http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=nextmoveone nextmoveone how do i reach u?
trying to keep company names off the net as well as my name... so do ycnewsid456[at]mailinator(dot)com
How come?
YC Help: I need Acquisition Advice
31–40 of 41 posts
Re: YC Help: I need Acquisition Advice
#32Re: YC Help: I need Acquisition Advice
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
trying to keep company names off the net as well as my name... so do ycnewsid456[at]mailinator(dot)com
It's strange to use Mailinator for contact... Everybody can check your box there!
I was kind of just hoping for the person to shoot over an email address.
Re: YC Help: I need Acquisition Advice
#34Re: YC Help: I need Acquisition Advice
#35Nobody here can gauge the fairness of the price. You (should) know your market better than anyone else.
Re: YC Help: I need Acquisition Advice
#36That sounds like a very low offer. A 4:1 P/E ratio is what you expect from a steel company, not a tech startup showing exponential growth.
Right. If your growth really is exponential, then drag out the deal a month or two, at which point their valuation is so outdated they have to make a new one.
At which point you are still getting a crappy multiple?
If your growth is really exponential...that should be an additional 10x multiple. So, 30-40x multiple overall.
Re: YC Help: I need Acquisition Advice
#37Do you really want to sell? It sounds like you could make more money if you stay around and try to keep scaling. But if you really want to focus your attention somewhere else, sure, sell for whatever you can get. How long do you think you can keep the exponential growth up? Another couple of months? Or do you think your company can really dominate the travel (or whatever area you're in) marketplace?
I say growth will peak in 6-9 months.
OK, so assuming your current offer is 5-6 mil...
This months net profits - 160k If you can sustain your 100%+ growth monthly for the next 6 months, you could hit a huge monthly profits number. Even with 50% growth, your monthly profits would be over a million with that kind of growth.
Which makes your current offer very low, this is why with that kind of growth people get huge multiples.
Re: YC Help: I need Acquisition Advice
#38On the face of it, this would look like a very bad deal. But I feel there must be more to it.
The OP does now YC, know the culture here, understands valuations. Why does he/she even consider selling for 3-4x earnings (i.e profit, not revenue). There must be something about the business ...
Re: YC Help: I need Acquisition Advice
#39Hmm. At your current position I would seriously consider the lifestyle options you currently have. How much are you earning currently from this? Are you the only founder? If you can take a 6 figure salary from this and still pay all business expenses and be profitable then I would reconsider selling, especially at such a low valuation.* *Quick note/question: You're saying that you hit 160K net profit last month, and…
> How much of the buyout goes to you?
> How much are you personally making now?
If you get less than two years of salary then declining the offer would be the best option.
Re: YC Help: I need Acquisition Advice
#40We see 10x multiples in the low-return, low-risk financial space.