Andrew Gazdecki on the best way to sell your indie SaaS business

Summary of Andrew Gazdecki on the best way to sell your indie SaaS business

by James McKinven

16m•October 30, 2025
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Overview of "Andrew Gazdecki on the best way to sell your indie SaaS business" (IndieBytes, host James McKinven)

This episode features Andrew Gazdecki (founder of Acquire, formerly MicroAcquire), who shares practical advice for indie founders on building, preparing and selling bootstrapped SaaS businesses. Andrew draws on his experience bootstrapping to $10M ARR, selling to private equity, running the largest startup acquisition marketplace, and writing Getting Acquired. The conversation covers market trends (including AI-driven product creation), buyer types, valuation drivers, sale readiness checklist, growth and pricing tactics, and emotional considerations when exiting.

Key takeaways

  • The best-selling indie SaaS businesses usually have predictable recurring revenue, healthy growth, and profitability—aim for a few hundred thousand ARR as a practical "sweet spot."
  • Buyers value revenue quality, predictability and growth rate more than labels (SaaS gets a premium because of recurring revenue).
  • Do the boring work: clean bookkeeping, documented processes, and clear financials are critical and create most of the exit value.
  • Prepare simple, high-impact materials before listing: a 3–5 minute intro video, P&L, marketing materials and a buyer FAQ—these take little time but significantly improve buyer trust.
  • Build strategic relationships with potential acquirers if you target corporate buyers, but a marketplace (Acquire) opens access to private equity, high-net-worth individuals and family offices.
  • Pricing & customer selection matter: start with customers who have budget and price higher (e.g., ~$50+/mo) rather than chasing tiny $5–$20 payments that require huge volumes.
  • Focus on customer payback period (target <60 days, ideally <30) to enable fast reinvestment of cash into growth—consider annual upfront payments.
  • Podcasts are an underrated marketing channel: interview customers/experts, repurpose clips for social, and use it to build relationships and content.

Preparing to sell — practical checklist

  • Legal / tax setup
    • Consider QSBS (C-corp) early: hold five years to potentially exclude gains (first $10M) from taxes.
  • Financials
    • Clean P&L and easy-to-understand financial statements.
    • Solid bookkeeping and metrics (MRR/ARR, churn, LTV:CAC, growth rates).
  • Operations & documentation
    • Document processes for support, marketing, onboarding—makes handoff easier and reveals improvement opportunities.
  • Sales & marketing artifacts
    • Provide marketing materials, case studies and evidence of traction.
  • Seller materials that move buyers faster
    • 3–5 minute intro video: product overview, why selling, growth opportunities.
    • FAQ or presentation addressing common buyer questions (can replace first discovery call).
  • Listing strategy
    • If targeting strategic acquirers (large tech firms), start relationship-building early.
    • If not, marketplaces like Acquire open a larger pool of financial buyers.

Valuation & who buys

  • Multiples are driven by:
    • Growth rate (fast growth = much higher multiples).
    • Quality and predictability of revenue (recurring SaaS revenue favored).
    • Profitability and customer metrics.
  • Typical buyer types:
    • Strategic buyers (large tech companies) — rare but high-profile.
    • Financial buyers on marketplaces: private equity, individual buyers, high-net-worth individuals, family offices.
  • Sweet spot:
    • Several hundred thousand ARR (profitable) is an excellent place to attract multiple offers without desperation.
    • Millions ARR can yield larger deals, but raises the question of whether to push for more growth vs. selling.

Growth, pricing and go-to-market advice

  • Pricing & customer targeting
    • Prefer customers with budget; avoid ultra-low price points that require enormous volume.
    • Aim for $50+/mo customers or higher to make acquisition economics reasonable.
  • Unit economics
    • Shorten customer payback period (<60 days, ideally <30) so you can rapidly reinvest and scale.
    • Encourage annual upfront payments to recycle cash for marketing.
  • Acquisition channels
    • Podcasts: create your own show, invite customers/experts, repurpose episodes into social clips and content—high ROI for relationship building and credibility.
    • Organic content and consistent posting; pick channels you enjoy and can sustain.
  • Market timing and execution both matter:
    • Rapidly growing markets (or superior GTM execution in existing markets) can produce outsized multiples.

Market trends & cautions

  • AI and "vibe-coded" projects:
    • AI tools have lowered build costs and enabled many founders to rapidly prototype products—this increases supply, especially pre-revenue projects, making them harder to sell without traction.
    • Pre-revenue projects flooded the market and often struggle to fetch meaningful exit prices.
  • The hard part remains: finding customers, doing sales and marketing, and running the business—not just building an app.

Notable anecdotes & quotes

  • Anecdote: A buyer bought an invoicing tool for $5–10K, used it as an MVP to pitch investors, and the resulting company later reached a multi-hundred-million valuation.
  • Quote: "Most of the value that you're going to create is going to come doing the boring stuff."
  • QSBS tip: Structuring as a C-corp and holding 5 years can yield major tax benefits on a sale.

Recommended resources Andrew shared

  • Book: From Impossible to Inevitable — Aaron Ross & Jason Lemkin
  • Podcast: All-In Podcast (Andrew enjoys the mix of tech and politics)
  • Entrepreneur he admires: Jack Dorsey

Quick action list for founders who want to sell within 1–3 years

  • Clean up bookkeeping and standardize financial reports.
  • Document support/marketing/onboarding processes.
  • Make a 3–5 minute intro video and an FAQ/presentation for buyers.
  • Consider C-corp/QSBS if your exit horizon is 5+ years.
  • Revisit pricing and target customers who can pay $50+/mo or annual plans.
  • Reduce customer payback period (aim <60 days; ideally <30).
  • Start relationship-building with strategic buyers if you have a specific target; otherwise list on a marketplace to reach financial buyers.
  • Launch a lightweight podcast to build relationships, content and credibility.

This summary captures the practical, non‑glamorous steps Andrew emphasizes: prepare clean fundamentals, focus on predictable revenue and growth, and put a few simple pieces of marketing and documentation in place to dramatically improve your chances of a smooth, valuable exit.