Bonus Episode: AI, Trust, and Building Smarter Practices with Sergey Osipov

Dentistry is changing not only through digital tools but through a shift in how clinicians and founders think about time, trust, and technology.

In this bonus conversation, Dr Randeep Singh Gill and serial entrepreneur Sergey Osipov, founder of Placy, go deeper into what AI means for the real world of practice building. Sergey draws on his experience in real estate and tech to explain how automation is transforming entire sectors, while Dr Randeep connects those lessons to the dental profession.

They discuss how AI can reallocate human potential, moving team members from repetitive administrative work to strategic, revenue-driving roles. Both agree the true challenge is not replacing people, but helping them trust AI enough to use it fully.

Dr Randeep also shares a behind-the-scenes look at building DentCFO, his AI-powered financial intelligence platform designed to give independent dental practices the same insights and capabilities as large corporate groups. He opens up about investing his own savings, working with fractional teams, and navigating compliance and scalability challenges in healthcare tech.

They also touch on what success and sustainability mean for founders today, the long, often misunderstood journey of entrepreneurship, and how AI might shorten that path without stripping away the human element that makes it worthwhile.

This is a rare and honest exchange between two founders at the frontier of AI, leadership, and trust.

Bonus Episode Highlights

Sergey describes how AI is transforming real estate by automating repetitive tasks. He introduces his concept of “high-friction, low-judgement jobs”—routine, manual actions like sending links or handling listings—which are the first to be automated. His perspective illustrates how industries beyond dentistry are preparing for similar workforce shifts.

Dr Randeep shares his entrepreneurial journey behind DentaCFO, an AI-powered financial platform for dental practices. After a neck injury ended his clinical career, he channelled his industry knowledge into building a truly AI-first product from scratch, prioritising scalability, GDPR compliance, and robust data security. His story highlights resilience and the power of turning adversity into innovation.

Drawing on his own startup experience, Sergey reveals the steep costs of developing an MVP (minimum viable product), estimating that even early-stage prototypes can exceed €500,000–€1 million. He notes that investors primarily back people rather than ideas at this stage, as tangible products barely exist. His comments emphasise the gap between AI hype and the financial realities of building real, scalable solutions.

Reflecting on startup culture, Dr Randeep discusses how entrepreneurship is often romanticised as a quick win, when in reality, building something meaningful takes time and trust. He highlights the importance of nurturing markets, educating users, and earning credibility—reminding aspiring founders that sustainable success is a marathon, not a sprint.

Sergey compares launching a startup twenty years ago with today’s streamlined process. He recalls when founders had to manually configure servers and emails, whereas now platforms like Google Workspace and AWS make setup almost instantaneous. He celebrates the new “fractional approach”—assembling a company like LEGO using affordable, modular tools—which has democratised entrepreneurship.