From entrepreneurial idea to fast growing chain
An initial funding of €35,000 from the Tilburg University startup program in 2014 was the starting shot for Tandarts Today. A good choice, as it now appears, because at the end of 2019, Ruben Hoefnagels' company consists of 8 branches and the bank even provides a loan of € 1,000,000 for the further expansion.
"All those branches are 100% owned," says Hoefnagels. "However, the clinical responsibility lies with the dentist. I don't interfere with that. I do interfere with all non-medical things. In other words: I facilitate the practice, guarantee the continuity, and determine the course of the company."
"As an entrepreneur, it is of course always important that you look for something with which you have an affinity," Hoefnagels says to explain his interest in the dental practice. So you have to look a bit into your hobbies: what do I like. Or, as in my case, looking for inspiration close to home."
Hoefnagels’s parents are both dentists. "But they never pushed anything," he insists, "and I didn't become a dentist. Already in high school, however, a company of my own seemed the most beautiful thing there is. At the same time, my parents told me that their business was changing a lot. I started to study this further and that's what Tandarts Today ultimately initiated of."
Professional group strongly changed
Ruben is not a dentist, but he owns the establishments. According to him, this “alternative construction of the dental practice” is a consequence of the changed circumstances surrounding the dentist's profession: "In the past practically every dentist was a man and had his own practice; often small and from home. Over the years, the profession has become highly feminized. Nowadays, 80% of all graduate dentists are women and, with all due respect, they work part time more often—with a focus on family and children—and do not particularly have the need for their own practices. At the same time, I noticed a trend of larger practices on average, with more treatment rooms, an oral hygienist present, implantology, and so on. This made it more difficult for the group of dentists who wanted to retire to find a suitable takeover candidate."
An idea is born
"I saw all these developments—I heard my parents talk about them a lot—and I jumped into this. The idea, in short: buy a practice from a dentist who wants to retire, keep him “on board” for a number of years and combine the phasing out with hiring one or more new (part-time) dentists. That is the recipe for chain construction. With clinical freedom for the practitioners and maintaining a local character, Tandarts Today offers dentists a warmer bath than its competitors."
Freedom as a motive
Ruben Hoefnagels was only 23 years young when he started Tandarts Today. Before that, he studied business economics in Tilburg: "With pleasure, I must say. And I took part in the Outreaching Honors program. That was focused on issues such as 'leadership and entrepreneurship' and 'Make something of your life!’ It strongly inspired me to seize the opportunities I saw at an early age and to start doing so. Freedom is an important motivation for me. I want to build something and develop unrestrained ideas. I get satisfaction from that."
Support Tilburg University
The idea of Tandarts Today was exciting. The takeover of the first practice lasted a year and a half in total and Ruben had to deal with many things: "Through Tilburg University I was able to do workshops as a starter, and I was brought into contact with people who helped me forward if I wanted to know things. Finance, for example. That was quite a hassle. I had to do all kinds of presentations and had to appear before a committee, but in the end, they lent me—as a private individual—35,000 Euros. A fantastic facility offered by the government! With that money, together with financing from the Rabobank, I took over the first practice.”
Keep your own name and strength
We speak to Ruben Hoefnagels in an office behind a dental practice in Eindhoven. Only a mousepad with logo indicates that the practice is part of Tandarts Today. "All my seven practices have their own names and strengths," emphasizes Hoefnagels. "I think that's very important because, in our sector, there should be appropriate modesty anyway. We are, as our slogan also says: Surprisingly Familiar. That goes for the team as well as for the patient: it remains their practice, with familiar faces and a local character. Nice to mention, by the way, that the slogan was conceived by an employee. And that's typical of Tandarts Today... above all, we work with each other.”
People's business
"Of course, it's business for me too," says Hoefnagels, "but we do work with people. It is very much a people's business. Because we don't offer a fixed straightjacket, like the big chains, completely different types of dentists who sell their practices to me. They are warm personalities who are concerned about continuity. I have dentists who have signed a takeover contract under which they will remain in the practice for another eight years. That is also a priority for me. Other chains try to do that, but it's usually one or two years there. Tandarts Today is way beyond that, and that, I think, is also an important part of our DNA and success.”
Commitment to loyalty
The dentists are relieved of many worries after the takeover by Tandarts Today: "Administration, organization ... they are free of that and only need to focus on their profession. I offer that possibility while they still work in their 'own' practice. That ensures that these dentists remain motivated in the years to come.
Look, in this business, loyalty is very important. You can't enforce that. You have to earn it. And if you have the loyalty of the dentist and the team, then you also have the loyalty of the customers. I put a lot of effort into that."
You have to prove experience...
Taking over a practice at the age of twenty-three... "Yes, that was a thing. So many people told me it couldn't be done... Of course, it had never been done before. I also noticed that I lacked experience. I did my first takeover interview when I was still doing my Bachelor’s in Business Economics. After that, I went to do the Master’s in Management for Health Care part-time and worked as a practice manager at a dentist in Amsterdam. In this way, I was able to show that I understood the profession.
Nevertheless, it was exciting and I am very grateful to the dentists who trusted me. Just like my fiancée Anouk, who always contributes ideas.”
Learning curve
"In my opinion, 2015 really was the start," Ruben Hoefnagels looks back. "And the start is the hardest. Once I had taken over one practice, I noticed that going from one to two was much easier. I could say: 'Ah, come and have a look tomorrow. Then the reaction was: 'Oh, he really has a practice and... it’s working out...'. You have, in other words, the proof that it works.
By the way, the basic process still works the same way. That is, what I call, a 'learning curve': people first have to let it sink in—discuss it with the home front—and, only when it feels right, it is time to request information, make an offer, work it out, discuss it, draw up a contract...
In the beginning, you are constantly reinventing the wheel, also with finances. These days, I know, okay, this can be financed. Five years ago, that yielded a start-up loan of 35,000 euros. To show how fast it's going: last December I signed for a one million dollar loan. I'm going to take over three more practices this year. But of course I will also invest in the existing practices.”
Constantly renewing
The growth of Tandarts Today is steady. That makes it busier and more complex. In order to be able to cope with this pressure, Ruben Hoefnagels has been working with a regional manager since 2016: "That regional manager is the first point of contact for the practices, and keeps a lot of balls in the air. This allows me to better focus on where my heart really lies: building on (rather than in) my business. I like new things. Repetition bores me quickly. Tandarts Today is an operation to which I always want to add something new. As a builder. I like that more than I like maintaining it."
Stimulate involvement
"Look," says Hoefnagels, "of course I want to run as healthy a business as possible. Clinically as well as financially. Initially, I am looking for new resources and opportunities that contribute to the practices. People are working there with great commitment and empathy for the customers. We support and encourage this through things such as a Tandarts Today Day for employees (with workshops, presentations and also a lot of fun), but also through a central IT system (for more structured and—therefore—more pleasant working) and ISO certification. I am very committed to that! ”
Growth has started
As mentioned above, Ruben Hoefnagels has planned a number of acquisitions for 2020. Where that will ultimately lead to is unclear for him too: "Whatever it will be, I think it's very important that we can keep up. With good people. I'll keep working on that. And I certainly don't need to be taken over. There are parties who want that, but selling wouldn't give me any satisfaction. I get my energy from Tandarts Today. There is still so much to do... there are still so many practices to take over, but there is still so much that can be done in the practices we already have. No, I’m not even close to being done."