Travis, Can I Have This?

Travis brings back Jared Bergquist, a Las Vegas-based dental broker with two decades of transitions under his belt, for a blunt breakdown of why a DSO sale isn't always the win it's made out to be.

What's covered:

• Reason one, transparency. How EBITDA calculations, complicated contracts, and vague post sale expectations leave sellers confused about what they actually agreed to
• Reason two, financial risk. Why earnouts and equity rollovers depend on a private equity market that has cooled significantly in the last few years, and why some sellers are still waiting on money they were promised
• A real example of a client who would have made less money selling to a DSO than by simply staying put
• Reason three, legacy. A gut wrenching story about a Summerlin practice owner who watched her staff and patients walk away within a year and a half of selling
• Why corporations are financially pressured to increase production fast, whether the team and patients like it or not
• The bonus round, Jared's own answer to the DSO problem: skipping the middleman by co founding Las Vegas Dental Management, a dentist owned collective aiming for private equity multiples without giving up control to a traditional DSO

A candid, insider's view on the tradeoffs of corporate dentistry from someone who has helped broker it hundreds of times. Tune in.

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Travis sits down with longtime friend Phill Hoover of Western Practice Sales to map out what buying a practice in Northern California actually looks like, from the Bay Area's sky-high demand to the hidden gems everyone overlooks.

What's covered:

• Phill's 20+ years in dental finance and transitions, from banking to running Western Practice Sales
• Why geography (not just miles) dictates where you can realistically live and practice in Northern California
• How Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and Walnut Creek each demand totally different practice strategies
• Hot, competitive markets vs. underserved gems like Stockton, Modesto, Turlock, and Monterey, where a $100K practice can grow into a $1M practice in two years
• The Delta Dental Premier trap: how legacy sellers quietly inflate collections, and what buyers need to ask before making an offer
• Why hygienist and staffing costs run higher in Northern California, and how loyalty works differently here
• A surprising stat: only about 110 of roughly 3,800 active Northern California dental offices are DSO-owned, making it one of the most private-practice-friendly regions in the country
• Why corporate consolidation has largely skipped Northern California, and how private doctors are running their own mini roll-ups instead
• Phill's biggest advice: know yourself, know the dentistry you can deliver, and don't let analysis paralysis keep you on the sidelines

A must-listen for anyone weighing whether (and where) to plant roots in the Bay Area or beyond. Tune in.

Contact Phill: WesternPracticeSales.com | [email protected] | 415-481-2933

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Travis sits down with David Haynes of the Menlo Group, a dental-specific M&A firm, to dig into one of the most polarizing topics in dentistry: is selling to a DSO actually a good idea?

What's covered:

• David's winding path from accounting dropout to dental lender to DSO deal expert
• Why practices collecting under $1.5–2M rarely make sense for a DSO sale, and why size changes everything
• The real reasons doctors sell: burnout, staffing headaches, reimbursement struggles, or just wanting to de-risk their biggest asset
• The single biggest argument for a DSO: eliminating "transition risk" if you're mid-career and your wealth is tied up in one practice
• Why EBITDA calculated by a DSO is nothing like your actual tax return numbers — and why that gap trips up so many sellers
• The dangers of rollover equity, and why "free" future upside isn't guaranteed
• Red flags: too much debt, too little cash at close, culture mismatches, and multi-doc partnership complications
• Why leases are a hidden minefield for doctors who own their real estate
• The case for hiring a professional negotiator instead of going direct to a DSO solo — and yes, the mustache came up

A clear-eyed, no-hype breakdown for any practice owner wondering if a DSO offer is actually worth it. Tune in.

Contact David: [email protected]

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Travis catches up with Dr. Bustos and Dr. Thacker, a husband and wife team who bought a thriving fee for service practice in Las Vegas and just wrapped their first year as owners.

What is covered.

They met in college, went through UNLV dental school together, and spent three or four years searching for the right practice before this one landed in their lap through a chance connection at Bank of America.

The practice they bought had a devoted following and decades of history in Las Vegas, and they walk through the nerve wracking process of earning the seller's trust before ever seeing the office.

They share the tangible lessons, like discovering the entire office ran on outdated computers with no IT due diligence done, and a lease with no clear language for a dental tenant, including a rogue printer contract that cost them thousands.

They dig into the harder, intangible lessons, like learning to communicate their vision clearly to a longtime team instead of quietly trying to preserve the status quo.

They talk openly about the emotional weight of managing employees through change, and why taking feedback and conflict personally makes ownership so much harder.

They reflect on stepping into a highly regarded predecessor's shoes clinically, and how honesty with patients about their own pace and standards built trust instead of losing it.

Despite the stress, both agree they would do it again without hesitation, choosing the freedom and integrity of ownership over the comfort of being an associate.

A grounded, funny, and honest look at what the first year of practice ownership really feels like. Tune in.

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Travis sits down with Conor DePalma of CFS Dental Division to cut through the noise on dental insurance — because "insurance" is one of those words with a hundred meanings, and picking the wrong policy can cost you way more than a premium.

