Welcome to the Era of The Zombie DSO

Welcome to the Era of The Zombie DSO

From Next Level Executive by Perrin DesPortes

June 11, 2026 · 30 min · Season 3 · Episode 3

About this episode

This episode discusses the challenges faced by Founder dentists in the current landscape of Private Equity-backed DSOs, introducing the concept of the 'Zombie DSO'.

Many Founder dentists have based their growth strategy on “scale for a sale.” If you’re one of them, you’re not going to like this episode. Today’s world of Private Equity-backed DSOs has become a house of cards when it comes to recaps and “second bites of the apple.” For far too many, there is no hope of recap and there is no windfall return to shareholders. Welcome to the world of “the Zombie DSO.” Want to know the foundation that house of cards is built upon? Push play. CHAPTERS: :50 The Gold Rush then versus Fool’s Gold now 3:30 Entrance of the Zombie DSO 6:20 A quick review of the Private Equity model 15:10 A quick review of Valuation and Lending 19:30 The key variable that NO ONE is talking about 21:50 How did we get to here? 24:20 So, where does this all end? … Other Episodes You’ll Love: Selling Your Business? 10 Questions I Would Ask a PE-Backed DSO Selling Your Business? 5 Questions You Should Answer First ... Got Questions? Send them to me here: Perrin@TheNextLevelExecutive.com Love this show? Leave a review or share it with your friends! Want more advice on running a better business? See what I’m writing and what I’m reading. ... Want to know The Top 20 Mistakes…

People in this episode

Host: Perrin DesPortes

Topics covered

  • Private Equity
  • DSO
  • business strategy
  • valuation
  • entrepreneurship
  • healthcare

Keywords

  • Zombie DSO
  • Private Equity
  • business growth
  • valuation
  • entrepreneurship
  • healthcare
  • scale for a sale

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Private Equity, DSO

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