Buying In: How to Structure Associate Ownership Without Wrecking the Practice

DSO or Doctor-to-Doctor? How to Exit Your Dental Practice the Right Way — with Matt Sutton & Andrew Kobylski of McLerran & Associates

Host Justin Marti of Marti Law Group sits down with Matt Sutton and Andrew Kobylski of McLerran & Associates, one of the country's leading dental-specific sell-side brokerages. Matt brings over 20 years in the dental space as a banker, broker, and former VP of Business Development for a fast-growing, PE-backed orthodontic DSO, while Andrew — a former healthcare-focused wealth advisor and CFP — leads valuation and transition advisory work across both the private and DSO markets. Together they unpack the real difference between selling to a fellow dentist and affiliating with a DSO, why the “why” behind your exit matters as much as the dollars, and what today's market is actually rewarding. If you're a practice owner who wants to exit on your terms — not leave money (or your sanity) on the table — this conversation is your roadmap. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE 1. Why the smartest sellers get a valuation three to five years before they plan to exit — and what that head start lets you fix 2. How DSO deals and doctor-to-doctor sales really differ across valuation, work-back expectations, and tax treatment 3. The reason a headline multiple can be deeply misleading — and why your true, defensible EBITDA matters far more 4. What's driving today's seller's market on the private side, and what cooled the DSO gold rush after 2023 5. How to spot a deal structure padded with unattainable earn-ups before you sign the letter of intent TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Intro [01:28] Two operators, one mission: meet Matt & Andrew [04:24] Why McLerran keeps everything in-house [08:03] Selling with the end in mind: the fiduciary approach [13:05] The half of your exit nobody talks about — your “why” [16:07] Equity structures and the power of optionality [17:50] Why the private market has never been stronger [20:37] The valuation you should've gotten three years ago [24:07] After the gold rush: the DSO “hangover” [32:45] Multiples lie. EBITDA doesn't. [34:34] The $17M offer that wasn't [40:22] How to work with McLerran RESOURCES MENTIONED 1. McLerran & Associates — DentalTransitions.com [https://dentaltransitions.com/] 2. 3. CONNECT WITH MATT SUTTON & ANDREW KOBYLSKI Website: https://dentaltransitions.com/ [https://dentaltransitions.com/] Matt Sutton on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/contactsutton [https://www.linkedin.com/in/contactsutton/] Andrew Kobylski on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/andrew-kobylski [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-kobylski-cfp%C2%AE-56a050127/] Email: matt@dentaltransitions.com | andrew@dentaltransitions.com Free discovery calls are available daily through the McLerran website. CONNECT WITH JUSTIN MARTI LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/justinmarti [https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmarti] Email: justin@martilawgroup.com Website: martilawgroup.com [https://martilawgroup.com]

Inside the Med Spa M&A Boom: How to Maximize Your Exit with Chris Hubble of Lux Med Transition Strategies

