The Business Inquirer #026
In this issue, I highlight 7 listings including a disaster preparedness brand, a referral marketing platform, a scheduling micro-SaaS, and 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!
Recent feedback has been that I have too many MicroAcquire listings and not enough from other marketplaces. It’s a very valid point that I’ve also been cognizant of and want to address.
I have no special relationship with any brokers/marketplaces. Most brokers don’t even answer my e-mails. Broker business is good.
I only share new listings. This is an important point. The marketplaces with the highest volume of new listings are MicroAcquire and Flippa so you’ll naturally see more listings from them.
I only share listings where there’s enough detail to be interesting.
”For sale is a USA-based business generating $60k ARR that’s the top brand in it’s industry” is just not a business that I’m going to share here. What am I going to write about it? There are many online brokers who only reveal details after an NDA. I can’t write about those listings. Thus, you won’t see listings from those brokers here.I purposefully share more SaaS listings than any other category as that seems to be the most in-demand business type. Those are also the businesses with which I’m most familiar.
I share the listings that I find interesting. There’s bias. I’m valuation-sensitive. I like lifestyle businesses more than unicorns. I hate inventory. I like niches.
I wish I could include more listings. Substack limits the length of this newsletter. I continue to modify the formatting/structure to strike the right balance between the volume of listings, commentary, and WILLW. I don’t think I’ve found that balance yet. I’ll continue to play around with the formatting.
I hope that provides a bit of insight into the listings you see in this newsletter. Please do keep the feedback coming - good or bad - it’s all constructive.
I also want to do a better job of connecting with subscribers. If there’s anything I can help with, just reply to this e-mail. You can also use this Calendly link to schedule a call. Even if you just want to riff on some ideas, let’s talk.
In this week’s issue:
🛒 eCommerce - 1 listing
☁ SaaS - 5 listings
🕸 Content - 1 listing
🧐 What I Learned Last Week
🛒 eCommerce
Disaster Preparation Kit - $843k
For sale is a 2-year-old dropshipping business in the disaster preparation niche.
33.1% repeat order rate over LTM
$128 AOV (13% m/m growth)
LTM Revenue: $595k; Profit: $333k; Margin: 56%
Asking: $843k; Multiple: 2.53x
📝 TBI Commentary
I like this niche and inventory-free business model. In my mind, inventory=headache. Natural and man-made disasters are only going to increase and I do think that some sort of emergency kit will become standard in every household.
I’d want to understand traffic, CAC and what sort of marketing has been done. Since there is repeat business then I assume there’s good diversity in the product offering where people come back - this is interesting. Is there an opportunity to partner with apartment building owners?
You can view the listing on FE International.
☁ SaaS
Referral Marketing Platform - $344k
For sale is a 5-year-old referral marketing platform. The business offers an all-in-one solution for any company to design, set up, and launch a referral campaign.
4.5 star rating on Capterra
1.8k backlinks; 300 referring domains; 800 organic keywords
$610 LTV
MRR: $9,100 from 112 recurring customers
LTM Revenue: $100k; Profit: $81k; Margin: 81%
Asking: $344k; Multiple: 4.25x
📝 TBI Commentary
The established domain, organic traffic, and Capterra rating are important moats here as CPC advertising can be expensive for this business…
Broadly, I think referral marketing will continue to play a more important role in the advertising of products/services and this business could be well-positioned to take advantage. I’d review the Capterra scores for this business and the competition to see where improvements can be made. This could be an interesting acquisition for an Agency or someone who is in this space already.
You can view the listing on FE International.
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Payment Processor Integration - $130k
For sale is a 4-year-old SaaS that integrates payment processors like Stripe into accounting platforms like Xero. The killer feature is the ability to create accounting rules to allow for complex accounting requirements.
Competitors: Synder, PennyPipe
LTM Revenue: $34k; Profit: $23k; Margin: 68%
Asking: $130k; Multiple: 5.65x
📝 TBI Commentary
With the explosion of entrepreneurship/freelancing and ever more complex accounting requirements, this software is well-positioned. I personally could use something like this so I see the value. A big opportunity would be to add support for other accounting platforms like QuickBooks.
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
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Stock Notifications Shopify App - $2.1M
For sale is a 3-year-old Shopify app that helps merchants grow their sales by informing customers when a particular product is back in stock.
Competitors: Back in Stock
550 5-star reviews
Tech: ReactJS, Java, AWS
TTM Revenue: $500k; Profit: $350k; Margin: 70%
Asking: $2.1M; Multiple: 6.00x
📝 TBI Commentary
I’d follow the usual platform SaaS playbook by first looking at the competition and analyzing reviews. What features are most requested? What could be improved? Then look at optimizing pricing and conversions. If you need help with due diligence on this or any other type of acquisition - check out DueDilio.
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
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SMS Curbside Pickup - $10k
For sale is a 1-year old platform that facilitates curbside delivery pickups via SMS.
1 customer using it at 11 locations
Priced at $25/location + $0.02/SMS
Tech: Twilio, Elixir, Postgres
ARR: $3k
Asking: $10k;
📝 TBI Commentary
Useful tool for retailers, grocers, restaurants, and more. Diversified customer base is good. Sounds like the tech is fully built out but there’s no marketing/sales know-how. One customer uses it at 11 locations which is some validation. I bet this team may even be open to bringing on a marketing co-founder instead of a full sale.
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
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Scheduling - $10K
For sale is a 6-year-old scheduling SaaS that competes with Calendly.
