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Matt Brenton didn't build BigPawShop to scale aggressively. He built it to work for real customers, with real margins, and a clear brand identity. What started as a side hustle became a profitable niche eCommerce business selling bold, custom dog collars.In this episode, Matt shares how he grew the brand without paid ads, structured his operations with intention, and successfully sold the business through Acquire.com. He walks through what made the brand attractive to buyers, how he managed the listing, and what a clean, founder-first exit really looks like.You'll learn:How to run a lean eCommerce brand with strong retention Why emotional products can still be strategic assetsWhat buyers look for in simple, documented Shopify storesHow to prep your business so it sells fast and cleanWhy timing and founder clarity make all the difference3 lessons from Matt's exit:Keep it focused: a niche product with loyal buyers has real valueDocument everything before you listA buyer who respects your work makes the exit easierWhether you're running an eCommerce brand or thinking about your own exit, Matt's story shows how to prepare, sell, and move on with clarity.Follow Matt's journey on LinkedIn
At just 18 years old, Siyabend Özdemir bootstrapped and sold Gen PPT, an AI-powered presentation generator used by students, marketers, and solopreneurs across the globe.What started as a school-night experiment turned into a viral hit driven by indie hacker hustle, programmatic SEO, and a killer demo shared on X. Siyabend listed the business on Acquire.com and closed a smooth acquisition just days later.In this episode, he shares how he built, scaled, and exited Gen PPT and what comes next for a founder just getting started.You'll learn: ► How Siyabend validated the idea using a real SEO dataset ► Why building in public on X was key to early growth ► What made Acquire.com the best fit for a solo founder exit ► How he handled burnout, due diligence, and buyer negotiation ► What to do after your first big win, including gold bars and Range Rovers3 takeaways from Siyabend's exit: Organize everything—docs, access, financials—for a fast handoff Structure your business and taxes early, even if you're young Use the right platform to streamline the acquisition processWhether you're 18 or 38, bootstrapping solo or building in public, this conversation is proof that you can build something valuable and sell it on your terms.Listen now to hear how Siyabend pulled off his first exit and what he's building next.Follow Siyabend on LinkedIn
Christopher Schwab didn't build Inova Local to chase scale. He built it to solve a real problem: how to support home service businesses with reliable, high-quality remote admin help.What started as a side project quickly became a profitable VA agency—and a company built for flexibility, documentation, and clean operations. In this episode, Christopher shares how he grew the business with intention and sold it through a fast, strategic acquisition.You'll learn:Why lean, recurring models outperform traditional staffingWhat made remote operations hard to sell before the pandemicHow to prepare your company for a fast, low-friction exitWhat buyers actually care about—and what catches them off guardHow to balance growth, team care, and long-term personal goals3 lessons from Christopher's exit:Simplicity and documentation make due diligence easyKnow what the business means to you—and what's nextTake care of your team through the transitionWhether you're scaling a remote service or considering your own exit, this conversation is a playbook for founders who want to build—and exit—with clarity.Listen now to hear how Christopher structured his acquisition and what he's building next.Follow Christopher on LinkedIn
What started as a side project during business school became a profitable, product-led SaaS used by finance teams, and was successfully acquired through Acquire.com.In this episode, Trevor Lee, founder of Genius Sheets, shares how he scaled a lean SaaS through smart distribution partnerships, kept operations efficient, and exited on his own terms to build a new company: Myko, a voice-to-CRM tool for sales teams.In this episode, you'll learn:How to grow a financial SaaS using Product-Led Growth (PLG)Why partner distribution can outperform outbound salesWhat to expect during buyer calls, due diligence, and app store transitionsHow pricing your listing well leads to stronger, faster offersWhat matters most when evaluating potential buyers Trevor's 3 tips for founders planning an exit:1. Build around scalable, low-cost acquisition channels2. Reduce manual ops to make your SaaS more attractive3. Don't wait for perfection—launch, and learn from real usersWhether you're growing a SaaS or thinking about selling, this episode is full of tactical advice from a founder who exited profitably to pursue his next big idea.
If Christopher Lier could give three key pieces of advice to SaaS founders planning an exit, they would be:Build a focused product that solves a specific problemBe fully transparent during the acquisition processNever settle for a deal you're not comfortable withChristopher is the co-founder of LeadGen App, a form builder optimized for lead generation. What began as a side project between an SEO expert and a developer in the UK quickly evolved into a profitable micro-SaaS. No venture capital. No big team. Just strong SEO, clear systems, and consistent execution.In this episode, host Andrew Gazdecki talks with Christopher about:How to launch and grow a lean SaaS product from scratchThe importance of SEO, Facebook groups, and direct outreach for acquiring your first usersWhat the acquisition process on Acquire.com looks like, from listing to closingHow documented SOPs and a reliable team streamlined due diligenceWhy selecting the right buyer is about shared vision, not just priceWhether you're bootstrapping, scaling, or preparing to sell a SaaS company, this episode offers actionable insights and hard-earned lessons from someone who's successfully done it.Listen now and learn what it really takes to build, grow, and exit a micro-SaaS.Follow Christopher's journey:LinkedIn
If Johann Sathianathen could give two key pieces of advice to founders who want to sell a startup fast, he'd say:Build and sell early—even while working full-timeReinvest stable income to accelerate your startup runwayJohann Sathianathen was just 20 years old when he made his first bootstrapped exit, selling his startup Jars Global through Acquire.com. Before that, he dropped out of college, became the youngest full-time software engineer at Cisco, and used his salary to fund a small team and launch multiple startup projects.Jars began as a side hustle focused on competitive intelligence for e-commerce businesses. As traction grew, Johann listed it on Acquire.com. The selling process was smooth, the deal closed quickly, and Johann walked away with both capital and momentum to go full-time on his founder journey.But for Johann, selling Jars was just the beginning. He believes that a portfolio founder approach reduces risk and multiplies opportunity. By building multiple SaaS startups with lean teams, he maximized his chances of success—and today, he's scaling a growing portfolio, focused on solving real problems and moving fast.Tune in to the Acquire podcast with Andrew Gazdecki and Johann Sathianathen to discover:How Johann built and sold his startup while still a teenagerWhy becoming a "portfolio founder" changes everythingHow to leverage your salary to bootstrap and scale fasterWhat happens emotionally and financially after your first startup exitJohann is just getting started, and you can follow his journey below.LinkedIn
