Everything we know about buying and selling small businesses
Valuation, diligence, deal structure and the unglamorous operational parts nobody writes about. Written from the deals we actually see.
Preparing a Micro-SaaS for Sale: The Six-Month Checklist
Most of what raises your sale price has nothing to do with growth. Here's what to fix, in the order that pays best.
Jul 21, 20262 min read
Your First Acquisition Under $50k: A Realistic Playbook
What you can actually buy at this size, what to avoid, and how to not lose the money you're learning with.
Jul 24, 20262 min read
The Due Diligence Checklist for Buying a Micro-SaaS
Forty-one things to check before you wire money, grouped by what they'd cost you if you skipped them.
Jul 23, 20263 min read
SaaS Multiples, Decoded: ARR, SDE, EBITDA and Why They Disagree
A '4× business' can mean three completely different prices. Here's how to tell which multiple someone is quoting — and which one applies to you.
Jul 20, 20262 min read
How to Verify a Seller's Revenue Claims (Without Taking Their Word For It)
Screenshots are not evidence. Here's the hierarchy of proof, from worthless to genuinely checkable.
Jul 17, 20262 min read
How to Write a Listing That Sells
Buyers read listings looking for reasons to stop reading. Write yours to survive the first fifteen seconds.
Jul 15, 20262 min read
SDE vs EBITDA vs Net Profit: Which One Are You Buying?
Three profit figures, three different numbers, and one of them is the one your price is actually built on.
Jul 14, 20262 min read
Where Small Internet Businesses Actually Get Sold
Marketplaces, brokers, communities and cold outreach — what each channel is good for, and what it costs you.
Jul 11, 20262 min read
When to Sell: The Four Signals That You're at the Top
Most founders sell eighteen months later than they should, when the numbers already show it.
Jul 8, 20262 min read
Nine Things That Move Your Multiple (And Four That Don't)
Buyers pay for de-risked cash flow. Here's what actually shifts the number, and what founders keep pitching that never does.
Jul 7, 20262 min read
How to Write an Offer That Actually Gets Accepted
Sellers accept certainty, not just price. Six things to put in the offer that make yours the easy one to say yes to.
Jul 5, 20262 min read
The Twenty Questions Every Buyer Will Ask You
Have the answers written before the first call. The speed of your answer is itself a signal.
Jul 2, 20262 min read
Spotting Fake, Bought and Doomed Traffic Before You Buy
Traffic is the easiest metric to inflate and the hardest to fix after you own it. Six checks that take an hour.
Jul 1, 20262 min read
Seller Financing: How to Buy More Business Than You Can Afford
The seller lends you part of the price. Why they'd agree, what it costs, and the terms that keep it fair to both sides.
Jun 28, 20262 min read
The 30-Day Handover: A Template That Works
Transfer order matters. Do it in the wrong sequence and you take the product down in front of your new customers.
Jun 26, 20262 min read
Technical Diligence: What to Check in the Code Before You Buy
You don't need to read every line. You need to answer five questions, and one of them is 'can I actually run this?'
Jun 24, 20262 min read
Earnouts: When They Work, and When They're a Trap
Paying part of the price only if the business performs sounds fair to everyone. It usually isn't. Here's how to make it fair.
Jun 21, 20262 min read
Your First 90 Days: Change Nothing
The most common way to destroy an acquisition is to improve it immediately. What to do instead.
Jun 20, 20262 min read
Churn Is the Only Metric That Compounds Against You
The difference between 3% and 7% monthly churn is the difference between an asset and a treadmill. How to read it properly.
Jun 18, 20262 min read
Asset Purchase vs Share Purchase: Which One You Want
Buying the stuff, or buying the company that owns the stuff. The difference decides who inherits the problems.
Jun 15, 20262 min read
Where the Money Is Hiding: Cost Cuts After an Acquisition
Most acquired businesses have 10–20% of profit sitting in costs the previous owner stopped noticing.
Jun 14, 20262 min read
The Seven Metrics Worth Tracking When You're Buying
MRR, churn, NRR, CAC, payback, concentration, and one nobody looks at. What each one tells you, and what it hides.
Jun 12, 20262 min read
The Growth Levers Sellers Never Pull
The reason a business is for sale is usually the reason it has obvious upside. Six levers that are nearly always untouched.
Jun 8, 20262 min read
How Escrow Works in an Online Business Sale
The buyer won't send money before the assets move. The seller won't move assets before the money. Escrow is the answer to that standoff.
Jun 7, 20262 min read
Raising Prices Without Losing Customers
The highest-leverage change available to most acquirers, and the one most likely to be botched in the first month.
Jun 2, 20262 min read
What Actually Goes in a Purchase Agreement
The nine clauses that matter in a small acquisition, and the two that cause almost every post-close argument.
Jun 1, 20262 min read
Eleven Red Flags in a Business Listing
None of these are automatic disqualifiers. All of them are questions you should ask before you spend a week on diligence.
May 28, 20262 min read
Why Deals Fall Apart in the Last Two Weeks
Almost every collapse traces to one of six causes, and five of them are preventable in week one.
May 26, 20262 min read
Negotiating a Small Acquisition Without a Broker
No intermediary means no buffer. Five habits that keep a direct negotiation from turning personal.
May 19, 20262 min read