The Business Inquirer #068
The Business Inquirer #068
In this issue, I highlight eight listings including a self-care subscription box for teachers, a virtual recruiting platform, a tax compliance service, and more.
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In this week’s issue:
🛒 eCommerce - 1 listing
☁ SaaS - 3 listings
🕸 Content/Service/Other - 4 listings
🛠 Tools & Resources
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🛒 eCommerce
Self-Care Subscription Box for Teachers - $325k
For sale is a 5-year-old ecommerce business that sells monthly subscription boxes for teachers.
Competitors: The Teacher’s Crate, Teach Sparkle Pop, TheraBox
Tech: Cratejoy, Stripe
Fulfilled by 3PL; Customer service handled by VA;
6-10% monthly churn;
TTM Revenue: $380k; Profit: $113k; Margin: 30%
Asking: $325k; Multiple: 2.88x
✅ What I Like
Niche business that caters to a very specific audience. Most operations are automated and outsourced. OK margins and multiple. I believe they either sell on Cratejoy or source products from them. I’ve never heard of Cratejoy before. Looks like an interesting business in itself. Below are search volumes and CPC for some popular terms. Interesting to see that “subscription boxes for men” is the highest volume. There’s an opportunity.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Typical e-commerce due diligence questions around product sourcing, logistics, customer acquisition. Seems like a straightforward operation without a lot of complexity.
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
☁ SaaS
Online Career & Aptitude Test - $1.2M
For sale is a 3-year-old SaaS that offers digital aptitude tests to evaluate education plans, career style, personal values, and more.
Competitors: Career Explorer, Career Filter, Truity
2-person startup team; Mostly automated;
Users pay $9.99 for results of the test;
Adding 50k e-mails per month of potential clients;
TTM Revenue: $603k; Profit: $201k; Margin: 33%
Asking: $1.2M; Multiple: 5.97x
✅ What I Like
I assume that this business has benefited greatly from the “great resignation” as everyone is trying to figure out the best career choice for them. Looks like it’s automated without a lot of owner participation. This would be a great service to pair with resume writing, personal branding, etc. I’d see if I could partner with high schools and colleges.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Big assumption here is that this business is not a scam and that the tests are actually based on some scientific method. This business is listed as a SaaS but it looks like a digital product. Valuation is closer to a high-growth SaaS, which it’s not. I think this thing requires constant cash for advertising which is why the margins are where they are. Definitely need to know SEO and paid ads to run this business.
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
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Virtual Recruiting Event Platform - $900k
For sale is 2-year-old Fairstream which is a virtual recruiting event platform that helps employers hire diverse talent at scale. The platform covers registration, video conferencing, job board, candidate follow-up, and diversity insights.
Competitors: Canvas, Jopwell
Integrates with the top 25 ATS; Partnerships w/ 40+ diverse communities;
Name brand clients: 3M, Siemens, Purple, Qualtrics, and more;
13k+ diverse job seekers on the platform;
TTM Revenue: $267k; Profit: $20k; Margin: 7%
Asking: $900k; Multiple: 45.00x
✅ What I Like
Hard-pressed to think of a more on-trend combination than virtual hiring and diversity. The platform has good traction with name-brand clients, integrations, partnerships, and ARR. Feels like pieces are in place for a buyer with experience in this space to come in and scale this thing.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Margins and valuation are clear questions. I assume they spent a lot on technology to build out the platform which is why the margin is so low. It would help tremendously if the buyer has experience/connections in the HR space.
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
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Invoicing & CRM for Photographers - $100k
For sale is 1-year-old Essential Studio Manager that helps photographers manage their business. The functionality includes invoicing, e-signatures, and more.
Competitors: HoneyBok, Studio Ninja, Shootq
Growth has been through WoM and e-mail marketing;
TTM Revenue: $28k; Profit: $7.5k; Margin: 27%
Asking: $100k; Multiple: 13.33x
✅ What I Like
Young niche SaaS that has some traction. Website looks pretty good. I’d scrape a few photographer directories (Snappr, etc) and start e-mailing. I don’t think it’s a hard audience to reach. There are some big competitors to learn from.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Young startup with not a lot of operating history. I’d first diligence the tech stack to make sure that everything is operating properly. Make sure it’s scalable and you have a good feel for the operating and maintenance costs. Then run some tests to figure out CAC and the sales channels with the highest ROI. It’s always tough to think about valuation for these young businesses.
You can view this listing on MicroAcquire.
🕸 Content/Service/Other
Online Ad Network - $53k
For sale is a 2-year-old online ad network that serves consumers with up-to-the-minute information on their favorite TV shows. Seems like a content website, not sure why it’s called an ad network.
Two website domains included in the sale;
125k unique monthly visitors; 1.2k e-mail list;
Owner works a few hours per week;
TTM Revenue: $20k Profit: $19.8k; Margin: 99%
Asking: $53k; Multiple: 2.68x (32x)
✅ What I Like
I like the evergreen niche and the strong traffic. I assume this audience is very engaged but only 1,200 e-mail subscribers from 125k unique visitors is not a great conversion rate. 32x monthly profit for a content website is a good multiple. I think there are a lot of opportunities to monetize this traffic further.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Have to do a lot of due diligence on the quality of the traffic, engagement, etc. How have the Google algo updates impacted this business? How is the revenue generated? Which ad networks are currently used?
You can view the listing on SellerForce.
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Tax Compliance - $5.5M
For sale is a tax compliance business that helps employers and financial institutions to prepare and file a full range of IRS information returns and annual wage reports.
Proposed legislation would significantly increase TAM;
Compliance solution vs. discretionary service; Software business;
Serves 1,900 - 2,000 clients annually; SMBs, F1000, education, and municipal clients; Growth has been all organic;
TTM Revenue: $1.5M; Profit: $1.0M; Margin: 67%
Asking: $5.5M; Multiple: 5.50x
✅ What I Like
Interesting business. Seems like a combination of software and service. I like that this is a compliance solution and not something that’s optional. Good margins. Would make a great add-on to an accounting or tax return business.
❓ Questions & Concerns
What is the chance that this legislation would pass and increase the TAM? If significant, why would the seller not wait to exit the business? Not a lot of detail about the software, sales, client service aspect of the business.
You can view this listing on BizBuySell.
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Online Reputation Management - $7.4M
For sale is an 11-year-old online reputation management business.
SBA pre-qualified; One of two owners willing to stay on;
4k monthly users; 75% repeat clients; 68% B2B vs 32% B2C;
Reputation monitoring software currently in beta testing;
TTM Revenue: $2.4M; Profit: $1.5M; Margin: 63%
Asking: $7.4M; Multiple: 4.93x
✅ What I Like
I really like this niche as online reputation is only going to be more and more important. Good to see the majority of clients are B2B as I assume they are stickier and less price sensitive. Great margins and repeat clients. Always good to see that one of the founders is willing to stay on. I think a roll-up of these reputation management businesses could be interesting.
❓ Questions & Concerns
It’s a competitive space. I think the AOV here is pretty high because CAC is very expensive. How do they acquire customers? Online reviews are a moat in this business. How do those look? Not clear what the differentiator is between the offerings in this space.
You can view this listing on Quiet Light Brokerage.
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Motel in Michigan
🛠 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.
X5 Deals - Proprietary deal sourcing. They do the outreach and send you relevant, actionable deals directly into your inbox.
Curators - Proprietary deal sourcing. You need targets that fit your investment criteria, and Curators delivers week after week - we even update your personalized database on a daily basis with new information on best-fit targets.
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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