1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,980 Hey there, dental professionals and industry enthusiasts. 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,000 Picture this. It's October, and you're in the 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:07,779 middle of one of the most transformative 4 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:10,880 experiences of your career. You're at the Becker's 5 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:13,359 Fall Future of Dentistry Roundtable in the vibrant 6 00:00:13,359 --> 00:00:16,015 city of Chicago, fresh off an incredible 3 7 00:00:16,015 --> 00:00:19,155 days at the Hyatt Regency. Imagine yourself inspired 8 00:00:19,214 --> 00:00:19,954 and invigorated 9 00:00:20,255 --> 00:00:23,375 after attending captivating keynote sessions by none other 10 00:00:23,375 --> 00:00:26,690 than the legendary boxing world champion and CEO, 11 00:00:26,910 --> 00:00:28,769 Lila Elite, and the extraordinary 12 00:00:29,150 --> 00:00:32,750 professional basketball player, Caitlin Clark. See yourself engaged 13 00:00:32,750 --> 00:00:33,890 in lively discussions, 14 00:00:34,190 --> 00:00:36,909 exchanging ideas, and collecting a stack of business 15 00:00:36,909 --> 00:00:39,854 cards from fellow dental experts and potential partners. 16 00:00:40,414 --> 00:00:42,114 You've networked with over 350 17 00:00:42,655 --> 00:00:45,215 attendees and learned from more than 80 speakers 18 00:00:45,215 --> 00:00:47,475 who are at the forefront of dental innovation. 19 00:00:48,335 --> 00:00:51,534 You sat in on educational sessions exploring topics 20 00:00:51,534 --> 00:00:54,015 that elevate dental care as a critical element 21 00:00:54,015 --> 00:00:57,109 of whole person health. You've witnessed firsthand how 22 00:00:57,109 --> 00:00:58,969 digital technology is revolutionizing 23 00:00:59,510 --> 00:01:00,490 patient outcomes 24 00:01:00,870 --> 00:01:04,250 and how both large DSOs and independent practices 25 00:01:04,390 --> 00:01:07,270 are flourishing. Get ready to transform your career 26 00:01:07,270 --> 00:01:09,049 and don't miss out on this incredible 27 00:01:09,435 --> 00:01:12,495 opportunity. The Becker's fall future of dentistry roundtable 28 00:01:12,635 --> 00:01:15,935 is from October 30th to November 1, 2024. 29 00:01:16,474 --> 00:01:18,655 Get registered by going to beckersdental.com 30 00:01:20,075 --> 00:01:21,935 and clicking on the events page. 31 00:01:22,799 --> 00:01:24,880 Hello. This is Arianna Portallatin with the Beckers 32 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:26,579 Dental and DSO Review podcast. 33 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:28,400 I'm thrilled to be joined today by Ben 34 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:30,799 Hernandez, the CEO and managing director at Sky 35 00:01:30,799 --> 00:01:32,560 Tail Group. Ben, thank you so much for 36 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:33,380 being here today. 37 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:35,680 Thank you so much for having me. Looking 38 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:36,659 forward to today. 39 00:01:36,995 --> 00:01:37,814 Yeah. Definitely. 40 00:01:38,355 --> 00:01:39,795 To start us off with, can you introduce 41 00:01:39,795 --> 00:01:41,155 yourself and tell us a little bit about 42 00:01:41,155 --> 00:01:41,895 your background? 43 00:01:42,515 --> 00:01:44,674 Of course. Yes. As you mentioned, I'm the 44 00:01:44,674 --> 00:01:46,295 CEO, managing director, 45 00:01:46,834 --> 00:01:47,814 of our company. 46 00:01:48,275 --> 00:01:50,454 A little bit about my background, it's basically 47 00:01:50,515 --> 00:01:52,829 all been in finance. Out of school, did 48 00:01:53,069 --> 00:01:55,709 investment banking for a couple of years, post 49 00:01:55,709 --> 00:01:58,990 MBA, worked at a hedge fund for still 50 00:01:58,990 --> 00:02:00,670 most of my career. And it was in 51 00:02:00,670 --> 00:02:01,170 2015 52 00:02:02,109 --> 00:02:04,030 that I got into this space. I moved 53 00:02:04,030 --> 00:02:05,870 over to a company that had a tax 54 00:02:05,870 --> 00:02:07,890 accounting and consulting divisions. 