In this episode of Office Hours, host Justin Marti of Marti Law Group sits down with Chris Hubble, Founder and CEO of Lux Med Transition Strategies, an M&A advisory firm dedicated to the medical aesthetics and wellness space. With a 20-year career in healthcare , including senior operational roles at Med Synergies and a multi-year run building a speciality dental DSO — Chris brings a rare perspective shaped by sitting on both the buyer and seller sides of the table. Together, Justin and Chris unpack what aesthetic and wellness practice owners need to know about today's buyer landscape, the operational and financial metrics that drive valuation, and the costly missteps that can quietly erode a deal. If you own a med spa, plastic surgery practice, or wellness business , or you're even three to five years out from a potential exit , this conversation is a strategic playbook for getting ready the right way. What You'll Learn in This Episode * The real difference between selling to a family office vs. private equity , and why the source of capital changes how you'll be managed post-close * The operational, compliance, and financial KPIs aesthetic practice owners should be tracking now to protect (and grow) their multiple * Why introducing a buyer to your team too early can cost you a million dollars at the eleventh hour * How to evaluate whether you're actually ready to go to market , or whether you need a 2–3 year runway to fix structural issues first * Why partnership fit, not just price, determines whether your exit becomes a legacy win or a long, painful "marriage" Timestamps (Audio Version) [00:00] Intro [01:50] What Lux Med actually does for sellers in the aesthetics space [02:48] From hospital MSOs to dental DSOs: Chris's path through healthcare consolidation [07:17] Why medical aesthetics looks like dental did 10 years ago [10:26] Family office vs. private equity: the distinction sellers miss [17:02] The operational and financial metrics buyers actually care about [21:35] Why going it alone almost always leaves money on the table [24:48] The $1M lesson: what happens when you introduce the buyer to your team too soon [28:48] Selling in 5 years vs. selling tomorrow: how to prepare either way [33:17] Inside Julia AI: the first AI-powered buyer–seller matching tool in M&A [35:31] How to get a no-obligation valuation from Lux Med Resources Mentioned * Lux Med Transition Strategies: https://luxmedtransition.comhttps://luxmedtransition.com [https://luxmedtransition.com] * Professional Transition Strategies (PTS): https://professionaltransition.comhttps://professionaltransition.com [https://professionaltransition.com] * Julia.ai (PTS/Lux Med's proprietary AI-powered buyer–seller matchmaking tool): https://professionaltransition.com/julia-ai/https://professionaltransition.com/julia-ai/ [https://professionaltransition.com/julia-ai/] * Kyle Francis (Founder & President, Professional Transition Strategies): https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylewfrancis/https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylewfrancis/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylewfrancis/] * MedSynergies (acquired by Optum in 2014): https://www.optum.com/business/about/news/optum-to-acquire-medsynergies.htmlhttps://www.optum.com/business/about/news/optum-to-acquire-medsynergies.html [https://www.optum.com/business/about/news/optum-to-acquire-medsynergies.html] * Optum (UnitedHealth Group): https://www.optum.comhttps://www.optum.com [https://www.optum.com] * Authority Magazine — Chris Hubble interview: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/chris-hubble-of-luxmed-transition-strategies-five-things-you-need-to-know-to-succeed-in-the-modern-112469feeb77https://medium.com/authority-magazine/chris-hubble-of-luxmed-transition-strategies-five-things-you-need-to-know-to-succeed-in-the-modern-112469feeb77 [https://medium.com/authority-magazine/chris-hubble-of-luxmed-transition-strategies-five-things-you-need-to-know-to-succeed-in-the-modern-112469feeb77] Connect with Chris Hubble * Website: https://luxmedtransition.comhttps://luxmedtransition.com [https://luxmedtransition.com] (Contact Us page) * Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/luxmed-transition-strategieshttps://www.linkedin.com/company/luxmed-transition-strategies [https://www.linkedin.com/company/luxmed-transition-strategies] Connect with Justin Marti * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmartihttps://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmarti [https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmarti] * Email: justin@martilawgroup.com * Website: martilawgroup.com

From One Tiny Room to a Concierge Powerhouse: How Aesthera MedSpa’s Founders Scaled the Right Way

In this episode of Office Hours for Practice Owners, host Justin Marti of Marti Law Group sits down with two of his own clients and longtime collaborators: Shonra Weiss, Co-Founder and CEO of Aesthera MedSpa, and Dr Megan Malzone, Co-Founder and COO. Shonra is a board-certified nurse practitioner and Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist with more than two decades of clinical experience, while Dr Malzone is a board-certified internal medicine physician who brings a whole-patient approach to aesthetics. Together, they built Aesthera. A self-funded, one-room operation launched in the middle of the 2020 pandemic into a full-service concierge med spa with eight treatment rooms, fifteen employees, and a second location. This conversation goes deeper than the usual growth-metrics talk. They explore the emotional reality of partnership, the discipline necessary in aesthetic practice, to treat the practice as a serious business rather than a physician’s side hustle, and the systems that made disciplined scaling possible. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE * Why treating a med spa as a “side gig” almost guarantees burnout, and what full commitment actually requires * How to structure a multi-partner business so that disagreements, retirements, and exits don’t blow it up * The hiring philosophy that led Aesthera to turn away seasoned providers in favor of culture fits * Why a fractional CFO may be one of the highest-leverage hires an aesthetic practice can make * How to resist chasing shiny equipment and trends, and invest only when the data and patient base justify it TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Intro [02:04] Two unlikely paths into aesthetics [04:55] Where the Aesthera vision was born [08:03] Launching a business in the middle of COVID [10:29] The scrappy “one-room” beginning [13:39] Partnership as a marriage, and the prenup that protects it [18:42] “Assigned to everyone is assigned to no one”: owning your roles [19:53] Why a med spa can’t survive as a side gig [23:08] The human side: trust, vulnerability, and going dark for a week [28:52] The fractional CFO that became a “proxy MBA” [36:35] What’s next: a second location and integrative wellness [37:54] Hiring for core values over a full book of patients RESOURCES MENTIONED * Aesthera MedSpa — Concierge medical aesthetics practice in Pismo Beach, CA. Website: https://www.aestheramedspa.com/https://www.aestheramedspa.com/ [https://www.aestheramedspa.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aesthera.aesthetics/@aesthera.aesthetics [https://www.instagram.com/aesthera.aesthetics/] Contact: 931 N Oak Park Blvd, Ste 101, Pismo Beach, CA 93449 · (805) 574-4037 * Maven Financial Partners — Fractional CFO firm specializing in med spas, dental, and aesthetic practices; referenced as the pivotal early hire that gave the founders their "proxy MBA." https://www.mavenfp.com/https://www.mavenfp.com/ [https://www.mavenfp.com/] * EOS / "Traction" (Entrepreneurial Operating System) — The "rocks" and accountabilities framework the team uses for quarterly goal-setting. Based on the book Traction by Gino Wickman. https://www.eosworldwide.com/https://www.eosworldwide.com/ [https://www.eosworldwide.com/] CONNECT WITH SHONRA WEISS * Website: aestheramedspa.com/about/our-team/shonra-weiss [https://www.aestheramedspa.com/about/our-team/shonra-weiss/] * LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shonra-weiss-msn-np [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shonra-weiss-msn-np-33a376102/] * Company: aestheramedspa.com [https://www.aestheramedspa.com/] CONNECT WITH DR MEGAN MALZONE * Website: aestheramedspa.com/about/our-team/dr-megan-malzone [https://www.aestheramedspa.com/about/our-team/dr-megan-malzone/] * LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/megan-malzone-md [https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-malzone-md-b82888303/] * Company: aestheramedspa.com [https://www.aestheramedspa.com/] CONNECT WITH JUSTIN MARTI * LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/justinmarti [https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmarti] * Email: justin@martilawgroup.com [justin@martilawgroup.com] * Website: martilawgroup.com [https://martilawgroup.com]