If Luka Pecavar could give three pieces of advice to founders building and selling micro-SaaS products, he'd say:Build simple tools that solve a specific problemListen to user feedback early and oftenEven small apps can attract serious buyersLuka built a simple but powerful image comparison app called Before and After for the Wix App Market. What started as a weekend side project quickly evolved into a revenue-generating micro-SaaS with thousands of installs. No venture capital, no large team, just clean code and real user traction.When the time came to sell, Luka listed the app on Acquire.com and closed a seamless deal with a buyer who valued the app's clean architecture and consistent performance.Now he's using the experience as a springboard into new projects and sharing exactly how he did it.In this episode of the Acquire Podcast with Andrew Gazdecki, Luka Pecavar breaks down:How he launched a profitable micro-SaaS inside the Wix ecosystemWhy app marketplaces like Wix and Shopify are untapped opportunities for indie hackersWhat to expect during a micro-acquisition, from listing to negotiationKey lessons from bootstrapping, scaling, and exiting a niche SaaS productIf you're building, scaling, or thinking about selling a micro-SaaS, this episode is a must-listen.Follow Luka's next steps:LinkedIn
When Abdulla Abdurazzoqov Reflects on Selling His SaaS Startup, He Offers These Takeaways:Build organic traffic early with free toolsChoose peace of mind over uncertaintyA strong Product Hunt launch can drive your first paying users fastAbdulla built AIHumanize.com as a solo founder and sold it within just nine months for a six-figure deal on Acquire.com. His platform helped users rewrite AI-generated content to sound more human and bypass AI detectors—attracting a surprising customer base of students and lawyers.The decision to sell came from a desire for financial stability and less stress, especially as he supported his family full-time. Listing on Acquire.com brought over 30 NDAs in the first few days, and after a smooth diligence process, he found the right buyer who understood both the niche and the tech stack.Today, Abdulla is working full-time on his next project: DetectingAI.com, which identifies whether content was generated by AI, already serving over 250,000 users.Tune into the Acquire podcast with Andrew Gazdecki and Abdulla as they discuss: ► How Abdulla built and sold his SaaS in under a year ► Launch strategies that convert free users into paying ones ► What to expect emotionally and financially after an exitFollow Abdulla's journey through the link below:LinkedInFacebook
What does it take to sell a music software startup and walk away with a life-changing payout?Emmett Cooke says it comes down to four things:1. Leveraging existing relationships to acquire your first customers2. Building a product that solves a real pain point but also requires a cultural shift3. Choosing the right buyer who shares your vision4. Selling at the right time, when burnout starts to set inEmmett originally founded his music software company using his experience with e-commerce in music. With a pre-existing contact list, he contacted companies and offereda solution to their customer support problems, solving issues around downloads, emails, and data privacy concerns. Slowly, word of mouth helped grow the business, and Emmet scaled it to over 100 B2B clients and around 360,000 B2C users.But as the business grew, Emmett realized he was losing energy. Between the challenges of managing a growing company, his expanding family, and the stress of providing a service people depended on, he realized it was time to sell. A favorable tax break in Ireland made it the right time to sell.Emmett worked with an M&A advisor, listed the business, and was soon overwhelmed with offers. He chose the buyer who shared his vision, and the deal was closed with an upfront payment, which was crucial for tax reasons.In his conversation with Andrew Gazdecki, Emmett shares insights on:• How leveraging your existing network can help you land your first customers• The challenges of shifting culture in an industry and how to overcome resistance• Why it's important to sell when you start feeling burnt out, even if the business is still growing• How the negotiation process unfolded, with offers from different industriesEmmett's journey is far from over, and you can continue following hisprogress through the link below:LinkedInX (Twitter)Facebook
What happens when you finda product with massive potential, but the marketing and growth aren't there yet? If you're Sanjana, you acquire it, grow it, and turn it into a success. In this episode, Sanjana shares his journey of acquiring CopyCopter, an AI-powered video generation tool. When he took over, the business was at $800 in monthly recurring revenue (MRR). He quickly scaled it to $32,000 in MRR—30x growth. Sanjana discusses the strategies he used to grow it, including Meta ads, influencer campaigns, and platform improvements. He also walks us through his acquisition process, including negotiations, due diligence, and why he had to sell the business due to liquidity issues. Tune in for valuable insights on acquiring and scaling startups, and learn how Sanjana turned Copycopter into a profitable business in record time. Sanjana's Insights Include:► How he recognized the opportunity in Copycopter and why he jumped on it.► The marketing strategies that helped him scale the product from $800 MRR to $32,000 MRR.► The importance of optimizing ads and having proper tracking in place for better ROI.► Key tips for anyone considering acquiring a startup or growing an existing one.Sanjana shares valuable insights for anyone looking to buy, grow, or sell their own business. Follow Sanjana's journey and stay updated on his next venture!▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Be sure tosubscribe to see the newest acquisition stories every Tuesday and gain the knowledge to buy or sell your own online business → https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom?sub_confirmation=1Want more stories? Access the past 50+ acquisition stories here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/startup-acquisition-stories-podcast/ Thinking aboutselling your own startup? The number one question is always 'how much can I sell for' and we've got the answers in our biannual valuation multiples reportshere → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/acquire-coms-acquisition-multiples-report/ Thinking about buying a startup? Sign up for a free buyer account and browse all the live listings. Upgrade only when you find the right one that fits your acquisition criteria to engage. Get Started → https://acquire.com/buyers/▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Follow the Guest: Sanjana Bandara ► https://x.com/sanjanabandarahttps://x.com/sanjanabandarahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjananuwan/?originalSubdomain=ae► https://www.instagram.com/sajja.eth/► https://copycopter.ai/ (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki ► https://twitter.com/agazdecki► https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/► https://acquire.com FollowAcquire.com ► https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom► https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom► https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬About Acquire.com:Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry.Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals every day.
