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/

He got told no 2,000 times before Wall Street said yes. Rip Reeves cold-called his way off a borrowed New York City phone book — and four decades later runs the company whose magazine first taught him the business.

In this episode of The Deal Podcast, recorded on the Baton Rouge Podcast Tour, host Joshua Wilson and co-host Scott Shea sit down with Rip Reeves, CEO of Institutional Investor and former CIO of AEGIS Insurance Services. Rip walks through how global capital actually moves — the allocator-manager ecosystem, why insurance companies, endowments, and family offices invest so differently, and the convergence of public, private, and wealth markets. A candid masterclass for anyone on the GP side of private equity asking whose door to knock on for capital — plus the grit and mentorship behind a 40-year career.

🎯 What We Cover:

• The borrowed phone book and 2,000 cold-call origin story
• How allocators decide where capital flows
• Why insurance, endowments, and family offices invest differently
• The Yale endowment model: equities, fixed income, alternatives
• Fee compression and the shift toward private markets
• Why single family offices now move like institutions
• The convergence of public, private, and wealth markets
• Knowing what you are — and what you're not

🤝 Connect with Rip Reeves: 🌐 https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/ 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/rip-reeves-1b725717/

🤝 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 cashed out everything during the pandemic — left a guaranteed paycheck to raise $30M and buy a bank that didn't exist yet. Five years later, it's quadrupled.

In this episode, recorded live in Baton Rouge on our Louisiana Podcast Tour, host Joshua Wilson and co-host Scott Shea sit down with Scott Gaudin, President & CEO of Currency Bank. Scott traces his path from folding towels and parking cars under Nick Saban at LSU to acquiring a community bank charter and building it into a $260M concierge business bank owned by 143 shareholders. It's a story about mentorship, "the process," and the math of buying, growing, and selling banks in the lower middle market — for founders, family operators, and the advisors who guide them.

🎯 What We Cover:
- Why he left a secure role to raise $30M and buy a bank during COVID
- The "acquire a charter" strategy vs. starting a bank from scratch
- How 200+ Zoom meetings built a 143-shareholder base
- The economics of buying a $62M bank at 15x earnings
- Choosing your own boss — and getting a "PhD" in banking
- Buying and selling branches: the b1BANK and Commercial Capital deals
- Why he treats employees as the asset in every acquisition
- Acquisition lending for advisors and insurance books of business
- Lessons on mentorship, confidence, and serving your community

🤝 Connect with Scott Gaudin:
🌐 https://www.currency.bank
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-gaudin-56606760

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

🙏 Special thanks to Venue Host Jeremy Beyt, CEO of ThreeSixtyEight, for hosting our 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/

Should you grow your business or protect it? The answer depends on one number — and most owners don't know theirs.

In this episode, Joshua Wilson and co-hosts Scott Shea (FA Mergers) and Jeremy Beyt (CEO, ThreeSixtyEight) sit down with Ben Vance, CPA, Director at Faulk & Winkler, who brings nearly 20 years in business valuation, transaction advisory, and family office work. Ben unpacks the difference between "playing offense" and "playing defense" with enterprise value, why the legacy bill-by-the-hour CPA model leaves owners exposed, and how starting the exit-planning process seven years out beats scrambling at the ninth hour. A candid, operator-level conversation on selling your business, deal readiness, and building value that survives due diligence — from the Baton Rouge Podcast Tour.

🎯 What We Cover:

• Offense vs. defense: when to grow value and when to protect it
• The "windshield vs. rearview mirror" shift every owner needs
• Why the bill-by-the-hour CPA model fails growth-minded owners
• Organized planning vs. controlled chaos in a sale process
• The add-backs owners don't realize they're sitting on
• How buyers actually value people vs. systems
• Why most deals die — and how early prep keeps them alive
• Using AI to build a real-time data room and Q of E model
• Reading momentum: when to take chips off the table
• Preparedness as a founder's superpower

🤝 Connect with Ben Vance: 🌐 https://fw-cpa.com/

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

🙏 Special thanks to Co-Host Jeremy Beyt, CEO of ThreeSixtyEight, for hosting our 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 a national construction firm out of a town of fewer than 1,000 people — then sold it without feeling like he sold out.

In this episode, Joshua Wilson and co-host Scott Shea sit down with Lenny Lemoine, founder of LEMOINE, the Louisiana services company he and his brother Tim grew from a family lumberyard into a 1,500-person leader in building, infrastructure, and disaster response. Lenny walks through decades of building enterprise value: the early hard-bid years, the choice to drop hard-bid work to protect culture, the Bernhard Capital Partners deal that let him scale through M&A, and a succession where the organization chose his successor. A candid talk on relationships, grit, and building people over buildings — for any lower middle market owner weighing an exit.

🎯 What We Cover:
- Starting a commercial construction company where none existed
- Why bonding and liquidity are the lifeblood of the business
- Walking away from hard-bid work to build a relationship-driven model
- The Bernhard Capital Partners deal and scaling through acquisition
- "Selling without selling out" and protecting company culture
- The weight of leading thousands of employees and their families
- Running a year-long, employee-driven succession process
- Why relationships are the real engine behind every deal

🙏 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/

🤝 Connect with Lenny Lemoine:
🌐 https://1lemoine.com/
💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonard-lemoine-66465054/

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

💼 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/

What separates the PE firms that build lasting companies from the ones that destroy them? Jeff Koonce says it comes down to one asset that never shows up cleanly on a balance sheet.

Jeffrey Koonce is a Partner at Bernhard Capital Partners, a Baton Rouge-based services and infrastructure-focused private equity firm with more than $6 billion in AUM. A recovering CPA and former tax attorney at Phelps Dunbar, Jeff joined BCP as General Counsel and has been part of the firm's growth from its first fund close through its fifth. Co-host Scott Shea and special guest co-host Jeremy Beyt, CEO of ThreeSixtyEight, join Joshua Wilson for this conversation recorded live at ThreeSixtyEight's studio in Baton Rouge.

🎯 What We Cover:

• What private equity actually looks for beyond EBITDA and cash flow
• Why the highest offer rarely wins in a founder-owned deal
• How BCP uses a "blueprint" strategy before approaching any target
• Why safety records are a leading indicator of service company quality
• The role of culture in buy-and-build platform success
• Why founders who roll equity almost always outperform on the back end
• How BCP managed 23 portfolio companies through reporting and technology
• The difference between a PE firm and a family office
• Why brand and goodwill matter even in industrial M&A
• What Jeff asks every founder at the deal table

🤝 Connect with Jeffrey Koonce: 🌐 https://www.bernhardcapital.com

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

🤝 Connect with Jeremy Beyt | ThreeSixtyEight: 🌐 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/