigan, where he helps dentists sell and transition their practices. He's never advertised either business.

He spent 22 years in corporate dental distribution before his family of entrepreneurs pushed him out of the nest. Then he built something private equity couldn't: a co-op model that pools private dentists so they can compete with corporate dentistry without losing their culture.

This episode is a masterclass in buying, building, and exiting a practice. Here’s some of what was covered:

→ The five year window: Start planning your exit five years out.

→ The death plan: A practice loses about half its value every month after an owner dies so leave your spouse a plan in place.

→ Advice for buyers: Banks want proof of liquidity, so save the cash and track your production.

→ The real estate trap: Money deployed into practices outperforms money locked in a building.

→ Retention through equity: Cameron’s dentists earn ownership every year they stay.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and meet Cameron Elrod

01:26 Building the dental group private equity can't touch

03:15 Keeping 140 employees happy across 11 locations

09:45 Bullied out of corporate America at the Thanksgiving table

13:26 The five year window every dentist ignores

19:17 What happens when a dentist dies without a plan

23:13 Advice for young buyers: save cash, don't pay down debt

31:04 Paying dentists in equity so they never leave

35:38 Choosing growth means choosing to be poor

43:36 Why Cam rents the building instead of buying it

Connect with Cameron

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameronelrod/

https://www.instagram.com/ddsmatchmichigan/

https://michigan.ddsmatch.com/

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This podcast is sponsored by Michigan Retirement Advisors.

https://miretire.com/

Prefer to listen?

https://pod.link/6812062863