TTM Revenue: $500; Profit: $450
Asking: $10k
📝 TBI Commentary
Paying $120/yr for Calendly is a lot if it’s not going on a corporate tab. I think more and more people will be looking for alternatives (myself included). I’ve done some research and have not found another option that makes sense. This could be an interesting acquisition for someone to create a small competitor. Obviously easier said than done.
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
🕸 Content
Dating Niche - $388k
For sale is a 14-year-old multi-revenue source website in the dating and relationship niche that solves a problem for people. The website is monetized from several affiliate programs where higher-than-average rates have been negotiated.
Aged domain. Most traffic organic. Diversified pageviews.
39k pageviews/month; 29k unique visits/month;
Avg monthly profit: $8,600
Asking: $388k; Multiple: 45.12x
📝 TBI Commentary
This asset is for sale by Mushfiq Sarker of The Website Flip. It was one of his case studies and you can view all the details on his website. I assume that there are no easy wins left for this website but it would be a great long-term, revenue-generating acquisition. Mushfiq is an open book so just reach out to him if this is of interest. There might be a smidge of negotiating room here but relative to everything I see, it’s actually priced well.
You can view the listing on Flippa.
Check out DueDilio - the world’s first due diligence marketplace connecting business buyers and investors with due diligence experts. Post project. Get proposals. Hire due diligence expert. Simple and free.
🧐 What I Learned Last Week
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Searchfunder is great
On a recent recommendation, I joined the Searchfunder community. Searchfunder is a community of acquirers, investors, operators, brokers, lenders, intermediaries, and professional service providers. My main reason for joining was to promote DueDilio but after a few days on the platform I know that I will be participating in the community in other ways. If you fall into any of the categories I mentioned above, I’d highly recommend you join as I think you’ll find value.
Searchfunder costs $79/month but it’s actually free if you contribute to the community. I have a referral link which will get both of us 33% off the subscription but as mentioned above, just contribute and you won’t have to pay for any subscription. I’m not affiliated with Searchfunder in any way.
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Slack is popular
I recently joined two slack communities (or channels?). I’m definitely not an early adopter and perhaps I’m even a contrary indicator but I feel like Slack is gaining popularity.
Slack has an app directory similar to other platforms. Admittedly, I have not had a chance to do a deep dive on this app directory. Are there custom apps that are monetized? It’s something I’m going to look into. I have not seen a “Slack App” for sale. There’s probably a reason for that.
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SaaS v.s real estate investing
Andrew of XOXO Capital recently authored a blog post where he compares SaaS investing to real estate. I didn’t see much mention of real estate depreciation in the post but otherwise I think it’s a good quick read.
Why Acquiring SaaS Companies Is A Lot Like Real Estate Investing
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The slander industry
This is completely off-topic but I thought this NYT article on the slander industry was an interesting read.
I wanted to slander someone.
My colleague Kashmir Hill and I were trying to learn who is responsible for — and profiting from — the growing ecosystem of websites whose primary purpose is destroying reputations.
So I wrote a nasty post. About myself.
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11 lessons from 80+ angel investments
Dharmesh Shah is a co-founder of Hubspot. He’s entrepreneurial, he’s wealthy, he’s an investor up and down the cap table. The Hustle, which was recently acquired by Hubspot, has a great article on the lessons Dharmesh learned from his 80+ angel investments. I think these apply to any type of investing and business building.
Not all investments will be 20x hits, but some should be
Picking potential winners are only half the problem
Check size is important. Trust your gut
Too little or too much is sub-optimal
Bigger checks = less competition
Success begets success
Speed is a feature
Don’t let excitement cloud your commitment
Where are you going to invest?
Outsource the time suckers
Side with the founder(s)
By the way - The Hustle and their Trends group/subscription is amazing. I know many of you already subscribe. If you’re interested in a subscription, I think this referral link should get you $100 off. That $100 will go to me. It’s a win-win.
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The retirement crisis, digital literacy & the case for upskilling
Matt Klein is a cultural theorist and brand strategist who analyzes trends and makes sense sense of technological shifts. He publishes a free newsletter called Zine where he shares his thoughts on societal trends. His latest piece is a somber, yet interesting read.
One third of adults over 65 still have never used the internet, and half don’t even have internet access at home. In San Francisco, “the epicenter of tech,” 40% of older adults do not have basic digital literacy skills. Today, millions are disconnected to culture, but also opportunity. Before we can worry about the intricacies of media literacy, we first need to get more online and help them navigate the growing number of sites and apps.
The disparity will only grow as over 10,000 Americans turn 65 every single day. By 2050, 22% of Americans will be 65 or older. Meanwhile tech is exponential. This equates to a large faction of our global population unable to proficiently use emergent technology... in a society whose adoption and application of technology is only accelerating.
There’s clear opportunity in the 55+ demographic. Not just with jobs but also with education geared specifically to that age group.
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UK leads in ecommerce
Benedict Evans out with his weekly e-mail this morning points to the fact that the UK has a significant lead in e-commerce penetration. Not something I would have predicted but made total sense due to the more severe lockdowns.
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That’s all for this issue of The Business Inquirer!
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Important Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided for informational & educational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. This newsletter may link to other websites and certain information contained herein has been obtained from third-party sources. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, it has not been independently verified. The Business Inquirer makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. References to any companies, securities, or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any business, tax, or investment decisions. Content in this newsletter speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.