[VOICE]: This is Dental Leaders, the [00:00:05] podcast where you get to go one on one with emerging leaders in dentistry. Your [00:00:10] hosts Payman Langroudi [00:00:15] and Prav Solanki.

Prav Solanki: Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure [00:00:20] to introduce Andy Sloane to the Dental Leaders podcast. Andy Sloane [00:00:25] is my boss. He’s my first boss and the only boss I’ve had, [00:00:30] and he’s the best boss I’ve had. And it’s one of the most common questions that I get asked. [00:00:35] Having been a business owner for the last 1819 years, never having had [00:00:40] an employer, I always lived by the. I guess for me it was [00:00:45] always like Prav is totally unemployable because he will do what he wants to do. He [00:00:50] will behave how he wants to behave. And, you know, we’ll talk about the acquisition and [00:00:55] everything a little bit later. But it was at that point where everything had gone [00:01:00] through and it’s Andy Sloan is your boss now. And it’s like, bloody hell, what’s this going [00:01:05] to be like? And people ask me, what’s he like as a boss? And I say, if [00:01:10] I could have dreamt up a scenario within a Julio where I had the [00:01:15] perfect leadership, the perfect boss and someone who supported me, it [00:01:20] would be you. Thank you. And the reason I say that, Andy, is you just bloody leave [00:01:25] me alone. And when I need you, you are there and you back [00:01:30] me and you support me. So I couldn’t have asked for anything more. But today. [00:01:35] Today is about you, Andy. And what I want the audience to get a sense of is [00:01:40] who is Andy Sloan, the human being behind the guy who has navigated and [00:01:45] bought over a hundred dental practices, who’s run and led the dental [00:01:50] team and built and grown that who’s worked at Henry Schein. And I’m sure [00:01:55] we sure we’re going to uncover more that I’ve not heard about. But I just [00:02:00] want to start the podcast. Andy, by learning about you as a child growing up, [00:02:05] just give me a brief synopsis of what Andy was like as a kid growing [00:02:10] up where you grew up. Um, and take us through that journey.

Andy Sloan: Yeah. Thanks, [00:02:15] Prav. And, um, this is the podcast I’ve been waiting to come on. So this, this [00:02:20] is the kind of big one. So, uh, I feel like I’ve made it now. Uh, thank [00:02:25] you for those kind words as well. Where did I grow up? So I grew up on the Wirral in the northwest. [00:02:30] Um, I am one of three boys and I’m [00:02:35] an only child as well. So my mum and dad were both married before they got together and, um. And [00:02:40] I’m an only child to that marriage, you know, not we, we we were not wealthy. [00:02:45] We’re, I’m a council house kid and proud of it as well. Um, but what [00:02:50] we did have, um, and I get emotional because I’m very emotional. So thinking back, you kind of do that, so I apologise. [00:02:55]

Prav Solanki: Of course you do. Of course you do.

Andy Sloan: What we did have is two [00:03:00] parents that drove us and said, you’re better than this and [00:03:05] you need to. They couldn’t give us things and stuff like that. And it was [00:03:10] kind of like, you need to work for yourself if you want to kind of get far. And [00:03:15] they drove us and, um, I had a happy childhood. I’m not going to lie. Two older brothers [00:03:20] beat the crap out of me. Yeah. Um.

Prav Solanki: How much older were [00:03:25] they? Were they than you, Andy?

Andy Sloan: Yeah. So my, my, the next brother is, um, six [00:03:30] years older and the other brother is over ten. So I didn’t see the older one as much because [00:03:35] he was off working, you know, and stuff like that as I was kind of growing up. And then he moved out. Um, [00:03:40] he moved out when he was quite young. He got a job and moved out and my other brother then went to university. So [00:03:45] I was kind of, um, I was then on my own with, with, with my parents, which, which was fine. I [00:03:50] wasn’t always an easy child.

Prav Solanki: Um.

Andy Sloan: So I’ll [00:03:55] take you forward a little bit. Now, we just had parents evening with my eldest son, Livy.

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: And it [00:04:00] was like going back in time, listening to to what they were saying about him, which [00:04:05] is he’s got the aptitude, but he hasn’t always got the attitude. Mhm. And what they meant by [00:04:10] that is, um, uh, clever, but clever [00:04:15] and lightning were the two things that describe me. We moved, my dad got, um, promoted [00:04:20] in his job, and we managed to move out of the council estate and moved to a place called [00:04:25] Seacombe, which is still on the world. But and I remember that that being a huge step [00:04:30] up for us, we kind of felt like we, you know, risen a little bit, if that makes [00:04:35] sense. Yeah. And, and, and that was great. And, and I made lifelong friends when I [00:04:40] moved from Lizzo to, to seek him. And it was going really, really well until one day [00:04:45] my dad did something at work and got fired and it crashed everything down around [00:04:50] us. Um, he was the foreman. He was earning good money then and [00:04:55] life was good. But then, for one silly mistake that he made, the whole thing came crashing [00:05:00] down. And he never recovered that position from that point on. And and life became harder [00:05:05] again. So at the age of 14, I had two jobs. I did a paper round in the morning [00:05:10] and then worked in the newsagents after school. By the time I was 15, I had three jobs. [00:05:15] I did both the paper round, worked in the newsagents and worked in a chippy on a Friday and [00:05:20] Saturday night. It was the best thing about that was fish and chips at the end of the day.

Prav Solanki: Yeah, yeah, [00:05:25] yeah.

Andy Sloan: So um, that, that, that, that was kind of, um, the way that, that, [00:05:30] that I was brought up and, and, and I think whether or not I’ve got the work ethic [00:05:35] is, is debateable but what I wanted to do is, uh, have [00:05:40] more. So from an early age, have more. I was one of the only kids around [00:05:45] with money, you know, because I was working all the time.

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: And I didn’t [00:05:50] ask my mum and dad for much because I was I was self-sufficient and I, um. [00:05:55]

Prav Solanki: And I just want to stop you there just for a second before we move on. [00:06:00] So you said like you grew up with not very much. Yeah. Um, that can mean so [00:06:05] many things to different people. So can you just sort of paint a picture for me what [00:06:10] that means, either in terms of things or perhaps there were kids around you [00:06:15] who had this that you didn’t or, you know, they were they were running around in Nikes [00:06:20] and you were running around in, in Nicks or as I was growing up, everyone had Rockports and we had [00:06:25] Stockport’s. So, um, just, just paint a picture of what life was like [00:06:30] growing up and, and, and what made you realise that time as a kid that you had less [00:06:35] than others, or do you understand what I mean?

Andy Sloan: Yeah. It was I mean, it was a general sense. We, [00:06:40] we were very rich in other ways, so we just wasn’t rich, if that makes sense. So in [00:06:45] terms of our family life and the way that my mum and dad fed us and, you know, and [00:06:50] kind of did all that stuff, you couldn’t fault it, you know? So it’s not like we were starving and, [00:06:55] you know, dirty and cold and all the rest of it that the house was a, was a warm, like [00:07:00] rich feeling house. Yeah. It was more material. So [00:07:05] people were going on foreign holidays. We wasn’t. And my mum and dad were working all the way through the summer [00:07:10] holidays because they had to. Me being out on the streets with my friends from [00:07:15] the age of 8 or 9 all day, you know, whilst mum and dad were out working. So it was [00:07:20] just like, I look back on it and for them you could just see that it was hard, it [00:07:25] was hard graft just kind of bring you three kids up and, you know, dealing with life [00:07:30] and all the rest of it. So we wasn’t disadvantaged. We just [00:07:35] wasn’t. We just wasn’t advantaged, I guess.

Prav Solanki: So what [00:07:40] was the message from your parents when when you were growing up? From my from [00:07:45] my dad. I’m brought up in a single parent household, right? My dad’s message was, I’m working [00:07:50] this hard because I don’t want you to have to. Right.

Andy Sloan: Yeah.

Prav Solanki: So [00:07:55] don’t. I don’t want you to repeat what I’m doing right. I want you to be better. And there was always that message. [00:08:00] What was the message from Mum and dad? Was it different from dad than it was from mum? Was [00:08:05] it growing up for you?

Andy Sloan: They were both. They were both very similar in the [00:08:10] fact that they said, don’t stay around here. Right. Go off and experience stuff. [00:08:15] They. They knew if I stayed around there, I would probably have ended up [00:08:20] down the wrong path. And there was times that I started to veer down a wrong path. I got arrested, um. [00:08:25]

Prav Solanki: What for?

Andy Sloan: When I was, I was running over cars. We were where we where we [00:08:30] lived and there was a promenade all the way around the world. We’d been drinking [00:08:35] cider and thought it was funny to jump on bikes and cars and run over the top and jump off the other side and [00:08:40] got caught. I got arrested and kept in the cells overnight because my mum said leaving there. [00:08:45] Yeah. You know. So, um, there was times when I did silly things. [00:08:50] Not nothing. I mean, you could say that is a bad thing. It is, you know, at [00:08:55] the end of the day. But it was that type of stuff. It was, it was childish and immature [00:09:00] stuff, you know, but, but every time they course corrected me and leaving me in a prison [00:09:05] cell overnight was, was hard. I was, I was, uh, I also got caught. My dad used to [00:09:10] have, um, a moped and I got caught on that when I was 14. He’s riding, I’ve [00:09:15] done it. Um, but I got a warning for that. So there’s little stupid things like that, but they always corrected [00:09:20] me and they always said, you know, and it sounds really bad. It wasn’t saying you’re better than this. [00:09:25] They’re just saying we don’t want this for you, so don’t want this environment for you. We want [00:09:30] you to go off and explore other things. And I did let them down. So academically, [00:09:35] I was bored at school from a very early age. Yeah, I knew it.

Prav Solanki: Mhm. [00:09:40]

Andy Sloan: Uh, and I just didn’t put the effort in that I should have. So, [00:09:45] um, when it came to like, uh, exams and stuff like that, they, [00:09:50] they were really busy working and things. So they didn’t have time to kind of push me and sit with me and [00:09:55] coach and mentor me like other families could because they had to work. And then me being [00:10:00] quite lazy, you know, it was all last minute. It was all last minute. And I actually did okay in exams, but [00:10:05] I could’ve done a lot better.

Prav Solanki: Right? Did they turn up to parents evening?

Andy Sloan: Yeah, [00:10:10] so they did. Um, and yeah, they did. One of them did. At least [00:10:15] if they couldn’t be there together, one of them was always there. And, um, as I got into [00:10:20] secondary school, I started to get a keen interest in, uh, drama. Mhm. And [00:10:25] I was the lead in the school play three times. Um, and the reason that I was the lead is because it was [00:10:30] the only one that would sing. Um, and, um, they came to that and they were really, you [00:10:35] know, proud moments for them. Uh, I think after the third time, they were like, let somebody else have a go. Bloody [00:10:40] hell. Um, but yeah, so they were supportive in that way. And um, and [00:10:45] if there was ever any bother, they, they would always have my back, you know, so [00:10:50] um, really supportive from that point of view.

Prav Solanki: Uh, was there any [00:10:55] point while you were at school or, or during that point where you spoke to a careers advisor [00:11:00] or you had a clear idea in your head, this is what I want to do when I grow [00:11:05] up. Did you want to be a racing car driver, an astronaut, a do you know what I mean? Did did you know what [00:11:10] you wanted to do? When I grow up, I’m going to be a no idea, no idea. [00:11:15]

Andy Sloan: And. And I coasted all the way through school with that. No idea. Um, my A levels [00:11:20] were theatre studies, sociology and English language.

Prav Solanki: Right.

Andy Sloan: I [00:11:25] got, um, got a place in Hollyoaks, um, and didn’t, didn’t [00:11:30] take it. My auntie actually got me the discussion with Phil Redmond [00:11:35] and I didn’t go.

Prav Solanki: Why.

Andy Sloan: I bottled it, I don’t [00:11:40] know. I wasn’t confident in my ability, I guess. You know, and I didn’t want [00:11:45] to be. I don’t know, I felt like it had a bit of not imposter syndrome, but I [00:11:50] don’t know why it didn’t go. And that’s not the only occasion I got a job on a Disney Cruise line when I was quite young [00:11:55] and didn’t get that either. Um, and I used to do these things thinking this is [00:12:00] the way that I want to kind of move my life forward, but then divert [00:12:05] onto something else. And, and, and that happened when I was [00:12:10] younger. That happened quite a lot. I ran pubs, I worked in hotels, um, as I was [00:12:15] the youngest licensee in the country. And I just turned 18 and passed my personal license test and [00:12:20] was, was a personal licensee. So there was, there was stuff I was trying, but I just didn’t know. Yeah. [00:12:25]

Prav Solanki: So up until your A-levels, you were working. Yeah. You know, you had this paper [00:12:30] around, you was working in a chippy. What else did you say you were doing.

Andy Sloan: In the newsagents as well?

Prav Solanki: In the in [00:12:35] the newsagents as well, serving customers and that sort of thing. So it seems like from [00:12:40] a very young age, similar to me, I was working in my dad’s shop, right? Always customer facing [00:12:45] very, very early on. And what do you think that taught you in terms of the sort [00:12:50] of skill sets, people skills and stuff like that from from an early age? Do you think that had any bearing [00:12:55] on the way you are today?

Andy Sloan: Yeah, I mean, not the people around [00:13:00] as such, because you didn’t see people, you know, thrown through a door and got off.

Prav Solanki: Yeah, yeah.

