With difficulty. From around 2006-2009 I ran a hotel reservation business in six languages across China with 3,000 individual relationships, map integration, digital fax integration, custom call-center, etc. Didn't sell any of the software: didn't even try. Did, however, look at investors to take it to another market. Ultimately though, I just moved on. Despite the time spent, I look at it as cheap experience.
Ask HN: How do you sell the software of a failed business?
21–24 of 24 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you sell the software of a failed business?
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is it possible to pivot into another market sector. For example, holiday home rentals? bed & breakfast? car rentals? I think there is a lot of potential in the car rental market... e.g. allow private vehicle owners to rent out their vehicles. There are probably a few insurance details to work out, otherwise it sounds like you have 80% of that sort of system built already.
I'm thinking the same. My brother works in the travel software industry (for a big player) and that market is an extremely hard nut to crack, unless you are coming at it with a boat load of contacts and money. The big tour operators (I know this from the European side) are quite well tied into the bug boys contractually. They often will enforce sole-usage on hotels to prevent this kind of side market entry your paren…
Interesting. I have a client who has a booking engine for their very specific education tour company and have been wondering if I could port the software for resale. They sell direct to the traveler no agents or 3rd parties so it works well for them but I've been curious if this model is adopted widely..
I don't know enough about the larger industry and what barriers there are to entry however. What kinds of tour operators in Europe are blocking entry to the market? Is this just tour groups making certain hotels exclusive, or the booking sites?
Re: Ask HN: How do you sell the software of a failed business?
#23Consider the buyer persona (other independents in the hospitality industry in emerging markets). Find forums, meetups, trade associations for those people. Point of strategy, focus on the value, features, & benefits of this app to potential buyers, versus discussing what you're trying to get out it.
Re: Ask HN: How do you sell the software of a failed business?
#24Finding a large software player in that market (or a similar one) is a good way to find a buyer.
-Find out who sells the big management systems. They often have projects that may extend into your market. It's cheaper for a big company to buy existing code that can be rebranded than to start from scratch, especially if you're willing to be flexible.
-Find consulting shops that work in that space with larger hotel chains. They might be able to sell this in and give you a success fee.
-Find a "founder" with sales/marketing experience willing to take this on as a real project. Lots of non-technical people in the space have connections, but no capital/product. You're basically bootstrapping their company with technology investment.
-See if there are 'resellers' or marketing reps that sell similar systems in the space. They might be willing to help you find a company that can market & support the product for you.
-Be flexible on how you get paid. For example, provide the code to market for 24 months for a percentage of gross sales. That would mitigate the buyer's risk, while still providing you with upside potential.
My experience in buying sites is that without customers, it's basically a huge risk, so prices are very low.