She built her app with one end in mind from day one: get acquired. And she did it while owning 100% of the company and raising two kids under two.

In this episode of The Deal Podcast, host Joshua Wilson and co-hosts Scott Shea and Jeremy Beyt sit down with Kelly Hebert, VP of Design & Media at Robert Hebert Media and co-founder of Project Dryve, a navigation app built to solve the messy, real-world problem of finding food and stops along a route. Recorded at ThreeSixtyEight in Baton Rouge, Kelly walks through the five-year journey of bootstrapping a tech startup: validating the idea through customer discovery, resisting feature creep, surviving three full rebuilds, and keeping a clear exit goal in view the entire time. It's a candid look at founder resilience, staying true to a core value proposition, and building a company designed to be acquired.

🎯 What We Cover:
- Why an acquisition was the goal from the very first build
- How customer discovery validated the idea before a line of code
- Resisting feature creep to protect the core value proposition
- Bootstrapping while keeping 100% ownership
- Surviving three rebuilds and a $4,000 forced restart
- Balancing motherhood and the founder grind
- The TestFlight-to-App-Store approval gauntlet

🤝 Connect with Kelly Hebert:
🌐 https://www.roberthebertmedia.com/about-us
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyehebert/

🤝 Connect with Co-Host Scott Shea:
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/escottshea/

🙏 Special thanks to our Co-Host Jeremy Beyt, CEO of ThreeSixtyEight, for hosting The Deal Podcast's Baton Rouge Podcast Tour.
🌐 https://www.threesixtyeight.com/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-beyt/

💼 Thinking About a Transaction?
FA Mergers helps founders, investors, and business owners navigate the full M&A process — from valuation to close. If you're exploring a sale, acquisition, or capital raise, let's talk.
🔗 https://www.famergers.com/

🎙️ Follow The Deal Podcast:
🌐 https://www.thedealpodcast.com/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrucewilson/
▶️ https://www.youtube.com/@dealpodcast

Curious what your business is worth? Request your free valuation at famergers.com

Disclaimer: Joshua Wilson is a licensed Florida real estate broker and holds FINRA Series 79 and Series 63 licensure. The Deal Podcast is presented by FA Mergers and is produced for informational and educational purposes only.

Nothing discussed constitutes investment advice, legal or tax advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or to pursue or avoid any transaction. All views and opinions expressed by the hosts, co-hosts, and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the positions of FA Mergers, One Iron Network LLC, any regulatory agency, or any employer. Listeners should consult their own legal, financial, and tax professionals before making any business, financial, or transaction decision. This podcast does not constitute a solicitation or recommendation for any financial products or services.

Let's Connect on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrucewilson/

To Contact Us, Please Visit:
https://www.thedealpodcast.com/contact/

He built Lego-verifying software with his daughter and an AI chief of staff named Carl who texts his wife. Justin Obney has strong opinions about what founders keep getting wrong.

In this episode of The Deal Podcast, host Joshua Wilson and co-host Scott Shea sit down with Justin Obney, CEO of Obney AI, for a candid conversation on how business owners should actually think about artificial intelligence. Recorded in Baton Rouge at ThreeSixtyEight, the discussion cuts past the hype to a simpler frame: AI is just systems that execute your intent. Justin unpacks what AI transformation really means for organizations, why the fear of job loss reflects a "finite mindset," and how founders can use these tools without drowning in endless tinkering.

🎯 What We Cover:
- What AI actually is — and how to explain it to anyone
- Why "AI makes people more capable, not less necessary"
- The finite-mindset trap behind AI job fear
- How organizations become AI-enabled and AI-native
- Why founders should "pick one tool and go"
- Operationalizing intent — the real point of AI systems
- What an "agent" is, in plain English
- Building personalized software vs. enterprise systems
- Raising kids in an AI world without losing the human touch
- The skills that matter most: systems thinking and communication

🤝 Connect with Justin Obney:
🌐 https://www.obney.ai/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinobney/

🤝 Connect with Co-Host Scott Shea:
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/escottshea/

🙏 Special thanks to Jeremy Beyt, CEO of ThreeSixtyEight, for hosting The Deal Podcast's Baton Rouge Podcast Tour.
🌐 https://www.threesixtyeight.com/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-beyt/