Andy Sloan: But what [00:13:05] I did do is, is, is give me, um, a work ethic because I had to get up if it was raining, if [00:13:10] it was snowing, if it was sunny, people wanted their papers. They didn’t want excuses. You had to deliver. [00:13:15] So that gave me, you know, that kind of you’ve got to do this and there isn’t [00:13:20] that. Yeah. And I used to remember a Christmas, you know, getting all the tips and thinking, this is great and stuff like that. I don’t [00:13:25] think people do that now, but um, papers delivered anymore. So so that was great. [00:13:30] Um, in the newsagents. Uh, yeah, it was converting, it was the local community, you [00:13:35] know, um, people come in and talk to you and and that was good. And I’ve always been quite [00:13:40] a confident communicator. Maybe not as articulate as it could be, but and [00:13:45] I do tend to waffle at times, but I do, I do like, um, people like [00:13:50] people person. And that came from an early age. The chippy was slightly different because it was a Chinese [00:13:55] chippy and the owners didn’t speak a lot of English. Um, so that kind of taught [00:14:00] me how to navigate through situations and, and kind of establish myself in [00:14:05] that chippy. And, and I had, I had some good times. I had some good times there, to be honest with you. You [00:14:10] know, the kids could speak more English than the kind of parents. Yeah, got to know them, stuff [00:14:15] like that. So I think each one did give me something and it actually led to what I did after [00:14:20] A-levels, really, which is I went to Wigan Tech to do a HND in [00:14:25] hotel catering and institutional management, and that was because of all of that stuff. [00:14:30] That kind of made me think, well, maybe hospitality and, you know, is the way forward [00:14:35] for me. Yeah. I didn’t get the, um, a levels that I wanted to get to go [00:14:40] to university. So wig and tech was kind of like the fallback, if that makes sense.

Prav Solanki: But yeah, [00:14:45] yeah.

Andy Sloan: I moved out, moved to Wigan, loved Wigan and started that [00:14:50] HMD, which was brilliant for the first time, and then I sacked it off. Y [00:14:55] I’ve got a job in the 80s wine Lodge and [00:15:00] uh, and they offered me digs above the wine lodge as well. [00:15:05]

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: As a bar supervisor. And I just thought [00:15:10] that that was a better path for me than academia [00:15:15] type thing. Do you know what I mean? I don’t enjoy, I don’t enjoy academia at all. But, [00:15:20] uh, I did enjoy, I did enjoy the kind of customer element. So I did, I left and [00:15:25] my parents were really, really annoyed with me. Um, but I left and said, right, I’m moving [00:15:30] in above a pub. Up, and I’m going to be the bar supervisor of it, and I did. [00:15:35] And, you know, I worked in Yates Wine Lodges in Wigan, Blackburn, [00:15:40] Manchester. And so I moved around because Yates wanted me [00:15:45] to, you know, to, to go to different sites and help out. So quite early on as [00:15:50] a very, very young individual, I was, you know, somebody that could go in and fix things for people. [00:15:55]

Prav Solanki: What problems were you fixing back then, Andy. So, so as a bar supervisor or [00:16:00] someone saying, right, can you go to Manchester, Blackburn or wherever it is? What sort [00:16:05] of problems were you going in and fixing at a very young age?

Andy Sloan: So people thieving. No, no, no, [00:16:10] that was one of the biggest things.

Prav Solanki: Right?

Andy Sloan: Stealing our hotels and stuff. Ttyl’s not balancing, you [00:16:15] know, and not having controls in place to make sure that when a shift changed, as an example, [00:16:20] the tills were checked because all the staff were blaming each other for tills being down and stuff like that. So [00:16:25] going in and helping with that type of stuff. Um, a big one was stocktake. So stop [00:16:30] takes being well off. What they should be. And so I go around. Yates’s wine lodge and [00:16:35] work with the manager and make sure the stock takes were done properly and documented properly. [00:16:40] Um, or I did this um in Blackpool, I went and relaunched [00:16:45] the menu for them. I’m not a chef. Uh, I don’t know what I was doing, you know, [00:16:50] but they said, oh, you did a h d for a return.

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: And you go in there and launch a menu. [00:16:55]

Prav Solanki: Uh, put a menu together.

Andy Sloan: Yeah, yeah, which I did. I worked with the chefs there. We launched it, we got local [00:17:00] press involved and stuff. So I was doing stuff like that quite early on and I really enjoyed [00:17:05] it. I did really enjoy it. Um, I progressed from the 80s wine lodges into McDonald [00:17:10] hotels and not the Golden Arch. Mcdonald, a Scottish company.

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: I [00:17:15] remember going for an interview at a place called Craxton Wood Hotel, [00:17:20] which is on the Wirral. It’s, uh, a rosette four star, privately [00:17:25] owned hotel by a guy called Tony Petrenko. A little Italian. French guy.

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: He [00:17:30] said, so what experience have you got? And I said, I’ve worked in Yates Wine Lodges. And he just looked at me and [00:17:35] was like, but he took a chance on me. You know, he gave me a job as a general assistant. That was my job title. [00:17:40] You couldn’t get much more broad. You know, uh, everything just landed on the general [00:17:45] assistant and, um, worked with him, um, for a number of years, and he upped my game. [00:17:50] Silver service, um, cocktail bar. And, you know, his, he was [00:17:55] renowned for quality of Liverpool football players used to go to the restaurant all the [00:18:00] time, you know, Jan Molby, Ian Rush, they were all like regulars of this place. And he was [00:18:05] like a mini celebrity. Tony, you know, people, he’s quite enigmatic [00:18:10] and I, I sucked that up. I watched him, I learned from him every skill that [00:18:15] I could get that he wanted to teach me. And then one day he called me in and said, I’m selling [00:18:20] the hotel. He was getting on a bit, you know? So he was like, it’s my time. [00:18:25] I’m gonna retire. I’m gonna sell it to this company called MacDonald hotels. Um, and [00:18:30] we want you to stay along with the transaction and become the assistant [00:18:35] manager of the hotel with the new with the new ownership, um, [00:18:40] which was massive, you know.

Andy Sloan: So I did the led the transaction well, didn’t lead the [00:18:45] transaction hotel transaction, but I was the, I was the, the continuous [00:18:50] part of the transaction, if that makes sense. So I was involved in it because I was [00:18:55] going to be taking part ownership of it kind of after, after the event and, [00:19:00] and stayed with MacDonald hotels. And then what happened is the same thing at Yates Wine Lodges. I got [00:19:05] called up to Scotland and I was sat with like a one of the directors and he said, [00:19:10] we think you would be really good if we if you go around different hotels [00:19:15] where we’ve got challenges and problems and help, you know, help with that. And he said, so [00:19:20] we want you to be like an area relief strategy, whatever, whatever. And I went off and did [00:19:25] that. And I worked in probably eight different hotels over a period of time doing different things, [00:19:30] but they were similar in nature. So problems with staffing, problems with banking, [00:19:35] you know, stock takes that type of stuff or not performing as good as they could and [00:19:40] trying to understand why the gross margins were off, you know.

Prav Solanki: So yeah.

Andy Sloan: Quite similar [00:19:45] in vein and quite strategic as well.

Prav Solanki: But you had no formal training [00:19:50] in accountancy. You had no formal training in business per [00:19:55] se or any of that. Right. You’d I guess you’d been under Tony’s wing for [00:20:00] a while. You’d worked in the shop. Um, you’d done what you’d done at Yates’s Wine Lodge and I [00:20:05] guess just picked all these bits and pieces up on the job, right?

Andy Sloan: Yeah. Yeah. No, absolutely. [00:20:10] And, um, and it was, it was all self-taught, you know, there wasn’t really other than [00:20:15] like Tony Dam teaching me how to, how to make a Negroni and stuff like that. Um, which [00:20:20] I still make a very good Negroni, by the way. Then there wasn’t really a lot that had been [00:20:25] formally trained to do so. It was kind of like on the job, make it up. Hope [00:20:30] for the best type stuff, which for whatever reason just seemed to kind of work for me. [00:20:35] And I had quite, quite a good experience with them until [00:20:40] one move and I moved to Northumberland, a concert in County [00:20:45] Durham, and I was the, I was the deputy manager [00:20:50] of the hotel, the Royal Hotel and um, the hotel got burgled [00:20:55] by gunpoint and I was in involved in that and I just had [00:21:00] to come home. It was, it was horrendous. It’s delicious. You can see now.

Prav Solanki: Yeah, yeah. So you were [00:21:05] you were there when that happened?

Andy Sloan: Yeah. I was held up by gunpoint as they robbed the hotel. Wow. [00:21:10] It was a really bad experience, but, um, the [00:21:15] hotel was out in the sticks in concert. It was remote, you know? So when [00:21:20] these people were doing what they were doing, there was just no one there to kind [00:21:25] of help and support. So.

Prav Solanki: How old were you then, Andy?

Andy Sloan: God. Uh, [00:21:30] early 20s. Right. Um. So, um. Yeah. Young lad. [00:21:35]

Prav Solanki: Terrified.

Andy Sloan: Yeah. After that cop show. Up until that point. Yeah. [00:21:40] Didn’t want to be there. Too remote for me. Confidence gone. Came [00:21:45] home, quit. Came home. And my mum and dad had moved into a smaller house. And they downsized then. [00:21:50] And I had a box room. And I remember getting back there with my bags and thinking, oh, God, [00:21:55] I’m back. You know, I’m back here. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.

Prav Solanki: Do this.

Andy Sloan: For long. Uh, [00:22:00] and, and you could see that for them, it was probably an inconvenience, me [00:22:05] being back. Yeah. You know, um, it would never say that.

Prav Solanki: And of course [00:22:10] not.

Andy Sloan: Um, you kind of settle back into family life, but it wasn’t going to be long. So I decided [00:22:15] that I was going to have a career change at that point And.

Prav Solanki: Do you quit your job [00:22:20] at this point?

Andy Sloan: I did. I quit and immediately.

Prav Solanki: And then [00:22:25] so for a period of time, you were without a job. And then in your mind, at that point in [00:22:30] your life, were you sort of thinking, well, what is my next move? Did you have an [00:22:35] idea what what was that going to be?

Andy Sloan: No. So I decided I didn’t [00:22:40] want to be in hospitality anymore.

Prav Solanki: Right.

Andy Sloan: And not just because of [00:22:45] the the kind of what happened at the Royal diamond, but the hours, everything else it you know, [00:22:50] I just thought, I just can’t do that. I also wanted to [00:22:55] I started to get a little bit frustrated with being moved from a hotel to a hotel, [00:23:00] if that makes sense. You kind of made friends and settled down for a little period of time, and then as soon as you [00:23:05] kind of feel comfortable, the director calls you and says, I need you in another hotel and you can start all [00:23:10] over again. It was quite draining to do that, you know, over and over.

Prav Solanki: Just out of curiosity, is [00:23:15] he, as a young 20 something year old lad. Obviously he was hopping from hotel to hotel. [00:23:20] Where were you living at this point? In the hotels.

Andy Sloan: Or in the.

Prav Solanki: Hotels? In the hotels?

Andy Sloan: Yeah. [00:23:25]

Prav Solanki: Was there ever any opportunities for relationships and stuff like that? What about the personal [00:23:30] side of your life that sort of developed? Had you met Lynette at this point or.

Andy Sloan: No, no [00:23:35] no no no. So there’s nine years age gap between me and Lynette. There’ll be something [00:23:40] very wrong. Uh, yeah. No. So I hadn’t met her then. I’ve always. [00:23:45] I’ve always had girlfriends. I think in my in my whole lifetime, there’s [00:23:50] probably only a period of maybe two years that I’ve not been with someone.

Prav Solanki: Mhm. [00:23:55]

Andy Sloan: I’m the type of person that has to be with someone.

Prav Solanki: Mhm.

Andy Sloan: I’m not good on [00:24:00] my own. Um, and I’m, I’m self aware of that. Um, so relationships [00:24:05] have always been a part. When I was in school, I had a girlfriend [00:24:10] all the way through high school. And then when I was a wig in tech, I met a [00:24:15] girl from Manchester and we were together for a while, and when I was in hotels, I met someone [00:24:20] at Craxton Wood. Do you know when we. She actually moved with me to [00:24:25] some of these hotels. So. Yeah, always, always a big part [00:24:30] of what I do. Yeah. What I am, I guess is, is, is the relationship side of things. [00:24:35] And, and I did make sure I made time for that. I probably wasn’t the best boyfriend in the world, if you want me to be honest [00:24:40] with you.

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: Hard work, I would say. Um, but, um, [00:24:45] fun. I like fun. Uh, I still like fun now. Um, fun doesn’t like me as much anymore, [00:24:50] but I do still like it.

Prav Solanki: How how does that go hand in hand when you’re sort of [00:24:55] running these hotels, pubs and things like that? I take it you, you [00:25:00] know, you have these, I guess, you know, you you’re a drinker, you’re a manager, you’re a [00:25:05] does that all just go hand in hand with the industry because you’re socialising [00:25:10] and, you know, obviously there’s a line between you and your guests and stuff, but you’ve got your colleagues and stuff like [00:25:15] that is, is that part and parcel of the lifestyle, so to speak?

Andy Sloan: It is. And, you know, [00:25:20] it’s one of the reasons not not just the situation that happened, but, uh, I [00:25:25] was a smoker. Yeah. And it was in those days, [00:25:30] people were smoking in the offices. You know, those ashtrays on desk?

Prav Solanki: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Andy Sloan: So, um, [00:25:35] if you didn’t smoke, you know, you were looked, it looked oddly at, um, especially in those [00:25:40] type of industries and, and alcohol was a big part of it as well. And I think alcohol was taken over a little [00:25:45] bit.

Prav Solanki: Mhm.

