I acquired a SaaS!

Show Bootstrapped
#1

I’ve signed the contract, I’ve paid the money, and the assets have been transferred. So I can now announce that I’ve acquired Saber Feedback, a SaaS (software-as-a-service) product.

With Saber Feedback you can add a feedback widget to any website. Revenue is currently about $4,000/month.

Why acquire this product?

I’ve long wanted to take over an existing, underperforming business and see if I can improve it. Because I recently sold an app, I had the funds to finally do this.

I first heard of Saber on this forum. The previous owner, Matt, appeared in our discussions from time to time. He openly blogged about his progress over the years, and I followed along.

Eventually Saber’s growth levelled off and Matt took a full-time job. Some months ago I contacted Matt to see if he was interested in selling. It turns out that he was, and so we reached an agreement.

Saber was especially attractive to me because it is complementary to my existing SaaS product, Feature Upvote. Both make it easy to get feedback from customers, but in different ways.

Follow my journey with Saber Feedback

Once the Bootstrapped podcast starts up again, I intend to describe my ongoing journey with Saber. This includes being reasonably open with the financials, at least for a while.

11 Likes
#2

That’s excellent news!

I’ve been following Matt’s progress for years, so it’ll be interesting to hear how things go with the product on your podcast.

Good luck, hope it proves a good companion to Feature Upvote.

1 Like
#3

Hi @SteveMcLeod ,
Great news. I’ve been following Matt’s excellent blog. His writing was really good and transparent.
Good luck with the product.

By the way, have you considered undoing the name change from bugmuncher to saberfeedback? I think the former name had a lot going for it.

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#4

Congrats! Eager to hear about how this develops.

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#5

Thanks!

I did think about changing the name back, but Matt told me an important reason for why he changed it to Saber.

“Bugmuncher” is just one letter away from a slang word that some people might not appreciate. Not a problem when writing it, but when speaking it, on a podcast for example, it could be misheard… :man_shrugging:

#6

Thanks Justin! If Saber Feedback is even half as successful as Transistor.fm I’ll be happy…

#7

Interesting that I wasn’t the only one around these parts following Matt’s progress!

From Matt’s blog I began to suspect he might want to sell. He blogged that he had taken a full time job and then he skipped the monthly updates a few times. I thought it was worth asking if he had thought about selling. Turns out he was indeed thinking about it.

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#8

Congratulations! A bold move in these crazy days for sure. Are you going to be [eventually] merging Saber Feedback with a Feature Upvote?

#9

Thanks!

I made the acquisition offer when things were not so crazy, and I probably would not do the same if I was starting right now.

Are you going to be [eventually] merging Saber Feedback with a Feature Upvote?

It is not in my plans yet, but who knows? I’ll wait at least six months before making any substantial product decisions for Saber Feedback.

#10

Looks like a great product. Having said that I spent a few minutes browsing the site and I am not sure what it does. Is it for users to get reviews or like a live chat kind of thing. Then I saw it also collects JS errors and thought it was a dev tool of some sort. I think the website messaging can be clearer.

#11

Thanks for the feedback.

It gives your website a feedback widget.

The messaging definitely needs an overhaul, and that’s my first priority. Ironically the unclear messaging was a big plus for me when deciding to acquire Saber Feedback. I felt I could make some good improvements quite easily.

#12

Congratulations Steve! How nervous were you about pulling the trigger?

I started acquiring internet businesses last year with a partner and it’s been quite a fun ride. The profit range we are looking at is a bit higher (starting from 100k, up to 1 to 2 million per year), but we have gotten to know many talented founders and what drives them.

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#13

That’s a question that reveals you have experience with acquisitions! :slight_smile:

The time I was most nervous was when I transferred the money. Until then I was surprisingly relaxed.

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#14

Sounds like we had a similar experience then. :slight_smile:

For our first acquisition we transferred a 7 figure sum. I think the moment between transferring that money and then finally knowing whether you bought the thing you thought you were buying got us quite nervous.

But in the end we did our homework before we acquired the business, all went well, and it was a great deal for all the parties involved. Given this experience we’re interested in buying more businesses.

I think you acquired a nice business at a good price. Very curious how it’ll turn out in the future!

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#15

Congratulations! All the best wishes for this new adventure :raised_hands:

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#16

Congrats and good luck!

I was also following Saber’s progress at the beginning but kind of forgot it for a while. I was then surprised that the founder decided to take a full time job.

You do need to document your journey!

1 Like