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Tiny

tinycapital.com

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131–140 of 158 posts

Re: Tiny

#131

Post by _6hmp »

mendigou wrote: post #115
_6hmp wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MicroAcquire is just a marketplace, and IMO not that good (as a customer looking to acquire). Tiny is explicitly modeled as a mini Berkshire Hathaway for tech (they also, as a sideline, sell bronze busts of Charlie and Warren). An easy exit for those who don't want to see their work dismembered. They also part-own WeCommerce, a canadian public company doing the same for shopify apps/themes/agencies. (disclaimer, I al…

Can you elaborate more on your experience with MicroAcquire as an acquirer? Is it that you don't see enough deals? Not the right size? Bad companies? I'm not affiliated with the company. Just stumbled upon it a few weeks ago and was curious about the deals stats (size of companies, stage, etc.).

It's not horrible but I haven't found anything I like on it yet. One issue is that the UI kind of sucks (hover state button for more info on a company, vs clicking the name of the company, which is always redacted until you contact them). I would like more info on the companies before contacting. Another is that the microsaas category seems to be very micro on the traction/revenue and very macro on the multiple/pricing. Like if people are getting these prices good for them, but it's not attractive for me to wade through right now.

It feels like I'm more likely to find something vetted and legit at a reasonable price through a broker like FEI.

Re: Tiny

#132

Post by bjarneh »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #120
bjarneh wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess you're right; just sounds so sad to sell a company just when things are looking good...

It's sadder to have to sell when things are looking really bad.

Well, if someone want to buy my doomed company; that's not all sad :-)

Re: Tiny

#133

Post by [deleted] »

bjarneh wrote: post #57
TAForObvReasons wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The website gives an example: > You've got early employees, investors, or a co-founder who wants to leave or cash out. You want to swap them for a friendly new face who can add value and help you grow the business. This is common in professional groups (like law firms or medical practices) when a partner is looking to retire.

Selling out is common; I just hope and think I would not do it, but who knows. I've never been in the position to sell out :-)

[deleted]

Re: Tiny

#134

Post by ska »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #44
xyst wrote: post #16

> We pay finders fees of $25,000 to $200,000+, all you have to do is intro us. hmmm - not a bad payday just to be a referral

Yeah there's got to be a catch there, nobody works for 'just a referral' that doesn't result in something significant.

Typically 'finders fees' are only paid out on a successful execution, don't see why this would be any different.

Re: Tiny

#135

Post by swyx »

kentt wrote: post #118
mrkentutbabi wrote: post #107

Sometimes I wonder whether I should go and try to buy a micro SaaS business (I am an SWE) that's already out there just for the sake of trying to learn the ropes on how to do a business. Convince me this is a bad idea.

I think it's a great idea. I'm a SWE and have purchased three now. It seems way easier to run 3 micro businesses than it was to deal with everything that a typical job entails. I think the risk is quite low for most SaaS products.

how much did you spend on each and were there any buyer protection clauses (like earnout) you put in place?

Re: Tiny

#136

Post by [deleted] »

supperburg wrote: post #28

Can anyone say how much it costs a founder to go through the process of being propositioned and then either rejecting the suitor or be rejected by them?

[deleted]

Re: Tiny

#137

Post by andreilys »

AQuantized wrote: post #124
mrkentutbabi wrote: post #107

Sometimes I wonder whether I should go and try to buy a micro SaaS business (I am an SWE) that's already out there just for the sake of trying to learn the ropes on how to do a business. Convince me this is a bad idea.

Perhaps try to build your own and run that instead? To be honest I think you'd learn more about how to buy a business than how to run one if you bought one instead.

Starting a business is a lot harder than running one.

If you buy a business, you have the opportunity to scale and fix issues (code, business model and otherwise). Starting something from scratch involves a lot more work and skills.

Re: Tiny

#138

Post by petenick »

jimsimmons wrote: post #13

I like this new style aesthetic that I’ve been seeing on a few sites. minimalism the right way

I found it easy to use and it left no ambiguity around what Tiny is and how it works

Re: Tiny

#139

Post by bluecalm »

anonu wrote: post #96
buf wrote: post #4

Tiny is basically as advertised. A few years ago, I tried to sell one of my businesses to them (Zack) and he was straightforward in his reason to pass back then (profit too low). Took about a day once I had my metrics sorted. The experience was positive and re-enforced my understanding of important growth metrics and product storytelling.

Allow me to be cynical for a moment, for the sake of debate: if your business is profitable, why sell it for what Im assuming is going to be low multiple to a non-strategic buyer like Tiny?

I run a profitable business (1.5m+ revenue at 90%+ margins). I would love to sell it and do something else. I even think you can grow it in relatively straightforward way, I just don't have the energy to make it happen. Sadly it's a niche business, might be difficult to run by outsiders. The reasons I want to sell are that I want to do something else and that I am already set for life (maybe not fully Fat Fire but very close).

Re: Tiny

#140

Post by rglover »

s_Hogg wrote: post #2

What's the catch with this, I wonder? If it's so easy to cash out, what does that mean for the price at which you cash out? How does Tiny manage to stay non-interventionist as they claim? It's interesting but I think there has to be more than what's pointed out here going on

They're ops guys. Andrew and his partner Chris work off of the Buffet/Munger model used at Berkshire Hathaway. They buy good businesses they think are undervalued and then bring in their ops/logistics experience to (if necessary) install a new team, get any loose ends cleaned up, and then send them on their way (retaining ownership via Tiny).

They find ATMs, upgrade their software and case, and then let them run. Over time, if you're good at it (they are), you build a portfolio that is consistently cash flowing vs. a bunch of lottery tickets like the traditional VC model.

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