Andy Sloan: And I still today got a very fine [00:25:50] line relationship with alcohol.

Prav Solanki: Mhm.

Andy Sloan: There has been alcoholism [00:25:55] in my family’s past, you know. Um, and so I’m always conscious of that. [00:26:00] And I, I wanted to remove myself from a situation where it was readily available because. And [00:26:05] when I was 18, I was driving back from Manchester and, um, [00:26:10] I got pulled over by the police and I was over the limit and got prosecuted for drink [00:26:15] driving.

Prav Solanki: Right.

Andy Sloan: That was a kind of realisation point at that point in time. There’s been [00:26:20] different things that have happened that have just basically said hospitality is probably not for you. That’s [00:26:25] the only time I didn’t leave it for good. And we’ll come to that in a second because it’s how I met my wife.

Prav Solanki: Right? [00:26:30]

Andy Sloan: But, um, yeah, I did for that period of time, I decided hospitality is done. [00:26:35] I’ve had a riot. I’ve enjoyed it and it’s time to move on. So it’s [00:26:40] back at home. And I was like, I need to, I need to get a job. So I looking in the newspapers [00:26:45] because we still looked at jobs in newspapers. Then there was a Blue Arrows temp agency. [00:26:50] They were looking for outbound telemarketers for, um, a credit card company. And [00:26:55] I thought, I’m going to give that a go. And it was a temporary contract. There was no opportunity [00:27:00] loan or no promise of a permanent one and rocked up at M, B [00:27:05] and A, which is now Bank of America, which is now Lloyds Bank In Chester [00:27:10] and got the job. And next thing you know, I was a telemarketer and loved it. Found [00:27:15] found this niche that was just like, I’m phoning people up when they’re watching Coronation [00:27:20] Street and trying to sell them a credit card, you know, and some selling PPI [00:27:25] and, you know, the insurances and all that type of stuff. And I was just natural at it. Um, [00:27:30] and I was earning good money. So I moved down to my mum’s. Yeah. And if you know Chester, [00:27:35] there’s a place in Chester called Curzon Park, which is probably one of the nicest areas [00:27:40] of Chester overlooking the racecourse. Uh, and took a house share with a couple of [00:27:45] other lads from me. And, um, I moved in there. We were making money hand over fist. Prav. [00:27:50]

Prav Solanki: Right.

Andy Sloan: You know, all.

Prav Solanki: These decent commissions.

Andy Sloan: Loads of commission. [00:27:55]

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: Um, it was, it was bad in a way, because [00:28:00] like, PPI was a big part of our commission drive and now, you know, everyone was mis sold PPI. [00:28:05]

Prav Solanki: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Andy Sloan: I can I take credit.

Prav Solanki: By you?

Andy Sloan: Yeah, yeah, by. The [00:28:10] insurance companies were throwing money at you. He won a [00:28:15] mini for selling insurance on credit cards. So it was A and N, B and A. The [00:28:20] 4500 people worked at M, B and A at the height 4500 people. [00:28:25] Uh, and it was like a party. It was such a good company to work for. They used [00:28:30] to have different things above the door. Think of yourself as a customer, above every door in the building [00:28:35] and on the walls. Complacency is devastating. And you used to get this preset [00:28:40] card and it was like as an NBA person and it kind of lists your tribal. [00:28:45] And I loved all of that. I was really bought into it. Um, and you know, [00:28:50] they used to say, you know, NBA’s got a secret sauce. And I, I was all about that secret. I was hooked [00:28:55] on that secret sauce and, and stayed at M, B and A for a long time and progressed. So started off [00:29:00] as an outbound telemarketer.

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: Um, got made permanent as an outbound telemarketer, [00:29:05] then got made team leader. Then they used to do these family days called Corn Boils because it’s an [00:29:10] American company. So you can imagine it’s cheesy. So they wanted to do a pop stars. It was [00:29:15] a charity thing. And, and the kind of end of the whole process was to perform at this corn boil. And [00:29:20] I went for it. And they did it exactly like the TV series. They got it filmed. [00:29:25] It was like a production that they pulled together on the whole process of it, and I got into the [00:29:30] band. And do you know what that did? It got me recognised by senior leadership of the bank. [00:29:35] They probably wouldn’t have known me as Andy Sloan, the outbound team leader. [00:29:40] And these people were all of a sudden, um, I was I was in front [00:29:45] of them. You know, we did special performances. Um, we had the newspaper. Then [00:29:50] there’s an article about it, you know, that talks about Andy Sloan from Solanki and stuff, which I’m not [00:29:55] from Saltney, but, um, that they put that anyway and it did, it got me recognised and, and, and my career [00:30:00] just started to really progress in, in the bank and section [00:30:05] manager, department manager, VP, um, [00:30:10] and just really progressed and loved working at the bank. The bank got sold and it was bought [00:30:15] by Bank of America. Very different culture. Their culture was the top 1% gets rewarded [00:30:20] really heavily. The bottom 1% is gone. Every know it was that type of culture. So very. [00:30:25]

Prav Solanki: Thorough.

Andy Sloan: Yeah. And it came to a point where they were making [00:30:30] cuts as they wanted to realise synergies. And it was about 2007, I was [00:30:35] responsible for our telemarketing agencies in India. So [00:30:40] I had to go to India a good few times to set these up. Loved it. You know, such an experience. [00:30:45] Bangalore and Mumbai. Flying to Goa for the weekend for like £1.80 [00:30:50] and you know, partying and stuff and then going back. Yeah. Fantastic experience. But for America wanted [00:30:55] to make redundancies and they wanted it for the first round to be voluntary. So everyone who [00:31:00] was over a certain grade in the bank, Uh, a letter was put on their desk. A white envelope was put on [00:31:05] their desk. And I remember sitting down and open this and we had they were called pods, but they [00:31:10] were like cubicles, you know? Yeah. And when you got to department manager, you had a big cubicle with your own table [00:31:15] in the middle and stuff like that. So you had a bit of space. Yeah. I remember sitting down and open it and going, I’m taking [00:31:20] that. So I got up and walked into my boss’s office and said, I’m going to take voluntary redundancy. [00:31:25] And he said, um, no, no, no, no, no, we don’t want you to take it. And I was like, but I really want to take it. [00:31:30] Um, it was enhanced, you know, and for someone my age and stuff like that, it was [00:31:35] a nice little earner and I thought I could just get another job, you know? So I took it and [00:31:40] left. And then six months later, the financial crash happened and half the bank got made redundant. [00:31:45] Forced redundancy on statutory redundancy pay. And I remember [00:31:50] I was then I was in a job. So I moved on, you know, and I got a job at [00:31:55] Reedj um recruitment, you know um in, in Manchester.

Prav Solanki: Doing sales [00:32:00] again.

Andy Sloan: Yeah. So it was recruiting for CFOs and PhDs [00:32:05] of businesses that read finance. So.

Prav Solanki: Right.

Andy Sloan: Um, not general recruitment, you [00:32:10] know, specialist recruitment and the market is flooded with all my mates and stuff like that. And jobs were [00:32:15] hard to get. And I was like, I made the right decision there.

Prav Solanki: Um, so we’ll go back, we’ll go [00:32:20] back to read.

Andy Sloan: Yeah. So I, um, I kind of thought to myself, I’ve made the right decision [00:32:25] there and I’ve found another job whilst I was working at Reed, recruiting for PhDs [00:32:30] and stuff like that. I started working with a company in Warrington called Brookson. They [00:32:35] were like an umbrella company for, um, contractors. You know, they did contract [00:32:40] payroll. It was like a cash cow, um, business. And 35 was coming in and they [00:32:45] had to reinvent their organisation and I was recruiting for them and then saw that they were [00:32:50] looking to take on a head of sales. So I applied for it. And [00:32:55] got it.

Prav Solanki: Right.

Andy Sloan: And I wasn’t enjoying reading. If you’ve ever been [00:33:00] in recruitment, it’s not always the nicest industry to be in. It’s it’s it’s [00:33:05] tough. And, um, I had a boss that wasn’t particularly nice and I was going [00:33:10] to Manchester every day and hated it, you know. So I um met by [00:33:15] this time.

Prav Solanki: Right.

Andy Sloan: Um.

Prav Solanki: Did you meet Lynette while [00:33:20] you were at Reed or just after?

Andy Sloan: So it was while I was at Bank of America. Um, I met Lynette. [00:33:25] So Lynette came over. Lynette. Irish, and, uh, she came over to study law [00:33:30] at, uh, law college. So she wanted to be a lawyer. And, uh, I lived in [00:33:35] Christleton at the time with another girl, and Lynette got a job in my local pub, [00:33:40] and I used to go to the pub. Um, not a lot, but I used to go to the pub and I’d see Lynette in [00:33:45] there and she had a boyfriend back in Ireland. And. But there was, there was just something between us [00:33:50] and um, I don’t even know what it was, but she kind [00:33:55] of she kind of hooked me.

Prav Solanki: Some chemistry there. The ignited [00:34:00] it. And you.

Andy Sloan: Know what? We’re both Catholics. We’re both got quite high moral compasses from [00:34:05] from that regard. And nothing happened. But we knew that it could and we knew that it probably [00:34:10] should. So, um, I, I, I first of all bought the pub. So [00:34:15] because I thought the only way to get is to become a boss. Um, so [00:34:20] I bought the lease, the landlord was, um, was elderly and he was selling up anyway, [00:34:25] and there was like seven years left on it and I, I took it on. So I was working at Bank of America and running [00:34:30] the pub at the same time.

Prav Solanki: Jesus.

Andy Sloan: But I put in a manager into the pub, so it wasn’t like it was [00:34:35] there, but I was above it. I was living above it anyway. Yeah. So yeah, so that was going on for a while and then let [00:34:40] them finish their law degree. And I remember the conversation with her. She’s like, right, I’m going [00:34:45] home. And I was like, what do you mean you’re going home? You know, she’s like going back to Ireland. I finished my degree, [00:34:50] I finished my LPC, sorry, and going back to Ireland. And she did. And then [00:34:55] at the weekend after she went, I was in the pub and I’d had a few drinks and the old landlord was [00:35:00] in there and we just got talking and he goes, what are you doing? And I was like, what do you mean? He goes, [00:35:05] everybody here knows that there’s something between you two. You know, you’re miserable now. [00:35:10] Why? Why aren’t you doing something about this? So I phoned her up and said, you need to [00:35:15] come back and you need to split up with your boyfriend. And I split up with my girlfriend and [00:35:20] she came back and we moved in together. So we went from not being together to being [00:35:25] together and living with each other above a pub in in Chester.

Prav Solanki: Wow.

Andy Sloan: And [00:35:30] she got a job as a paralegal or trainee solicitor in Easton. So she was going [00:35:35] off doing that. I was going to Bank of America. Then at night we were coming home and I kept teasing [00:35:40] her about her being a landlady, which she didn’t want to be, you know. And I then started having a few beers with some [00:35:45] of the locals because that’s part of the job. And, um, and we, we probably [00:35:50] lasted six months. So we were just before Christmas, and a brewery came to me and said, we’re [00:35:55] selling a load of our properties. And this, this pub is one of the ones that we’re going to [00:36:00] sell. So, um, you’ve got a choice, which is the chain that was [00:36:05] buying the pub didn’t offer license, um, like leases. They only offered management positions so [00:36:10] that you could become the manager of the pub. And I said, I don’t want that. So they bought me on my [00:36:15] lease and what I’d done in six months is brought a new chef in, tapped into the student [00:36:20] community that Lynette was part of, really upped the value of the pub quite significantly. And [00:36:25] they had to pay me off on a run rate basis. So I made I made some [00:36:30] decent money out of coming out of the lease.

Andy Sloan: But remember, we had to move out to the pub like a week and a half before Christmas. [00:36:35] Uh, and, um, and, and I’d taken the redundancy from, [00:36:40] so we were just in a little bit better position. Yeah, [00:36:45] yeah, yeah. Um, so that was, that was kind of, that was the, the meeting [00:36:50] Lynette part. The read part, like I said, didn’t enjoy. Not a good boss, [00:36:55] didn’t enjoy the environment, went to Brookson and loved working in accountancy. [00:37:00] So I worked in accountancy there as the head of sales, redeveloped their wholesales [00:37:05] organisation for them because they used to have self-employed contractors come into them. [00:37:10] It was all inbound. That’s why I was saying cash cow because they really didn’t have to market it. [00:37:15] You know, they were really well known for what they did and it was just natural. They had loads of, um, [00:37:20] agency relationships and the agencies used to get a kick back if they [00:37:25] referred somebody through to Brookson, you know, so it was good. But when I, a 35 came, [00:37:30] they had to change all of that and they couldn’t do it in the same way anymore. And PSC became [00:37:35] a thing, you know, contractors were setting up as limited companies, Ir35, were you inside or outside? [00:37:40] That all became real and they had to reinvent their business, which meant that I set up [00:37:45] a sales team.

Andy Sloan: So we had an outbound team, an inbound team, working with the marketing [00:37:50] people, you know, to really develop what brookson needed to be, um, in, [00:37:55] in the kind of in the new world and, and stayed there for a number of years with [00:38:00] them. Enjoyed it. Um, still family owned by Rick and Carl Evanson. They were, they [00:38:05] were great people. Uh, loved the party friends with the Rooneys, you know? Um, so [00:38:10] yeah, it was good. It was a good time, but, um, I don’t even [00:38:15] know how this happened, so I, I, I was on a business trip and I was approached [00:38:20] by someone who owned a Dental business and that Dental business [00:38:25] with Dental buying group. Um, a guy called Alan Stockwin owned it and he just sold it [00:38:30] to a private equity company. So Nova Capital and Nova wanted to, um, [00:38:35] change it because it was their kind of debut investment. And I don’t even know [00:38:40] how I became entwined in all of this. But anyway, I became the sales and marketing director of um, of [00:38:45] Dbg Dental buying group. And that’s where dentistry started for me.