If Ian Fourie could give two pieces of advice to founders selling their SaaS startups, he'd say: Register your business in only one country Start pushing founder responsibilities to employees as soon as you canIan sold his online corporate training startup, Pluto LMS, on Acquire.com fast (in just two weeks). However, he thinks he would have been even quicker had he addressed these points. Pluto LMS almost didn't happen. It was a project started on a whim when Ian realized schools spent a lot more on their facilities than their material. He saw online education as inevitable and built an online platform for a client in the UK. Pluto had customers but it didn't seem like it was going anywhere. That all changed during Covid as schools and corporations raced to the internet to see how they could conduct business online.Between 2020 and 2025 Ian grew his team to five employees and brought in a range of clients. Finally, he decided to sell on Acquire when his health started to worry him.Now Ian is working as a consultant for his acquirer for a year while he finds his next project.Tune into the Acquire podcast with Andrew Gazdecki and Ian and listen to them discuss: How he found his first clients. The advantages of selling alongside a professional advisor. How you can make your business seem more like an asset and less like a job.Ian is just getting started and you can follow him on his journey below: LinkedIn
What does it take to sell a startup for almost 20 times what you paid for it?Gabriella (Gabby) Rosen says it comes down to three things:Having an unfair advantage when you buyListing on Acquire.com for slightly less than it's worth when you sellUnderselling the product in the listing when you sellGabby originally acquired her newsletter Nomad Cloud while working as a partner at an email outreach startup called EOC. When she spotted the digital nomad newsletter on Acquire.com, she knew it was a perfect fit for her expertise.Using EOC's tools for highly-targeted email outreach, Gabby and her business partners at EOC turned thousands of keyword searchers into active readers of Nomad Cloud. They also systemized content creation with the help of an assistant and ChatGPT. Soon it was bringing in thousands of dollars a month.But her email startup was growing quickly too. Enough that Gabby couldn't justify splitting her time between two businesses. She moved to sell Nomad Cloud on Acquire.com. With the help of Acquire's acquisition manager Robbie, she flipped the business for 18 times what she paid for it.Tune into Gabriella Rosen's chat with Andrew Gazdecki as they discuss:
Have you ever fantasized about quitting your job and living off savings until you built a successful business or ran out of cash? SaaS builder Kamil Zowczac nearly accomplished both at the same time. While living in Bali off the money he'd earned as a project manager at a startup, Kamil taught himself to code and built a fast AI reel-video creation app called Copycopter. Marketing his product was slow at first. Kamil started offering a free subscription and then mysteriously went viral among Chinese Tiktok (Douyin) users after posting about it on Twitter. After installing a paywall and successfully launching on Product Hunt, he began to make a bit of money, but it was all too little too late. He'd spent too much time building his product and not enough time marketing it and was out of money. He needed an exit, fast. After posting about his dilemma on Twitter, Acquire.com's CEO, Andrew Gazdecki, helped Kamil list his business for free. After a few difficult negotiations with buyers and one deal that fell through, Kamil encountered his dream buyer. Within 24 hours, he'd finished all the deal paperwork and completed the sale of Copycopter. Now Kamil is back to building businesses in Bali living comfortably off his acquisition and resting easier knowing if he needs an exit, serious buyers are only a few clicks away. Listen to Kamil's interview with Andrew post-acquisition as they discuss: Kamil's tech recommendations for anyone wanting to get into AI video editing. The unfair marketing trick that applications like Copycopter can pull off better than any other SaaS. Andrew's top piece of advice for sellers who don't want to get locked into negotiations with an unserious buyer. Kamil is just getting started and you can follow his journey below: Twitter: @ky__zo
Founder Sukhpal Saini thinks you should consider offering lifetime subscriptions (at least for a time). He knows because he built a Shopify interface for Stripe that just couldn't hold down recurring customers. Called Reetail, Sukhpal operated the application for two years and got consistent users. The problem was they all were selling products in relatively low volumes. It was hard for them to justify subscribing to his platform. As Sukhpal's other side business, Engyne began to grow, he also had less and less time to dedicate to Reetail. Feeling like he'd given all he could to the product, he decided to sell in the best place he knew: Acquire.com. Sukhpal says his experience on Acquire.com was extremely straightforward. His buyer offered him the exact price he was looking for and paid all in cash. Post-acquisition, Sukhpal shared how he got his sale to go off without a hitch, including: Creating multiple accounts for all his paid software, to facilitate an easy handoff Creating a clear list of why buyers should be interested in your product Setting aside a transition period to over all elements of your business with the buyer The tradeoffs of lifetime vs. subscription-based business models The advantages of including a “Risks and Limitations” component in your listing. Tune in by clicking the image above! Sukhpal is just getting started and you can find follow his journey below: Engyne (his new project) LinkedIn
While working full-time as a pharmaceutical sales rep, Bobby Dimovski noticed that medical professionals were: Always looking for new ways to grow their business. Usually 10 years behind on marketing trends. Hard to access (unless you were a pharmaceutical sales rep). Armed with this information and wanting to save for his kids' college fund, Bobby founded a healthcare-industry marketing agency, 4MJ Social, in 2014. He started by upselling his medical clients on marketing services like SEO and Facebook business profiles. Over 14 years, he expanded into a multi-client, full-service healthcare marketing agency doing web design, PPC, social media, and everything in between. Then a family member began suffering health issues. Bobby couldn't put in the time to keep the business going. Rather than diminish his salary by hiring new management, Bobby wanted to unlock some extra cash from his decade-plus of work so he could take an extended break without worrying about money. Acquire.com had everything Bobby needed to find the right buyer for his business. Working with Acquisition Manager Ky Pratt, Bobby sourced the perfect buyer who understood his business and was willing to carry on his vision. The deal nearly fell apart when the financier pulled out, but Ky managed to keep all parties working together, and within a week, everyone was happy. Tune in to this episode of Startup Acquisition Stories Podcast to hear Andrew and Bobby discuss: Why Bobby spent four years pursuing one of his largest clients (and what it took to land the deal). Why Bobby thinks all founders should ponder their seller financing limits before acquisition. Why always being completely transparent about your business attracts the best buyers. Bobby is just getting started and you can follow his journey on LinkedIn below: LinkedIn
After building and selling one of the first ChatGPT plagiarism checkers on the market in 2024, Tomer Tarsky decided to search Acquire.com for another project in the edtech AI space. He found a promising business, grew it for seven months, and sold it for three times the purchase price. The business Tomer stumbled across was called Seamless For Science. It was an AI literature review generator with 20,000 free users. While it didn't make much money, its users were extremely active and would immediately complain if the service went down even for a day. After acquiring the business (which was built in a development language Tomer didn't know), all he had to do was adjust the homepage copy and up the prices. Immediately, he earned $2,000 more in MRR despite some churn. “I knew if just one percent of those free users converted, we would have a lot more money,” he says. However, Tomer soon reached the limits of improvements he could make without hiring a developer. He'd already decided he wanted to expand outside of edtech, so Tomer returned to Acquire.com and sold it for three times what he bought it for within a few days. Tune into Tomer's podcast with Andrew Gazdecki post-acquisition as they discuss: Why Tomer thinks it's easier to double ARR on a $3k startup than a $30k startup
