Ask HN: how to sell an early stage startup?

10 points by jaddison 15y ago ↗ HN

I'm part of a startup that hasn't got the founders' interest anymore, so we're looking to sell off the company with all of its technology assets.

The assets include the source code (obviously) for both the web API and site as well as additional user software created for the desktop. Of course, the existing userbase is included.

What are some methods used to sell small enterprises such as this? What caveats are there to consider? I know that this topic has been raised before but the answers have mostly covered website-only sales (without software).

Are there brokerages as well as online 'auction' sites?

Thanks in advance.

3 comments

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TomK32 15y ago ↗

Are there competitioners in your field? They'd be the obvious buyers for your startup. If your software is really superior they might even consider it as a replacement for their existing software.

scottyallen 15y ago ↗

You might consider listing it on flippa.com. Flippa is a popular place to sell web properties, but typically focuses on smaller sales (most are in the tens of thousands of dollars, at best). I've heard anecdotally that most sellers can expect to get 1-3x yearly revenue.

flipfilter 15y ago ↗

If you have a significant asset in the software, I'd advise using a broker, who will probably have a specialised client list. There's a full list of brokers here - http://www.flipfilter.com/blog/2010/10/01/how-to-find-websit...