Prav Solanki: Well, what [00:38:50] was that? Some kind of chance meeting?

Andy Sloan: Yes.

Prav Solanki: Is it so [00:38:55] foggy you can’t quite remember how it happened?

Andy Sloan: Yeah, it is a bit. It’s a blur, but there was a [00:39:00] there was Alan, um a a head-hunter and just some conversations that [00:39:05] resulted in me going to meet the CEO. So not Alan. He put in a CEO, [00:39:10] John and um, and sent over and getting on well with them and um, and then [00:39:15] them making me and it wasn’t just the, the sales and marketing director, I became a board director. [00:39:20] I was a, you know, I was named on the, on the, on company’s house as a board director and stuff. [00:39:25] And yeah, and kind of thought dentistry, you know, how bad could [00:39:30] that be? Um, so I joined it and Dbg is very similar [00:39:35] to a CEO in a lot of ways. It was multifaceted. Um, they did technical [00:39:40] servicing of Dental equipment. They sold stuff through a shop and we had a [00:39:45] team of trainers that went out into the marketplace and went into Dental practices and trained on [00:39:50] medical emergencies, infection control, you know, all of those core topics and stuff like that. And [00:39:55] we did compliance. So we did seek compliance, and we did on site assessments. And we [00:40:00] built a very rudimentary SaaS platform where practices [00:40:05] could get rid of the files that we used to ship out to them when they became a Dbg member [00:40:10] and do it online. So quite a lot of similarities to what I’m doing. Can I now?

Prav Solanki: Yeah. [00:40:15]

Andy Sloan: Yeah, I loved it. I remember my office, I walked in and when I was at Brookson [00:40:20] again, it was pods and like banks of desks, I walked into them. Allen had [00:40:25] built this beautiful building in the middle of Winsford, in an industrial estate that was oak [00:40:30] framed. One of his other companies was an oak framing company, and he felt this oak framed glass thing, [00:40:35] and my office was right at the back. And it was huge. It was it was so huge and [00:40:40] had glass doors on either end. And on one side it was the sales team. And on the other side it was the marketing [00:40:45] and finance teams and stuff like that. And I was in the middle, and I remember the day I walked [00:40:50] in and I stopped at my desk for the very first time. I thought, I’ve made it here. [00:40:55] Yeah, I’m good at this. Is this is like a turning point in my in my career. [00:41:00] And after a little while, Synova said, we’re going to [00:41:05] sell the business. We need to show on our debut acquisition that we can get a really good [00:41:10] return because, you know, obviously works well for them for going on and raising more capital.

Andy Sloan: Yeah. [00:41:15] Um, and, um, they wanted me to lead that process. So [00:41:20] I, um, was the lead, there was me and the CEO who was [00:41:25] the CFO. And between the two of us, we had to do all the beauty parades with everybody. Henry [00:41:30] Schein was one of the interested bidders. Um, there was like 12 different things. And the [00:41:35] only doubt about the whole thing is, um, and this is a private equity, [00:41:40] um, thing. So, And the beauty parades were set on a day, and everyone was flying in [00:41:45] from different places. And we were going to be in London for a week and blah, blah, blah. My wife decided not to give [00:41:50] birth to my son, um, and she went overdue by two weeks. Uh, I [00:41:55] actually gave birth the weekend before the beauty parade started. So my son was born [00:42:00] over the weekend, and on Monday morning I was gone to London for a week. So the first kind of week in [00:42:05] my son’s birth, I wasn’t here. Um, and that was tough.

Prav Solanki: Yeah, I bet. [00:42:10]

Andy Sloan: And, and I remember speaking to the private equity team and they were like, we can’t change this, Andy. You’ve got [00:42:15] to come, you know? And I was like, okay, so, um, I went down and did it and we [00:42:20] ended up selling dbg to I’d h.

Prav Solanki: I.

Andy Sloan: Who [00:42:25] I wanted to absorb it and, and kind of in-source stuff [00:42:30] that they used to pay people like shine to do. So consumables. I remember sitting down [00:42:35] with Simon Gambold and telling him that he no longer supplied my dentist with consumables, [00:42:40] and we’ve taken all this away from him and all the technical engineering that smaller [00:42:45] companies were doing regionally for Id-h. My dentist. Yeah, all in house [00:42:50] and, you know, completely created a synergy model that benefited the, the group [00:42:55] of stuff and then worked with them on the acquisition of Dental directory. So it was, you know, I [00:43:00] became a director of my dentist. I was listed on their company as well. So I went from my [00:43:05] first ever private equity transaction into working for [00:43:10] Carlyle and Palamon as feedback is. So you’ve gone from a boutique debut [00:43:15] investment to a colossal, you know, uh, [00:43:20] investor and, and, and enjoyed it and stayed with them for a few years. And, um, again, [00:43:25] a chance meeting with somebody called Patrick Allen from, uh, Henry Schein. Like, [00:43:30] why didn’t you come and work for us? And I was like, doing what? And he said, well, you [00:43:35] know, we’ve got this kind of idea for a new business unit, which [00:43:40] is not about selling stuff. You know, like consumables and things like that. It’s about [00:43:45] supporting practices with better business choices and decisions. And we want you to [00:43:50] come in and develop it and lead it. And it was Henry Schein Business Solutions. So I joined and [00:43:55] became a UK general manager of business solutions, um, which [00:44:00] suddenly morphed into this bigger job, which was Henry Schein Financial Services [00:44:05] because I worked in accountancy for a bit and Bank of America. Naturally, I’m the person to get that, [00:44:10] which meant dealing with the FCA and all that good stuff and doing capital equipment, um, financing. [00:44:15] And then got given the job in Europe looking after 11 different countries.

Prav Solanki: Wow. [00:44:20]

Andy Sloan: The progression of shine was, was good. It was very [00:44:25] good. And I loved Henry Schein. That was probably one of the best eras of my life. [00:44:30] I loved the whole ethos of doing well by doing good and helping health happen, and all [00:44:35] the kind of slogans that shine use. But they don’t just use. They kind of do mean [00:44:40] it. You know.

Prav Solanki: They almost live by them rather than just being words on a wall [00:44:45] or. Whatever. Right? Just lip service. It’s actually the live and breathe those values. [00:44:50]

Andy Sloan: And I love the whole team shine, you know, approach. And I still call myself team shine [00:44:55] now today. You know, I was with Vikki Goodall, the UK lead last [00:45:00] night. And I still call myself Henry Shine. I still probably got oh well yeah. There you go. There’s [00:45:05] Henry shine calculator. So I.

Prav Solanki: Still.

Andy Sloan: Shine here. My [00:45:10] kids used to have Henry shine bobble hats. And I wear for this great guy at Henry Shine, who was based in [00:45:15] Long Island called Keith Dreyer. And he was the lead for financial services. And I just clicked [00:45:20] with him and we were like best mates. And he used to come over and we used to do tours in Europe [00:45:25] and we’d do like three countries in two days and stuff like that. And the guy was nuts. He had me in Philadelphia [00:45:30] running, um, with us Marines and these fitness [00:45:35] freaks all the way through Philadelphia at half five in the morning. And there’s a picture of me. I don’t know whether I’ve got [00:45:40] one here. There’s a picture of me. These are all mostly like people around [00:45:45] me. This short, stumpy, fat guy on the end having a heart attack. But it [00:45:50] finished up the rocky steps.

Prav Solanki: Right?

Andy Sloan: And and and the feeling that I got, I kept [00:45:55] the pace with them. I’ve still got it on my Strava. I kept the pace with them, although it did nearly kill me and I was late. I [00:46:00] needed the defibrillator at the end and I was at the top of these rocky steps in Philadelphia [00:46:05] thinking, this is amazing. You know, the feeling, the kind of. Is it.

Prav Solanki: Euphoria?

Andy Sloan: Yeah, [00:46:10] yeah, yeah. Um, I was on such a high and um, and loved, loved, [00:46:15] loved working for Keith. He was a good boss. He, I learned, I think I learnt [00:46:20] a lot about how I am now from Keith.

Prav Solanki: Mhm.

Andy Sloan: He was one of those leaders where you just [00:46:25] wanted to suck stuff out of. And I think I mentioned that earlier. I did it with Tony.

Prav Solanki: Tony. Yeah, [00:46:30] yeah.

Andy Sloan: I try and do that. I’m, I’m probably a Heinz variety of leadership styles, [00:46:35] but I think that’s the best way to create your own. You know.

Prav Solanki: Just.

Andy Sloan: There’s, there shouldn’t be [00:46:40] one set anyway. So yeah, worked with I loved it. And then, um, again, I don’t know how this [00:46:45] happened, but somebody phoned me up and said, we’re recruiting for a business development director of a Dental chain, [00:46:50] and we think that you might be someone that could, could, could be good. And it was Portman, um, [00:46:55] working for Sam Waley-cohen. So I went into the process, not, not expecting to get the job. And [00:47:00] I kept getting through another level and another level and another level. And I [00:47:05] was like, I don’t know what’s going on here. I’m not a corporate finance person. I’m not from private [00:47:10] equity. I’ve never bought a dental practice in my life. Why would they want me? [00:47:15] Um, and, um, I got the job and, um, a company [00:47:20] director again too, listed on the company’s shareholder, you know, the whole kit and caboodle sat on [00:47:25] the board of directors with them and joined as business development director with no Scooby doo of what I [00:47:30] was doing. Um, and I think that they were trying to hedge their bets because they took on the [00:47:35] second candidate as well as me and he was like a pure M&A person.

Prav Solanki: M&a guy.

Andy Sloan: Yeah, [00:47:40] an M&A. And I was like, okay, this is a bit weird. And I was his boss. And there was a little bit [00:47:45] of vying for position going on there for a while. But what eventually won out is that [00:47:50] individual left the organisation and I stayed. And um, if you’ve ever met Gary Chapman, [00:47:55] you know, Gary Chapman was a part of my team and he’s a force to be reckoned with, you know, in the space. [00:48:00] So again, I just wanted to suck as much knowledge out of him as I possibly could because [00:48:05] he was he’s just a guru of buying Dental practices, you know, and, and you learn, you [00:48:10] know, you only become better when you’re surrounded by really good people. Um, and he was definitely the right [00:48:15] person and not always the easiest to get along with. But he’s, he’s definitely, [00:48:20] definitely knowledgeable in his area. So I did, I sucked loads of information [00:48:25] out of him.

Prav Solanki: What was the, what was the size of Portman at that point? When you, when you joined.

Andy Sloan: So, [00:48:30] uh, it was about a hundred practices.

Prav Solanki: Okay. [00:48:35]

Andy Sloan: Yeah. And when I left, it was 220. So in the three, I was there for [00:48:40] just over three years. And, um, we acquired 100 and over 120 practices. [00:48:45] I bought the first group, which was an orthodontic group. Um, [00:48:50] and I acquired a software business for them, which was systems for dentists and [00:48:55] some quite large practices in the UK. So full time practice [00:49:00] in Birmingham.

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: Um acquired that for, um, for Pullman, [00:49:05] which was a bit dubious because when you look at risk, something of that size automatically [00:49:10] creates risk. You know, in people’s minds. But I remember speaking to someone in Portland [00:49:15] a little while ago, and he practices a really high performing practice within the group. You [00:49:20] know, so the bet was right and it was hard to get it over the line. Um, [00:49:25] yeah. Um, yeah. Yes, 120 practices logged Sam Waley-cohen and [00:49:30] loved his whole mantra. Loved the whole style. Could see some challenges that they were facing [00:49:35] because they were growing to such a pace. And I talk about this in webinars [00:49:40] about you lose control when you get to a certain size. You know, when you’ve got five practices, it’s [00:49:45] really easy to know. Sandra worked here and Bob’s the associate here and he’s not having [00:49:50] a good time. And you know, you can kind of keep your finger on the pulse with with everything [00:49:55] that’s going on. But when you get to 50, you may not see Sandra as much anymore and you [00:50:00] may not know Bob’s now split up from his wife. And, you know, you just. And then when you get to a hundred, you [00:50:05] just haven’t got a clue. Um, and, and I think that poor woman was getting to the point where [00:50:10] it was just hard to keep in all of the different practices [00:50:15] that they had in their group. And they brought in a new MD Julie Roth. She was there when I joined, [00:50:20] but she moved into an MD role. And, um, the group was growing. I was bringing in [00:50:25] practice acquisitions hand over fist.

Prav Solanki: And your your role then [00:50:30] was you were you was an M&A guy. Yeah.

Andy Sloan: As business development director, so responsible for M&A. [00:50:35] Yeah.

Prav Solanki: Yeah. And who was your boss?

Andy Sloan: I reported it to Sam at [00:50:40] the start. And then when Julie. So Sam was moving more into a board [00:50:45] type role and Julie became the UK MD and I then reported into Julie.

Prav Solanki: What [00:50:50] was Sam like as a boss?

Andy Sloan: How would you.

Prav Solanki: How would you describe his [00:50:55] leadership style and, and whatnot? And, and did you pick, you know, just [00:51:00] as you went from boss to boss and you almost like extracted the essence of, you know, [00:51:05] the hunger in you. Just sort of saying, I want to learn from this person. Talk to me about Sam and [00:51:10] what he is like as a leader and as a boss. His leadership style. [00:51:15] And what did you what were the biggest takeaways from from Sam for you?