Are you a developer who's bad at email marketing? Ironically, you may be in a great position to build the next big email marketing tool. Onur Genes wanted to promote his software development agency but couldn't write good sales emails. He developed Nureply to help him send better automated cold emails. Eventually, he sold subscriptions to his development clients transforming his helpful tool into a SaaS business. In under two years, Nureply acquired thousands of users, and through savvy Facebook marketing, Onur became the face of the increasingly popular Nureply brand. However, right as the customer base doubled in size, Onur's father passed away suddenly. Stricken and needing time away from his business, Onur turned to Acquire.com to find a new home for Nureply. With the help of acquisition specialist, Ky Pratt, he managed to find a buyer specialized in email products (they'd been in the industry since ‘98) within one week. After the transaction, the buyers became close personal friends with Onur, and he says they still talk every week. Post-acquisition, listen to Onur's chat with Andrew as they discuss: Onur's biggest regrets from developing Nureply. Onur's surprising marketing channel on Facebook. Why working with Acqire doesn't feel like a normal client-sales relationship to Onur. Onur is just getting started and you can follow him here: Twitter (@onurgenes)
Ian Blair has been an entrepreneur his whole life. As a kid, he sold lemonade, and then graduated to golf balls in adolescence. While in university, Ian found his calling for the next decade: white-labeling Andrew Gazdecki's Bizness Apps app-building software to churches. Later, he built his own template app builder, except with more customizable features (Bizness Apps meets Wordpress is how he describes it) called BuildFire. He completed his new app-builder in 2014, and through ten years of savvy marketing, helped over 15,000 satisfied customers build custom phone and tablet apps. But Ian always considered himself more of a marketer than a technical founder. In his free time, he'd cooked up an ecommerce project in 2021 – a new take on laundry detergent called Laundry Sauce. In just a year and a half, it brought in eight figures in revenue while Ian was still working at BuildFire pulling 80-hour workweeks. To return funds to investors (and time for himself), Ian sold BuildFire on Acquire.com with the aid of none other than Acquire.com CEO and former competitor, Andrew Gazdecki. Andrew helped Ian close an all-cash offer with an interested buyer, funding a surf trip to Indonesia and enough seed money to feel secure going all-in on his new venture. Listen to Andrew and Ian chat post-acquisition as they discuss: Their unique experiences of the app-builder industry Why modular SaaS businesses are hard to scale Why Ian settled on laundry detergent for his next business Ian is just getting started and you can follow his journey here: Instagram : @ianblair44 laundrysauce.com
Have you ever heard of the career readiness industry? It's a rarely reported on but active auxiliary industry spanning career coaching and development, edtech, vocational training, higher education, and more. Just career coaching and development alone is valued at $45 billion. Harris Osserman founded Talk Hiring originally to turn voice notes into job applications as a B2C career-readiness product. He and his team changed trajectories into the B2B industry when a school district tried to buy them out as an interview prep tool. On the back of the successful pivot and many timely connections with hiring groups, Harris and his team developed Talk Hiring into a useful job interview simulation tool. Then they spun off a handful of other career-readiness apps when they saw the market was underserved. However, after the birth of his first child and a move to Atlanta, Harris was ready to sell Talk Hiring and look for something new to spend his time on. He created an account on Acquire.com and experienced just how effective it was to attract qualified buyers, securing seven offers within weeks. With the help of the Acquire team, he sourced an all-cash deal from a private buyer and closed quickly. Listen to Harris' talk with Andrew as they discuss: How Harris pivoted into the career-readiness industry (he did a lot of volunteering). How Harris marketed his product (about five different ways). Why using Acquire.com can help you land a higher sale price. The startup building mistake to avoid if you want to attract buyers financing acquisitions with SBA loans. Harris is just getting started and you can follow him using the links below: Linkedin Twitter His blog
Software businesses can be immensely profitable in very little time. But they can also die just as quickly. Software engineer Mark Jivko built Go index me!, a tool that speeds up Google page indexing, in six months for a bit of extra cash. He grew it to over 150 regular customers and thousands of dollars in sales in under a year. But Mark knew building an app that only relied on the Google APIs was playing with fire. It could all be demolished with a keystroke during a system update. He wanted to sell while he was ahead so that he could move onto another project he was more passionate about. Mark had previously sold a business on Acquire.com and knew he'd find the buyer he was looking for there. He sold Go index me! in one week under the tutelage of his buyer, an eight-time serial startup acquirer who DM'd him almost immediately. Now Mark is gearing up for a new project to help founders using social media for product distribution to avoid platform addiction. Tune in to this SASP with Mark and Andrew as they discuss: Mark's trick to do escrows faster The questions you should never answer from buyers before going under LOI Why Mark knew he was going to sell his tool from the beginning How Mark plans to help founders who use social media reduce their addictions to the platforms And read our writeup of Mark's story here. Mark is just getting started and you can follow him below: LinkedIn Twitter
Nico Jeannen just made a quarter-million dollar sale a couple weeks ago with the acquisition of his transcription product, Talknotes. It's his second sale after a string of roughly 17 startups that have seen increasing success. Here's how he made TalkNotes. One day, Nico was trying to get Google to transcribe a voice note for him when he noticed the quality was poor. He crafted a prototype transcriber using an AI API and posted it on X.com (formerly Twitter) making $700 in just a few days. He scaled further using his knowledge of SEO gained from previous projects. Nico realized he didn't want to spend hours fixing code and doing customer support after one round of bug fixes dipped customer acquisition by 70%. He wanted to sell quickly – before he burned out. He listed on Acquire and secured an all-cash $200,000 deal in weeks with the help of Ebony on Acquire.com's support team. Listen to Andrew and Nico's interview as they discuss: What Nico has learned about startups after building 17 of them Why Nico accepted a drastic price cut for his sale The dangers of playing buyers against each other --------------------------- Be sure to subscribe to see the newest acquisition stories every Tuesday and gain the knowledge to buy or sell your own online business → https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom?sub_confirmation=1 Want more stories? Access the past 50+ acquisition stories here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/startup-acquisition-stories-podcast/Thinking about selling your own startup? The number one question is always 'how much can I sell for' and we've got the answers in our biannual valuation multiples reports here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/acquire-coms-acquisition-multiples-report/ Thinking about buying a startup? Sign up for a free buyer account and browse all the live listings. Upgrade only when you find the right one that fits your acquisition criteria to engage. Get Started → https://acquire.com/buyers/ --------------------------- Follow the Guest: Nico Jeannen - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nico-jeannen/ https://x.com/nico_jeannen Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com Follow Acquire.com - https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom --------------------------- About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers.We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
How important is your peace of mind to you? Brazilian founder Guilhermo (Guy) Oenning built a SaaS business called Fider, monetized it, and let it quietly earn him $1,000 a month for three years. He sold when he realized it was taking up too much mental space that he could use to focus on other, more profitable projects. After a quick onboarding to Acquire.com, Guy started receiving NDAs within hours of listing. He moved to due diligence with a buyer in two weeks and by four weeks had money in the bank to reinvest into his new projects. He's now working on two businesses: Aptakupe, a development tool for simplifying communications with Kubernetes. SEOgets analytics for SEO agents. He says it's like Google Search Console with more functionality. Listen to Andrew's talk with Andrew post-sale as they discuss: How Guy pushed free users to monetize (or at least give him a backlink) How the indie hacker community changed Guy's perspective on building startups. Why Guy thinks a passive business can be a drain on your energy. Guy is just getting started and you can follow his journey through the links below: X.com: @goenning
