What if the secret to surviving the next era of automotive disruption isn't about technology at all, but about people, perspective, and the power of a well-earned scar or two?

In this episode, I sit down with someone I’ve admired for decades, and someone who’s quietly shaped more of the modern auto tech landscape than most people will ever realize: Robert Burnett, legendary M&A leader for Reynolds & Reynolds and now the driving force behind 1876.

We recorded this conversation the morning after the Presidio Group Tech Summit, buzzing from conversations with founders, VCs, OEMs, and innovators, and let me tell you, Robert brought the kind of clarity, candor, and humility that only comes from thirty years of doing the real work in the real world.

In This Episode, We Get Into…

• The origin story: how a small-town kid from Texas A&M ended up shaping one of the industry’s most successful acquisition strategies.

• The truth about buying companies: what really matters (hint: it’s not AI, and it’s definitely not bankers—until it is).

• Why founders almost always misunderstand valuations and how that disconnect derails deals before they even start.

• The explosion of automotive tech complexity and why dealers today face decision fatigue like never before.

• What makes a product worth acquiring in 2025 and beyond — and what Robert still thinks most innovators don’t understand about building something real.

• The wild rise of retail fraud and how MAPS Sign (Maverick/MavSign) is becoming the quiet giant solving a problem nobody thought would scale this fast.

• Why AI won’t save you — but it better be in your product anyway, and how the next wave of evolution will force founders to rethink their moat.

If you're a founder, a dealer, a tech leader, an operator, or someone who wants to understand what’s ACTUALLY happening behind the scenes as this industry accelerates into its next chapter — this episode will absolutely change the way you think.

Connect with David Spisak to Achieve Exponential Growth:

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidspisak/
• Website: https://www.davidspisak.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: +1 (510) 604-0308
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