Andy Sloan: Yeah, so I [00:51:20] did get on really well with Sam. And we’re we’re from completely different worlds, you know, of course, and [00:51:25] backgrounds, everything else, you know, you couldn’t have two polar opposites, but [00:51:30] it didn’t. It doesn’t matter to Sam.

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: And he’s a considered risk taker [00:51:35] and is considered part of the risk on me was taken on the second person. Yeah, [00:51:40] but he still did it anyway. You know, he basically shot his budget and brought two in because he wanted to take [00:51:45] a gamble on. But also he was pitting us against each other as well. So it’s kind of like a sportsman [00:51:50] strategy there. Yeah, yeah. Sportsmen approaching there, but really easy to get along [00:51:55] with, really energetic and, and there’s been a few people in my career that have been [00:52:00] like this. Stan Bergman, a Henry shines for somebody else as well. They just inspire people [00:52:05] for what, for whatever reason. And some of the stuff, the stories that Sam told us about [00:52:10] the sort of personal tragedy that he had, you know, in his in, in his, in his life and the [00:52:15] horse riding and, you know, being an amateur jump jockey. And, you know, he [00:52:20] set up Portman because he could see the state of jockey’s teeth, because they were all like [00:52:25] falling off. Yeah, kicked in the face and stuff like that. And I’m not having to like really [00:52:30] good oral health care. And Pullman was kind of like an idea because, I mean, I think [00:52:35] Sam was a commodities trader, you know, so going from being a commodities trader into running [00:52:40] a Dental group is, is quite a shift. But it was the connection through the horse racing that did it. [00:52:45] Um, the biggest thing for me and the most proud moment that I had was [00:52:50] when Sam won the Grand National and I was in Porthmadog at the time.

Andy Sloan: We had a place at Green Acres, [00:52:55] which is like a haven place. We had like a lodge there and we were all in the [00:53:00] clubhouse watching the Grand National. And then I was at the very back of the room and [00:53:05] having a beer and, you know, talking away. And then somebody shouted, hey, Andy, isn’t that your boss? [00:53:10] I turned around, Sam was at the front, you know, and I remember speaking to Sam about [00:53:15] putting a larger sum of money on him the night before. And please don’t do that, Andy. Just don’t [00:53:20] do it. I’m not going to win it, you know? Um, and then he romped it home, and I it [00:53:25] felt like I’d won the race. And I’m pretty sure everybody at Portman felt the same. So [00:53:30] the kind of sense of pride in, you know, an amateur jockey [00:53:35] winning the Grand National on his last race, that Grand National race was his last race [00:53:40] to win it on that. It’s just like movie stuff. Do you know what I mean? And I [00:53:45] wish I had to put the bloody money on him. I did put a bet on him, but not the. I [00:53:50] was literally going to put a big bet on him. Um, and I think his odds were like 24 to 1, you know, so [00:53:55] it would have been, it would have been a nice little earner. I still did all right out of it.

Andy Sloan: But um I, people [00:54:00] were buying me drinks and you kind of like how, how good is this? How good is it to [00:54:05] work for someone that there is inspiring not just the people within [00:54:10] his own organisation, but well outside of it, you know, and, and I think the [00:54:15] stuff that I’ve taken away from Psalm one is the way that he presents himself. He’s got [00:54:20] a confidence about him and people engage with that. [00:54:25] And I try and do the same thing. I try and emulate him to a certain not not to the same [00:54:30] level. And if you looked at it as a Dental for him when he was the chair last year, you could see that it’s still a [00:54:35] chasm apart in terms of his suave, you know, style. And my rushed for [00:54:40] him like burbling stuff. But but when you talk about things, you’ve got to do [00:54:45] it credibly. Um, otherwise you shouldn’t talk about them at all. And, and I took that from [00:54:50] Sam, you know, it’s the kind of the, the, the essence of the, um, of what he does that I tried to take away [00:54:55] with me and I remember telling him I was leaving and it was really, really hard to do. Um, [00:55:00] there was one main reason that I wanted to leave Portman and that was I was never going to be the end [00:55:05] of that business. And that was the stark realisation that, um, he brought in [00:55:10] an MD. Julie.

Prav Solanki: Mhm.

Andy Sloan: He got the leadership team around [00:55:15] him. I remember meeting him in London after I said that I was going to leave, and we talked [00:55:20] about, you know, is there an opportunity to stay? And I asked him one question, will I ever be the MD appointment? [00:55:25] And he said no. And he said, we’ve got Julie. You know, so it was a [00:55:30] no fluff, no bullshit moment.

Prav Solanki: Very honest.

Andy Sloan: Yeah. Very honest. Not [00:55:35] like, you know, um, and I said, I’ve got to go then because my time where [00:55:40] I am in my head, I’ve achieved some fantastic things with Portman, you know, I’ve [00:55:45] still got the medals on, on the desk behind me of a hundred practices and 200 [00:55:50] practices and all of the celebratory stuff that we did. And I didn’t buy all of those [00:55:55] practices, by the way, I led the team, but I was the I c person. I was responsible for [00:56:00] taking it to the board. You know, I had to be involved in every deal. I did do deals myself as well. [00:56:05] But, um, I do want to make that caveat. I had a really talented M&A team around me. Um, [00:56:10] and Gary was like the, um, he used to say, I. All I [00:56:15] need you to do on these. Line up the ball and I’ll shoot and score. And that’s the kind of relationship that we had. You know, [00:56:20] the dynamic. Um, and, and, and, and then I represented the M&A team to our [00:56:25] investors to get the money to buy the practices. So that was it. But, um, yeah, I really enjoyed [00:56:30] it, but it was ready to step up and lead and lead over it. So I was [00:56:35] leading in there because I had the M&A department, you know, but I was ready to step up [00:56:40] and not be a I didn’t want to be Sam.

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: But b [00:56:45] b.

Prav Solanki: B wanted to move. You want you wanted to progress. Right. Further, I guess. You know, the first [00:56:50] time I met you, Andy, was when we were selling our dental practice.

Andy Sloan: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Prav Solanki: Um, and, [00:56:55] you know, there was you, there was Dental, there was a couple of others. And, [00:57:00] you know, we sat down, we had a conversation and I don’t know what it is about the Scouse [00:57:05] accent, Andy, but I love it. There’s something. Do you know what? There’s something [00:57:10] quite warm about it. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, and some people love it. Some people [00:57:15] hate it, I love it. Right.

Andy Sloan: Mine’s not scouts anymore. So if you stand me next to my brother, you would [00:57:20] actually think that I’m not. And by the fact that. By the fact that, um. I’m [00:57:25] mixed in with the Northern Irish wife and we live in Wales.

Prav Solanki: Mate, you’re still [00:57:30] Scouse to me.

Andy Sloan: Yeah, a little bit. So on a recording, I used to think I sounded like, um, [00:57:35] Lily Savage, right?

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: The drag.

Prav Solanki: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, [00:57:40] I know exactly what you mean.

Andy Sloan: I hated listening to my voice. There’s only one thing that I don’t like about [00:57:45] the way that I talk right now is, um. I keep saying, you know, [00:57:50] and that is, I think, and every webinar I’ve done recently and I’ve caught myself doing [00:57:55] it on this webinar as well. So I’m not a polished article, but equally, what I don’t want [00:58:00] to be is, is a fake version. So my accent’s changed naturally because [00:58:05] of surroundings and stuff like that. Yeah, I’ve never tried to hide who I am and where I’ve [00:58:10] come from. You know, I just said it again. I’m going to keep catching that now, but, um, I [00:58:15] never want to hide it. And some people do like the accent. Some people don’t. I was conversing [00:58:20] with a lot of London based individuals because that’s generally where private equity [00:58:25] is.

Prav Solanki: Yes.

Andy Sloan: So when I’m in a room, you can tell that he’s the kind of outsider. [00:58:30]

Prav Solanki: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Andy Sloan: So you’ve got lots of, um, posher accents than mine, [00:58:35] shall we say.

Prav Solanki: But the, the remember, you know, I, I like it, I’m [00:58:40] very, very fond of the Scouse accent. Right. I think there’s something quite, quite warming about it. So [00:58:45] although Portman didn’t end up buying our practice that we had on the [00:58:50] market, Dentex did. And Portman ended up getting it in the end anyway. Right. But that was our I [00:58:55] guess that was the first meeting, the first introduction that we had very [00:59:00] short meeting. And then obviously we crossed paths later on. Um, so you [00:59:05] left, you told Sam you were going where to? What happened next? Yeah. And and [00:59:10] what were the opportunities that lay in front of you?

Andy Sloan: So I got approached again. [00:59:15] Um, I think it’s only been 1 or 2 times in my life. I’ve actually applied for a job. Uh, [00:59:20] it seems to me like people come to me and approach me an opportunity. Uh, I got [00:59:25] approached again by a head-hunter who said that there was an [00:59:30] MD position going in Dental. Mhm. For a software business. And [00:59:35] the reason that they found me is because of the dbg experience. [00:59:40] Um, and, you know, I talked about the similarities earlier and, um, it was [00:59:45] a, it was a full MD role. So P and L responsibility, go to market strategy, [00:59:50] you know, product development, the whole kit and caboodle. And it was, it was, uh, August [00:59:55] equity, so well known in Dental. Had a couple of investments in Dental, you know, [01:00:00] prior to, uh, Jillian and they bought Paul Mendelssohn’s business, which was code, [01:00:05] the compliance Yet code which I tried to buy before as well, unsuccessfully. [01:00:10] But they bought that. And what they were setting about doing was they bought isoform. [01:00:15] They were just in the throes of talking to Rob Davis of Pro Dental CBD about [01:00:20] bringing clinical content in, and the group COO was [01:00:25] leading the Dental division as well as doing his job because the prior MD left [01:00:30] for whatever reason, and there was a period of time where there was no kind of MD. [01:00:35] It was a bit rudderless. Neil was stepping in, but there was no, no cohesive, [01:00:40] um, uh, leadership, um, uh, in, in place. So whilst I was [01:00:45] working my notice at Portman, also integrating into agility. So [01:00:50] on my desk, I had two laptops and, uh, I was doing bits of work on both [01:00:55] of them.

Andy Sloan: You know, I, I agreed with Paul that we wouldn’t tell people I was leaving till nearer [01:01:00] the time just because it’s transactional and it’s sensitive and you don’t kind [01:01:05] of rock the boat with any of these acquisitions. Uh, and Julio really wanted to announce me [01:01:10] joining in the market, because they saw it as a bit of a coup that I was on the board. For whatever [01:01:15] reason. Um, uh, but we couldn’t do it. So in the end, we got to the place where I told everybody [01:01:20] and then Julio told everybody, and I transitioned over and I went down to, I went [01:01:25] over to Sheffield on the first day and met with the team. And one of the first questions I asked is, [01:01:30] what do we call ourselves? And I remember Karen, who was the chief human resource officer, Neil, [01:01:35] who was the MD at the time, was like, what do you mean? I was like, we need a tribe. This needs to [01:01:40] be a tribal mentality, you know? Straight away. We need to start as we mean to go on. And and [01:01:45] they’ve been calling in phrases before already, but they’d never really come to existence. And now we’re all called [01:01:50] aliens. Mhm. And, um, and, and, uh, and I think [01:01:55] that that tribal stuff was one of the first things I wanted to implant before I got there. What I also [01:02:00] wanted to implement was a number of things that I really like that Portman and Henry Sheen, etc., [01:02:05] one of which is the Golden Hour.

Prav Solanki: Mhm.

Andy Sloan: 12 to 1. No meetings. Uh, [01:02:10] every day it’s in everybody’s calendar. Um, it’s blocked out. People need to get away from [01:02:15] the desk. Uh, I go and walk my dog between 12 and 1 every day. It gives me a break, [01:02:20] and I think that’s needed. I also set up, um, no action emails after 3:00 on a [01:02:25] Friday, because there’s nothing worse than somebody dumping all of their stuff onto you. So you’ve got a [01:02:30] hard weekend and they’ve got an easier weekend. So I was like, no, no. If you could wait till [01:02:35] Monday, you don’t you don’t pass it on at the weekend. Um, and then huddles. So the whole Dental [01:02:40] division got together every Tuesday to share successes, stories and stuff. So I [01:02:45] just set about taking all of the little pieces of all of the company.

Prav Solanki: Picked.

Andy Sloan: Them. And [01:02:50] just because it was mine, now you know, it was mine.

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: And [01:02:55] I had a brief and the brief was, get us known in the market and go and win some business. [01:03:00]

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: And I set about doing that almost immediately. So, um, [01:03:05] I remember Julio being at one of the shows just. And it was before I joined [01:03:10] and they were right in the corner. I was like, no, no, no no, no. Julio was right in the middle. We’ve [01:03:15] got to be we’ve got to be seen. I mean, the logo is bright yellow. You can’t miss it. Yeah. Um, and we need [01:03:20] we need people to know what. Because people were recognising that Julio still as isoform or code [01:03:25] or you know it was it was the old not the new. So I did a lot of work on brand positioning [01:03:30] brand. Um, and, and, and just getting out there and talking to people. And I think [01:03:35] I was really fortunate because I built up a name for myself in dentistry at this point [01:03:40] in time, the association really helped as well. So I started to kind [01:03:45] of play on that. Um, and, and have done ever since. Um, so I [01:03:50] am fiercely proud and protective of what we’ve done. So whilst [01:03:55] we’ve been at it, Julio, we acquired your business. Yeah. Uh, we acquired pro Dental CPD. [01:04:00] We’ve acquired Karrigan, we’ve acquired DCM, we’ve acquired dango. Um, we’ve [01:04:05] acquired, um, patient plan direct, you know, and I don’t think I’ve missed any any of [01:04:10] this, but, uh, so all of those acquisitions and we’re only four [01:04:15] and a half years in our existence, maybe coming up to five now, um, as a group, [01:04:20] there’s been 17 acquisitions. You know, the primary care division and the veterinary division have got their [01:04:25] own, but really, really proud of what, um, done. It’s basically [01:04:30] created a space in dentistry for itself that [01:04:35] it did own by itself for a period of time, but is so popular [01:04:40] now. It’s got competition.