When you lack the experience and money to scale your agency, what should you do? Jovan Meljevic created his agency for B2B SaaS businesses, Bountyhunter, when he noticed a shortage of people and agencies experienced in startup growth. His business grew quickly aiding clients with everything from SEO to customer support to product analysis. Although Jovan was on a good trajectory, after five years he realized his agency needed outside input and money to grow. In late 2023 he decided to sell on Acquire. He listed and was shocked by the number of buyers out there looking for agencies like his. Jovan closed with an experienced agency buyer after about 5 months. He now works as an employee at Bountyhunter as his business grows around him. Tune in to Jovan's podcast with Andrew as they discuss Why agencies are in high demand on Acquire.com Why he didn't try to negotiate with buyers When you should consider selling your agency business Jovan is just getting started and you can follow along on his journey below. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jovan-miljevic/
Would you sell your business right as it was going viral on social media? Victor created his AI landing page builder, Sitekick.ai as a way to salvage a previous project – a slide deck builder called Slidekick. He thought this too would be a flop, but he added AI capability right as ChatGPT kicked off and went viral on YouTube when a vlogger found his website. In one day he jumped from one email a day to hundreds of emails and 25 sales per day. But even with virality, making websites wasn't Victor's passion. He listed on Acquire.com hoping to get a sale while his app was trending. With the help of the Acquire team (shout out to Matt), he closed in a few short months. After closing, Viktor took a long vacation, went to the gym, took his wife out to dinner, and now he's gearing up to make his future passion project. Tune in to this weeks Startup Acquisition Stories Podcast with Andrew and Victor in to hear: Victor's experience with a nightmare buyer Why Victor suggests you put as much information as possible on your acquire profile How Acquire's M&A advisors helped him safely make an acquisition Victor is just getting started and you can follow his journey using the links below: x.com Linkedin
Curious what a professional small startup acquirer cares about when scouting a business to purchase? There are a growing group of people who make a living out of acquiring growing startups and taking them to new heights. Pascal Levy-Garboua, founder of Noosa Labs is one of these experts. Pascal started Noosa after 20 years in tech – mostly startups. He sold his first chatbot more than a decade ago and later went on to become an early investor in Notion and other startups in SF. Pascal thought he wanted to become a venture capitalist, but he missed the thrill of building. He discovered business marketplaces like Acquire.com let him buy an already operational business and take it to the next level and was hooked. Now Pascal makes a living buying profitable growing startups and flipping them if they stall. He's already acquired four and is always looking for a new purchase. Tune into Pascal's interview with Andrew as they discuss: Pascal's perfect acquisition targets on Acquire.com Why he prefers buying to investing His favorite startup he's acquired The three things he likes all buyers should avoid like the plague Pascal is just getting started and you can follow his journey through the following links: https://x.com/2pasc https://www.linkedin.com/in/pascallevygarboua/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/noosa-labs/
What are the three biggest mistakes SME buyers make when choosing an M&A lawyer? M&A professional Eric Pacifici says new buyers often pick lawyers who: Aren't entrepreneurial Bill hourly rather than flat rate Don't have M&A experience After years of cementing billion-dollar deals at Kirkland & Ellis (the largest firm in the world by revenue), Eric decided he liked smaller deals better. He decided to jump into the world of small business acquisitions. Eric is well-known on the internet for his Twitter account (@smb_attorney) and for coining the term “silver tsunami” i.e.the coming wealth transfer between baby boomers and their offspring. He realized a few years ago that many of these boomers' small businesses would be put up for sale in the coming years. To confront this coming wave of small acquisitions, Eric teamed up with a team of fellow lawyers from large firms with a passion for smaller deals to create SMB Law Group. SMB Law today specializes specifically in entrepreneurship-by-acquisition deals. Those are deals where aspiring entrepreneurs get a running start by purchasing a fully functioning business. Business has been heating up. The firm did $950 million in closings just last year. Eric and SMB Law are fast becoming the go-to lawyers for people trying to buy small and medium-sized businesses in the US. This week, Eric hopped on the SASP with Andrew Gazdecki to discuss: Where Eric thinks most deals go wrong Why you need a good lawyer when buying a business for $1 million+ Andrew's lawyer billing horror story Eric is just getting started and you can contact and follow him below: Eric@smblaw.group @smb_attorney (Twitter) LinkedIn
Here's a fun stat for you, the homeowner association (HOA) industry in the US alone was worth $38.8 billion in 2023. Hussein Reda tapped into some of that value during the Covid lockdowns when he created his startup, Propty, to help HOA meetings run meetings and vote remotely. Pre-Covid, Hussein had just purchased his first property in an apartment building. He learned a lot of maintenance was done through HOAS, aka, groups that manage properties in specific buildings/neighborhoods. Once Covid hit, everyone was trapped inside and began attending HOA meetings since now they had lots of time to think about their homes. Hussein saw an opportunity, created Propty, and used his HOA as his first free test customer. Propty went through two years of ups and downs including embarrassing meetings with 500+ members where not everyone could connect. Everything was made more complicated by the fact that HOA meetings only happened once a year. However, after persistent effort, Hussein secured his first paying customers by mid-2023. Finally, Hussein sold Propty on Acquire.com in 2024 when he realized he didn't know how to scale any further. Now he's working on a project with blockchain technology to facilitate payments for underbanked countries. Tune into this week's SASP as Andrew and Husseing discuss: The hidden gem of the HOA industry Why boring businesses are the best money-makers Why Hussein thinks Acquire.com sales beat other online sales forums Hussien is just getting started and you can follow his journey below: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hussein-reda/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Be sure to subscribe to see the newest acquisition stories every Tuesday and gain the knowledge to buy or sell your own online business → here Want more stories? Access the past 50+ acquisition stories here → here Thinking about selling your own startup? The number one question is always 'how much can I sell for' and we've got the answers in our biannual valuation multiples reports here → here Thinking about buying a startup? Sign up for a free buyer account and browse all the live listings. Upgrade only when you find the right one that fits your acquisition criteria to engage. Get Started → here ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Hussein Reda ► https://www.linkedin.com/in/hussein-reda/ Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - ► https://twitter.com/agazdecki ► https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ ► https://acquire.com Follow Acquire.com - ► https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom ► https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom ► https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
What's the trick to buying offshore businesses as a US buyer? Bryan Digiorgio of 1840 & Company says buyers need to understanding two things: It requires a lot of documents and processes You need to get started with them as soon as possible because they're sequential Bryan's had a bit of experience on this topic, his main business today is setting up remote teams for other businesses in other countries. In the past, he worked as the global head of customer service for Sprint and built the direct precursors to Microsoft Teams. After previously buying a business on Acquire.com two years ago, Byan returned this year to buy a blockchain-based business, Swearit, from a group of founders in Spain. In the process, he got to experience Acquire's new buyer advisory service. They helped him successfully transact with a seller who didn't speak the same language. Listen to a special buy-side advice section as Bryan and Andrew discuss: How Bryan looks for promising business to buy on Acquire.com Why foreign businesses can be much more profitable in the US The number one trait for sellers on Acquire.com that attracts buyers Bryan has been doing entrepreneurship and M&A for a little while now. Follow his journey using the links below: https://www.linkedin.com/in/digiorgio/ https://x.com/1840andCompany
