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Ask HN: Acquihire early stage bootstrapped SaaS advice

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Re: Ask HN: Acquihire early stage bootstrapped SaaS advice

#11

Post by throw_advice »

csallen wrote: post #10

Understand that your compensation can take many possible forms. It's all up for negotiation. Don't hamstring yourself by assuming you must be paid in cash, or that the payment must all be upfront, etc. Consider the myriad other possible options and variables that you can tweak to get the the outcome you desire. If you can, talk to people who can help you ballpark what a reasonable level of compensation is for others…

At this point I'm indeed considering all and any forms of compensation. Stock, cash, tiered / vested versions of both etc. etc.

Re: Ask HN: Acquihire early stage bootstrapped SaaS advice

#13

Post by dsugarman »

The real danger of going through this process is that you will get so enamored with this acquisition that the normal drudge of plugging away becomes uninteresting in comparison. They drag you along, you stop shipping, you stop growing and then they can offer you whatever they want or nothing at all. In the end, I don't think many people are very happy post acquisition, so if you feel good about your product and team, you might want to just stop talking to them and go back to work.

Re: Ask HN: Acquihire early stage bootstrapped SaaS advice

#14

Post by haneefghanim »

Great points made here. We went through something similar not too long ago. From that experience, I recommend you discuss at least the ball park of what they're willing to offer up front (and what you're willing to accept), before going through any further diligence. This way you can avoid going through an extremely distracting process and then only find out at the end that the offer isn't a compelling one.

Re: Ask HN: Acquihire early stage bootstrapped SaaS advice

#15

Post by highace »

csallen wrote: post #10

Understand that your compensation can take many possible forms. It's all up for negotiation. Don't hamstring yourself by assuming you must be paid in cash, or that the payment must all be upfront, etc. Consider the myriad other possible options and variables that you can tweak to get the the outcome you desire. If you can, talk to people who can help you ballpark what a reasonable level of compensation is for others…

Wow, $2,500 is great. Can you share who that was? I had a small acquisition a few years ago and my bill WAS 4-5x that.

Re: Ask HN: Acquihire early stage bootstrapped SaaS advice

#16

Post by throw_advice »

dsugarman wrote: post #13

The real danger of going through this process is that you will get so enamored with this acquisition that the normal drudge of plugging away becomes uninteresting in comparison. They drag you along, you stop shipping, you stop growing and then they can offer you whatever they want or nothing at all. In the end, I don't think many people are very happy post acquisition, so if you feel good about your product and team,…

Yeah, big danger. I'm not super new to the whole startup / investor cycle and we got semi burned by that some years ago, i.e. wasting way too much time on something that turned out to go nowhere. My stance is to keep shipping and developing as if nothing is going on.

Re: Ask HN: Acquihire early stage bootstrapped SaaS advice

#17

Post by golergka »

dsugarman wrote: post #13

The real danger of going through this process is that you will get so enamored with this acquisition that the normal drudge of plugging away becomes uninteresting in comparison. They drag you along, you stop shipping, you stop growing and then they can offer you whatever they want or nothing at all. In the end, I don't think many people are very happy post acquisition, so if you feel good about your product and team,…

Or, worse yet, you spend a lot of time and effort on this acquisition, time passes, due diligence goes through, all of your team already expects it to happen, growth stalls, everybody slacks off - and then they cancel it completely at the last moment.

Re: Ask HN: Acquihire early stage bootstrapped SaaS advice

#18

Post by petercooper »

I was in a similar position several years ago, and it seems like you have already jumped through the first mental hurdle.. actually being prepared to give up working on your own business. (Note, I don't mean this in a negative way, it's a serious consideration and opinions will vary.)

In my case, we met, no NDAs, they outlined initial terms (no actual numbers), and the idea of them shutting down the thing I'd built and working for them on their flat salary structure was too unappealing so I withdrew before we got to numbers.

Re: Ask HN: Acquihire early stage bootstrapped SaaS advice

#19

Post by ryaniscool »

I've been through a small acquisition/acquihire twice. The first time, it was part of a small team. The second time it was my own bootstrapped one-person startup.

My biggest piece of advice is if you believe in your product and that it's a good fit for the acquiring company, you should ask for an earn out as a sliding percentage of sales over 3 or 4 years. For example, you get 75% of sales the first year, 50% the second year, etc. In my experience, the earn out is a common part of product acquisitions. It aligns everyone on the goal of promoting and building on the technology being acquired.

Re: Ask HN: Acquihire early stage bootstrapped SaaS advice

#20

Post by saalweachter »

Don't forget to do your due diligence.

Don't treat the acquisition as something that is purely about them making an offer you like. Dig into the nitty-gritty of how they run their company and its financials and whether you want to be working there. You're going to be an employee of them if an acquisition happens; what does that mean for you and your team?

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