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You don't. SaaS businesses come in 2 variants: 1. Failed product market fit. These will be for sale, but you won't want to buy them because operating them will

You don't. SaaS businesses come in 2 variants: 1. Failed product market fit. These will be for sale, but you won't want to buy them because operating them will cost more than the revenue they produce. 2. The market likes the product. In this case, the original owner can just hire people to do the work, so there's no reason to sell.

tjbiddle 6y ago
Completely false. People buy and sell SAAS businesses all the time. 1. Sure, bad businesses exist. When they do, they're priced accordingly or just can't find a buyer. 2. It's called an exit for a reason. There are million reasons to exit (eg: Big life event, wanting to cash out and invest elsewhere, bored of the business, have other projects, etc, etc, etc.) Just because someone is selling a business does not mean it's a bad business. I say this as someone who acquires and grows online (e-com) businesses as my primary wealth vehicle.
- amarghose 6y ago
  100% I had no idea you were on Hacker News, TJ, what a welcome surprise
amarghose 6y ago
There are lots of great reasons to buy SaaS businesses. Failed product market fit, for example, does not mean that creators tried everything they could. If you're a marketer (or already have an audience) buying a product is a great idea. Lots of people also sell good SaaS products because they have others that have taken off (I bought one last year from someone who got funding from YC on another project, for example). "The market likes the product. In this case, the original owner can just hire people to do the work, so there's no reason to sell." is also flawed. Do you have any idea how many developers/creators hate the idea (and reality) of hiring and managing people? Plenty would prefer to cash in and go back to building and let someone else build a team.
- BelenusMordred 6y ago
  I'd add that there's plenty of talented people who can easily build and execute an idea well, but struggle so badly with the business side. Have been guilty of this myself and seen so many overconfident devs who think they can manage it once they "get there" despite the entirely different skillset that's required for the role. Someone who can do both at the same time is incredibly rare.

tjbiddle 6y ago

Completely false. People buy and sell SAAS businesses all the time. 1. Sure, bad businesses exist. When they do, they're priced accordingly or just can't find a buyer. 2. It's called an exit for a reason. There are million reasons to exit (eg: Big life event, wanting to cash out and invest elsewhere, bored of the business, have other projects, etc, etc, etc.) Just because someone is selling a business does not mean it's a bad business. I say this as someone who acquires and grows online (e-com) businesses as my primary wealth vehicle.

amarghose 6y ago
100% I had no idea you were on Hacker News, TJ, what a welcome surprise

amarghose 6y ago

There are lots of great reasons to buy SaaS businesses. Failed product market fit, for example, does not mean that creators tried everything they could. If you're a marketer (or already have an audience) buying a product is a great idea. Lots of people also sell good SaaS products because they have others that have taken off (I bought one last year from someone who got funding from YC on another project, for example). "The market likes the product. In this case, the original owner can just hire people to do the work, so there's no reason to sell." is also flawed. Do you have any idea how many developers/creators hate the idea (and reality) of hiring and managing people? Plenty would prefer to cash in and go back to building and let someone else build a team.

BelenusMordred 6y ago
I'd add that there's plenty of talented people who can easily build and execute an idea well, but struggle so badly with the business side. Have been guilty of this myself and seen so many overconfident devs who think they can manage it once they "get there" despite the entirely different skillset that's required for the role. Someone who can do both at the same time is incredibly rare.