Selling your business to a buyer in the same country is tough. Imagine doing it across international borders. Miguel Diaz spent three years building Swearit, a blockchain-based authenticity verification platform. However, he realized that it could scale better in the hands of another founder so he looked for a place to sell. In Miguel's opinion, most other startup marketplaces were too broad. You could sell anything from tech businesses to hotels. It was hard to say what buyers or valuations he could expect. When the team stumbled on Acquire.com, they were intrigued because it specialized in SaaS M&A. There was only one problem – none of them could speak much English. Still, Miguel and his team listed their business and were surprised to learn that two Acquire team members were fluent in Spanish. Miguel received direct help in Spanish from Acquire's president, Rosa Romaine and legal counsel, James Graves. With Acquire's help, Miguel managed to obtain his dream exit within months. Post transaction, Miguel jumped on the podcast with Rosa and James to talk about his acquisition. Tune in to hear: How EU regulations are changing to monitor food quality Some of the cultural differences he encountered during M&A His favorite parts of the seller experience on Acquire.com Miguel is just getting started. Follow his journey with the links below: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miguel-d/ https://x.com/migueldiazes
Jeel Patel and his father built InvoiceOwl, an online invoicing tool for tradesmen like plumbers after Jeel noticed his family's landscaper using an inefficient paper invoicing system. Three years later, they sold the company for six figures on Acquire.com. Listen to Jeel share his insights and learnings from running his startup to the acquisition process: How Jeel discovered there was still room in a niche with behemoth-sized competitors How Heel played the SEO game to build hype around InvoiceOwl What Jeel believes is the most important thing to include in your startup sales process ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Be sure to subscribe to see the newest acquisition stories every Tuesday and gain the knowledge to buy or sell your own online business → https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom?sub_confirmation=1 Want more stories? Access the past 50+ acquisition stories here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/startup-acquisition-stories-podcast/ Thinking about selling your own startup? The number one question is always 'how much can I sell for' and we've got the answers in our biannual valuation multiples reports here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/acquire-coms-acquisition-multiples-report/ Thinking about buying a startup? Sign up for a free buyer account and browse all the live listings. Upgrade only when you find the right one that fits your acquisition criteria to engage. Get Started → https://acquire.com/buyers/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki https://twitter.com/agazdecki https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com Follow Acquire.com - https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 500,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Acquisition lawyer at Scale LLP, Doug Mitchell, recalls one of the closest calls he's ever encountered while advising a sale. For this episode of SASP, Doug sat down with Andrew Gazdecki to discuss: What kinds of deals he does What lawyers normally manage in SME deals How much he charges for his retainer And what Doug does in his free time. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Be sure to subscribe to see the newest acquisition stories every Tuesday and gain the knowledge to buy or sell your own online business → https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom?sub_confirmation=1 Want more stories? Access the past 50+ acquisition stories here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/startup-acquisition-stories-podcast/ Thinking about selling your own startup? The number one question is always 'how much can I sell for' and we've got the answers in our biannual valuation multiples reports here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/acquire-coms-acquisition-multiples-report/ Thinking about buying a startup? Sign up for a free buyer account and browse all the live listings. Upgrade only when you find the right one that fits your acquisition criteria to engage. Get Started → https://acquire.com/buyers/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki https://twitter.com/agazdecki https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com Follow Acquire.com - https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 500,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Lebanese founder, Nour Shaban just sold his SaaS business on Acquire.com for a life-changing sum. While he can't reveal too many details due to his non-disclosure agreement (NDA), he agreed to hop on the SASP podcast to talk about his experience building and selling his business. Listen to Nour's chat with Andrew as they discuss: The benefits of the Guided by Acquire process that can't be found anywhere else How the Acquire.com experience compares to the old MicroAcquire experience Advice to other entrepreneurs trying to create a 7-figure exit ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Be sure to subscribe to see the newest acquisition stories every Tuesday and gain the knowledge to buy or sell your own online business → https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom?sub_confirmation=1 Want more stories? Access the past 50+ acquisition stories here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/startup-acquisition-stories-podcast/ Thinking about selling your own startup? The number one question is always 'how much can I sell for' and we've got the answers in our biannual valuation multiples reports here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/acquire-coms-acquisition-multiples-report/ Thinking about buying a startup? Sign up for a free buyer account and browse all the live listings. Upgrade only when you find the right one that fits your acquisition criteria to engage. Get Started → https://acquire.com/buyers/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki https://twitter.com/agazdecki https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com Follow Acquire.com - https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Luke Sheppard recently finished his bachelor's degree at BYU with a little more spending money and work experience than most grads. He just sold his startup for $500,000 at age 23. While attending university to study business, Luke launched a company called Revive Ratings. It was a marketing SaaS targeted at insurance agencies. He sold it in just over two years for six figures on Acquire.com. To successfully launch his business, Luke took some big risks, like buying a one year $50,000 white-labeled software license while still pre-revenue. But Luke also had lots of help along the way. His professors and even his competitors were happy to take a young college student under their wing as he learned the ropes. After years of hard work and the help of the Acquire team, Luke managed to secure his dream exit and pave the road to many more to come. He's already in the process of acquiring his next business on Acquire. Post acquisition, listen to a jam-packed new episode of Startup Acquisition Stories Podcast as Luke and Andrew discuss: The unfair advantage of launching a startup while in university Why insurance agencies make great sales targets How Andrew first discovered the idea behind his first successful startup, Bizness Apps The potential timeline delays from SBA Loan buyers Andrew's college days as a young entrepreneur What Andrew Gazdecki would be doing right now if he wasn't running Acquire Luke is just getting started and you can follow along on his journey here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheppluke/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Be sure to subscribe to see the newest acquisition stories every Tuesday and gain the knowledge to buy or sell your own online business → https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom?sub_confirmation=1 Want more stories? Access the past 50+ acquisition stories here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/startup-acquisition-stories-podcast/ Thinking about selling your own startup? The number one question is always 'how much can I sell for' and we've got the answers in our biannual valuation multiples reports here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/acquire-coms-acquisition-multiples-report/ Thinking about buying a startup? Sign up for a free buyer account and browse all the live listings. Upgrade only when you find the right one that fits your acquisition criteria to engage. Get Started → https://acquire.com/buyers/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Luke Sheppard https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheppluke Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com Follow Acquire.com - https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