55 00:02:08,504 --> 00:02:11,164 And I love the consulting group and just 56 00:02:11,384 --> 00:02:14,525 fell in love with, multisite health care, especially, 57 00:02:15,465 --> 00:02:18,344 everything from founder owned businesses that were wanting 58 00:02:18,344 --> 00:02:19,485 to grow and scale, 59 00:02:20,185 --> 00:02:22,364 to, you know, just the dynamic consolidation 60 00:02:27,759 --> 00:02:29,939 2018 then that we founded, 61 00:02:30,719 --> 00:02:33,520 Skytail, and we're still, you know, a company 62 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,254 that focuses on health care. And we do 63 00:02:36,254 --> 00:02:38,995 2 things, essentially. We do management consulting 64 00:02:39,534 --> 00:02:40,275 where we 65 00:02:40,655 --> 00:02:42,754 our job there is to grow and scale 66 00:02:42,814 --> 00:02:43,314 businesses 67 00:02:43,694 --> 00:02:45,455 or solve for, you know, case 68 00:02:46,094 --> 00:02:46,914 test cases 69 00:02:47,455 --> 00:02:49,849 for financial sponsors and the like. And we 70 00:02:49,849 --> 00:02:52,969 also have an investment banking firm where our 71 00:02:52,969 --> 00:02:53,469 responsibility 72 00:02:53,930 --> 00:02:57,310 there is to sell businesses typically to financial 73 00:02:57,450 --> 00:03:00,110 sponsors or platforms and strategics. 74 00:03:01,824 --> 00:03:03,745 Awesome. Thank you for that. And first question 75 00:03:03,745 --> 00:03:05,185 here, what are some of the biggest issues 76 00:03:05,185 --> 00:03:07,185 that you're following in the dental industry this 77 00:03:07,185 --> 00:03:07,685 year? 78 00:03:08,544 --> 00:03:10,625 Yeah. This year, I think the biggest issues, 79 00:03:10,625 --> 00:03:12,465 and it it goes back a couple of 80 00:03:12,465 --> 00:03:13,525 years, is 81 00:03:13,905 --> 00:03:16,639 solving the question of how do you scale 82 00:03:17,099 --> 00:03:19,520 in the face of increased labor costs. 83 00:03:20,459 --> 00:03:23,039 And fortunately, there are some ideas and solutions 84 00:03:23,180 --> 00:03:26,080 to that, but that's certainly one. In addition 85 00:03:26,539 --> 00:03:28,634 to continuing down the labor path, 86 00:03:28,955 --> 00:03:30,974 we're seeing a little bit more turnover. 87 00:03:31,354 --> 00:03:32,334 People are staying 88 00:03:33,354 --> 00:03:35,055 less time at organizations 89 00:03:35,435 --> 00:03:37,275 than they used to. So not only are 90 00:03:37,275 --> 00:03:40,235 you solving for increased labor costs, you're also 91 00:03:40,235 --> 00:03:42,735 solving for bringing in folks 92 00:03:43,159 --> 00:03:45,400 you know, on on a faster timeline than 93 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:48,280 before. And it leads into maybe the other 94 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:49,819 issue and opportunity 95 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,180 is, you know, how do you build repeatable 96 00:03:53,639 --> 00:03:54,860 documented systems 97 00:03:55,574 --> 00:03:57,594 while still keeping the team engaged? 98 00:03:57,895 --> 00:04:00,395 So, you know, people who solve for this 99 00:04:00,694 --> 00:04:02,314 engagement issue, especially, 100 00:04:03,014 --> 00:04:04,794 it it helps you with that turnover. 101 00:04:05,415 --> 00:04:06,074 It helps 102 00:04:06,375 --> 00:04:09,129 you with, you know, better customer care and 103 00:04:09,129 --> 00:04:11,289 the like. And it helps people know, and 104 00:04:11,289 --> 00:04:12,810 I think people do like to know when 105 00:04:12,810 --> 00:04:15,930 they work for you, is what exactly am 106 00:04:15,930 --> 00:04:17,689 I here for? I spend most of my 107 00:04:17,689 --> 00:04:19,529 day day here. How do you deem me 108 00:04:19,529 --> 00:04:21,194 to be successful or not? 109 00:04:22,235 --> 00:04:24,154 So those are some things that we're seeing 110 00:04:24,154 --> 00:04:25,615 as as issues in dental, 111 00:04:26,074 --> 00:04:27,214 but also opportunities. 