What's covered:

• Why CFS's salaried (not commission-based) model changes the advice you actually get
• The big three every new dentist needs: malpractice, life, and disability insurance — and when (or if) you actually need them
• Occurrence vs. claims-made malpractice policies, and the "tail coverage" trap that can leave you exposed after leaving a job
• How vicarious liability hits multi-doc practices, and why associates' coverage matters to owners too
• Term vs. permanent life insurance — and why whole life often makes salesmen rich and clients poor
• Disability insurance deep dive: level vs. graded policies, how much coverage actually makes sense, and why "get the max" isn't always good advice
• What changes when you go from associate to practice owner: bank-required life insurance, business overhead expense coverage, and more
• Business owner's policies — general liability, property/contents coverage, and business interruption — plus real claim stories (yes, cars have driven into waiting rooms)
• Newer risks every practice owner should know: employment practices liability (especially in CA) and cyber liability/social engineering scams

A must-listen before you sign anything with a commission-hungry insurance rep. Tune in for the real breakdown.

Contact Conor: CFSdentaldivision.com | [email protected]

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Travis kicks off a brand-new mini-series exploring dental markets across the country, starting with the one and only Las Vegas. Joining him is Jared Bergquist, a dental-specific broker and commercial real estate expert who's called Vegas home since 1992 and has lived through every boom, bust, and boom again.

Jared Bergquist

702-521-9953

[email protected]

What's covered:

• Vegas dentistry's wild ride — from the golden 70s-90s, to the 2008 recession gutting the market, to today's red-hot buyer demand
• Why Vegas has some of the highest insurance reimbursement rates (and patient spending) in the country — and how that fuels heavy DSO competition
• The case for buying an "ugly" older practice with decades of goodwill over chasing a shiny new location
• A geographic breakdown of Vegas's best opportunity pockets — Northwest, Inspirada, Summerlin's hidden restrictions, and more
• Real numbers on de novo startups: build-out costs, lease rates, and why it's not the cheap route it used to be
• The often-overlooked goldmine of second-generation dental spaces
• Vegas's unique hygienist and assistant shortage — and how the service industry (yes, cocktail waitressing) is stealing your staff
• Jared's parting advice: get on every broker's radar and surround yourself with real dental-industry pros

A must-listen for anyone eyeing Vegas as their next practice home. Reach Jared at BergquistGroup.com.

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Travis sits down with husband-and-wife duo Dr. Godoy and Dr. Gorospe to unpack their whirlwind first year as practice owners — proof that some couples build empires and still like each other afterward.

What's covered:

• How they found "the" practice and knew it was the one
• The wild story of nearly backing out days before closing (cold feet is real, folks)
• What actually changed once they took the keys — spoiler: top line, bottom line, every line grew
• The mindset shift from associate to owner, and why it hit different for each of them
• Balancing being two of the sweetest people you'll meet with being straight-up hustlers when it counts
• Real talk on the sacrifices, surprises, and lessons from year one that no dental school class prepares you for
• Their advice for anyone eyeing a practice purchase of their own

Whether you're weighing a practice acquisition or just want a feel-good underdog story, this one delivers. Tune in for hustle, heart, and a whole lot of hard-earned wisdom.

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Travis kicks off Season 2 of Travis Can I Have This with a new tax mini-series, starting with one of the most talked-about strategies for practice owners: the Augusta Rule (IRC Section 280A(g)).

Email [email protected] for the Augusta Checklist

What's covered:

• The quirky origin story behind the Augusta Rule, tied to homeowners renting out houses during the Masters Golf Tournament
• How practice owners can rent their personal residence to their own business for board meetings and exclude the rental income (up to 14 days/year)
• Why your entity structure matters — S-corps, C-corps, and partnerships qualify, but sole proprietors and disregarded-entity LLCs carry real risk
• The lack of landmark tax court cases on this strategy, and what that means for how aggressively to apply it
• Key risk areas: using a defensible fair market rate, proving actual business activity took place, and — most importantly — documentation
• A 7-step checklist for doing the Augusta Rule correctly, from entity setup to paper trails and proper categorization with your accountant
• Real numbers: how a $1,000–$2,500 per meeting rate across 12 meetings can translate to $5,000–$10,000+ in tax savings

Want the full Augusta Rule checklist? Email [email protected]

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Back again with more juicy bits from the One Big Beautiful Bill (aka O Triple B), and this time we’re talking about you, the individual, the taxpayer, the doctor with a mortgage, a kid (or one on the way), and probably more SALT than you’d like.

We’re diving into the expanded (but still frustrating) $40K SALT deduction cap, made-for-babies retirement accounts (yes, those are real), child tax credits, and how the standard deduction and tax brackets are sticking around for the long haul. Oh, and student loans? Surprisingly not the worst news. Plus a curveball: car loan interest might now be deductible, but probably not for you if you’re a high-earning dentist. Sorry.

TL;DR: A lot stayed the same (which is good), some things got tweaked, and some new stuff is... confusing, but potentially useful.

Throw on your USA jersey and give this one a listen. 

Questions? [email protected] is always open.

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Fire up the drill and crank up the bonus depreciation, because the One Big Beautiful Bill (a.k.a. OB3) is here, and we’re breaking it down for business owners in scrubs.

In this episode, Travis pulls out two big wins for practice owners:

1. Bonus depreciation is back at 100%, and
   
   
2. The QBI deduction lives on, now permanent.
   
   

He also highlights four smaller updates:

• R&D credit timing
  
  
• Section 179 bump (mostly irrelevant unless you’re spending millions)
  
  
• ERC update (probably safe if you already got your check), and
  
  
• 1099 reporting threshold increase (hello, $2,000 minimum!).
  
  

While some of it may feel familiar, OB3 solidifies a lot of temporary perks, so knowing your numbers heading into year-end still matters. Bonus depreciation, QBI phaseouts, and salary strategy are all in play.

Next up: what OB3 means for individual taxpayers. But for now, if you’re running a dental practice, this one’s for you.

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