Solo Founder, No Employees, Exits for $1m+ Keeps 100%
Feb 20, 2024
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Learn about Martin Webb's journey from game development to SaaS success with todoDesk, a company he sold for $1m+. Get insights on rejecting offers, tracking valuation, and the advantages of being a solo founder. Discover how to build, sell, and value a business as a solo founder while also balancing family life.
Targeting specific industries can lead to substantial valuations for solo founders.
Personal sales efforts and user retention are crucial in building and selling software companies.
Deep dives
Building a SAS Work Order and Workflow Automation Platform
Martin Webb shares his experience of building todoDesk.com, a SAS work order and workflow automation platform. He discusses how the platform helps manufacturing and repair businesses, such as music repair shops or powder coating shops, manage their projects and streamline processes. Martin highlights the importance of targeting specific industries, but also mentions that the platform is beneficial for any kind of manufacturing or repair business. He explains the comprehensive features and benefits of todoDesk, including estimating, invoicing, job management, customer communication, and workflow management. Martin emphasizes the value of personal sales efforts and user retention, along with the lesson that a smaller number of customers can still lead to a substantial valuation.
Martin's Solo Entrepreneurial Journey
Martin shares his background as a solo entrepreneur since the age of 12, when he started making video games. He discusses his experience in the gaming industry and how he eventually transitioned to building SAS companies. Martin explains that he initially developed todoDesk as a solution for his own restoration company in the UK. He highlights the significance of phone calls and personal sales efforts in acquiring customers for a SAS product, challenging the notion that the product will automatically attract users through online marketing. Martin also mentions the benefits of tools like FoundersPath and Stripe for evaluating revenue and company valuation.
Selling the Company and Maximizing Value
Martin discusses the process of selling todoDesk and shares valuable insights into negotiating deals and maximizing value as a solo founder. He highlights the importance of selecting the right buyer who aligns with the vision for the product's future and offers a good deal. Martin reveals that he rejected previous offers before finding the right buyer, and he explains the different structures of payment terms he encountered, including all-cash upfront and monthly payments over a period of time. He also emphasizes the significance of building a product in an industry where equity companies are actively seeking software businesses, as this can lead to higher valuations and acquisition opportunities. Martin concludes by highlighting the value of building and selling businesses as a solo founder, even if it may not always result in immediate substantial returns, and he shares his future plans to build and sell more companies.
Launched in 2016 selling software to Music Repair Shops, TudoDesk exited for $1m+. This is the low stress, high wealth way to build a software company. TC won't write about you, but it doesn't matter, you'll get wealthy fast!
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