112 00:04:28,714 --> 00:04:30,634 Great. And I'm also curious. What are you 113 00:04:30,634 --> 00:04:32,555 most excited about when it comes to the 114 00:04:32,555 --> 00:04:34,475 dental field right now? And is there anything 115 00:04:34,475 --> 00:04:35,535 that makes you nervous? 116 00:04:37,060 --> 00:04:39,220 Yeah. I'll start with the nervous, and maybe 117 00:04:39,220 --> 00:04:41,080 we'll end it on a positive note. 118 00:04:41,459 --> 00:04:43,860 I think on the nervous side, what we're 119 00:04:43,860 --> 00:04:46,259 looking at and really, you know, kinda seeing 120 00:04:46,259 --> 00:04:48,339 where this goes is there's a continued testing 121 00:04:48,339 --> 00:04:48,920 of the 122 00:04:57,964 --> 00:05:01,185 dental platforms that tried trading that did not. 123 00:05:01,449 --> 00:05:03,610 Now in 2024, we're actually a little bit 124 00:05:03,610 --> 00:05:05,149 more bullish here. So 125 00:05:05,930 --> 00:05:07,930 this past spring and summer, what we were 126 00:05:07,930 --> 00:05:10,810 seeing is maybe that bid ask spread, if 127 00:05:10,810 --> 00:05:13,370 I can say it that way, between dental 128 00:05:13,370 --> 00:05:16,875 platforms and upper middle market private equity funds, 129 00:05:16,875 --> 00:05:18,495 it was still a bit too wide, 130 00:05:19,194 --> 00:05:21,774 meaning private equity was willing to pay X 131 00:05:22,875 --> 00:05:25,034 and some of these platforms wanted Y and 132 00:05:25,034 --> 00:05:27,850 there was still too much spread there. What 133 00:05:27,850 --> 00:05:30,650 we're seeing now is and we're excited for 134 00:05:30,650 --> 00:05:33,449 this, is we're seeing some platforms that are 135 00:05:33,449 --> 00:05:35,610 about to test the market again. They think 136 00:05:35,610 --> 00:05:37,850 that maybe we're a little bit closer right 137 00:05:37,850 --> 00:05:40,110 now. And we've even heard one recently, 138 00:05:40,569 --> 00:05:43,694 actually this week, that's expected to trade soon. 139 00:05:43,694 --> 00:05:45,555 So what does that do? 140 00:05:46,254 --> 00:05:48,814 If and when you start trading, it resets 141 00:05:48,814 --> 00:05:49,955 the larger platforms 142 00:05:51,295 --> 00:05:54,115 with more capital infusion and increased resources 143 00:05:54,415 --> 00:05:56,949 to continue down the M and A path, 144 00:05:57,089 --> 00:05:59,350 which if you think about it, it filters 145 00:05:59,490 --> 00:06:01,669 all the way down to the lower market. 146 00:06:01,729 --> 00:06:03,350 So continued consolidation 147 00:06:04,610 --> 00:06:06,769 is what we would expect once these start 148 00:06:06,769 --> 00:06:09,329 trading. And it also allows them to achieve 149 00:06:09,329 --> 00:06:10,229 that growth 150 00:06:10,625 --> 00:06:13,024 that they initially underwrote to when they built 151 00:06:13,024 --> 00:06:15,764 the platform. Right? And then if you're a 152 00:06:16,064 --> 00:06:19,504 lower market platform, what this does is it 153 00:06:19,504 --> 00:06:22,144 gives you a barometer. Right? It kinda gives 154 00:06:22,144 --> 00:06:24,805 you that upper bound where these things trading. 155 00:06:25,129 --> 00:06:27,050 So we're able to actually trade some of 156 00:06:27,050 --> 00:06:29,550 these middle and larger platforms. 157 00:06:29,930 --> 00:06:31,930 It really filters all the way down to 158 00:06:31,930 --> 00:06:33,849 the lower market, and that's really where we 159 00:06:33,849 --> 00:06:36,250 play as well. So that now you know 160 00:06:36,250 --> 00:06:38,409 as a platform, if I do x, y, 161 00:06:38,409 --> 00:06:40,750 z, this is where I expect to trade. 162 00:06:40,875 --> 00:06:43,214 So it really just affects the entire, 163 00:06:43,595 --> 00:06:45,295 you know, kind of dental industry, 164 00:06:45,915 --> 00:06:48,074 for these to start trading. So that's something 165 00:06:48,074 --> 00:06:50,795 that we're, you know, nervous or watching for, 166 00:06:50,795 --> 00:06:53,134 however you wanna phrase that. Now 167 00:06:53,649 --> 00:06:55,110 on the most excited, 168 00:06:55,729 --> 00:06:58,370 I would say that technology is where we're 169 00:06:58,370 --> 00:07:01,250 extremely excited, especially the ones that use you 170 00:07:01,250 --> 00:07:03,750 know, recently, we've seen some really good ones 171 00:07:04,129 --> 00:07:06,785 that use voice AI to help reduce the 172 00:07:06,785 --> 00:07:09,264 reliance for those tasks on, you know, some 173 00:07:09,264 --> 00:07:11,504 of the personal team members and you move 174 00:07:11,504 --> 00:07:13,904 it over to tech. Now, you know, what 175 00:07:13,904 --> 00:07:16,145 we're we're we're we're then able to do 176 00:07:16,145 --> 00:07:18,324 is not really let go of people. 