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Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

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Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#51

Post by ringaroundthetx »

joosters wrote: post #2

...the cash, from selling the business has built momentum for other projects like [...] angel investing, I just knew that would be in there. Why do so many tech people seem to think that VC investment is what they want to be doing once they have spare cash? This isn't a personal critique of the OP, but it just seems so very common in general. I don't understand it.

"paying it forward" is part of the silicon valley culture, and as other markets mature they try to adopt that mentality as well.

without it, this is one of many aspects that will make it impossible for some hamlet in Bumbaf* Cheapsville to be "the next silicon valley"

Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#52

Post by fpig »

nathan_f77 wrote: post #10

> Purposefully under-optimize > For example, I really do not understand paid search advertising (Google Adwords, Facebook, etc) so I purposefully put almost no effort into it as a customer acquisition channel for Storemapper. This article is awesome and super helpful, but that particular point seems like terrible advice. Surely it would be much better to hire a marketing/adwords contractor, and increase the value of…

I agree his explanation of purposefully under-optimizing doesn't make sense, however let me try to rephrase it in a way I agree with:

Paying someone to do something for you is as an investment. If you have no understanding of what you're investing in, it's not strange to be reluctant to make the investment. Additionally, if you're doing this type of marketing, but doing it suboptimally, you're not only wasting money, but an investor might not see the room for improvement because they may not see that you're doing it badly. They see "this is how many users they're able to get while doing all this marketing". If you haven't tried this type of marketing at all and the investor knows how it works better than you, they may see more room for improvement.

I think he is just being too liberal with the term "optimize" and what he means is, do the things you understand, and avoid doing the things you don't understand badly if you don't have to urgently deal with them.

Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#53

Post by adventured »

amelius wrote: post #43
danieltillett wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I "invest" in new startups because I want to help the next generation. I put invest in quotation marks because I don't expect to make any money (I will be happy if I break even), but I do want to give back and create the environment that I never had access to. I know others feel the same.

> I "invest" in new startups because I want to help the next generation That sounds noble. But, concretely, you want to help people make SaaS products like Storemapper (mentioned in the article)? I don't want to sound demeaning, but is that really such a noble goal?

> Is that really such a noble goal?

That comes across as a pretty negative thing to say, the implication you're hinting at and not saying in a forthright manner.

Noble goal is an inherently subjective concept. Your definition of that, will vary from everyone else. It makes very little sense to challenge someone's actions on that basis.

Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#54

Post by charlesdm »

asmithmd1 wrote: post #13
charlesdm wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

10% a year on a million is still (way) better than throwing 4x $25k at a random startup through angel investing. Hell, with current interest rates, you might as well use some portfolio margin and borrow an extra million.

Are you saying you can expect 10%/year with your money in the stock market? No stockbroker will tell you that, it is more like 6%-8% over a 10 year time frame. And you have to have the courage to watch your balance drop 50% over a 1-2 year time span and still stay in.

If you put some time into it and learn how to properly invest, yes.

If you made a million today, you probably want to just keep it in an account and wait until a 20%+ correction happens before buying in, though -- it's been quite while since the last significant drop.

Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#56

Post by bacheson1293 »

amelius wrote: post #43
danieltillett wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I "invest" in new startups because I want to help the next generation. I put invest in quotation marks because I don't expect to make any money (I will be happy if I break even), but I do want to give back and create the environment that I never had access to. I know others feel the same.

> I "invest" in new startups because I want to help the next generation That sounds noble. But, concretely, you want to help people make SaaS products like Storemapper (mentioned in the article)? I don't want to sound demeaning, but is that really such a noble goal?

Helping others realize the wonders of financial independence so that they can experience more happiness by spending time with friends, helping others etc.

Sure he's not curing cancer but there is a tremendous amount of nobility in his future actions.

Look beneath the surface my friend :)

Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#57

Post by PatrickGW »

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.

I have launched my brokerage recently. Working with some incredible businesses currently. Would be great to chat we may have something of interest to you http://pixelpaycheques.com/

Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#58

Post by PatrickGW »

areskib wrote: post #44
tylertringas wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't talk about my deal (see below). At the time I started discussions (early 2017) I had SaaS brokers tell me the "market rate" for SaaS was about 3-3.5x annual SDE (see post for discussion of what SDE is).

Thanks, any brokers you can recommend?

Launched my brokerage recently and i would be very happy to talk with you http://pixelpaycheques.com/

Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#59

Post by koreyb »

areskib wrote: post #44
tylertringas wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't talk about my deal (see below). At the time I started discussions (early 2017) I had SaaS brokers tell me the "market rate" for SaaS was about 3-3.5x annual SDE (see post for discussion of what SDE is).

Thanks, any brokers you can recommend?

FE are the leaders in this space. I've used them twice to sell companies, good experience with them. https://feinternational.com

Re: Selling My Bootstrapped SaaS Business

#60

Post by zongitsrinzler »

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.

Do you also buy small, 1 to 3 person businesses? If you do what kind of deals do you do with the funders, as you would need them to work for you?
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