Inside the Med Spa Roll-Up: How Cosmetic Physician Partners Built a Founder-Owned Platform Without Private Equity

In this episode of Office Hours for Practice Owners, host Justin Marti of Marti Law Group sits down with Daniel Schacter, CEO of Cosmetic Physician Partners (CPP), and Sean Walsh, VP of Partnerships, to unpack what actually happens when a med spa owner partners with a platform. Daniel, an Oxford MBA who spent his early career at Deloitte and McKinsey before founding multiple companies valued at over half a billion dollars, built CPP with a clear vision: scale a provider-led organization that lets practice owners retain control, unlike most private equity-backed platforms in medical aesthetics. Sean, also an Oxford MBA and former Boston Consulting Group consultant, joined Daniel in 2022 and has since become a household name in the industry, working directly with physician-owners to enter mutually successful partnerships with CPP. Together, they share the origin story of a platform now operating 75+ locations with no private equity dollars on its cap table, and walk through the realities of multiples, cultural fit, and the advisor decisions that make or break a deal. If you're a practice owner thinking about a transaction in the next year or the next five, this episode is a practical map of what to look for, what to avoid, and what really drives valuation. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE * Why the cheapest legal bill in an M&A deal often comes from the most experienced lawyer, and how owners get burned by hiring family friends to negotiate transactions * The real multiple ranges for single-clinic and multi-site med spas in 2026, and the specific factors that move you up or down the band * How CPP screens partners using a rubric where financial performance is the fourth item on the list, and what comes first * The unfair advantages that command premium valuations (hint: it's never price) * Why opening a second location to chase a higher multiple often destroys value instead of creating it * What "partner-owned" actually means when a platform has no private equity and no preferred shares in the stack [00:00] Intro [01:55] The Montreal building, a struggling dermatologist, and the accidental founding of CPP [06:42] What "partner-owned" actually means, and why there's no PE on the cap table [09:48] The No Asshole Policy and why every CPP doctor has a veto on new partners [11:01] The rubric: why financials are the fourth thing CPP evaluates, not the first [13:11] Staff turnover as the hidden culture metric every buyer reads [18:20] Buy-out vs. buy-in: the mindset shift owners get wrong [25:51] The "education tax", why hiring the wrong lawyer is the most expensive mistake in a deal [30:30] Multiples decoded: the 5x–8x range for single clinics and what moves the needle [33:04] Why a second location can earn a negative multiple [37:05] What to look for in a partner when every good offer lands in the same range RESOURCES MENTIONED * Cosmetic Physician Partners (CPP): https://cosmeticphysicianpartners.com [https://cosmeticphysicianpartners.com] * Victoria Park Medispa (CPP's Canadian sister brand): https://vicpark.com [https://vicpark.com] * McKinsey & Company: https://www.mckinsey.com [https://www.mckinsey.com] * Boston Consulting Group (BCG): https://www.bcg.com [https://www.bcg.com] * University of Oxford: https://www.ox.ac.uk [https://www.ox.ac.uk] * Skytale Insights Podcast (Skytale Group): https://skytalegroup.com/podcast/ [https://skytalegroup.com/podcast/] * American Med Spa Association (AmSpa) — Medical Spa Show: https://www.medicalspashow.com [https://www.medicalspashow.com] CONNECT WITH DANIEL SCHACTER Daniel Schacter is the CEO of Cosmetic Physician Partners. After earning his MBA from Oxford, Daniel spent years consulting at McKinsey and Deloitte before moving into COO and CEO roles. He founded CPP with the vision of scaling a provider-led organization that lets clinicians retain control, a deliberate alternative to private equity-backed platforms in medical aesthetics. CPP has since scaled to 75+ locations and counting. * Website: https://cosmeticphysicianpartners.com [https://cosmeticphysicianpartners.com] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-schacter-20782221/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-schacter-20782221/] * Email (Partnerships): partnerships@cppclinics.com [partnerships@cppclinics.com] CONNECT WITH SEAN WALSH Sean Walsh is VP of Partnerships at Cosmetic Physician Partners. An Oxford MBA grad, Sean spent time in investment banking and consulting at Boston Consulting Group before joining Daniel to accelerate CPP's growth in 2022. He has since become a trusted voice in medical aesthetics, working directly with physician-owners to structure mutually successful partnerships with CPP. * Website: https://cosmeticphysicianpartners.com [https://cosmeticphysicianpartners.com] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfwalsh/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfwalsh/] * Email (Partnerships): partnerships@cppclinics.com [partnerships@cppclinics.com] CONNECT WITH JUSTIN MARTI * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmarti [https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmarti] * Email: justin@martilawgroup.com [justin@martilawgroup.com] * Website: https://martilawgroup.com [https://martilawgroup.com]

