Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business • Hacker News Board

Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#121

Post by danieltillett » Thu, Oct 19, 2017, 2:38 AM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #103

danieltillett wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No I am asking a genuine question. My experience is all buyers want to pay 1x to 1.5x of the after tax profit after some massive owner salary has been subtracted. From a financial perspective it almost never makes sense to sell unless you have to get out today. If you have a good business that is earning good money then just run it out for cash. At worst take your best employee, give them 10% of the business, and let…

>>From a financial perspective it almost never makes sense to sell unless you have to get out today. On the contrary, you should never wait to sell until you have to. That just puts you in a very weak position and ensures you'll be selling it for pennies on the dollar.

Only if the other side knows this :)

Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#122

Post by shostack » Thu, Oct 19, 2017, 3:04 AM UTC

Papirola wrote: post #114

shostack wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who manages digital media for a living and has done so with very large sums of money with measurable revenue attached to that spend, I'd invite you to share what makes your experience so concrete as to enable you to attempt to discredit an entire industry with a wave of your hand. I'll be the first to say that measuring the incremental impact of advertising is often very challenging for a variety of techni…

there's a difference between correlation and causation, and if you can't measure/explain a direct cause-effect relationship then for technically oriented people your proposition loses credibility.

But that's my point. Often times you CAN very easily measure direct cause-effect relationships between ads and revenue. When you get into brand advertising territory it gets a bit murkier because of the data and modeling involved, but you can definitely determine this in many cases.

Where it doesn't work is when you have inexperienced people spending an amount insufficient to properly measure results, not implementing conversion tracking properly, using poor targeting, etc. Of course that's going to fail.

And I'll note that there are VERY technically-oriented people in the industry who seem to have no problem feeling confident that advertising works for them.

My problem is simply with people who have had a few bad experiences writing off an entire industry. All I'm asking is for a bit more evidence for such a sweeping accusation, which I think is more than a fair ask.

Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#123

Post by nulagrithom » Thu, Oct 19, 2017, 4:51 AM UTC

akawry wrote: post #115

nulagrithom wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work for a medium-sized business in an out-of-touch (technologically speaking) industry. You would not believe the shit we pay for. Were our company in need of a way to cross the street, we would almost certainly look for a vendor supported crosswalk, plus consultants to guide us through crossing the street the first few times, and training for our designated crosswalk guard. And I'm not even convinced they're doin…

Do you mind me asking which industry you work in? I would have sent you an email but couldn't find your details in your profile

Intermodal Transportation

Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#124

Post by PatrickGW » Thu, Oct 19, 2017, 9:38 AM UTC

hahla wrote: post #4

I buy bootstrapped businesses. Email in profile. Shoot me a message would be happy to discuss even if its just to chat. I don't ask a lot of questions, have numerous references, and I have been buying for the last 10 years.

Hello Hala - May have something suitable for you. Drop me a line - http://pixelpaycheques.com/

Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#125

Post by graeme » Thu, Oct 19, 2017, 4:29 PM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #117

graeme wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would this work for a business that requires domain expertise? I run an online lsat prep business. I sell video courses. Not a monthly SASS, but everything runs automatically. Students arrive at predictable times of the year and buy in predictable quantities. But, to expand on it, you would need domain knowledge. That can be hired; I have an assistant who’s an lsat tutor who handles a lot of support. There aren’t rea…

Do you think non-lsat experts might want to buy a business like this? Most business owners are business owners because they enjoy the returns of the asset, not because they are themselves experts at every facet of maximizing those returns. Expertise can be bought; that is a major part of their responsibility. (When I expressed surprise at the existence of non-technical SaaS buyers someone reminded me that there are p…

Thanks! Do you have a broker you recommend?

It’s probably worth thinking about this as I grow, because it would be nice to diversify in a year or two.

As for personality, it’s kind of a mix, but I think a purchaser could overcome it. It’s helpful that the site be run by me, but probably not integral.