Ask HN: I Want To Buy a $1k-5k/yr SAAS Business. Where Do I Start?

9 pointsTerpaholic12y ago7 comments

Flippa has been okay for browsing niche websites, but I'm interested in buying a SAAS business and there doesn't seem to be much on the market.

Are there any other good places to look for buying a small (like $1K-$5K in revenue/yr) SAAS business? Do you have any caveats?

7 comments

tocomment12y ago

By the way flippa seems to be getting worse and worse though I can't really put my finger on why.

I find the sites for sale on flippa to be overpriced. They seem to go for 18 months profit (or more) for an ad supported site that could lose most of its traffic in the next google update.

TerpaholicOP12y ago

Definitely, it seems like there's also more spammish/sketchy sites without solid revenue (people pump and dump).

I'm definitely not looking for ad-supported type stuff - I really want to work on a SAAS funnel :D

Finding a niche and establishing traffic and then getting conversions is quite time consuming and prone to failure - I'd rather pay a premium for removing that from the equation and then work on expanding the funnel ^.^

itstripe12y ago

I can rent you software which enables you to start your own SMS selling business. An example of such service can be found here: https://www.cheapsms.eu

Product features list can be found here: http://www.itstripe.com/smpp-server

tocomment12y ago

I think a lot of people would be interested in buying such businesses. I really don't know where you'd find them though.

One thought I had would be a once per month "who's selling" hacker news post for people to list businesses for sale. Similar to the who's hiring. If you like the idea maybe go ahead and post it on 11/1?

TerpaholicOP12y ago

Sure, sounds like a solid idea. Heck I have some iPhone apps that I might want to sell :)

skram12y ago

Have you tried https://www.sideprojectors.com/project/home ? Made by a fellow HN'er if I remember correctly.

benologist12y ago

http://flippa.com/

Make sure the revenue is sustainable and recurring without the original person(s).

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

7 comments

tocomment12y ago

By the way flippa seems to be getting worse and worse though I can't really put my finger on why.

I find the sites for sale on flippa to be overpriced. They seem to go for 18 months profit (or more) for an ad supported site that could lose most of its traffic in the next google update.

TerpaholicOP12y ago

Definitely, it seems like there's also more spammish/sketchy sites without solid revenue (people pump and dump).

I'm definitely not looking for ad-supported type stuff - I really want to work on a SAAS funnel :D

itstripe12y ago

I can rent you software which enables you to start your own SMS selling business. An example of such service can be found here: https://www.cheapsms.eu

Product features list can be found here: http://www.itstripe.com/smpp-server

tocomment12y ago

I think a lot of people would be interested in buying such businesses. I really don't know where you'd find them though.

TerpaholicOP12y ago

Sure, sounds like a solid idea. Heck I have some iPhone apps that I might want to sell :)

skram12y ago

Have you tried https://www.sideprojectors.com/project/home ? Made by a fellow HN'er if I remember correctly.

benologist12y ago

http://flippa.com/

Make sure the revenue is sustainable and recurring without the original person(s).

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse