The Business Inquirer #078
In this week's issue, I highlight five listings including a 3PL, a growth agency, a print-on-demand store, 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 - 2 listings
🕸 Content/Service/Other - 2 listings
🛠 Tools & Resources
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🛒 eCommerce
Patriotic T-Shirts Print-On-Demand - $160k
For sale is a 2-year-old ecommerce business that sells patriotic t-shirts via a dropshipping model.
Sold on Shopify using a print-on-demand model
2k customer reviews; 20k lifetime orders;
20k e-mail subscribers; 40% open rate; 2,500 SMS subscribers;
TTM Revenue: $754k; Profit: $107k; Margin: 14%
Asking: $160k; Multiple: 1.50x
✅ What I Like
Asset light business model. Clearly defined target market. Politics sells. Engaged audience. Requires marketing know-how to scale. Could be a good first-time business for someone.
❓ Questions & Concerns
A lot of competition. No differentiation. CAC is increasing and constantly have to experiment with new acquisition channels. Who creates new designs for the t-shirts? Low margin business.
You can view the listing on QuietLight Brokerage.
☁ SaaS
Jira app - $25k
For sale is a 2-year-old Jira app that improves productivity at all stages of the development lifecycle.
Award-winning app; Minimal operating costs;
$7,200 ARR
TTM Revenue: $3k; Profit: $3k; Margin: 100%
Asking: $25k; Multiple: 8.33x
✅ What I Like
Jira is a proprietary issue tracking product developed by Atlassian that allows bug tracking and agile project management. We see tons of Shopify and WordPress apps come up for sale but not a lot for Jira. I highlighted a Tweet last week from FE International that they’re seeing a lot more interest in this space from institutional buyers. Sounds like the tech is easy to maintain and Atlassian doesn’t charge anything to build on their platform. They take a 15% cut of sales.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Very early-stage product. Needs marketing and sales team to scale. How does it compare to the competition? The risk with any app built on a platform is that the economics could quickly change. Also, the platform can simply build the app features directly into the platform.
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
————
Vessel Tracking & Surveillance - $8.5M
For sale is 13-year-old Market Intelligence Network. This is a financial platform for vessel tracking & surveillance of energy commodities from load port to discharge, direct to the terminal and berth facility. The owner is retiring. Interesting business and very detailed listing.
Used by traders, fuel suppliers, hedge funds, energy cos, refiners, canal operators, and more
180 customers; 1,474 licenses; 92-95% annual renewal retention;
Sold through IHS Markit so no sales team is required;
TTM Revenue: $1.1M; Profit: $655k; Margin: 60%
Asking: $8.5M; Multiple: 12.98x
✅ What I Like
Really interesting business and model. A lot of operating history. Somewhat diversified customer base. Annual contracts with minimal churn. Sales are handled by IHS Markit so there are no marketing/sales team expenses. The owner is retiring but willing to stay on in a limited capacity.
❓ Questions & Concerns
The relationship with IHS is key. What is their cut of sales? What does the contract look like? Why wouldn’t IHS just come in and buy this company? Will the current dev team stay on with the product? Valuation is elevated.
You can view the listing on Flippa.
🕸 Content/Service/Other
3PL/Fulfillment Center - Open to Offers
For sale is a 2-year-old 3PL/fulfillment center that receives products in bulk and ships them out on a per-order basis.
Competitors: Amazon FBA, Shipmonk, Shipbob
15 customers; 6-10 employees;
TTM Revenue: $340k; Profit: $65k; Margin: 19%
Asking: Open to Offers
✅ What I Like
I haven’t seen a lot of these come to market. There are long-term tailwinds from the continued growth of e-commerce. Might be an interesting opportunity for someone already in this space.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Young business with not a lot of operating history. Very competitive space. Not a large client base. The seller is listing the business due to burnout. This is a business that needs someone who knows this space. Not for a first-time buyer.
You can view the listing on BitsForDigits.
————
Growth Agency - $350k
For sale is a 5.5-year-old growth marketing agency that specializes in serving high-growth startups.
Competitors: NP Digital, Tuff Growth
Priced at $7,500 to $18,500 per month
Top rated on Clutch; Marquee logos including Tinder/Match, BBVA, and more;
TTM Revenue: $222k; Profit: $120k; Margin: 54%
Asking: $350k; Multiple: 2.92x
✅ What I Like
A lot of detail in the listing. There’s some operating history. Client reviews, case studies, and logos provide some moat. Doesn’t rely on paid advertising for client acquisition. Seller is willing to stay on in some capacity. Great margins. Valuation isn’t crazy.
❓ Questions & Concerns
The agency relies on outsourced contractors which comes with its own risk. Questions around churn, CLTV, recurring revenue, and more. Serving startups means that business fluctuates based on funding and availability of capital. This could be a risk in the current environment.
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.
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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