The Deal Podcast

What does it take to scale a plaintiff's law firm to 17 attorneys across three offices — without losing the mission, the culture, or your sanity? Blake David has done it, and he's still trying cases. In this episode of The Deal Podcast, host Joshua Wilson sits down with Blake R. David, founding partner of Broussard, David & Moroux in Lafayette, Louisiana, alongside co-host Jude David...

What if the smartest move before your liquidity event isn't talking to your banker — it's talking to a community foundation? In this episode of The Deal Podcast, host Joshua Wilson and co-host Scott Shea sit down with Missy Andrade, President & CEO of the Community Foundation of Acadiana (CFA), to unpack one of the most overlooked tools in middle market dealmaking: the community foun...

Mark Weber made $12,000 his first year in business. He never hired an employee. Three decades later, he's built a portfolio across life insurance, real estate, and mortgage lending — all on strategic partnerships and commission-only hustle. Mark Weber is a serial entrepreneur, inventor, and CEO of Mark Weber Enterprises — a multi-layered company spanning real estate, investments, insurance, a...

What if the smartest growth strategy in your community wasn't being run by a private equity firm — it was being run by a charity? Kim Boudreaux and Sarah Clement of Catholic Charities of Acadiana have spent the last two decades quietly executing one of the most disciplined nonprofit roll-up strategies in Louisiana — growing from a $1.2M agency with 23 employees into a $15M, 90-person, 14-orga...

What if the Lord interrupted your career at the peak of the American dream? Saul Keeton walked away from 25 years in commercial real estate. Kevin Granger left nursing and music behind. Both said yes to something bigger. In this episode of The Deal Podcast, host Joshua Wilson sits down with Saul Keeton and Kevin Granger of Family Missions Company — the largest lay Catholic foreign missionary organ...

What does it actually take to walk away from a thriving career at the top of your game — and how do you do it without leaving wreckage behind? In this special episode of The Deal Podcast, host Joshua Wilson and co-host Jude David, JD, DCL, MBA — Managing Partner at FA Mergers — sit down with Father Jim Brady, JCL, Pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Church in Lafayette, Louisiana. Before entering the pr...

What happens when a former musician with degrees in graphic design and public relations becomes the executive director of one of Louisiana's most important startup engines? You get Destin Ortego — and a playbook that's helped founders raise $116M in venture capital and drive over $2 billion in economic impact since 2018. In this episode of The Deal Podcast, host Joshua Wilson and co-host...

What does it actually take to land a $1.4 billion manufacturing deal in a parish of 70,000 people? Mike Tarantino has the playbook — and he's running it in real time. In this episode, Joshua Wilson and co-host Scott Shea sit down with Mike Tarantino, President and CEO of the Iberia Industrial Development Foundation, to break down the mechanics of modern economic development dealmaking. Mike w...

What if the same company could give you four bites of the apple? Steven Pivnik did exactly that — and nearly lost it all in between. In this episode of The Deal Podcast, host Joshua Wilson sits down with Steven Pivnik, serial founder, endurance athlete, and exit advisor who built and monetized the same software company four separate times before finally selling to a $4 billion competitor. Steven s...

What does it take to turn a text message into a viral brand? Bryan McGehee, founder of Gatr Coolers, did exactly that — starting from a camper with his wife and kids, betting his house on a cooler company, and going full-time the same month COVID shut the world down. Bryan McGehee is the founder of Gatr Coolers, a premium customizable cooler and drinkware brand built out of Thibodaux, Louisiana. B...

What if the biggest mistake you're making isn't a bad deal or a wrong hire — but spending your life doing things you're capable of instead of things you were made for? Dominic Dupré grew up watching four cousins build successful companies in Louisiana's energy corridor. He graduated into the shale boom, swung sledgehammers on a workover rig, and had his entrepreneurial dreams d...

What if the thing slowing your growth isn't what's missing — it's what you refuse to cut? Yarin Gaon sold his fourth company at 28, ran turnarounds as an Entrepreneur in Residence at a venture capital firm, mentored 400+ founders through the University of Chicago and SCORE, and has earned an MBA along the way. Today he runs Fractional Partners, where he applies a private equity-styl...

