The Business Inquirer #062
In this week's issue, I highlight four listings including an SMB CRM, a data analytics consulting business, and more.
The Business Inquirer covers the most interesting tech-enabled business acquisition opportunities. Written for entrepreneurs, search funds, investors, and business owners. It’s completely free and you’re guaranteed to learn something new.
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Hello Friends!
In this week’s issue:
🛒 eCommerce - 1 listing
☁ SaaS - 1 listing
🕸 Content/Service/Other - 2 listings
🛠 Tools & Resources
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🛒 eCommerce
Baby Apparel Brand - $1.5M
For sale is a 13-year-old patented children’s sleepwear brand. Sales come through Amazon, website, and major retailers. Lifestyle business.
Part-time team of 2 in place; 3PL handles logistics; Owner works ~20hrs/wk;
Trademarks and patents in USA, China, Europe;
80% of revenue comes from wholesale orders from Amazon;
TTM Revenue: $2M; Profit: $487k; Margin: 24%;
Asking: $1.5M + Inv; Multiple: 3.08x
✅ What I Like
The seller launched the product/business to solve her own problem. I bet there’s a very loyal following. I like that there are multiple distribution channels. I’d focus on expanding the DTC channel. It’s helpful that trademarks and patents are already in place as that is a very expensive process.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Why is the seller selling the business now? How would she grow the business? What’s worked and what hasn’t? Are there opportunities to create additional products? Valuation seems elevated.
You can view the listing on Quiet Light Brokerage.
☁ SaaS
SMB CRM - $1.2M
For sale is 4-year-old aNinja which is a full-suite CRM built specifically for SMBs. The platform includes sales, marketing, and calling functions.
Competitors: Hubspot, MailChimp
Web-based and mobile app; 4-person team;
100+ active clients; $188 revenue per user; $2,050 LTV; $207k ARR;
30-Day Revenue: $17k; Profit: $14k; Margin: 82%
TTM Revenue: $182k; Profit: $44k; Margin: 24%
Asking: $1.22M; Multiple: 27.73x (7.26x based on est profit)
✅ What I Like
Hubspot used to be focused on the SMB market but they’ve shifted to serving startups and enterprise clients. This has left a hole for an affordable, easy-to-use CRM for SMBs. I’ve never used aNinja but it appears to have every feature required. The website looks well done and professional. They’ve focused on the fitness, and mortgage broker markets but there’s an opportunity to expand further. This has a very large potential TAM. The business is seeing strong growth. I assume they have a customer acquisition playbook.
❓ Questions & Concerns
I think there’s a lot of competition in this space. I don’t know if there’s an all-in-one solution like this listing but there may be. Not clear if this business is for sale or looking for investment. Big delta between TTM and 30-day financials but could just be a typo in the listing.
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
🕸 Content/Service/Other
Dog Product Content Site - $240k
For sale is a 4-year-old content website focused on the pet industry. The website generates revenue from advertising and affiliates.
Affiliate revenue from Amazon, Chewy, MediaVine
Outsourced content writers; 4,500 pages of content;
50k unique monthly visitors over last 90-days;
3rd party financing is available for this business;
TTM Revenue: $93k; Profit: $89k; Margin: 96%
Asking: $240k; Multiple: 2.70x (32x monthly profit)
✅ What I Like
I like the pet niche as it’s a very engaged audience that spends money and is easy to target. Revenue is somewhat diversified between affiliate and display advertising. Website has been around for a while so you can look at historical performance. A lot of content written and writers are available. Valuation is reasonable. Opportunity to add an e-mail newsletter, additional affiliate programs, and set up a store to monetize the traffic.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Traffic is key for this business so really have to check all the SEO, impact of Google algo changes, traffic sources, quality of traffic, engagement, etc. How updated is the content? How much do the writers charge? Once you hire writers, those margins will go down.
You can view the listing on Quiet Light Brokerage.
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Data Analytics Consulting - $250k
For sale is 5-year-old Fathom Data which offers data science consulting, modeling and training to businesses. Not clear what the profit numbers are from the listing but it is profitable.
Competitors: Jumping Rivers, DataProphet
10 person team mostly in South Africa
US & global clients; $200k ARR;
TTM Revenue: $272k; 30-Day Revenue: $22k;
Asking: $250k
✅ What I Like
Really interesting business from a couple of angles. First, you have a seller who simply enjoyed the technical work but not the business side of things. I bet he would stay on to manage the team if the buyer managed everything else. In this scenario, you could get very creative financing options. In addition to consulting, there’s also an underdeveloped training/education business.
It’s tough to speak to the valuation without knowing the profits and margins but at < 1x revenue looks attractive. I also like this space in general as there’s more and more data being created, companies need help to turn it into actionable information. There’s a skilled team already in place.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Tons of questions about profitability, margins, client base, churn, and more. The website needs to be updated. How are clients acquired? Who handles customer service? You’ll need to hire more people to scale, how easy is that?
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
🛠 Tools & Resources
These are tools & resources that I personally use. They may contain affiliate links so I’ll get a few shekels if you sign-up.
Cerebro Capital - Cerebro has a network of 1,500+ lenders who can provide debt financing for your acquisition, refi, etc. $500k minimum.
BizNexus - Proprietary deal flow, deal aggregator, and exit prep.
PrivSource - Deal aggregator for lower and middle-market listings.
Calendly - Leading scheduling platform to easily schedule meetings without the back and forth. I’ve been using it for several years now. Free 14-day trial.
ProjectionHub - Access to 50+ CPA-developed financial projection templates. 25% discount using code “duedilio” at checkout.
Logology - Best automated logo & brand identity tool I’ve come across.
DeepBench - Access a cutting-edge expert network. $200 discount.
OpenPhone - The best business phone solution that I have found. $20 credit.
Eloquens - Knowledge marketplace. I’ve bought a few guides and templates here.
Deal Flow Scout - Peer-to-peer deal flow exchange. Free, open, transparent.
Deal Sourcing Guide - A directory I put together of online marketplaces, brokers, DFY deal flow, and more.
That’s all for this issue of The Business Inquirer!
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