In a moment of frustration, David Idol created his first successful Chrome extension, Computer Mouse for XCloud. In just a few short months, he was making $4,000 per month in revenue and he eventually sold his project for 5-figures. Here's how it happened. David was working at Microsoft for Xbox Live when they launched XCloud, their cloud gaming application. It let players stream games from other devices like computers or phones. But David noticed a problem. Gamers weren't able to play games on their PCs without special controllers. He coded a Chrome extension letting gamers use their keyboards for games on the PC. He posted about it on Reddit and almost overnight acquired thousands of users. After three months, David added a one-time payment to access his product and reached $4,000 in monthly revenue and over 250,000 users. People around the world wrote him emails and reviews thanking him for the extension. He'd even made it easier for disabled people to enjoy Xbox games. But though Computer Mouse for XCloud was exploding in popularity, David didn't feel he had time to keep adding features. He listed it on Acquire.com and eventually sold it to a promising buyer. Post sale, tune into this week's episode of startup acquisition stories as David and Andrew discuss: How David went from hacking Xbox games to working for Microsoft Why David's product name was great for traffic The dangers of potential buyers for Chrome extensions How to transfer ownership of Chrome extensions ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: David Idol - https://twitter.com/DavidIdolize https://davididol.com/ https://photoarchiveapp.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rdidol/ Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com Follow Acquire.com - https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest-rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
What would you do if you were stuck in a cabin during an Icelandic snowstorm? Adam Senese and his brother came up with their Shopify app for product bundling, Linq Commerce, trapped in an Airbnb for the day during the dead of the Icelandic winter. The cofounders went home and launched Linq Commerce in early 2020 right as covid hit the world and people scrambled for new ways to make money online. It ended up being a record year for new Shopify stores. Within weeks, Adam and his brother had over 1,000 users on their app. Linq Commerce grew steadily from there, but after two years of building, Adam and his brother felt they weren't the right owners to grow Linq to the next level. It was time to find a buyer. Adam listed on Acquire.com in late 2022 and sold to a promising buyer for five figures in six months. Post-acquisition, listen to Adam's chat with Andrew Gazdecki as they discuss: Why Shopify apps are great for first-time SaaS founders How to find product market fit with any SaaS product The importance of goodwill between buyers and sellers Why sellers should start with a slightly lower asking price if they want a good sale price ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Adam Senese - https://linqcommerce.com/ (acquired) https://www.parallelchat.com/ (new startup) https://twitter.com/adamsenese https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamsenese/ Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com Follow Acquire.com - https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom
If someone told you they did what you just read in this title, you'd probably think they'd committed a crime. But Qayyum Rajan's good fortune was a surprise twist of fate. Early in 2023, Qayyum sold his business, ESG Analytics, to a private equity firm. But, his acquirer ran out of money and offered the business back to him for next to nothing a few months later. Qayyum got back in the driver's seat of his startup, spent $10,000 to redesign its website, and then listed it on Acquire.com for another sale. ESG Analytics was popular with buyers. Its clients were mid-level private equity firms and portfolio managers who needed to evaluate environmental social good (ESG) performance across large numbers of businesses. No other tool provided affordable ESG industry reports at the time. Within days of listing on Acquire, Qayyam was pitting a handful of small PE buyers against each other in a bidding war. He finally sold for five figures, spent 20 percent on a vacation for himself and his wife, and set the other 80 percent aside for savings. Post-acquisition, listen to Qayyum's Startup Acquisition Stories Podcast episode with Andrew as they discuss: The huge ESG industry problem Qayyum capitalized on The advantages of selling a business multiple times What founders need to do to increase their sale valuation Why future sellers need to be extra careful when applying for a business credit card Qayyum is just getting started and you can follow him on his journey here: LinkedIn His new business: http://www.nuuventures.com/ Twitter ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Qayyum Raja https://twitter.com/qayyumrajan https://www.esganalytics.io/how-it-works (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com/ Follow Acquire.com https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/ https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom/ https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Most venture-backed startups fail. It's a well-known fact, yet many venture-backed founders choose to burn out and ride their dying startups into the ground. Few realize they have options like M&A that could salvage their business for both themselves and their investors. Wil Schroter, founder of Startups.com knows all about failing startups. He founded nine different startups over 30 years despite one of his first businesses crashing due to lack of capital. When his business failed, Wil was perplexed. A business valued in the millions with happy customers and even profits was still able to fall apart to nothing. It defied logic and he felt the business surely should still be valuable to someone. It caused Wil to spend years talking to people in San Francisco trying to understand exactly how to sell and buy dying VC-backed startups. After meetings with over 100 failing VC-backed businesses, Wil created his company Startups.com by buying the assets of six burnt-out VC startups. Since then, he's made an estimated 50 times ROI from his buys. Tune in to an extra-special episode of Startup Acquisition Stories with Wil and Andrew as they discuss a topics rarely heard about outside of corporate boardrooms like: ► How to know it's time to throw in the towel on your VC-backed startup ► How to break the news that you want to leave your startup to your board ► Which types of buyers will want to buy your startup ► How to restructure your startup so that it is as desirable as possible to potential buyers. Wil's isn't just getting started – he's been doing what he does for decades. Follow his journey at: Startups.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilschroter/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Be sure to subscribe to see the newest acquisition stories every Tuesday and gain the knowledge to buy or sell your own online business → https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom?sub_confirmation=1 Want more stories? Access the past 50+ acquisition stories here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/startup-acquisition-stories-podcast/ Thinking about selling your own startup? The number one question is always 'how much can I sell for' and we've got the answers in our biannual valuation multiples reports here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/acquire-coms-acquisition-multiples-report/ Thinking about buying a startup? Sign up for a free buyer account and browse all the live listings. Upgrade only when you find the right one that fits your acquisition criteria to engage. Get Started → https://acquire.com/buyers/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Wil Schroter https://twitter.com/wilschroter https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilschroter/ https://startups.com Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com Follow Acquire.com - https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest-rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Working a nine-to-five can be a great launchpad for a successful SaaS application. Just ask Belgian founders Dani Ibanez and Drilon Sqn. Using their industry experience, they created a review application for Shopify called TrustReviews and sold it for six figures. Dani and Drilon look similar (and even finish each other's sentences) but they've pursued very different careers. Drilon is a software engineer and a cybersecurity consultant for the Belgian government. Dani worked in ecommerce marketing, advertising, and media buying for a handful of big-name clients. When they started brainstorming products to build together, Dani remembered his problems with product review apps from his marketing days. Many review platforms were two years behind on features like