He was drowning in investor debt, swinging a hammer in Houston just to make payroll — and still found a way to build something worth fighting for. This is a story about grit, partnership, and what it really takes to grow a trade business from the inside out. George Boudreaux founded Pelican Roofing Company in Lafayette, Louisiana on July 4th, 2014 — not from a place of momentum, but from a burning...

She thought it was total BS. Then they built a company together — and haven't looked back since. Kenny and Stacy Maggard turned a margarita-fueled conversation into Azalea Health Services, a mission-driven mental health company serving seniors in long-term care settings across Louisiana and Texas. Kenny Maggard spent 15 years as a middle market banker at Capital One before stepping into priva...

What happens when you hand the keys to an $850 million government operation to someone who thinks like an operator? You get fewer barriers, faster decisions, and a city that starts acting like it has a balance sheet to protect. In this episode of The Deal Podcast, host Joshua Wilson and co-host Jude David, JD, DCL, MBA and Managing Partner at FA Mergers, sit down with Mayor-President Monique Boule...

What happens to your business if you don't make it home today? Taylor Davis watched his father — a top vascular surgeon making great money — die at 48 with almost no coverage after a business partnership dissolved and the insurance went with it. His mother sold her dream home and went back to work. That experience became his life's mission. Taylor Davis is a Wealth Management Advisor wit...

What does it take to turn a family baking legacy into a viral sensation? Billy and Denny, aka "The Gingerbread Twins", have been proving that faith, hard work, and butter cookies can build something extraordinary. Billy and Denny are the identical twin founders of Gingerbread Twins, a Lafayette, Louisiana bakery rooted in three generations of baking tradition. In this episode, they share...

Most financial advisors are sitting on their biggest asset and don't even know it. Dr. Jon Randall breaks down exactly what your practice is worth — and how to build it so buyers are lined up when you're ready. In this episode, Joshua Wilson sits down with Dr. Jon Randall, founder of eXtraordinary Financial Advisors (XFA) and author of The Extraordinary Financial Advisor Practice. With o...

He was the only survivor of a plane crash that killed five people — burned on 80% of his body, pulled from a coma, and given little chance of a full recovery. What Wade Berzas discovered in that hospital room became the foundation for everything he now teaches entrepreneurs. Wade Berzas is an EOS Implementer, business coach, and speaker who works with privately held entrepreneurial companies of 10...

Most companies are spending money on marketing without knowing if it's working. Jeremy Beyt has built a career proving there's a better way — and it starts long before you run a single ad. Jeremy Beyt is the CEO and Co-Founder of ThreeSixtyEight, a full-service creative agency based in Louisiana known as the Challenger Agency. In this episode, Jeremy joins hosts Joshua Wilson and Scott S...

Before Scott Rainey owned a safety consulting company, he was getting bit by dogs in North Louisiana — knocking on doors as a landman, trying to convince hostile landowners to let oil companies onto their property. That pivot into entrepreneurship wasn't clean. It nearly ended in bankruptcy. Here's how he got out, started over, and built something worth selling. Scott Rainey is the found...

She spent thousands of dollars on wedding flowers she didn't even love — and watched them end up in the trash by the end of the night. That experience became the blueprint for a business that has now served over 60,000 weddings and helped couples save more than $100 million on flowers. Lauren Bercier is the Co-Founder and CEO of Something Borrowed Blooms, the leading silk floral rental compan...

What if you could invest like the Hilton family — without having $100 million in the bank? Mark Miller has spent nearly 40 years making that possible, and in this episode, he pulls back the curtain on exactly how it works. The strategies, the philosophy, the network — and the surprising backstory of how the Hilton family fortune ended up in a foundation instead of the family's hands. Mark Mil...

Some PE deals don't fall apart in due diligence — they fall apart because no one can find the right CEO. Travis Hann has built his firm around solving exactly that problem. If the operator doesn't exist — or can't be found — the deal doesn't happen. Travis Hann is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Pender & Howe, a fast-growing boutique executive search firm serving mid...

He only buys companies everyone else is running from — and he's been doing it for 20 years. Nate Moore has built a 700-person operation by acquiring distressed childcare and home care businesses, walking into chaos where others see dead ends, and turning them around through leadership, structure, and a relentless belief in people. Nate Moore is a serial acquisition entrepreneur and founder of...