177 00:07:18,790 --> 00:07:20,710 So just wanna put that out there. It 178 00:07:20,710 --> 00:07:21,610 actually allows, 179 00:07:21,990 --> 00:07:23,930 you know, the folks that we work with 180 00:07:24,230 --> 00:07:26,949 to have their people, their team member focus 181 00:07:26,949 --> 00:07:30,710 on problem solving, more complex problems, and use 182 00:07:30,710 --> 00:07:31,530 tech for 183 00:07:31,935 --> 00:07:34,254 time consuming and maybe if I can say 184 00:07:34,254 --> 00:07:35,955 it's simplistic items 185 00:07:36,415 --> 00:07:38,814 such as, you know, think things like insurance 186 00:07:38,814 --> 00:07:39,314 verification, 187 00:07:40,335 --> 00:07:42,754 incoming and outgoing calls for confirmations 188 00:07:43,214 --> 00:07:46,319 or rescheduling even. These are things that voice 189 00:07:46,319 --> 00:07:48,399 AI is really able to do very, very 190 00:07:48,399 --> 00:07:51,459 well while still keeping that, you know, patient 191 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:52,100 care, 192 00:07:52,639 --> 00:07:54,100 and service alive. 193 00:07:54,639 --> 00:07:56,639 And if you think about that, what we're 194 00:07:56,639 --> 00:07:58,720 most excited about, you tie it back to 195 00:07:58,720 --> 00:07:59,459 that challenge 196 00:08:00,079 --> 00:08:03,084 of how do I scale with increased labor 197 00:08:03,084 --> 00:08:05,324 cost, and it really solves for one of 198 00:08:05,324 --> 00:08:07,805 these big challenges that that right now we're 199 00:08:07,805 --> 00:08:10,044 seeing. So that, we're very excited about. We've 200 00:08:10,044 --> 00:08:12,785 seen some really good technology come out recently. 201 00:08:14,029 --> 00:08:16,270 Great. And just a quick follow-up question there. 202 00:08:16,270 --> 00:08:18,029 In your opinion, are a lot of dentists 203 00:08:18,029 --> 00:08:20,050 open to adding AI at their practices? 204 00:08:21,389 --> 00:08:22,830 They are. I think, you know, if you'd 205 00:08:22,830 --> 00:08:24,590 asked me a year ago, I would say 206 00:08:24,590 --> 00:08:25,090 no. 207 00:08:25,710 --> 00:08:27,970 I think people have started using, 208 00:08:28,404 --> 00:08:30,084 you know, on a personal level, what we've 209 00:08:30,084 --> 00:08:32,004 seen, and and we've actually asked some of 210 00:08:32,004 --> 00:08:34,404 our clients this. On a personal level, they're 211 00:08:34,404 --> 00:08:36,884 using things like chat GPT and the like 212 00:08:36,884 --> 00:08:37,384 themselves, 213 00:08:38,085 --> 00:08:39,764 to where they're getting more comfortable with it. 214 00:08:39,764 --> 00:08:41,605 And not only are they getting more comfortable 215 00:08:41,605 --> 00:08:44,620 with it, they're actually seeing that they they 216 00:08:44,620 --> 00:08:46,699 interact a little bit closer to the way 217 00:08:46,699 --> 00:08:49,019 that a human would would interact and less 218 00:08:49,019 --> 00:08:51,100 so, like, the press 1 to talk to 219 00:08:51,100 --> 00:08:53,199 Susie, press 2 to talk to whomever. 220 00:08:53,659 --> 00:08:56,779 So so as that happens, what we've seen 221 00:08:56,779 --> 00:08:59,605 is really the openness for at least the 222 00:08:59,605 --> 00:09:01,684 demo to some of these. And for the 223 00:09:01,684 --> 00:09:04,485 most part, they've been, you know, blown away 224 00:09:04,485 --> 00:09:05,544 in a good way, 225 00:09:06,164 --> 00:09:08,084 seeing kind of the solutions that they're able 226 00:09:08,084 --> 00:09:08,745 to provide 227 00:09:09,125 --> 00:09:11,125 and also the solutions that they're able to 228 00:09:11,125 --> 00:09:12,904 solve for. So, yes, I think 229 00:09:13,250 --> 00:09:15,009 over the last year, we've seen a lot 230 00:09:15,009 --> 00:09:17,809 of number 1 acceptance, but then also number 231 00:09:17,809 --> 00:09:18,549 2 implementation 232 00:09:18,929 --> 00:09:20,929 of some of these. And the feedback we've 233 00:09:20,929 --> 00:09:23,330 gotten has been extremely positive for the ones 234 00:09:23,330 --> 00:09:25,350 that have gone to that implementation 235 00:09:25,809 --> 00:09:26,309 phase. 