video reviews, for example. They built their own application and grew it rapidly through word of mouth and listening to customer feedback. They were proud of TrustReviews but when they got wind of a real-estate flip opportunity in Belgium, TrustReviews was the product they owned that was most easily sellable. They hopped on Acquire unsure they could actually sell TrustReviews but ended up closing the six-figure deal in a staggering two weeks. They walked away with more than enough to close their real estate deal. Listen to their talk with Andrew post acquisition as they discuss: ► Why you shouldn't grow a Shopify app too quickly ► What to do with a windfall of money. ► The best parts of the Acquire.com Escrow.com integration ► A key feature they added to their website that boosted sales ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Be sure to subscribe to see the newest acquisition stories every Tuesday and gain the knowledge to buy or sell your own online business → https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom?sub_confirmation=1 Want more stories? Access the past 50+ acquisition stories here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/startup-acquisition-stories-podcast/ Thinking about selling your own startup? The number one question is always 'how much can I sell for' and we've got the answers in our biannual valuation multiples reports here → https://blog.acquire.com/tag/acquire-coms-acquisition-multiples-report/ Thinking about buying a startup? Sign up for a free buyer account and browse all the live listings. Upgrade only when you find the right one that fits your acquisition criteria to engage. Get Started → https://acquire.com/buyers/ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Dani Parra Ibanez and Drilon Sqn https://twitter.com/Daniparraibanez https://twitter.com/DrilonSqn https://reviews.trustapps.co/ (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com Follow Acquire.com - https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Startup Acquisition Stories with Martin Galovic, Founder of FanMetrics ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Martin Galovic - https://twitter.com/martinglvc https://fansmetrics.com (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com/ Follow Acquire.com https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/ https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom/ https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 400,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Startup Acquisition Stories with Ken Savage, Founder of Product Launch Pro ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Ken Savage - https://twitter.com/kensavage https://www.linkedin.com/in/kensavage/ https://productlaunchpro.com (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com/ Follow Acquire.com https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/ https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom/ https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Startup Acquisition Stories with Yahia Bakour, Co-founder of Stock Alarm ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Yahia Bakour - https://twitter.com/mynameisyahia https://www.linkedin.com/in/yahia-bakour/ https://stockalarm.io/ (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com/ Follow Acquire.com https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/ https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom/ https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Startup Acquisition Stories with Justin Vanderheide, Founder of Swimgen ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Justin Vanderheide - https://twitter.com/Jayvanderheide https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinvanderheide https://swimgen.net/ (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com/ Follow Acquire.com https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/ https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom/ https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Startup Acquisition Stories with Peter SerVaas, Owner of Peak Transit ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Peter SerVaas https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterservaas/ https://twitter.com/pjservaas/ https://www.peaktransit.com/ SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com/ Follow Acquire.com https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/ https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom/ https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Startup Acquisition Stories with Harinderpreet Singh, Founder of MicMonster ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Harinderpreet Singh https://www.linkedin.com/in/harinderpreet/ https://listenmonster.com/ https://micmonster.com (sold) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com/ Follow Acquire.com https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/ https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom/ https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Startup Acquisition Stories with Salvatore Aiello, Co-founder of DimeADozen ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Salvatore Aiello https://www.linkedin.com/in/dested/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicapowers/ (Co-founder) https://www.dimeadozen.ai/ (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com/ Follow Acquire.com https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/ https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom/ https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Startup Acquisition Stories with Simon Thompson, Founder of Podseeker ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Simon Thompson https://simonthompson.co/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-lynch-94b85785/ https://solodrop.com/ (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com/ Follow Acquire.com https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/ https://youtube.com/@acquiredotcom/ https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 350,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Startup Acquisition Stories with Cory Lynch, Founder of Solodrop ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Cory Lynch https://twitter.com/thecorylynch https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-lynch-94b85785/ https://solodrop.com/ (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com/ Follow Acquire.com https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/ https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 200,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Startup Acquisition Stories with Jes Bickhart, Founder of Minnow Follow the Guest: Jes Bickhart https://twitter.com/JesBickhart https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesbickhart/ http://www.minnowtv.com/ (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com/ Follow Acquire.com https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/ https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 200,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Startup Acquisition Stories with Daniel Ch, Founder of SimpleInk ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Daniel Ch https://www.linkedin.com/in/chddaniel/ https://twitter.com/chddaniel https://simple.ink (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com/ Follow Acquire.com https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/ https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 200,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Startup Acquisition Stories with Devon Gethers, Founder of EarlyAdmit ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: Devon Gethers - ► https://www.linkedin.com/in/devon-gethers/ ► https://twitter.com/gethersdevon ► https://earlyadmit.com/ (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - ► https://twitter.com/agazdecki ► https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ ► https://acquire.com Follow Acquire.com - ► https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom ► https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom ► https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 200,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
Startup Acquisition Stories with David Sorbara, Founder of Barkley HQ. Highlights: Years in Business: 4 years Sale Price: High six-figures Buyer Interest: 80 NDAs (Request for more details) ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow the Guest: David Sorbara https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidsorbara/ https://twitter.com/davidmsorbara https://barkleyhq.com/ (SOLD) Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki - https://twitter.com/agazdecki https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/ https://acquire.com/ Follow Acquire.com https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/ https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ About Acquire.com: Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers. We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 200,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.
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