Having spent my career building and leading a large veterinary practice, one thing has suprised me regarding the acquisition process: Discussions often center on current EBITDA, revenue growth, and doctor headcount. Those metrics absolutely matter, but they don’t always tell you where a business is headed. In veterinary medicine, I’ve found that the greatest opportunities are practices with average financial performance but exceptional people. A practice with only average margins can dramatically outperform once retention, recruiting, leadership, and cultural issues are addressed, but that potential is missed if those things aren’t identified during diligence. EBITDA tells what a business has done. People tell you what it’s capable of becoming. I’m curious whether other operators have found the same dynamic, or if this is something unique to veterinary medicine.