WHO WE ARE
Most dentists sell a practice once. The buyer across the table has done it 200 times. That asymmetry is where value leaks out of a deal — it’s why offers get repriced, add-backs get rejected, and sellers accept terms they didn’t have to. Ascend Strategic Partners was built to close that gap.
Our advantage is where we came from. Before representing sellers, Ascend’s deal experience was earned inside one of the country’s largest DSOs — building the M&A function, running diligence, and answering to the investment committee. We bring that buyer-side fluency to every engagement, with deal teams scaled to the transaction.
Who we are
Ascend’s track record was built on the buy side, inside one of the nation’s largest DSOs — the side of the table that sets the price. Every number here was earned in that seat, and every engagement puts it to work for our clients:
50+
$500m+
20
150+
9 yrs
$65m+
Austin Hunter
MEET THE FOUNDER
Austin began his career at UBS, helping business owners with a wide range of corporate finance needs. From there, he moved to one of the largest DSOs in the country, where he built and ran an industry-leading M&A team covering modeling, diligence, and integration.
Four years of buying practices meant four years of watching the other side of the table: sellers navigating the biggest transaction of their lives, often without anyone who knew how the buyer’s number was actually built. That’s what led him to found Ascend Strategic Partners — to put buyer-side experience on the seller’s side.
Austin holds a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Boston University. Outside the office, he follows Tampa sports, plays golf, and spends time on the water.