Startup Idea: iOS app for buying/selling small businesses

1 points by xevoth 2y ago ↗ HN

I am building an iOS app that is essentially a marketplace for buyers and sellers of small businesses. We will classify a small business here as a business with revenue under $20M.

Could be software, a bakery, salon, laundromat (this is a weird word), etc.

Reason for building this: I recently had the thought of purchasing a business and found the current solutions/websites sucked tit.

It feels like the world of business brokering is esoteric and gatekept for whatever. I basically want to make it accessible or at least aspirational for people to be business owners. For those who need to sell their business, it should be simple and the owner should be able to find the right buyer with ease while avoiding insane brokerage fees.

I feel you could make it “cool” to be a business owner and diversify income. In the way that AirBnB made staying somewhere cool and easy.

I feel through services like plaid, Online verification, a clean interface and financial API’s, you make this process easier…or maybe not.

Wdyt? Fuck it or ship it?

2 comments

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stop50 2y ago ↗

as an business owner: would you give your business to an unknown person, which only contacted you because of an obscure app? Especially since they want that the company still exists after they sell it. Regulations in some countries can also ban certain buyers. They can only own a certain amount of businesses or/and have certain credentials. In these cases they get the opportunities by mouth propaganda or sort of an promotion.

xevoth 2y ago ↗

Good questions and points. Thanks for taking the time. The core focus of this app, at least for v1, would be discoverability. Have some simple vetting on the buyer side before they can inquire about a business they may be interested in, some basic income verification, some sort of bio, id verification, etc. Same with the business. By the nature of either party being on the platform, there would be an inherit sense of legitimacy.

There would not be a “buy now” button or whatever. But rather a way for a potential buyer to inquire about a business. Kind of like match making in a sense. The seller could look at their profile/message and ignore it or entertain it.

A better version of buybizsell.com at its core.

Does that answer your question or no?