The Business Inquirer #024
This week is a short issue. I highlight two SaaS and two content listings along with What I Learned Last Week.
Every week I highlight interesting online businesses which are for sale adding my own commentary. This newsletter is for those who are interested in business, finance, and entrepreneurship. Subscribe below to receive it directly in your inbox.
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Hello Friends!
First - In case you missed last week’s announcement - DueDilio is live. Hire on-demand due diligence experts to fit your transaction type and budget. Since launch, we’ve added 6 new experts and already helped facilitate 3 due diligence requests.
Second - I’m traveling this week and having a few technical issues. Apologies that this issue of the newsletter is shorter than usual. But hey - quality over quantity, right?
In this week’s issue:
☁ SaaS - 2 listings
🕸 Content - 2 listings
🧐 What I Learned Last Week
☁ SaaS
Craps Game Prediction Software - $60k
For sale is a 5-year-old SaaS that gives members unlimited access to crap number prediction software. The seller needs funds to start an offline business.
Avg monthly revenue: $1,797; Profit: $1,618; Margin: 90%
Asking: $60k; Multiple: 3.09x
📝 TBI Commentary
Search volume for “how to play craps” has taken a hit due to COVID…
There isn’t a lot of competition for some of the main keywords and CPC is $2 - $4…
Over the TTM the monthly revenue and profit appear very steady which is a good sign especially in a depressed market. I’d be curious to see how the trends have looked over the last 5-years and what type of marketing has worked. On quick glance just looks like a nice steady SaaS at a reasonable valuation.
You can view the listing on Flippa.
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Sports League Management - $10k
For sale is 2-year-old Five Ravens which is a management software for small leagues and sports teams. Currently headquartered in Canada but can be expanded anywhere.
Used by 200 players and 3 leagues.
Bootstrapped
$2k revenue over the TTM
Asking: $10k
📝 TBI Commentary
There’s not much revenue here and this should be looked at as just acquiring software and digital assets. Sounds like the software is fully built out and has users. Would be interesting for someone who works with sports leagues, schools, etc. I’d look into optimizing pricing and perhaps niche down into a particular sport.
Not a lot of organic search and high competition for relevant keywords which makes CPC expensive. Selling this type of software may require knocking on doors.
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
🕸 Content
Health & Fitness - $459k
For sale is a 1-year-old content website in the health and fitness niche. The business generates revenue from 6 affiliate programs. The owner is open to a partial earn-out.
119 pages of content w/ average article length of 1,400 words
6 affiliate programs
28k unique visitors per month; 61k page views
TTM Revenue: $381k; Profit: $366k; Margin: 96%
Asking: $459k; Multiple: 1.25x
📝 TBI Commentary
Great niche and I like the diversified affiliate revenue. The owner wrote the original articles which is usually a positive. QLB is one of the most reputable brokers but no one is in the business of underpricing an asset at 1.25x multiple. Meaning - do your due diligence with this one. And you know where to go if you need help in this area.
You can view the listing on Quiet Light Brokerage.
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API Directory - $50k
For sale is a 1-year-old website which is a comprehensive directory of public APIs. Revenue is generated from advertising sponsors.
Built on React, Airtable, Netlify
160k monthly page views
Last month revenue & profit: $1,100
Asking: $50k (45x) but Open to Offers
📝 TBI Commentary
The 160k monthly page views is the key number here. Need to verify this to understand traffic source, bounce rate, engagement, etc. The $50k translates to 45x which is what content sites are going for on Empire Flippers but IMO it’s a rich valuation for a 1-year-old website. Having said that - there are many ways to monetize 160k monthly page views.
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
🧐 What I Learned Last Week
I wish there was an app
If you’re looking for app ideas to build then “I wish there was an app” may be an interesting/weird/entertaining place to start. It’s basically a Twitter crawler which aggregates all tweets where someone requests an app.
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Search is local
According to a new Google report, searches adding the word “local” are up 80% year over year while “in stock” searches are up 8,000%.
Finding what’s nearby on Google Search
Whether it's to support small businesses in their community or ensure a nearby store has the item they need in stock, consumers are using Google Search to thoughtfully research their shopping trips in advance.
Searches for “local” + “business(es)” have grown by more than 80% year over year, including searches like “local businesses near me” and “support local businesses.”
Searches for “who has” + “in stock” have grown by more than 8,000% year over, including searches like “who has nintendo switch in stock” and “who has gym equipment in stock.”
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The best things for everything
In the same Google report, we learn that they launched “Best things for everything”. There’s no longer a need to search for “What’s the best OLED TV”. Instead, Google has done all the work for you.
To find out how Google chooses which products to add to the list - go here.
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I’m a fan of Grammarly
I recently started using Grammarly. I just have the free version which I installed in Edge (yes, I use Edge). So far I’m a fan. I don’t know if I will be upgrading to paid but the free version does help with spelling and grammar. I’d recommend giving it a try if you write a lot.
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Inside look at website due diligence
Mushfiq Sarker is a content machine. In addition to everything he does, he also helps with due diligence for content website acquisitions. He recently did a due diligence video for a client who ultimately passed on the acquisition. This due diligence video can be viewed here and provides some great insights on what to look for when analyzing an acquisition target.
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That’s all for this (short) issue of The Business Inquirer!
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