In this episode of The Deal Playbook, Tom Shipley sits down with Brett Hurt, one of Austin’s most accomplished entrepreneurs and investors. Brett has built and successfully exited three companies, including:

• Coremetrics (acquired by IBM for ~$300M)
• Bazaarvoice (scaled to $100M+ ARR and a unicorn IPO in 2012)
• data.world (a B-Corp acquired by ServiceNow in July 2025 to power their enterprise AI platform)

Through Hurt Family Investments, Brett and his wife Deborah have also backed over 146 startups and 47 VC funds, making him a cornerstone of the Austin tech and venture ecosystem.

Tom and Brett dive deep into:

• The buy vs. build rubric and how to know when an acquisition will compound value.
• Lessons from PowerReviews and Longboard Media acquisitions—what worked, what didn’t, and why.
• How Bazaarvoice became one of the most capital-efficient SaaS unicorns of its time.
• Preparing your company for acquisition—what must be true before conversations begin.
• Why culture is the real integration strategy in M&A.
• Brett’s perspective on AI, agentic systems, and the future of deal-making.
• His new mission through Love Conquers Fear—a podcast, book, and holding company aimed at shaping humanity’s future in the AI era.

Whether you’re running a 7–9 figure company or planning your first acquisition, this fireside chat is packed with hard-won lessons, cautionary tales, and forward-looking strategies that will help you scale smarter and exit stronger.