Prav Solanki: Of course it has. Yeah.

Andy Sloan: And you know, that’s a, that’s a big.

Prav Solanki: A good [01:04:45] thing. It’s a good thing.

Andy Sloan: It is, it makes everybody better. I’ve never got enough um a [01:04:50] bad thing to say about competition. I think it’s really healthy, but it just shows how well we’ve done that. Other people [01:04:55] want to do what a you do, if that makes sense.

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: So [01:05:00] I take it I, I’m very flattered by it. I think that means we’ve done a good job, and [01:05:05] now it means that we’ve got to be better and always striving. And we are in a very fast paced organisation. [01:05:10] We’ve been through a transaction and I was on the lead for [01:05:15] that as well. So we we transitioned the business from August Equity, who were [01:05:20] the ones that kind of took me on into, to associates and five arrows. So when I [01:05:25] was saying to you before about Carlyle and Palamon Carlyle specifically being like a whale, we [01:05:30] then go into the Rothschild side, you [01:05:35] know, and one of the largest health tech firms in the world with associates. [01:05:40] So we went from August up here. Um, [01:05:45] and that was a, uh, an interesting transaction, shall we say. It was on [01:05:50] a completely different level to selling dbg to Carlyle Group. Uh, and we were in [01:05:55] the shard, um, delivering these kind of pictures of what a Julio is and what [01:06:00] a Julio could be. Um, because we’re nowhere near what Julio could be. We’re still, I would [01:06:05] say we’re literally at Julio 2.0 and probably another five versions of Julio [01:06:10] to, to, to kind of get through and go to. And and that’s really exciting. So yeah, [01:06:15] join the Julio.

Andy Sloan: Hopefully you put my stamp on it. Really, really love it. I, [01:06:20] I say to people when I talk to them, I’m dentists specifically, if you get up in the morning, look in the mirror and [01:06:25] you don’t want to do dentistry, don’t be in dentistry. Yeah, I came into this market and [01:06:30] I’ve got one mantra and I’ve said this to private equity firms. I’ve said it to lots of people, whether they [01:06:35] believe me or not. It’s the truth. I’m not here to sell software. I’m here to make the [01:06:40] industry better. And if it means we sell software as a by-product of it, so be it. And that goes back [01:06:45] to the whole doing well by doing good mantra of Henry Schein, etc. etc. we should be [01:06:50] here for one reason, all of us. And that’s to better patient outcomes. And if not [01:06:55] or were dubious about it, we shouldn’t be doing it. Um, and I’ve lived and breathed [01:07:00] that I, I will never leave the dental industry. Now I am when you talk to me this morning, [01:07:05] this morning, it felt like this morning. Uh, when you talk to me about, um, did I know what I wanted [01:07:10] to do and did I know what I wanted to be? The answer is no. Up until dentistry. [01:07:15]

Prav Solanki: Right?

Andy Sloan: So after a point in time when I came into an industry I knew nothing [01:07:20] about and didn’t know whether I’d be any good at it. And, uh, I [01:07:25] love it, I love it. And, and, and I’m going to continue [01:07:30] to love it until I decided I want to work anymore. Um, so yeah, here to stay.

Prav Solanki: And [01:07:35] so looking at your career history and everything now, like, you know, you [01:07:40] are an incredibly seasoned M&A guy. There’s [01:07:45] no question about that. Right? And from my mind, the moment you told me about McDonald’s [01:07:50] buying Tony’s place.

Andy Sloan: Yeah.

Prav Solanki: Right. And then, you know, [01:07:55] the next transaction with Bank of America, it’s almost like since very early on in [01:08:00] your career, whether that was part of the plan or not, you have been in some way, shape [01:08:05] or form, either dragged along in the transaction or whatever it is, or heavily [01:08:10] involved in the diligence and making those decisions and saying, I’m going to go and buy that business because [01:08:15] of X, Y, and Z. Yeah, M&A has been pivotal in your life, right? [01:08:20] And yeah. Go on.

Andy Sloan: No, no, no it [01:08:25] is. But there’s one common thread through it all and it’s not what people think. So [01:08:30] I’m not a corporate financier, you know, and I use other people’s models [01:08:35] to make sure valuations are robust. And what we buy the businesses for is [01:08:40] going to give a good return for shareholders. So that’s not my skill set. The one common thread through all of it [01:08:45] is relationships. Yeah. And that’s where I think [01:08:50] I’ve been able to add value in M&A. Um, and that’s either [01:08:55] sourcing or coaching or.

Prav Solanki: And I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you something [01:09:00] now because, um, so I received a letter from a Julio, right. But [01:09:05] prior to that, somebody rang me and said, look, Prav, [01:09:10] we love your business. It was nice. Neil met you, blah, blah, blah. But [01:09:15] somebody had to pick up the phone and have that. Let’s feel [01:09:20] how Prav is feeling right now. Where’s his head at? And [01:09:25] let’s have the money conversation. And so you picked up the phone [01:09:30] and you said, right, Prav I spoke to the board, blah, blah, blah. We love your business. [01:09:35] And this is where our heads are at right now. But it felt [01:09:40] so natural and so comfortable. It was almost like they sent the sniper in and [01:09:45] the sniper was Andy, do you know what I mean? But but in. And I don’t mean that [01:09:50] in in from a negative connotation perspective. I [01:09:55] mean it from the point of view. I don’t think there was anyone in the business that could have had an uncomfortable [01:10:00] conversation so comfortably.

Andy Sloan: Yeah.

Prav Solanki: I know exactly where I was [01:10:05] sat when you, when, when we had that conversation and, and I just, you [01:10:10] know, I just sort of felt really comfortable when you had that conversation with me and you’ve probably had that [01:10:15] conversation hundreds of times, right? Um, and [01:10:20] so I get it. You didn’t come in like this corporate guy. There was, there was none of that. And you [01:10:25] know what? I felt comfortable enough to come back to you and go, Andy, kind of squeeze a little [01:10:30] bit more out of the deal.

Andy Sloan: Yeah, I remember.

Prav Solanki: But [01:10:35] you know what? It just felt so comfortable and natural, right? Like [01:10:40] what you’ve just said there, it was all built on relationships. Yeah. Um, and [01:10:45] that was a very, very clear in my mind.

Andy Sloan: It’s the truth. And you know what? I [01:10:50] class it as a privilege to be able to have done that job, not just with [01:10:55] you, but with the hundreds. I remember dentists phoning me up [01:11:00] and when we completed on the deal, thanking me because we changed their lives or [01:11:05] send me a bottle or whatever, and I never asked for that. You know, it was my job to buy [01:11:10] the practices, but the impact that it can have gave me such [01:11:15] a sense of comfort and pride in everything else that it just wasn’t. I just wanted to do more. [01:11:20] And we talked about that euphoric feeling. Yeah. About that. And I’m kind of euphoric [01:11:25] junkie. I love that kind of, you know.

Prav Solanki: Drug.

Andy Sloan: Yeah, yeah, definitely love it. And [01:11:30] even down to the red wine calls I used to get on a Friday night from dentists who didn’t [01:11:35] like the diligence process. Because no matter how easy we say it’s going to be, it never [01:11:40] is.

Prav Solanki: It’s disgusting.

Andy Sloan: Exactly. It is, it is, and it always is. And I remember them [01:11:45] phoning me up, and you could clearly tell they’d had a bottle of red wine. They were ranting down the phone and. [01:11:50] And I’m comfortable enough to say to them, wind your neck in. Because [01:11:55] at the end of this, you’re going to get a big fat check and all the great work that you’ve [01:12:00] done. And you should be really proud of what you’ve achieved and grown over time, but it’s time for you to just [01:12:05] knuckle down, get on for a little bit longer and, and it will all be okay. And [01:12:10] I had that conversation with you countless times about.

Prav Solanki: Loads of times, loads of times. Listen, mate, there [01:12:15] were there were moments during that diligence process. There was only you I could pick up the phone to on the other side. [01:12:20]

Andy Sloan: Yeah, I know.

Prav Solanki: Do you know what I mean? And I know you was. Ultimately, you’re [01:12:25] on a side, not my side. But at the same time, it felt like you were on my side. Yeah, because [01:12:30] I guess you were going to be melting us together anyway. But I just felt like during that whole transaction, [01:12:35] that whole process, I could pick up the phone and go, Andy, I’m really pissed off [01:12:40] because of X, Y, and Z, and you gave me comfort when I needed comfort. [01:12:45] But you also told me straight at points. Do you know what I mean? During [01:12:50] the transaction and stuff, which which I found incredibly helpful. And I think.

Andy Sloan: That’s got me into [01:12:55] trouble a few times. Being so straight, it’s fine. It’s the way I am. And again, not won’t change [01:13:00] it.

Prav Solanki: I think it’s brilliant because you know what? You just know where you stand. Do you know what [01:13:05] I mean? During that whole process. Coming back to the concept of transactions, [01:13:10] practice, valuations and that sort of thing. Right. Um, [01:13:15] I’ve got more of a difficult question for you now. Right? [01:13:20] Have you ever bought a practice that you shouldn’t have done?

Andy Sloan: Yeah. And, [01:13:25] and yeah, absolutely. And you know, it’s really, really difficult [01:13:30] when you spreadsheet diligence from people to understand [01:13:35] what’s actually going on in that business. And Gary and Sam, when I first joined Portman, [01:13:40] they said, you need to go and look at these people in the eyes. You can’t do it over a [01:13:45] spreadsheet or a diligence report. You’ve got to go and look at the motivation [01:13:50] face to face and really understand what’s going on in that business. And, um, it wasn’t [01:13:55] always possible, but there was, there was some practices where it’s [01:14:00] just not been what I thought it was going to be. And a little bit of a House of horrors type [01:14:05] thing, you know, so not, I would say out of all the ones that I’ve acquired, I’m not talking [01:14:10] like tens of in one hand.

Prav Solanki: You’re gonna have, you’re gonna, you’re [01:14:15] gonna have some failures.

Andy Sloan: I got to, you’ve got. But the thing is, you [01:14:20] can beat yourself up with those, those failures or you can learn from it. Uh, and I was in a culture [01:14:25] where it wasn’t brilliant if you bought a lemon, you know, type thing, but you [01:14:30] cracked on, you learn from it and you cracked on you, you, you had to do something extraordinary to make [01:14:35] up for the fact that you’d kind of bought a lemon. And, uh, I backed some acquisitions [01:14:40] that just didn’t go as well as I would have liked them to go. Um, [01:14:45] but then equally, they were far outweighed with many, many great acquisitions and the [01:14:50] clinicians and the quality and stuff that we were bringing on board was, was, was amazing. I used [01:14:55] kind of, I’m gonna, I will, um, call it out, um, the full time practice because it’s such a big, [01:15:00] complicated practice. You look at that from an outsider perspective and all you see is [01:15:05] risk, risk. But the reality of, of it is he’s built a robust, [01:15:10] like fantastic Dental business though, and, [01:15:15] and been hugely successful with it and deserved every reward that he got for transitioning [01:15:20] that business on. And it continues to be a success. So some of the ones that look risky [01:15:25] from the outside, and I keep saying this, two practices can look at exactly the same from the outside. [01:15:30] But as soon as you get over that door, the very, very different inside and one of them will be, [01:15:35] uh, a much higher value business than the other. Um, from [01:15:40] for all the reasons that I can, I talk about systems, people, culture. Yeah.

Prav Solanki: So, [01:15:45] so we take, let’s say we take, we take a basic valuation model, right? And [01:15:50] most people who’ve been through this process or understand the process know there’s a magic [01:15:55] number, which is essentially the net adjusted profit, the EBITDA as [01:16:00] we refer to. Right? With all the bits and bobs stripped out and stuff, and you’re left with this magic [01:16:05] number multiplied by what the market dictates to be the multiple. [01:16:10] You multiply those numbers together and you’re left with a big sum. Yeah. And [01:16:15] then there’s part of the deal which says on day one, we’re going to give you this and the rest of it, you’ve got [01:16:20] to fight for it for the next five years or whatever. And there’s all different ways in which that can be muddled [01:16:25] up. But that’s the core basics of how a Dental business gets [01:16:30] valued, right? Or a dental practice gets valued. And what, in your experience [01:16:35] are the biggest levers that a practice can pull to [01:16:40] change the value beyond what I’ve just described, either [01:16:45] to improve the likelihood that the deal will go ahead at the same number [01:16:50] because this that isn’t there. Or to actually make those numbers even more [01:16:55] favourable. What are the levers? Is it is it about, you know, is it about risk? [01:17:00] Is it about being associate led? Is it about how much plan income [01:17:05] you have in, in your experience taking all the transactions [01:17:10] that you’ve personally been involved with? If you were to give your sort of top 3 or 4 levers [01:17:15] that you can pull, maybe someone’s thinking of selling their practice in three years or five years time [01:17:20] and they think, right, Andy, to maximise my valuation in five years time, what [01:17:25] changes do I need to make? What would they be?

