Micro-SaaS Market is growing, and acquisitions are too: we need something different
Hello everyone,
I'm Domenico, and I have done 3 micro exits during this year. I'm now turning into an investor/buyer.
We all know the most important platforms for acquiring/selling micro-startups. Most of them are not free for buyers, or at least you need to pay for getting more basic info on the startup, and metrics, or contact the seller.
I think this should be free.
Who is here for a free marketplace?
Drop a comment, and let's discuss
I co-run one of the marketplaces that are not free for buyers, bitsfordigits.com.
Let me explain why this is good for both buyers and sellers.
Filtering
Paying for access filters out non-serious buyers. If you are looking to spend many Ks on a startup, paying a few hundred dollars for good deal flow is nothing. If you are not serious, it is expensive.
The pro for buyers that sellers get fewer messages and thus have a much higher chance of getting their offer considered. On free marketplaces, your message may be one of hundreds and the seller will never read it, even if you are the most serious buyer.
Free is a myth
"Free" marketplaces (at least for buyers) monetize by charging sellers a commission fee. Often a horrendous one.
But this commission fee gets priced into the sale. So buyers end up paying more for the same startup. Paying for a subscription is probably cheaper.
Deal flow
Where do you think founders of great businesses are more likely to go? A marketplace where they have to pay a commission fee or a marketplace where they don't?
Charging buyers a subscription fee helps make the marketplace free for founders which in turn creates better deal flow for buyers.
thank you! Interesting comment.
I would be interested as a buyer but as a seller I would fear tire kickers and lurkers. There has to be a way to vet serious buyers and charging a fee is one of the most obvious. What do you suggest?
Scammers might even pay to do this, and scammers might even be among the sellers (who register for free). So I guess that's not the problem (my idea). I don't have a solution, it was a discussion, but I think it can be found
Intersting topic
Very good discussion topic, but i'm also very interested to know more about your journey with the ideation to delivery and sale of your 3 micro-SaaS. Congratulations on them btw! :)
so I think some sort of payment to vet the buyers is still needed here because the information itself is also an asset (value), it just can't be like physical goods market places cause on those you only get the value when you pay for the product but on SaaS market places I can even just pay to get the information for different reasons, even if I am not intending to buy something just yet.
We have some discussions around this at Micro SaaS HQ and as far as the trends are considered, the current systems are working fine.
The free marketplaces are almost dead as you need to validate the seriousness of either the buyer or seller or both.
you're right, but as I said: the payment does not assure you of the seriousness of the buyer
Trying to get group consensus is a waste of time. Either build a solution or don't.
No one is going to give you the magic secret.
And you're right, Indeed I don't want the magic secret here. It's an open discussion :)
Free users mostly browse and leave.
In free marketplace, sellers are coming to the platform with a product and buyers are coming only with an intent.
If someone is worried to spend $100/year to find a serious business to buy, he/she would never acquire a business anyway. Without serious buyers, the platform is bound to fail with sellers losing interest.
The point is how would you assess the seriousness of the buyer so that sellers would be interested to stay on the platform.
Nice point.
I would theoretically be interested. In my view, the main problems with these platforms are:
These are the things that would need to be overcome for such a platform to be competitive.
you're right. I think the scam is not the real problem here (just look at Microacquire. They have built a good solution).
I'm more speaking about the accessibility and the quality
Seems to work nicely. That small fee means that the buyers are much more serious.
this does not guarantee the seriousness of the buyers
So how does your solution fix that?
I don't have a solution. I don't know how to fix that so far
This comment was deleted 4 years ago