The Business Inquirer #087
The Business Inquirer #087
In this week's issue, I highlight five listings including a car price tracker, an interview coaching marketplace, a no-code directory, 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 - 0 listings
☁ SaaS - 1 listing
🕸 Content/Service/Other - 4 listings
🛠 Tools & Resources
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🛒 eCommerce
☁ SaaS
Amazon Research & Analytics - Open to Offers
For sale is a 5-year-old SaaS that helps Amazon sellers with research and analytics. Looks like most clients are in EMEA.
253 active users across three pricing tiers; +139 new users per month;
$180 CLTV; $51 CAC; 21% monthly churn;
Freelance developer used to maintain backend
TTM Avg Monthly Revenue: $28k; Profit: $15k; Margin: 54%
Asking: Open to Offers;
✅ What I Like
Some operating history. A large TAM of Amazon sellers. I like the detail in the listing which demonstrates that the sellers have their business metrics figured out. The marketing strategy seems to be working with 139 new users added monthly.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Client churn is a big, obvious issue here. What’s causing it? Any easy levers to fix it? All website traffic is from UAE/Pakistan/India. Are those the only markets it serves? Could the product be expanded to other markets? Simply relying on paid ads is not a good long-term strategy. What type of tech upkeep is required? Why are the sellers selling the business? I think there are a lot of competitors in this industry. A lot of DD is required on this listing.
You can view the listing on Empire Flippers.
🕸 Content/Service/Other
Online Escrow - $12,700
For sale is 7-year-old Escrow Lion which is supposedly an online escrow service for transactions. Interesting business but most likely a scam. Just highlighting it because I like the idea for the product.
3,100 website visitors per month
$12,600 average revenue per month
✅ What I Like
I like the idea of creating an easy-to-use online escrow service. I constantly hear negative reviews of Escrow.com and it feels like there is room for a competitor. Just take a look at some of the Trustpilot reviews for Escrow.com. Search volume shows that there is consistent demand for such a service.
❓ Questions & Concerns
This isn’t a business listing I would purchase. The website design is actually not bad but showing that they process payments for Dior, Eventbrite, and houzz is ridiculous. Have to figure out what works and what’s actually for sale. I suspect it’s all a scam and the only thing for sale is the website. Side Projectors is a marketplace with no vetting so it’s all very risky. I think I saw someone selling the Brooklyn Bridge on there 😂
You can view the listing on SideProjectors.
__ __ __ __ __ __
Tech Interview Coaching Marketplace - $1.7M
For sale is a 3-year-old online marketplace for job seekers to find career & interview coaches in the tech industry. Users can get 1-1 interview preparation from the top 1% of FAANG coaches.
Competitors: TryExponent, Igotanoffer, TheMuse
22.5% - 35% rake; ARPU of $550; AOV of $150;
$350k ARR; Monthly GMV of $60k;
TTM Revenue: $436k; Profit: $187k; Margin: 43%
Asking: $1.7M; Multiple: 9.09x
✅ What I Like
Love the marketplace business model. Tough to scale but extremely profitable once it does. There’s great traction here. Evergreen niche. Multiple ways to expand the business. Sounds like the seller is open to creative financing options.
❓ Questions & Concerns
Valuation is very aggressive. I suspect it’ll take a significant investment to scale this business. Would help to be in tech and know the space. What does the current 8-person team do? How are clients acquired and for how much? What type of tech upkeep is required?
You can view the listing on MicroAcquire.
— — — — — —
No Code Directory & Community - $300k
For sale is a 2-year-old marketplace that offers a tools directory, video library, workshops, courses, and more - geared towards no-code builders.
Competitors: 100 Days of No-Code, Makerpad
Tech stack: Editor X, Beehiv
30-Day Revenue: $1,755; Profit: $1,400; Margin: 80%;
TTM Revenue: $85k; Profit: $50k; Margin: 59%;
Asking: $300k; Multiple: 6.00x
✅ What I Like
Young project with some traction. There are a few large competitors to learn from. The no-code space is rapidly expanding = growing TAM. A lot of opportunities to scale a project like this.
❓ Questions & Concerns
There is a big discrepancy between the TTM revenue/profit and if we just annualize the 30-day numbers. Is the business seeing significant deceleration? There’s no mention of the community size in the listing which is odd when you’re trying to sell a community. Important to understand the breakdown of revenue by product. Who produces the content? Valuation is very aggressive.
You can view this listing on MicroAcquire.
— — — — — —
Car Price Tracker - $9,000
For sale is 2-year-old Car Price Tracker which is a web app that allows car buyers and collectors to track the historical prices of cars. The project is pre-revenue.
270 users; Pre-revenue;
Tech: Laravel
Asking: $9,000
✅ What I Like
The average age of US vehicles on the road is at a record high (see chart below). At the same time, we’re seeing significant bottlenecks in the auto supply chain. I think this is an interesting web app for anyone in the market for a new or used car. The website is well designed and shows up on the first page of Google Search for many relevant keywords. There are a lot of ways to monetize this project.
❓ Questions & Concerns
I played around with the tool and the data stops in 2020. Not clear if I need to create an account to see the latest data or if the back-end needs to be rebuilt. Everything is in Euros and would require some modification for the US market. Need someone with a tech background for upkeep.
You can view this listing on Microns.
🛠 Tools & Resources
I want to share some tools & resources that I have found helpful. Please note that some of these may contain affiliate links. This means that I may receive compensation if you sign-up and use them.
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. Local Boston company and I consider the founder (Adam Ray) a friend.
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 VoIP phone solution that I have found. I use this for DueDilio. You get a $20 credit if you sign-up.
Eloquens - Knowledge marketplace. I’ve purchased a few templates from them.
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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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.