Andy Sloan: I mean, everything that you said is a lever [01:17:30] in its own right. But the ones that. So I touched on risk. So the way the practices [01:17:35] are being valued in the UK is changing the way that investments in dentistry [01:17:40] will happen in. We keep saying the next cycle, but that’s where we’re kind of heading [01:17:45] towards a new cycle of practice. Valuations will change the way that people [01:17:50] value businesses. What they’re not going to do anymore is look at, do you know how many patients [01:17:55] you see what your utilisation is? They’re all important. But the most important thing is, [01:18:00] is the business structured on a on a foundation. And I’m talking a foundation [01:18:05] and operating foundation that, um, that, that eliminates risk. [01:18:10] So do they have processes in place that allows them to see data robustly [01:18:15] to make decisions with that is usable for moving forward? Do they have repeatable [01:18:20] processes for new patient acquisition, patient retention? Do they [01:18:25] embed like the middle office stuff into their general workflow? So lots [01:18:30] of businesses in dentistry are really guilty of being really siloed inside. So you’ve [01:18:35] got a practice managers responsible for CQC, but it’s just the practice manager’s [01:18:40] responsibility, not the whole business’s responsibility.

Andy Sloan: When in CQC, compliance [01:18:45] is everybody’s responsibility. It should be embedded in or in a group HR [01:18:50] governed by HR system because it’s going to solve his problems. But what it then does is causes [01:18:55] issues with operations who are trying to do rotas for their practices. Finance [01:19:00] are trying to pay people. So what I would say is go back to the leaves that you can pull. Make sure [01:19:05] that you look at your business as an overall and not individual segments. When [01:19:10] you’re looking at technology, make sure technology works for you, not you having to work for it. Um, [01:19:15] and make sure the technology that you’re kind of putting in place is scalable [01:19:20] because that’s another thing that investors want to look at. Do you know what you’re using today? Can it be used if you [01:19:25] suddenly doubled in size? There’s one thing that I talk about a lot that I think makes [01:19:30] a huge difference on profitability though. And that’s heroics. And so [01:19:35] hero contributors within that business.

Prav Solanki: And and [01:19:40] are you talking about big grocers now?

Andy Sloan: Yeah, exactly. The performers. Yeah. Yeah. So [01:19:45] if I came in to buy Prav Solanki Dental practice and I looked at all [01:19:50] of the performance of all the associates on it, and I saw, I saw Prav Solanki was generating the lion’s [01:19:55] share of the profits of that business. You wouldn’t get a great valuation because you’re risky. [01:20:00] If I’m buying the business from you and you type in for two years or whatever, what [01:20:05] what happens at the end of those two years? If you’re still the highest grosser and you’ve got the majority [01:20:10] of the goodwill with you, and at the end of the two years you go, thanks, Andy, I’m off. I’m [01:20:15] screwed. So I look at things in a slightly different way, and I would sit with you and go, here’s [01:20:20] all the performers in your business and here’s how much they’re grossing. Here’s their profitability [01:20:25] as well. And what you’ll find is the heroic ones are generally the most [01:20:30] profitable. So you’ve got to look at your business and think, if I wasn’t here tomorrow, would [01:20:35] it still be able to perform in a predictable way that I did yesterday? And if the [01:20:40] answer’s no, you’ve got a problem, you’ve got to fix it.

Prav Solanki: So [01:20:45] the practice is with what you refer to as the heroes, or I would refer to as [01:20:50] the, you know, the superstar, big grossing dentists or whatever, right? You’re [01:20:55] either going to apply a discount to them or you’re just not going to buy them.

Andy Sloan: Yeah. [01:21:00] And it could be, it could be either or, you know, so you’d look at it and go really risky. [01:21:05] If it’s an associates that if it’s an associate, that’s the hero. I would be [01:21:10] asking how we can get them tied in to like mitigate that risk. And if it’s the principal dentist [01:21:15] in a dental practice that’s doing it, I’ll be thinking, is that sustainable or [01:21:20] could the performance of that business at a point in time? And do you know when you [01:21:25] buy a business, you look at the investment return over a period of time, it’s not like a one year payback. [01:21:30] It’s, you know, it could be five years or whatever model you’re using can have [01:21:35] a different variance. But, um, if you’re only tied in for two of those five years, I’ve got [01:21:40] three years of risk. I can’t pay you what I would pay you if you weren’t the hero. And [01:21:45] we could predict that business would be fine without you.

Prav Solanki: She changed the deal structure, perhaps [01:21:50] for the riskier practice, where perhaps the deferred consideration [01:21:55] is higher over a longer period of time. They don’t get as much cash on completion. [01:22:00] Yeah.

Andy Sloan: And that’s why I defer consideration exists. It’s limit. [01:22:05] It’s to. Yeah. Put a limit on risk. Deferred consideration. [01:22:10] Never used to be a thing in dentistry. They used to sell a practice and sell 100% of it and stuff. But then [01:22:15] when, when investors came in, they realised that you can’t do that and dentists will move [01:22:20] on. They sell their business because they’re transitioning a part of their life. Yeah. So they [01:22:25] they introduced deferred consideration for from a funding perspective. That’s the only [01:22:30] reason. Yeah.

Prav Solanki: Yeah. And so would your advice be to practices [01:22:35] out there if you’re looking to pull levers 3 to 5 years time? Yeah. [01:22:40] That can either increase your likelihood of selling it or maximise [01:22:45] your valuation. One of the big things is remove remove [01:22:50] the heroics. And actually this, this, this there’s two pieces here. So let’s say [01:22:55] I’m the principal dentist, right? And I’m the big grocer between now [01:23:00] and when I sell it, if I’m grossing it, I get to keep the more of [01:23:05] the income you do. And so I keep more cash in my bank and I take that money home. Right. [01:23:10] And that and that’s great for me. That’s great for my selfish own [01:23:15] finance plan. I’m keeping more of the money. But [01:23:20] then the I guess the problem with that is that three years down the line [01:23:25] or whatever, I want to sell it. Payday is not going to look as good.

Andy Sloan: Yeah.

Prav Solanki: So [01:23:30] I either take the hit now. Yeah. And say, look, I’m willing to sacrifice some [01:23:35] of that personal income. Give that to an associate and give them the privilege of [01:23:40] whatever the 40 to 50% is for doing that work. I’m going to personally [01:23:45] lose out on that, but I am building a business to sell with a higher level of valuation [01:23:50] there.

Andy Sloan: Yeah, exactly. And that is, you know, there’s no right or wrong answer of which one you would do. [01:23:55] Yeah. It’s personal choice and preference. You know, if you think [01:24:00] that you could say and I’m not saying the business is uninvestable if there is [01:24:05] heroics in there, it definitely is. You know, as long as all the other things are equal in there and it’s [01:24:10] not a horrendous business anyway, you will get a value for it. It just may not be as high as [01:24:15] it could be. And I think that’s the key point here. You just leaving money on the table [01:24:20] by not looking at some fundamentals in your business. Yeah. And if you [01:24:25] do those and you are brave now and a sacrifice now for the future, [01:24:30] you know you’ll reap the rewards. No, no. With no. Yeah. No no questions asked. [01:24:35]

Prav Solanki: Right. Next thing I want to talk to you about is, um, going back to making [01:24:40] mistakes.

Andy Sloan: Yeah.

Prav Solanki: Like, um, there’s a great book called Black Box Thinking [01:24:45] by Matthew Saeed, and he talks about this concept [01:24:50] of black box thinking where, you know, in the airline industry, we share the black box [01:24:55] across the industry for safety essentially. And in, in healthcare, in dentistry [01:25:00] and medicine. We’re very good at brushing mistakes under the carpet. Um, [01:25:05] because, you know, we don’t want to be caught or whatever or reported to the CDC [01:25:10] or whatever that is. And that happens, right?

Andy Sloan: It does.

Prav Solanki: If you were to look over your career [01:25:15] between today and when you started out back in the day, What would you say [01:25:20] is the biggest mistake that you have made that you could learn so [01:25:25] much from? Have you ever had any massive blunders where you’ve totally fucked things up and thought, [01:25:30] oh my God, what have I just done there?

Andy Sloan: No, I and this is and this isn’t trying [01:25:35] to be. I mean, I’ve made mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes.

Prav Solanki: I was expecting [01:25:40] something juicier than that. Andy.

Andy Sloan: Yeah, no, I know, and.

Prav Solanki: I.

Andy Sloan: Don’t want to just come [01:25:45] up with something.

Prav Solanki: No no no no. Yeah.

Andy Sloan: No. Um. I don’t think I’ve [01:25:50] ever sat there after a decision and thought, oh, my God, what have I done? Mm. [01:25:55] And, and you can ask my wife this and personally as well, she was astounded [01:26:00] by the fact that I could make decisions anyway. But they tend to be good [01:26:05] decisions and investments that we’ve made personally. We’ve just exited one [01:26:10] now. And you know, I was the one who pushed us into it and we’ve actually come away better [01:26:15] than we thought we would. Um, and so I don’t think that there’s ever been a time [01:26:20] where I’ve sat there and thought head in my hands, I wouldn’t do that again. What I would do do [01:26:25] is make mistakes and learn fast and move on. Do you know that whole black box analogy? [01:26:30] And it is an interesting one. And I do like the way that Matthew Syed uses it. But you [01:26:35] never want to use the black box because the black box means that something’s happened that [01:26:40] you have to then learn from. You know, to, to try and prevent it again. So I always think, [01:26:45] yeah, I look at it as a slightly different way and think, make mistakes. You should absolutely [01:26:50] not be scared of making mistakes. And everybody who works with me, I never say that people work for me, [01:26:55] you know, I only work with people. We should all be really, really comfortable to make mistakes [01:27:00] as long as we then course correct and fast fix. Well, I, I can, I know [01:27:05] that you’re looking for a juicy and like, you know, I haven’t got one is the honest answer [01:27:10] because I’ve just never, ever felt like I’ve made something that’s [01:27:15] so disastrously wrong that it’s it’s affected me, really? [01:27:20]

Prav Solanki: All right. Let me let me ask you another question, then. Have you ever had any really [01:27:25] dark moments in dentistry? Yeah. Where? Where it felt like [01:27:30] the world was coming, piling down around you. Whether it was a combination [01:27:35] of work and not being able to be the best dad or the best husband or whatever. Any [01:27:40] really dark moments that you’ve had?

Andy Sloan: Yeah. Going through transactions isn’t isn’t [01:27:45] always a barrel of laughs, to be honest with you. Because what you’ve got to do when you’re transacting your business is still [01:27:50] running. Yeah. So and you’ll know this, you know, we’re coming at you for information [01:27:55] overload and everyone looks at you as risky and you [01:28:00] prove that you don’t. So they’re going to keep coming at you until satisfied with the risk level. [01:28:05] So when you sell a business like Leo and you’ve got people like to [01:28:10] five arrows that are absolutely, um, trying to diligent, diligent you to the [01:28:15] nth degree because they really need to get comfortable with the risk profile as running the business [01:28:20] as well as being a dad as well as and the chair of our community council, you [01:28:25] know, as well. So all of these things compounded. And what I’m really not not good at [01:28:30] is handling that. What I tend to do is just [01:28:35] shut down and shut off. And I really have to give my head a wobble, or my wife gives my [01:28:40] head a wobble and say, come on, you know, you can get through this. It’s just a bit of work [01:28:45] and go and trying to link all this back. School reports. Clever but lazy. You know, [01:28:50] it’s been all the way through my life and I. I don’t fear hard work. I just don’t enjoy it. [01:28:55] And, and, and they’re, they’re probably the darkest times when things are just compounding [01:29:00] on top of you or even like, I’m very target driven.

Andy Sloan: You’re in [01:29:05] acquisitions, you’ve got a target of acquired EBITDA, you know, because the group needs to grow, [01:29:10] etc. you’re in software, you’ve got quotas of software sales that you need to achieve. [01:29:15] You’re selling to dentists aren’t the easiest people to sell to. Half [01:29:20] the time, you know. And then you’ve got private equity groups that have got procurement [01:29:25] problems, processes, being able to accurately say to your [01:29:30] board, you’re going to deliver X by X and be consistent with it isn’t [01:29:35] easy. And if I could, if I could solve for that, I’d be a very, very rich man. [01:29:40] And the reality is our industry just doesn’t fit the usual [01:29:45] mould for these types of things. And that makes me I get called optimistic [01:29:50] sometimes too optimistic sometimes. So not optimistic because optimism [01:29:55] is a good thing. Too optimistic can be a bad thing. You’re basically overpromising [01:30:00] and under-delivering on a consistent basis, and I’ve been guilty of doing that, [01:30:05] and that when that happens, it then starts to compound and you either do 1 or 2 things. [01:30:10] You either work harder and harder and harder, but you’re not working smarter anymore, and then you face [01:30:15] burnout or you stop and you and you just kind [01:30:20] of like I said, closed down or shut off. And I’ve been guilty of that. So I was, I would say times [01:30:25] where I’ve not been at my strongest or they’ve been [01:30:30] dark moments have been when she’s just coming at me at once.

Prav Solanki: Can [01:30:35] you think of a specific time where that was at [01:30:40] its height during your career? Was it? It was the TAM5 arrows. What was [01:30:45] it?

Andy Sloan: No, it was the it was the first transaction with, uh, Dbg into [01:30:50] Sonova. Because Lina and I had arranged for less than two years [01:30:55] first born child, which we had to have fertility um [01:31:00] assistance um for wasn’t IVF, but fertility assistance [01:31:05] in that one. So actually getting to that point, Then I had miscarried a few times. [01:31:10] You know, it was very, very pressured what we were going through personally. But then on top of that, trying [01:31:15] to sell Dbg. Um, and the, the crossover [01:31:20] and I was a very paranoid dad. I thought I was the type of dad that would leap across the net in the middle of the night to check [01:31:25] my son was still breathing. I was that type of individual. I used to do her head in. She was like, he’s fine. But [01:31:30] I think in my mind something was going to go wrong.