💼 Thinking About a Transaction?
FA Mergers helps founders, investors, and business owners navigate the full M&A process — from valuation to close. If you're exploring a sale, acquisition, or capital raise, let's talk.
🔗 https://www.famergers.com/

🎙️ Follow The Deal Podcast:
🌐 https://www.thedealpodcast.com/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrucewilson/
▶️ https://www.youtube.com/@dealpodcast

Curious what your business is worth? Request your free valuation at famergers.com

Disclaimer: Joshua Wilson is a licensed Florida real estate broker and holds FINRA Series 79 and Series 63 licensure. The Deal Podcast is presented by FA Mergers and is produced for informational and educational purposes only.

Nothing discussed constitutes investment advice, legal or tax advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or to pursue or avoid any transaction. All views and opinions expressed by the hosts, co-hosts, and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the positions of FA Mergers, One Iron Network LLC, any regulatory agency, or any employer. Listeners should consult their own legal, financial, and tax professionals before making any business, financial, or transaction decision. This podcast does not constitute a solicitation or recommendation for any financial products or services.

Let's Connect on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrucewilson/

To Contact Us, Please Visit:
https://www.thedealpodcast.com/contact/

33 years behind the microphone in Baton Rouge — and a master class on how college sports quietly became one of the biggest deal-making machines in America.

In this episode of The Deal Podcast, hosts Joshua Wilson and Scott Shea sit down with Charles Hanagriff — veteran sports broadcaster, co-host of "Live at Lunch" on 104.5 ESPN, and the voice of Eagle 98.1 Gameday for over two decades — recorded on the Baton Rouge Podcast Tour. Charles unpacks how sports betting, NIL, revenue sharing, and the transfer portal reshaped college athletics, and why private equity is now circling conferences and programs. From a $125,000 wager that cost a coach his job to the $50M football roster, he ties the business of sports to the deal-making world business owners know.

🎯 What We Cover:
- How sports betting changed what fans watch — and how leagues track every wager
- The transfer portal as a free-agency bidding war for 18-year-olds
- NIL, revenue sharing, and the $20.5M cap schools already blow past
- Why staying in college now pays more than going pro for most players
- Private equity's move into conferences — and the control that follows
- Building audience trust over 33 years — and why honesty wins
- Storytelling lessons from Omaha, Katrina, and Hurricane Andrew

🤝 Connect with Charles Hanagriff:
🌐 https://www.louisianasports.net/personnel/charles-hanagriff/
🏢 https://www.guarantymedia.com/

🤝 Connect with Co-Host Scott Shea:
💼 https://www.thedealpodcast.com/guests/scott-shea/

🙏 Special thanks to Co-Host Jeremy Beyt, CEO of ThreeSixtyEight, for hosting The Deal Podcast's Baton Rouge Podcast Tour.
🌐 https://www.threesixtyeight.com/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-beyt/

💼 Thinking About a Transaction?
FA Mergers helps founders, investors, and business owners navigate the full M&A process — from valuation to close. If you're exploring a sale, acquisition, or capital raise, let's talk.
🔗 https://www.famergers.com/

🎙️ Follow The Deal Podcast:
🌐 https://www.thedealpodcast.com/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrucewilson/
▶️ https://www.youtube.com/@dealpodcast

Curious what your business is worth? Request your free valuation at famergers.com

Disclaimer: Joshua Wilson is a licensed Florida real estate broker and holds FINRA Series 79 and Series 63 licensure. The Deal Podcast is presented by FA Mergers and is produced for informational and educational purposes only.

Nothing discussed constitutes investment advice, legal or tax advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or to pursue or avoid any transaction. All views and opinions expressed by the hosts, co-hosts, and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the positions of FA Mergers, One Iron Network LLC, any regulatory agency, or any employer. Listeners should consult their own legal, financial, and tax professionals before making any business, financial, or transaction decision. This podcast does not constitute a solicitation or recommendation for any financial products or services.

Let's Connect on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuabrucewilson/

To Contact Us, Please Visit:
https://www.thedealpodcast.com/contact/