In 2016, Derek Morin founded Tabarnapp to create after-market sales applications for Shopify website owners. The company was an instant hit generating more than 1,000 paid customers in its first few months after launching on the Shopify platform. 

In 2020, Morin acquired one of his partners' stake in Tabarnapp, valuing the company at $400,000. Two years later, Morin sold Tabarnapp for a much higher price, implying a tenfold increase in the company's value.

Ep 374 How Tabarnapp Grew Its Value Ten-Fold in 24 Months with Derek Morin

Sam Parr founded the Hustle, a media company that delivers business and tech news to millennials in an engaging and relatable way, in 2015. The business was an instant hit with readers, generating millions of page views in only a few months.

By 2020 Sam Parr had grown the Hustle to $15 million in revenue, attracting the attention of tech giant HubSpot. A few months later, the tech conglomerate acquired the Hustle in a lucrative eight-figure deal.

Ep 375 Inside HubSpot's Surprising Acquisition of the Hustle with Founder, Sam Parr

In 2003, Ron Holt founded Two Maids & a Mop, a residential cleaning business. Thanks to an innovative employee bonus plan, Holt was able to grow his business to 12 company-owned locations. 

That’s when a random encounter with Fred DeLuca, the founder of Subway, changed Holt’s life forever. Deluca gave Holt the inspiration and a roadmap for franchising his business which Holt used to grow Two Maids & a Mop from 12 to 91 locations across the United States and $40 million in revenue.

In 2021, eager to pursue the next chapter in his life, Holt began exploring selling Two Maids & a Mop. A short time after, JM Family Enterprises acquired the business in a lucrative deal valued at well over ten times EBITDA.

Ep 376 How to Get Your Employees to Act Like Owners with the Founder of Two Maids & a Mop, Ron Holt

Rachel Elsts Downey is the founder of Share Your Genius, a podcast production company that has been helping businesses increase their brand visibility since 2017. Over the years, Share Your Genius has grown into a successful business, generating $500,000 in revenue by 2021.

That’s when Downey was approached by one of her clients with an offer to acquire her business. The client wanted to hire Downey and saw the acquisition of Share Your Genius as the best way to recruit her. After some deliberation, Downey accepted the offer and agreed to be "acquihired". This deal valued Share Your Genius in the mid-six figures and provided Downey with cash for her business, a secure salary, bonuses, and some equity in the acquiring company.

Ep 377 From Startup to Acquihire: One Founder's Journey with Rachel Elsts Downey

In 2015, Brad Lorge founded Premonition, a technology company that offers logistics software to streamline a company’s delivery operations. Rather than the traditional approach of financing their start-up through rounds of dilutive funding, Lorge asked his customers to pre-pay, allowing the founding team to retain 80% of the equity in their business. 

By March 2022, Premonition had grown to $3 million in Annual Contract Value (ACV) which is when it was acquired by Shippit for $20.5 million -- an implied valuation of just under 7 times ACV.

Ep 378 How to Keep More Equity by Getting Customers to Fund Your Growth with Brad Lorge

In 2013 Mac Lackey licensed the FC Barcelona name to offer soccer camps and immersion trips to young athletes in the United States. 

Lackey grew the business to over $10 million in revenue before accepting a lucrative buyout offer that included various desirable benefits for sports fans.

Ep 379 Market Value vs. Personal Value with Mac Lackey

Kyle Scott launched Crossing Broad, a Philadelphia sports blog, in 2009. His irreverent and edgy writing style gained a significant following among Philly sports fans, resulting in thousands of daily readers. However, it wasn't until the 2018 Supreme Court ruling lifted the ban on sports betting in the US that the business flourished.

To capitalize on the ruling, Scott merged Crossing Broad with Warwick Gaming into CBWG, which owned and operated several popular sports and gambling websites. The company instantly became the largest independently owned US sports betting affiliate marketing network, generating $5 million in annual revenue. 

In 2020, Ten months after joining forces, XLMedia acquired CBWG for $12 million in cash, $8 million worth of XLMedia shares, and the potential for another $9.5 million tied to a three-year earn-out.

Ep 380 The Power of Mergers: How Crossing Broad's Union with Warwick Gaming Led to a Lucrative Exit

In 2011, Tammer Kamel launched Quandl, a company that provided investors with data designed to give them a competitive trading edge. For example, Quandl offered subscriptions that let investors access private jet flight information for public companies as a predictor for M&A activity. 

By 2018, Quandl had grown to 75 employees. Kamel saw industry giants entering the space, but knowing the time and capital investment it would take to build a competitive offering, he believed they would prefer to acquire Quandl.

Kamel began shopping the business around, and shortly after, Nasdaq acquired Quandl for a life-changing sum.

Ep 381 Inside Nasdaq’s Acquisition of Quandl: Lessons on Timing and Negotiation for Entrepreneurs

Microsoft's recent announcement about integrating OpenAI's features into Microsoft 365 serves as a prime example of how finding a strategic acquirer for your company can bring significant benefits. 

In this special edition of Built to Sell Radio, we will explore five reasons why larger businesses acquire smaller ones and provide tips on how to make your company more attractive to potential strategic acquirers.

Ep 382 How to Attract a Strategic Acquirer for Your Business: 5 Proven Strategies

In 2016, Jeremy Parker co-founded Swag.com to offer branded promotional products for businesses. Parker and his team developed a powerful online platform that enables customers to order products through their unforgettable website.

Thanks to Swag.com's innovative approach and memorable domain name, the company generated $30 million in revenue by 2020. However, when Parker began to explore acquisition offers, potential buyers viewed Swag.com as just a distribution company, which is typically valued in low single digits of EBITDA.

Fortunately, Parker met the founder of Custom Ink, who recognized that Swag.com was more than just a traditional promotional products business - it was a technology company.

Ep 383 How to Avoid Getting Trapped in a Low Valuation Industry

Built to Sell Radio is a weekly podcast for business owners.  Each week, we ask a recently cashed out entrepreneur why they decided to sell, what they did right and what mistakes they made through the process of exiting their business.  Built to Sell Radio is the ultimate insider's guide to approaching the most important financial transaction of your life.  

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