After giving up controlling stake, this DSO gained nearly 50 dentists who actively followed the investment.

Mike Baird reflected on his journey from his first paid job at a toy store in 1991, to joining Dell in 1999, and then to his consulting years at McKinsey. This cross-industry experience gave him unique insights into the relationship between capital and operations.

While deepening his work in dental technology at Henry Schein One, he noticed the conflict between the capital-driven nature behind the traditional DSO model and the autonomy of clinics, which sparked the idea of a new model: "minority equity + permanent partnership."

Against the backdrop of a sharp decline in capital and rising interest rates in 2023, Baird and co-founder Tom Sorber decided to give up controlling equity, instead having approximately 50 dentists invest 30% equity themselves, with the group charging only a 5% support fee.

This model preserves the independence of clinics while leveraging scale to achieve procurement and technological advantages, and is quietly expanding across multiple states in the western United States...

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