My marketplace sold $390k worth of startups. AMA.
Hey, indie hackers,
I'm Ilya, founder of Microns (microns.io) - a marketplace where founders can sell their micro-startups.
During the last three years, we sold almost $400k worth of startups. So today, I'll answer all your questions about Microns and how to find a buyer for your project.
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Hey Ilya, congrats on what you’ve built with Microns - it’s super inspiring to see the impact your platform is having!
I had a couple of questions I’d love to get your thoughts on:
How do you recommend preparing a SaaS for selling? Are there specific things buyers typically look for that I should focus on?
Do you think it’s worth trying to sell a SaaS that doesn’t have paying customers yet? Or would you recommend waiting until there’s some revenue coming in?
Thanks in advance for sharing your insights! (:
Prepare your site/platform to work without significant bugs. Prepare your revenue and traffic metrics. Every buyer prefers to read a P&L sheet, so it's useful for bigger acquisitions. Record a demo of how your project works and write a good listing description sharing the story of your SaaS and its crucial metrics (MRR, Retention, LTV, CAC, Churn rate). Last but not least, explain how a potential buyer could grow your project further to get a better ROI.
Buyers don't tend to pay well for pre-revenue SaaS projects or pay at all. So, I definitely suggest growing your project and getting some users before deciding to sell it. It would be easier to exit such a project because most buyers want some kind of traction (users/revenue).
Thanks! 🙌 This is super helpful, especially the tips on preparing metrics. I’ll focus on growing the project and building traction before considering a sale, although its not easy to generate revenue. For my first SaaS I have 61 users so far, but all in the free tier :D
Yeah, I know. That's why buyers value projects with revenue and are ready to pay for validation.
I really love the simple interface, makes shopping for a company feel like the easiest thing in the world. How do you make sure you don't get any BS projects? Is there a vetting process?
We check every startup before publishing it on the platform. The process is manual to ensure the quality of the listing is high, as buyers pay us $299 per year to get a deal flow of profitable projects.
May I ask how you achieve business growth, after all, you are dealing with a two-sided market with high traffic requirements so that enough users can see more items
I use various channels for it: social media, SEO, and email. Currently, I am focused on long-term growth through content and a newsletter, which work perfectly in my niche.
Great，Thanks！
Nice work. Are you a solo founder, or do you have a team? ("Team" here could also mean part-time contractors, etc.)
I started solo and worked on the project part-time for around nine months; at that time, it was completely free. Then, I saw traction and decided to monetize the marketplace. After this, I hired a team (designer, developer, customer support, and myself). All funds were reinvested into building a better product and hiring a team.
Hey. Congrats on what you've built so far. A couple of questions:
At the start, I started working on getting the first listings, so mostly cold outreach via email and Twitter got me the first sellers.
We focused on smaller online businesses (up to $1M) that should be bootstrapped. Our deals are super hard to find, and you can see them exclusively on our platform. Besides this, we have a vetting process for sellers and buyers, so the platform is safe and has high activity.
It's about trust. We have been operating for 3 years, and everything is about building a great reputation so people can believe you and trade high-value assets.
Great insights!
Curious to know how do you vet your users/startups though? Is it a manual process? Also, how do you verify sellers are not inflating their numbers?
We manually vet every startup by checking important data like revenue and traffic. We check if the website has any viruses and if it looks genuine. We verify every seller and the numbers they claim on their listings so buyers receive high-quality deal flow.
How many startups did you sell?
90 startups
Selling $390K worth of startups is a remarkable achievement! Building a successful marketplace takes strategy, trust, and a keen eye for high-potential ventures. Attracting quality startups, ensuring smooth transactions, and scaling operations are key elements in reaching such a milestone. This accomplishment reflects dedication and expertise, offering valuable lessons for others looking to build and grow in the competitive startup marketplace space.
Thank you
Over the years how did you live whilst reinvesting profits back into the business? Marketplaces are hard to get traction. Did you have an additional source of income? Thank you for doing this and I love the product you have built! True inspiration!
Before Microns, I co-founded a software agency called Quanti Coders. It's a small but profitable company where I worked as a CTO, so it covered all my expenses. At the start, I invested some funds I earned from the agency to build and grow Microns. In two years, the marketplace can sustain itself.
Great, A unique platform to buy and sell micro startups without any hassle.
Thank you!