236 00:09:27,745 --> 00:09:28,804 Great. Super interesting. 237 00:09:29,425 --> 00:09:31,504 Last question here. What will the most effective 238 00:09:31,504 --> 00:09:33,585 health care leaders need to be successful in 239 00:09:33,585 --> 00:09:34,965 the next 2 to 3 years? 240 00:09:36,465 --> 00:09:38,865 Yeah. Good question. So I think the most 241 00:09:38,865 --> 00:09:41,745 effective leaders I think number 1, most of 242 00:09:41,745 --> 00:09:43,110 them are going to be 243 00:09:43,509 --> 00:09:44,009 proficient 244 00:09:44,470 --> 00:09:46,870 or learn how to be proficient in how 245 00:09:46,870 --> 00:09:49,529 people in tech are going to work together, 246 00:09:49,990 --> 00:09:50,970 to build systems 247 00:09:51,509 --> 00:09:53,769 that still keep that customer experience 248 00:09:54,070 --> 00:09:56,570 to, you know, above average to excellence. 249 00:09:57,225 --> 00:09:59,544 And I say this because it also is 250 00:09:59,544 --> 00:10:01,084 going to keep costs lower. 251 00:10:01,464 --> 00:10:03,304 And I think this is something that leaders 252 00:10:03,304 --> 00:10:05,144 are going to have to solve for on 253 00:10:05,144 --> 00:10:07,784 the cost thing to be able to continue 254 00:10:07,784 --> 00:10:10,160 to compete in the market. So I would 255 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:11,460 say that that's 1. 256 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:13,759 And I'd say number 2, it's a bit 257 00:10:13,759 --> 00:10:16,480 tangential to this, but the leaders that are 258 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:18,800 able to adapt to change, I think is 259 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:21,120 a critical skill set right now, especially over 260 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:22,660 the next 2 to 3 years. 261 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:25,184 I know I keep harping on it, but 262 00:10:25,184 --> 00:10:28,384 technology and business models just they continue to 263 00:10:28,384 --> 00:10:31,184 evolve, and they're going to serve providers and 264 00:10:31,184 --> 00:10:31,684 patients. 265 00:10:31,985 --> 00:10:33,585 And the leaders that are going to be 266 00:10:33,585 --> 00:10:36,625 comfortable with that and effective with implementing this 267 00:10:36,625 --> 00:10:37,125 change, 268 00:10:37,529 --> 00:10:39,769 we think are going to thrive. And and 269 00:10:39,769 --> 00:10:41,370 we're already seeing it. I mean, there's a 270 00:10:41,370 --> 00:10:42,269 big differentiation 271 00:10:42,570 --> 00:10:44,570 in the ones that are able to to 272 00:10:44,570 --> 00:10:47,070 adapt to change, to get comfortable with change, 273 00:10:47,690 --> 00:10:49,769 and accept that this change is here, and 274 00:10:49,769 --> 00:10:51,529 it's coming, and it's going to continue to 275 00:10:51,529 --> 00:10:53,415 be here. And the ones that solve for 276 00:10:53,415 --> 00:10:55,835 that are just going to have more, ultimately, 277 00:10:56,055 --> 00:10:56,875 more margin 278 00:10:57,254 --> 00:11:00,134 to be able to continue to succeed, continue 279 00:11:00,134 --> 00:11:00,795 to grow. 280 00:11:01,815 --> 00:11:03,815 Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Well, 281 00:11:03,815 --> 00:11:05,339 thank you so much for joining us today, 282 00:11:05,339 --> 00:11:06,860 Ben. It's been a pleasure speaking with you, 283 00:11:06,860 --> 00:11:08,059 and I look forward to connecting with you 284 00:11:08,059 --> 00:11:09,039 again in the future. 285 00:11:09,740 --> 00:11:11,500 Thank you so much for having me and, 286 00:11:11,980 --> 00:11:14,059 looking forward to connecting as well. I really 287 00:11:14,059 --> 00:11:15,279 appreciate the time.