Buying In: How to Structure Associate Ownership Without Wrecking the Practice

In this episode of Office Hours, host Justin Marti of Marti Law Group sits down with Jessica Nunn, founder of Maven Financial Partners, for a candid conversation on one of the most consequential decisions a healthcare practice owner will make: when and how to bring an associate into ownership. Jessica, a CPA-turned-fractional CFO whose firm advises dental, medical aesthetics, plastic surgery, concierge, and functional medicine practices, breaks down the full lifecycle of an associate — from first-year hire to equity partner. Together, Justin and Jessica unpack compensation models, valuation timing, financing structures, and the legal and financial guardrails every owner needs before “putting a ring on it.” If you’ve ever wondered whether to stay the king of your kingdom or build a partner-driven practice, this episode lays out the trade-offs in plain English. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE 1. How to structure associate compensation at each stage, from daily minimums and flat salaries for new hires to production-based models for established providers 2. Why owners should wait at least 18 months before offering equity, and the warning signs that an associate is ready (or not) to become a partner 3. The right way to value a practice at the moment of buy-in, and why “sweat equity” arguments from associates usually don’t hold up 4. How to choose between bank financing and a seller note when an associate buys in, and the risks of becoming your partner’s banker 5. What needs to be papered up before the deal closes, repurchase rights, fiduciary duties, non-competes, distribution policies, and division of operational duties 6. Why locking yourself into a rigid 5- or 10-year succession plan can backfire, and how to build flexibility into your exit strategy [00:00] Intro [02:55] The two associate archetypes every practice owner needs to recognize [04:35] Compensation that evolves: from daily minimums to production-based pay [07:14] “Be the king” vs. building a partner-driven practice [08:35] Why 18 months of working together comes before any equity conversation [10:46] Bank financing vs. seller notes, and why you don’t want to be your partner’s banker [12:38] Papering for the worst-case: repurchases, clawbacks, and the partnership “prenup” [14:23] The danger of mapping out the rest of your life in legal documents [18:18] Why you should value the practice the day of the buy-in, not the day the associate started [21:18] Why partner deals can be harder than third-party M&A [22:02] Cleaning up the books before a partner buys in [23:40] Dividing duties so ownership doesn’t quietly turn into resentment RESOURCES MENTIONED 1. Maven Financial Partners — https://www.mavenfp.com [https://www.mavenfp.com] 2. Maven Financial Partners on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/mavenfinancial/ [https://www.instagram.com/mavenfinancial/] CONNECT WITH JESSICA NUNN 1. Website: https://www.mavenfp.com [https://www.mavenfp.com] 2. Bio: https://www.mavenfp.com/team/jessica-nunn [https://www.mavenfp.com/team/jessica-nunn] 3. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-nunn-cpa-1474a417/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-nunn-cpa-1474a417/] 4. Email: jessica.nunn@mavenfp.com [jessica.nunn@mavenfp.com] 5. Phone: 972-999-6947 6. Instagram (Maven): https://www.instagram.com/mavenfinancial/ [https://www.instagram.com/mavenfinancial/] CONNECT WITH JUSTIN MARTI 1. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmarti [https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmarti] 2. Email: justin@martilawgroup.com [justin@martilawgroup.com] Website: https://martilawgroup.com [https://martilawgroup.com]