Prav Solanki: Yeah.

Andy Sloan: Because it it was a struggle [01:31:35] to get that. Yeah. The two sons, but yeah, struggled to get there. So I would say the most [01:31:40] stressful time, uh, and probably a time where I think I was on the [01:31:45] verge of breakdown was then, um, and it manifested [01:31:50] in, uh, frustration with, with the PE firm [01:31:55] because I felt like I was being made to go and do something. But actually, you know, [01:32:00] what was happening is I was, I was changing our life. I was involved in that transaction and [01:32:05] I was coming away with with a reward for being a part of that transaction. So [01:32:10] whilst it felt like a chore and it felt like a really, really [01:32:15] dark period, we actually sold it at a really good multiple and [01:32:20] gave them a fantastic, you know, debut, um, transition. And that was the [01:32:25] point in my life where our life started to change for the better. [01:32:30] It was the first time transactionally I’d been awarded something [01:32:35] for hard work, because I did work hard to get the transaction to where it needed to be. I think I [01:32:40] earned what I, I, I kind of made from it, but, but then coming home [01:32:45] and saying to my wife, we’re now in a different place to where we were not like, [01:32:50] I can quit work, different place. You know, I wish it was because we were talking now, [01:32:55] but.

Prav Solanki: But more comfortable, right?

Andy Sloan: A lot more comfortable, yeah. Than we were before. And then the [01:33:00] couple of other transactions that I’ve been in or the opportunities that I’ve had I’ve moved [01:33:05] us further along. Yeah. And I’m really fortunate. And I will say that, you know, whether [01:33:10] it’s luck to be where I am today, somebody that dropped out of college, [01:33:15] catering, college, in essence, you know, after a term because he had the taste for beer and like, [01:33:20] or whether I’ve been strategic or whether it’s, [01:33:25] I know God’s plan for me, I don’t know what it is, but [01:33:30] what I can say is I will always be eternally grateful for the opportunity [01:33:35] that I’ve been given. And one thing about me is, when I set my sights on doing something, [01:33:40] I will make sure I do it with every fibre of my being. But equally, when [01:33:45] I decided I want to do it anymore, I suck it off. So it’s kind of like there’s no middle [01:33:50] ground. It’s either all in or all out. Um, and I have to watch that. The one thing I’ll say [01:33:55] about this industry and I keep on saying it, I’m absolutely addicted [01:34:00] to it and I love it. And people don’t understand that all my friends work at Airbus and things like that, where [01:34:05] the area that I live in, that’s they don’t understand what I do in dentistry. Um, [01:34:10] um, and when I talk about it, like when I talk about my wife and kids, you know, [01:34:15] you can see that hopefully you can see that I’m still absolutely passionate about what we’re [01:34:20] here to do.

Prav Solanki: Well, I, I see it in our interactions, Andy. Yeah. You know, um, [01:34:25] just, you know, the, the challenges and, and, and challenging people, [01:34:30] um, and not being scared to sort of say you’re [01:34:35] wrong, even though you’re senior to me. I’ve seen, I’ve seen that from you and, [01:34:40] and I like that because, um, you know, you’re bringing your experience into the game, [01:34:45] aren’t you? You know, and, and there are people that come into this business that don’t necessarily have the Dental [01:34:50] experience that you have, but come with other experience. Right. And where do you see [01:34:55] Julio going over the next sort of 3 to 5 years? And how is that going [01:35:00] to impact dental practices?

Andy Sloan: Yeah. So we’re we’re, we’re, we’re changing the game [01:35:05] for what we do. So we had all of these isolated products. And, and when [01:35:10] I touched on earlier about businesses being, um, they, [01:35:15] they run into problems when they fix isolated challenges within their business, we were offering [01:35:20] isolated solutions. And so we’re transforming the business to be a platform. [01:35:25] So ideally, what we want is two logins. When you go into [01:35:30] a dental practice, one is your PMS and one is a Giglio and that’s it. And then within [01:35:35] the Giglio environment, you can run everything from your patient activation, [01:35:40] conversion retention, compliance, workforce management wrote a solution e-learning [01:35:45] platform always on compliance. We just want that to be what is the standard. [01:35:50] So the kind of Dental OS and that’s that’s in production now Giglio one [01:35:55] was launched and that is the kind of first step at doing that. Igrow was launched, [01:36:00] which, as you know, it’s a big part of what you do. Um, I did the business. Um, [01:36:05] and we’re only scratching the surface. Everyone talks about AI. If you look at our [01:36:10] marketing, you don’t see AI anywhere because workflow isn’t AI. And [01:36:15] what AI does is highlight inefficiencies very, very quickly. [01:36:20] So what we’re trying to do is use AI in a responsible way [01:36:25] rather than rushing into, um, out there. Um, we are AI enabled, [01:36:30] we are AI enabled, and we’ve got agents that are going live one in our compliance [01:36:35] solution, one in our solution.

Prav Solanki: Really excited, really, really excited. [01:36:40]

Andy Sloan: So you can see what we want to be. We want to be the, we want to be the Dental for the middle office [01:36:45] in, in essence. And I also think that, um, whilst we’ve made a foray into [01:36:50] a European market in the Netherlands, there’s still huge opportunities for Rogelio’s. Um, [01:36:55] blueprint to be adopted in mainly Commonwealth countries, where its similarity [01:37:00] to UK. Dental. But definitely, definitely overseas aspirations as well. [01:37:05]

Prav Solanki: Andy, tell us about this event I alluded to. Matt said [01:37:10] and and black box thinking for a reason. Yeah. So tell us about dentistry [01:37:15] reimagined. Um, I know you approached me about it and spoke to him about it, and I got really excited [01:37:20] about an event that isn’t like every other event.

Andy Sloan: Exactly. And [01:37:25] that’s, that’s what it’s about for nine years ago, I said to Celine event in Leicester, I’m [01:37:30] going to put on an event and it’s going to be better than this. Nine years later, I finally got to do it. So this [01:37:35] is a personal thing for me. And Julio have kindly agreed that I can do this independently [01:37:40] of the company. So a Julio, a sponsor of dentistry reimagined, but they’re not [01:37:45] influencing it in any way, shape or form. So what it’s about is bringing the right [01:37:50] people in the room to have the conversations that we’ve just been too scared to have. So, [01:37:55] um, you mentioned Matthew Syed. He’s actually our keynote speaker for the event. [01:38:00] So a very different perspective on things that hasn’t been seen in dentistry before. [01:38:05] And, um, you’ve kindly agreed to follow on from Matthew and bring that back into [01:38:10] the dental industry. So you’ve got, you know, inspiring keynotes that are then [01:38:15] grounded back into our industry. We’re purposely caffeinated, 250 tickets, [01:38:20] 50 of those are going to be available to trade because trade has got, um, as much right [01:38:25] to be in the room for these conversations as everybody else. But what we don’t want it to be is to trade heavy. The [01:38:30] rest of the audience is going to be made up of a DSO Leaders um, [01:38:35] um, from the largest to, you know, medium to, to the lowest independent practice [01:38:40] owners that want to understand the kind of growth trajectory or what it is that they can get [01:38:45] access to or whatever it is that they’re kind of looking from it, private equity companies.

Andy Sloan: So we’re [01:38:50] actually bringing in the people that are looking to invest in our industry in the next cycle into the room [01:38:55] where it can be challenged on. Well, why do you look at it like that? Or why do you do this? [01:39:00] And they can challenge the industry on. If you don’t look at these areas, you’re going to get a lower valuation [01:39:05] than if you don’t. So Dentistry Reimagined is just about bringing [01:39:10] these people together and putting on an event that just challenges what our [01:39:15] industry is doing and where it’s going. And we’ve got some great panel speakers [01:39:20] and breakout sessions with all purposeful, purposeful [01:39:25] topics that can feel a little bit uncomfortable. So what I would say is, [01:39:30] if people aren’t comfortable with the types of topics, when the agenda is going to be published this week, [01:39:35] don’t come. It’s probably not for you, you know, and because what you want is [01:39:40] wallflowers in there, we want people that are going to be a part of the conversation, really shape what’s [01:39:45] going to happen next. There is some awards that are going on throughout the day, but they’re entwined in what we’re doing. [01:39:50] So we’re not doing any practice of the year awards or team of the year awards or nurse of the year awards. [01:39:55] What we’re doing is we’re asking people to submit themselves or others for [01:40:00] an independent judging panel to take a look at and where they think that patient [01:40:05] outcomes have been improved or over delivered, or so [01:40:10] it’s all about the kind of outcome as opposed to the input.

Andy Sloan: And yeah, it’s going to be really exciting. [01:40:15] It’s at the brewery in London on the 25th of September. It’s a full day event. There’s a tech zone is [01:40:20] going to be in there as well. We’ve capped the sponsors. So we’ve got two headline sponsors, three gold sponsors [01:40:25] and seven silver sponsors, and that’s it. Are they going to put on a tech zone that can really immerse [01:40:30] people in what the next phase of dentistry could look like? So we’ve got AI [01:40:35] companies, tech companies. Uh, I’ve got an events company coming, you know, so, and [01:40:40] that experience is throughout the day. So you can go and have these, uh, tech zone experiences throughout [01:40:45] the day. But at the end of the day, we’re going to do cocktails and canapés in there as well. And then we’re going to have a bit [01:40:50] of a party because as much as we want to reimagine dentistry, we also want to celebrate it as well. And [01:40:55] one of the reasons why I like this industry so much, and I keep telling people that dentists like to [01:41:00] party. Yeah. And I’m a kindred spirit in that regard. So, um, [01:41:05] we’re going to have a bit of a party as well.

Prav Solanki: Brilliant, brilliant. Looking forward to it, Andy. [01:41:10] And I think, I think, I think it’ll be something different that you bring to the table and um, I’m [01:41:15] excited about it. We’re getting towards the end of our time, Andy. And, um, a couple of questions [01:41:20] that I want to ask away from work and dentistry and all the rest of it, which is, um, [01:41:25] imagine you’ve got to your last day on the planet and [01:41:30] you’ve got to leave your kids a message.

Andy Sloan: Okay? [01:41:35] Yeah, yeah.

Prav Solanki: And you’re talking down the barrel of the lens [01:41:40] to the camera, and you’ve got to leave them with three pieces of advice. [01:41:45] What would they be?

Andy Sloan: Three pieces of advice. So, [01:41:50] um, be yourself. Always be [01:41:55] yourself. There’s one thing I say to my kids now, and, um, and I’ll [01:42:00] continue to say it. I’ll say it again. Don’t lie. I personally [01:42:05] don’t like liars and I don’t lie. Um, and enjoy it. [01:42:10] Enjoy. Enjoy it. If things aren’t feeling enjoyable, don’t [01:42:15] do them. Change them. You know, because life’s hard enough as it is for us to be doing stuff [01:42:20] that we’re not enjoying on a day to day basis. Just add weight. So get rid of the [01:42:25] weight. If it’s, if it, if it feels like it’s weighty, change it and get rid of it. So they’re the three [01:42:30] things I would tell them.

Prav Solanki: Beautiful. How do you think they’d remember you?

Andy Sloan: Pain [01:42:35] in the backside. Uh. How do [01:42:40] you think my kids would remember me? I think fondly. Um, I was brought up. [01:42:45] I was brought up really well. I just want my kids to be decent human beings. Um, [01:42:50] and if they are, then I think I’ve done a good job and hopefully they’ll see me as someone [01:42:55] that has been supportive of them, has, uh, championed them [01:43:00] and, and love them because they, they mean everything to me. Yeah. [01:43:05]

Prav Solanki: Yeah. And do you think Mum and Dad are proud?

Andy Sloan: Yes. Um, my dad’s not here [01:43:10] anymore. He hasn’t been here for a good number of years, but, uh, he was always proud of me. Always. And when [01:43:15] I married like that, he was more proud of that than me. And my mum was. Mum was made up because, [01:43:20] um, uh, she was thinking grandkids, you know, and, and [01:43:25] I managed to, to gift her with two grandkids. So yeah, they’re both really proud [01:43:30] and I’m going to see my mum on at the weekend because it’s her birthday on the [01:43:35] ninth, you know, and um, and um, yeah, um family. [01:43:40] So over, over the years for me, family hasn’t always been my priority. [01:43:45] Until I met Lynette. And coming from an Irish family, it means [01:43:50] everything to her. So she’s helped me forge a stronger relationship [01:43:55] with my family than I had before.

Prav Solanki: Beautiful aren’t [01:44:00] they? Just leaves me to say thank you very much for your time today. It’s been great interviewing [01:44:05] my boss. Um, and, um. Yeah, just just thanks [01:44:10] for everything, Andy. It’s been great.

Andy Sloan: I appreciate it.

Prav Solanki: Thanks for listening, guys. If [01:44:15] you got this far, you must have listened to the whole thing. And just a huge thank you both from me and pay [01:44:20] for actually sticking through and listening to what we had to say and what our guest has had to say, because [01:44:25] I’m assuming you got some value out of it.

Payman Langroudi: If you did get some value out of it, think about subscribing [01:44:30] and if you would share this with a friend who you think might get some value [01:44:35] out of it too. Thank you so, so, so much for listening. Thanks.

Prav Solanki: And don’t forget our six star rating. [01:44:40]