Everything Stuart Fott said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Vertical SaaS products gain traction and distribution easier than broad tools
“So I've just learned from experience that if I'm selling a software product and I position it for everyone, It's harder to get traction. If I position it for a certain vertical, a lot easier to get traction more specifically from partners within the space.”
Fott: Reputation tools serve as an effective vertical SaaS wedge
“I always say the reputation tool is a great, you know, foot in the door, so the idea is, okay, you're a reputation company for gems. But then once you get your foot in the door, you start working with gyms, then hopefully you can find out different tools and f…”
Fott: Startup acquisitions usually go to the buyer easiest to work with
“So I think I think a lot of buyers really underestimate, like, you really should be cool to these sellers because there's lots of people looking at these deals, and, you know, at the end of the day, it usually comes down to whoever is the coolest and easiest t…”
Fott scaled a SaaS to $100k ARR and sold for $500k
“And so I went out kind of using my same playbook went and acquired about a hundred K and ARR and then listed it on acquire. And I think within like maybe 30 to 45 days sold that business for 500 K and, you know, it was a nice transaction and then kind of just …”
Fott: Roughly half of his 18 sold startups exceeded $100k revenue
“So above a 100,000 Probably out of the 18 that I've sold, probably about half of them.”
Stuart Fott contacts 20 current or prospective partners every day
“I just plug it into my phone. I have a cadence where every, every day I reach out to 20 either potential partners that I'm working with or Current partners that I'm working with are potential partners that I would like to work with, and depending on what stage…”
Fott: Micro-SaaS exits typically take 30–45 days and 20–30 buyer calls
“Usually it'll take me between 30 and 45 days from listing to closing, and then usually for each acquisition, I'll probably jump on, you know, 20 to 30 calls.”
Fott flies out to train buyers in person to win deals
“And yeah, I do think that it's helped me win, win some deals, is I'll get off my butt, jump on a plane, and go do a two or three day training with the buyer and kind of get face to face with them, and go over every part of the business, A to Z, and so they mak…”
Fott: Sweet spot for deal structure is down payment plus 90-day payout
“I am, I, at the end of the day, I, of course, I love all cash, but I do want to be flexible. And so usually for me, it's, you know, it's a little bit down and then maybe, you know, the rest over like a 90 day period. Is kind of the sweet spot.”
ACQUISITION STORIESLEDGER