I Sold my Startup On Acquire.com And This Is What Happened

Just to let you know – this post is not sponsored nor am I an affiliate of Acquire.com, just someone with a great experience that I wanted to share! 

A letter to my friends, on their journey to financial independence and retiring early,

Table of Contents

• What is Acquire.com?
• Who Founded Acquire.com?
• Why Did I go with Acquire.com?
• Acquire.com: How Does It Work?
• The process of selling my online supplement store on Acquire.com
• The Next steps: Negotiations
• Acquire.com Aftercare
• In Conclusion

I’m grateful that the universe has led you to this corner of the world. If you’re here, you’re likely an online business owner who has spent years building your enterprise. Whether you’re just curious about selling or ready to move on and attain financial independence, you’re in the right place.

Here on this blog, I hone in on starting your own business or side hustle to secure financial independence and retire early.

Owning a business is a little like nurturing a garden. You plant the seeds, you water them, you watch them grow, 

Maybe you’ve built a wonderful online store, and you’ve nurtured it from its infancy. But you might also feel that you’re not the right person to take it to the next level. And that’s okay. There’s a beautiful wisdom in recognizing when it’s time to step aside.

So, how about selling your business? It’s not about giving up; it’s about moving forward. It’s about buying your dream house, or perhaps investing in a new dream altogether.

In this article, I’ll be sharing my experience of selling my startup on Acquire.com. 

The world of online brokerages and selling your beloved store can be confusing and stressful, with brokers often giving advice that you may not agree with.

Today I’d like to share the surprisingly stress-free story of how I sold my startup ItReallyWorksVitamins.com  on Acquire.com. (If you’d like to hear about all the steps I took to set up my online supplement store, you’ll find that here.)

I’ve also shared this story on my youtube channel 👇🏾  But here on the FIRE blog, I wanted to go into a little more depth 🥰

There’s no shortage of brokerage platforms and independent brokers who can provide valuable advice to those interested in selling their startup.  With so many options to choose from, it’s important to do your research and find a reputable and trustworthy partner to help guide you through the process.

What is Acquire.com?

Acquire.com is a platform for startups to list all their information and attract potential buyers. Acquire.com was formerly called microacquire.com  Acquire.com is free for buyers to view listings under $250k. For listings over this price, they charge these fees. 

Earlier this year, Acquire.com altered its terms. Previously, they did not take a commission from sellers when their startup was successfully acquired. Now, sellers pay a 4% commission of the selling price to Acquire.com. Acquire promise lots of support in company valuation and creating an attractive listing, in order to ensure the best possible price.

Who Founded Acquire.com?

Andrew Gazdecki is a prominent figure in the digital entrepreneurship landscape, best known as the founder of Acquire.com. With a keen sense for business innovation and a passion for helping startups, Gazdecki has solidified his reputation as a thought leader in the online brokerage space. From my own personal experience, Gazdecki has created a platform that eases the process of buying and selling businesses.

I interviewed Andrew up on my Youtube channel – he’s had an inspiring story and it’s well worth a watch! He offers some stellar advice on how to scale up your startup and sell for the best possible price. 

Why Did I go with Acquire.com?

I shopped around.  A few features of Acquire.com appealed to me. 

1. There is no need to be exclusive. Unlike other brokers who can ask for anything up to a year’s exclusivity, this wasn’t necessary with Acquire.com.
2. It’s free! Acquire.com don’t take any commission or charge fees. (For buyers’ there is a fee to unlock information about businesses for sale)
3. As they don’t charge fees for sellers, there are no high-pressure sales tactics.
4. You manage the conversations: the buyers contact you directly: there is no middle-man (unless you want one: there are independent brokers on hand who have partnered with Acquire.com that can come in and assist with the deal)
5. Change your mind? If you just don’t feel it’s the right time to sell after all, there’s no pressure to stay: there won’t be a barrage of sales calls.

Acquire.com: How Does It Work?

 It may seem daunting to navigate the process of selling your business without a broker, but acquire.com makes it unbelievably easy. 

Simply fill out your information on their website: within 24 hours your listing will be live. Acquire.com connects all your revenue data from Stripe, and you and your buyers can easily access all relevant information and revenue from the last few months from your store, straight onto the platform. Once listed, you have the option to enable a setting that allows buyers to reach out and ask any questions they may have.

The process was straightforward and hassle-free. After being listed, you’ll be assigned a contact at acquire.com who will review your information and ask any relevant questions. 

The process of selling my online supplement store on Acquire.com

Okay, let’s dive in! On your seller dashboard, there are two settings: a more open setting, where buyers can automatically see all of the information that you provide or you can opt for a greater level of privacy, where buyers have to click for more information: I preferred the second setting, rather than just seeing everything,  I could then kind of vet the buyers before I start giving over lots and lots of information.

Buyers often share some of their background information and a link to their LinkedIn page: Also, if you don’t like the look of their LinkedIn page you just don’t have to communicate with them.

Within 24 hours I was inundated with potential buyers asking for more information.  I can’t believe how fast the whole process was for buyers to reach out to me and schedule Zoom calls.

From my research, when you’re looking at selling a startup, authorities in this area advise you to give yourself six months to a year: it could be a long time and don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen: not all startups sell. There are a lot of miserable statistics about the number of small businesses that will never sell.

Okay!  I signed up with Acquire.com with a degree of anticipation that my store would be listed there for a few months with zero enquiries. 

To my sheer glee, within the first few weeks, I received three offers that were all at the asking price or above.  I went to the buyer and I felt that I had a nice connection: he has a real vision for the brand and also he doesn’t want to change very much about it. It was also a plus point that the buyer was from here in The UK.

The Next steps: Negotiations

After deciding the selling price, we went into contract negotiations and he completed due diligence on my company. Once he was happy, the transfer of the sale proceeds took place using escrow.com 

I have a handy little how-to on how to use Escrow.com to sell your online store here 

Overall, selling my startup on Acquire.com was a comparatively fast process from March to June: it was much faster than I anticipated, which is quite nice, you don’t really want a process like this to drag on and to start to feel stressed and pessimistic.

So yeah, it’s been great! I’m excited about what he’s going to be doing with the brand and where he’s going to take it.  Check out my full interview with Callam here!

Acquire.com Aftercare

Once I sold my store I received a personal congratulatory email from the founder of Acquire.com, Andrew Gazdecki!

In Conclusion

Dear friends, as you tread the path to financial independence and dream of early retirement, remember that each journey is unique, just like each business we build. Selling a business can be as emotional as building one. But, just as I found solace and success in Acquire.com, so too might you find your way in this vast digital marketplace. Always ensure you align with platforms and partners that resonate with your values and vision. My story is a testament that when you trust the process and do your due diligence, you can transition smoothly from one dream to the next.

Whether you’re selling, buying, or simply nurturing your online venture, embrace every moment, cherish every lesson, and most importantly, always move forward. 

Thank you for letting me share my journey with you. Remember to keep your dreams alive and never stop learning. Stay connected, join our community, and let’s grow together in the ever-evolving world of online entrepreneurship. Until next time, sending you waves of inspiration and success. 🌟🚀

I look forward to seeing you next time! If you haven’t yet joined my mailing list – you can link with me below – I send a little letter to you once every couple of weeks, to keep you inspired and motivated.

Stay well dear friends, and I’ll see you next time. 

Bye, for now, 😍xx