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Jan 20, 2026 · 21m · startup-acquisition-stories

How Building in Public Turned Trust Into a Clean Exit

Andrew Gazdecki · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of Startup Acquisition Stories, host Andrew Gazdecki interviews Maxime, the founder of Blogbuster, who details his journey of building an AI-powered SEO tool in public and selling it on Acquire.com within eight months. The discussion covers low-cost validation strategies, buyer selection, due diligence, and founder psychology.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Andrew holds 23.9% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Andrew as informed peer 2.4 Guest teaching 2.0 Guest disagreement 0.1 Andrew pushing back 0.0
05100:0010:0020:000:24–2:35 · Andrew as informed peer 1/10 Welcoming Maxime and Founder Background Andrew warmly welcomes Maxime and prompts him to explain his product. Maxime explains the technical mechanics of AI SEO and prompt engineering for automated blogging.2:36–4:41 · Andrew as informed peer 1/10 Business Model and Building in Public on X Maxime details his strategy of posting daily on X and offering an unprofitable initial yearly price to quickly validate customer demand and build feedback loops.4:42–9:28 · Andrew as informed peer 2/10 Early Adopter Validation and the Snowball Effect Andrew affirms the psychological boost of early payments. Maxime explains his timeline and why hitting the ceiling of building in public prompted him to list on Acquire.9:29–12:10 · Andrew as informed peer 2/10 Selecting the Right Buyer and Ongoing Advisory Maxime explains how he filtered buyers by domain expertise and why the acquiring team preferred buying an active ecosystem over coding a tool from scratch.12:10–15:24 · Andrew as informed peer 4/10 Navigating Due Diligence and Establishing Mutual Trust Maxime candidly admits he hated due diligence because it feels like pure admin. Andrew validates this by sharing overarching acquisition patterns where mutual trust determines success.15:24–19:48 · Andrew as informed peer 6/10 Founder Advice on Buyer Vetting and Deal Focus Maxime provides advice on founder defocus when an LOI is signed. Andrew demonstrates strong domain expertise by detailing buyer vetting strategies including proof of funds and structured due diligence schedules.19:50–21:27 · Andrew as informed peer 1/10 Announcing Scale Pages and Final Thoughts Maxime introduces his upcoming programmatic SEO startup, Scale Pages. Andrew congratulates him and wraps up the interview on a positive note.0:24–2:35 · Guest teaching 2/10 Welcoming Maxime and Founder Background Andrew warmly welcomes Maxime and prompts him to explain his product. Maxime explains the technical mechanics of AI SEO and prompt engineering for automated blogging.2:36–4:41 · Guest teaching 3/10 Business Model and Building in Public on X Maxime details his strategy of posting daily on X and offering an unprofitable initial yearly price to quickly validate customer demand and build feedback loops.4:42–9:28 · Guest teaching 2/10 Early Adopter Validation and the Snowball Effect Andrew affirms the psychological boost of early payments. Maxime explains his timeline and why hitting the ceiling of building in public prompted him to list on Acquire.9:29–12:10 · Guest teaching 2/10 Selecting the Right Buyer and Ongoing Advisory Maxime explains how he filtered buyers by domain expertise and why the acquiring team preferred buying an active ecosystem over coding a tool from scratch.12:10–15:24 · Guest teaching 1/10 Navigating Due Diligence and Establishing Mutual Trust Maxime candidly admits he hated due diligence because it feels like pure admin. Andrew validates this by sharing overarching acquisition patterns where mutual trust determines success.15:24–19:48 · Guest teaching 2/10 Founder Advice on Buyer Vetting and Deal Focus Maxime provides advice on founder defocus when an LOI is signed. Andrew demonstrates strong domain expertise by detailing buyer vetting strategies including proof of funds and structured due diligence schedules.19:50–21:27 · Guest teaching 2/10 Announcing Scale Pages and Final Thoughts Maxime introduces his upcoming programmatic SEO startup, Scale Pages. Andrew congratulates him and wraps up the interview on a positive note.0:24–2:35 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Welcoming Maxime and Founder Background Andrew warmly welcomes Maxime and prompts him to explain his product. Maxime explains the technical mechanics of AI SEO and prompt engineering for automated blogging.2:36–4:41 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Business Model and Building in Public on X Maxime details his strategy of posting daily on X and offering an unprofitable initial yearly price to quickly validate customer demand and build feedback loops.4:42–9:28 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Early Adopter Validation and the Snowball Effect Andrew affirms the psychological boost of early payments. Maxime explains his timeline and why hitting the ceiling of building in public prompted him to list on Acquire.9:29–12:10 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Selecting the Right Buyer and Ongoing Advisory Maxime explains how he filtered buyers by domain expertise and why the acquiring team preferred buying an active ecosystem over coding a tool from scratch.12:10–15:24 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Navigating Due Diligence and Establishing Mutual Trust Maxime candidly admits he hated due diligence because it feels like pure admin. Andrew validates this by sharing overarching acquisition patterns where mutual trust determines success.15:24–19:48 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Founder Advice on Buyer Vetting and Deal Focus Maxime provides advice on founder defocus when an LOI is signed. Andrew demonstrates strong domain expertise by detailing buyer vetting strategies including proof of funds and structured due diligence schedules.19:50–21:27 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Announcing Scale Pages and Final Thoughts Maxime introduces his upcoming programmatic SEO startup, Scale Pages. Andrew congratulates him and wraps up the interview on a positive note.0:24–2:35 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Welcoming Maxime and Founder Background Andrew warmly welcomes Maxime and prompts him to explain his product. Maxime explains the technical mechanics of AI SEO and prompt engineering for automated blogging.2:36–4:41 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Business Model and Building in Public on X Maxime details his strategy of posting daily on X and offering an unprofitable initial yearly price to quickly validate customer demand and build feedback loops.4:42–9:28 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Early Adopter Validation and the Snowball Effect Andrew affirms the psychological boost of early payments. Maxime explains his timeline and why hitting the ceiling of building in public prompted him to list on Acquire.9:29–12:10 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Selecting the Right Buyer and Ongoing Advisory Maxime explains how he filtered buyers by domain expertise and why the acquiring team preferred buying an active ecosystem over coding a tool from scratch.12:10–15:24 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Navigating Due Diligence and Establishing Mutual Trust Maxime candidly admits he hated due diligence because it feels like pure admin. Andrew validates this by sharing overarching acquisition patterns where mutual trust determines success.15:24–19:48 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Founder Advice on Buyer Vetting and Deal Focus Maxime provides advice on founder defocus when an LOI is signed. Andrew demonstrates strong domain expertise by detailing buyer vetting strategies including proof of funds and structured due diligence schedules.19:50–21:27 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Announcing Scale Pages and Final Thoughts Maxime introduces his upcoming programmatic SEO startup, Scale Pages. Andrew congratulates him and wraps up the interview on a positive note.

