

Ask HN: Selling a Startup? - rrival

We've been working on a site as a side project for ~2 years now. It's had great media attention, good growth. It's profitable, there are clear models for greater profitability, but we've hit an inflection point; we either need to dedicate a large amount of time to building it out or sell it, and we're leaning toward a sale.<p>We've seen flippa (sitepoint), ebay and digitalpoint's marketplace - it doesn't look like the liquidity/volume is there to support acquisitions in the price range we think we're worth.<p>So, how/where do you sell yourself in the ~100k range?
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vaksel
Well it really depends on your space:

Competitors: as long as you have more than one, and one of them is bigger than
you(to afford the $100K).

Customers: if some of your customers are big in the industry you serve, one of
them might pick you up.

Media Companies: look around to see if there is one that lacks a website in
your space.

Or you can setup a webpage for users to throw together a bunch of money, and
then help them register a corporation, which will then take the pooled money
and buy your company.

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apowell
The last option is creative, but would it run afoul of securities regulations?

<http://www.sec.gov/answers/accred.htm>

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vaksel
not sure, but it might avoid it. I mean you as a company are just selling your
company to another company.

The other company just happens to have 400 co-founders, who each threw in $250

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michael_dorfman
Step 1: figure out who the potential buyers are. Competitors? Other's in the
same industry who could find a network effect? Who would be uniquely able to
extract more value out of the site than you were?

Step 2: approach them.

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jimmyrr
imho, selling for $100k is harder than selling for a few million. Ask yourself
why a company would buy you:

\- are you accretive to existing biz models?

\- are you disruptive to existing biz models?

\- do you have amazing technology? <\-- i hope not for you, this is always the
hardest to sell.

In short, I think selling a startup for 100k is like selling a vintage,
pristine '71 Ford Pinto. To the exact right buyer, somehere, it might be worth
100k - but to the general population it's worth about the same as a tall
latte.

Best of luck!

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rrival
Thanks - that's probably why there seems to be such a dip in prices on the
aforementioned "site markets."

We're definitely not opposed to shifting the decimal point if it'd make things
easier ;)

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dunk010
If you're not profitable then given the current state of the economy you're
probably barking up the wrong tree. Most of the buying of startups happens in
a bull market, so unless you have undeniable potential then there's a large
chance that you'll be disappointed. Think of it like this: if you, the
founders, want to dump it then why do you think any company would have enough
faith to buy you?

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agotterer
I'm a partner in this company. We are profitable and have very little
expenses. To really take the product to the next level requires a larger
dedication of time and/or resources then we are currently able to commit. A
potential acquirer would be able to make that investment. We have essential
put the product on the right path and taken it as far as we think we are
capable, now it needs attention from someone who can take it a step further.

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cjlars
Bizbuysell.com is another good listing service (the biggest I think), and
while they specialize in more traditional businesses, there's plenty of
websites for sale there.

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scumola
You come up with a price (value of your company). The buyer comes up with a
value. If you can't decide on one or the other, get a third party, and the one
that is closest to the third party wins. Works well, it's in the best interest
of both parties to not under or over-value the company. Negotiators are a good
thing to have.

