The Business Inquirer #072
In this week's issue, I highlight four listings including an interview prep SaaS, a mobile app design platform, 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!
A bit light this week. There weren’t many listings that looked interesting.
In this week’s issue:
🛒 eCommerce - 0 listings
☁ SaaS - 2 listings
🕸 Content/Service/Other - 2 listings
🛠 Tools & Resources
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🛒 eCommerce
☁ SaaS
Interview Prep - $3.9M
For sale is a 20-year-old SaaS that helps job-seekers with interview preparation. Primarily sold through colleges and universities. Corporate divestiture of a non-core asset.
Marquee clients such as Harvard, Princeton, and Duke
270 clients; $2,700 ACV; 100k students using the product annually;
TTM Revenue: $800k; Profit: $650k; Margin: 81%
Asking: $3.9M; Multiple: 6.00x
✅ What I Like
Well-aged business in an evergreen niche. Relationships with colleges provide a moat against possible competition. Financials seem solid with strong margins. Opportunity to add additional monetization options.
❓ Questions & Concerns
There hasn’t been any marketing done for many years. It’ll be expensive to test and implement a marketing system. Hiring a sales team will also eat into the margin. The valuation is a bit aggressive but makes sense since it’s a corp divestiture.
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
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eCommerce + Marketing Platform - Open to Offers
For sale is a mature SaaS that allows SMBs to sell their products online. There is also a marketing agency attached to the SaaS that helps clients grow their revenue.
200 merchants using the platform; Low churn;
Low marketing spend; Most leads coming inbound;
Operated as a lifestyle business with minimal owner involvement;
2021 Revenue: $2.9M; Profit: $520k; Margin: 18%
Asking: Open to Offers
✅ What I Like
The thing that really interested me is the vertical integration. You have a marketing agency sitting on top of an e-commerce SaaS. Obviously this creates a great flywheel.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Not a lot of detail in the listing. The obvious question is how does this e-commerce platform compare with WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Shopify. Also, how is the marketing agency staffed? Interesting business but a lot of questions.
You can view the listing on LINK.
🕸 Content/Service/Other
Mobile App Design Templates - $95k
For sale is a 10-year-old platform that offers a curated collection of mobile app designs, interfaces, and UI patterns. Monetized through monthly/annual subscriptions.
Competitors: Mobbin.design, Dribble, Designvault
Relaunched in 2021 with new no-code backend and design;
One of the most recognized names in the design community;
TTM Revenue: $42k; Profit: $32k; Margin: 76%
Asking: $95k; Multiple: 2.97x
✅ What I Like
The listing is pretty detailed. The product appears to have a recognizable brand with a good reputation. The founder started Calm Capital and this business is too small to fit into the portfolio. I bet there are some creative deal structures to be had here. Seems like there’s a solid foundation for someone to come in and grow the business.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Have to explore the right monetization strategy. The owner switched from subscription to lifetime access and then back to a subscription. Have to understand this shift. There’s a lot of work to do in order to scale. Not a “set it and forget it” type of business model. It would be an advantage to be in the design community.
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
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Ethnic Food Distributor in Iowa
🛠 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.
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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