speaking balance: gold is Andrew, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Andrew 17.9% · guest 82.1%0:00 · Andrew 17.9% · guest 82.1%3:00 · Andrew 18.6% · guest 81.4%3:00 · Andrew 18.6% · guest 81.4%6:00 · Andrew 10.8% · guest 89.2%6:00 · Andrew 10.8% · guest 89.2%9:00 · Andrew 24.5% · guest 75.5%9:00 · Andrew 24.5% · guest 75.5%12:00 · Andrew 30.2% · guest 69.8%12:00 · Andrew 30.2% · guest 69.8%15:00 · Andrew 30.8% · guest 69.2%15:00 · Andrew 30.8% · guest 69.2%18:00 · Andrew 34.2% · guest 65.8%18:00 · Andrew 34.2% · guest 65.8%21:00 · Andrew 26% · guest 74%21:00 · Andrew 26% · guest 74%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:15 Maxime bluntly dismisses due diligence value

Maxime emphatically rejects the idea that due diligence is enjoyable, calling it pure admin that generates zero intrinsic value.

 Hardest push from Andrew ▶ 15:35 Andrew prompts Maxime to narrow founder advice

When Maxime hesitates on advice, Andrew intervenes to provide concrete framing around buyer vetting and transaction preparation.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 17:11 Maxime educates on founder mental defocus during sale talks

Maxime teaches listeners and the host about the hidden psychological risk of mentally closing a startup's chapter before a deal is legally final.

 Andrew holds their own ▶ 18:11 Andrew shares marketplace playbook on vetting buyers

Andrew demonstrates deep M&A marketplace expertise by explaining how to vet buyer liquidity through bank statements and enforce a weekly diligence schedule.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicAndrew as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementAndrew pushing backWhy
Welcoming Maxime and Founder Background 1200 Andrew warmly welcomes Maxime and prompts him to explain his product. Maxime explains the technical mechanics of AI SEO and prompt engineering for automated blogging.
Business Model and Building in Public on X 1300 Maxime details his strategy of posting daily on X and offering an unprofitable initial yearly price to quickly validate customer demand and build feedback loops.
Early Adopter Validation and the Snowball Effect 2200 Andrew affirms the psychological boost of early payments. Maxime explains his timeline and why hitting the ceiling of building in public prompted him to list on Acquire.
Selecting the Right Buyer and Ongoing Advisory 2200 Maxime explains how he filtered buyers by domain expertise and why the acquiring team preferred buying an active ecosystem over coding a tool from scratch.
Navigating Due Diligence and Establishing Mutual Trust 4110 Maxime candidly admits he hated due diligence because it feels like pure admin. Andrew validates this by sharing overarching acquisition patterns where mutual trust determines success.
Founder Advice on Buyer Vetting and Deal Focus 6200 Maxime provides advice on founder defocus when an LOI is signed. Andrew demonstrates strong domain expertise by detailing buyer vetting strategies including proof of funds and structured due diligence schedules.
Announcing Scale Pages and Final Thoughts 1200 Maxime introduces his upcoming programmatic SEO startup, Scale Pages. Andrew congratulates him and wraps up the interview on a positive note.

Statements from this episode (2)

Insight
Gazdecki: All bad acquisitions stem from buyers and sellers not getting along
“Based on all the acquisitions I've seen, the bad ones are usually when the buyer and seller, they don't get along. Almost all of them. Actually, all of them. And then the best ones are, you know, buyer and seller get along, meaning They're on the same page. Th…”
Andrew Gazdecki Jan 20, 2026 ▶ 13:02
Insight
Gazdecki: Sellers should ask buyers for bank statements and diligence schedules
“It's completely appropriate to ask buyers if they have the cash or to show you a bank statement and stuff like that. Or just asking for what we call a due diligence schedule.”
Andrew Gazdecki Jan 20, 2026 ▶ 18:34
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