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Aug 22, 2024 · 18m · startup-acquisition-stories

Startup Acquisition Stories Podcast With Guilhermo Oenning, Founder of Fider

Guilhermo Oenning · 12m spoken Andrew Gazdecki · 3m 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, software engineer Guilhermo 'Guy' Oenning details how he built, monetized, and successfully sold his customer feedback micro-SaaS, Fider, on Acquire.com within four weeks. Guy shares practical advice on portfolio streamlining, buyer due diligence, and reinvesting acquisition proceeds into his next software ventures.

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 18.7% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Andrew as informed peer 3.4 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 0.6 Andrew pushing back 0.2
05100:0010:000:24–3:12 · Andrew as informed peer 3/10 Meet Guy Oenning: Software Engineering Background and Leap Gazdecki opens with standard introductory questions about Oenning's software engineering background and the origins of Fider. Oenning explains his motivation to learn a new tech stack by building an open-source alternative to UserVoice.3:13–5:13 · Andrew as informed peer 3/10 Explaining Fider Mechanics and Finding Initial Users on Reddit Gazdecki asks Oenning to explain UserVoice and how Fider gained initial traction. Oenning educates listeners on feedback portals functioning like Reddit for product features and gently clarifies the audience distinction when Gazdecki draws a parallel.5:14–9:41 · Andrew as informed peer 4/10 Monetizing Fider and Operating the Business on Autopilot When Gazdecki skips ahead to the sale, Oenning politely steers the narrative back to his monetization transition from free to $1,000 MRR. Gazdecki probes on whether users were angry about the paywall and frames the autopilot business as an internet vending machine.9:42–13:56 · Andrew as informed peer 3/10 Deciding to Sell Fider to Eliminate Mental Overhead Oenning details how running four side projects created mental clutter, prompting him to list Fider on Acquire.com. He explains how the buyer recognized the latent SEO value of open-source footer backlinks.13:56–17:33 · Andrew as informed peer 4/10 Navigating a Smooth Two-Week Due Diligence Process Gazdecki asks about due diligence and founder advice, while Oenning advises uploading comprehensive metric screenshots upfront to streamline buyer interactions. Gazdecki reinforces the classic startup pairing of a builder and a go-to-market founder.0:24–3:12 · Guest teaching 2/10 Meet Guy Oenning: Software Engineering Background and Leap Gazdecki opens with standard introductory questions about Oenning's software engineering background and the origins of Fider. Oenning explains his motivation to learn a new tech stack by building an open-source alternative to UserVoice.3:13–5:13 · Guest teaching 3/10 Explaining Fider Mechanics and Finding Initial Users on Reddit Gazdecki asks Oenning to explain UserVoice and how Fider gained initial traction. Oenning educates listeners on feedback portals functioning like Reddit for product features and gently clarifies the audience distinction when Gazdecki draws a parallel.5:14–9:41 · Guest teaching 3/10 Monetizing Fider and Operating the Business on Autopilot When Gazdecki skips ahead to the sale, Oenning politely steers the narrative back to his monetization transition from free to $1,000 MRR. Gazdecki probes on whether users were angry about the paywall and frames the autopilot business as an internet vending machine.9:42–13:56 · Guest teaching 4/10 Deciding to Sell Fider to Eliminate Mental Overhead Oenning details how running four side projects created mental clutter, prompting him to list Fider on Acquire.com. He explains how the buyer recognized the latent SEO value of open-source footer backlinks.13:56–17:33 · Guest teaching 3/10 Navigating a Smooth Two-Week Due Diligence Process Gazdecki asks about due diligence and founder advice, while Oenning advises uploading comprehensive metric screenshots upfront to streamline buyer interactions. Gazdecki reinforces the classic startup pairing of a builder and a go-to-market founder.0:24–3:12 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Meet Guy Oenning: Software Engineering Background and Leap Gazdecki opens with standard introductory questions about Oenning's software engineering background and the origins of Fider. Oenning explains his motivation to learn a new tech stack by building an open-source alternative to UserVoice.3:13–5:13 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Explaining Fider Mechanics and Finding Initial Users on Reddit Gazdecki asks Oenning to explain UserVoice and how Fider gained initial traction. Oenning educates listeners on feedback portals functioning like Reddit for product features and gently clarifies the audience distinction when Gazdecki draws a parallel.5:14–9:41 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Monetizing Fider and Operating the Business on Autopilot When Gazdecki skips ahead to the sale, Oenning politely steers the narrative back to his monetization transition from free to $1,000 MRR. Gazdecki probes on whether users were angry about the paywall and frames the autopilot business as an internet vending machine.9:42–13:56 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Deciding to Sell Fider to Eliminate Mental Overhead Oenning details how running four side projects created mental clutter, prompting him to list Fider on Acquire.com. He explains how the buyer recognized the latent SEO value of open-source footer backlinks.13:56–17:33 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Navigating a Smooth Two-Week Due Diligence Process Gazdecki asks about due diligence and founder advice, while Oenning advises uploading comprehensive metric screenshots upfront to streamline buyer interactions. Gazdecki reinforces the classic startup pairing of a builder and a go-to-market founder.0:24–3:12 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Meet Guy Oenning: Software Engineering Background and Leap Gazdecki opens with standard introductory questions about Oenning's software engineering background and the origins of Fider. Oenning explains his motivation to learn a new tech stack by building an open-source alternative to UserVoice.3:13–5:13 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Explaining Fider Mechanics and Finding Initial Users on Reddit Gazdecki asks Oenning to explain UserVoice and how Fider gained initial traction. Oenning educates listeners on feedback portals functioning like Reddit for product features and gently clarifies the audience distinction when Gazdecki draws a parallel.5:14–9:41 · Andrew pushing back 1/10 Monetizing Fider and Operating the Business on Autopilot When Gazdecki skips ahead to the sale, Oenning politely steers the narrative back to his monetization transition from free to $1,000 MRR. Gazdecki probes on whether users were angry about the paywall and frames the autopilot business as an internet vending machine.9:42–13:56 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Deciding to Sell Fider to Eliminate Mental Overhead Oenning details how running four side projects created mental clutter, prompting him to list Fider on Acquire.com. He explains how the buyer recognized the latent SEO value of open-source footer backlinks.13:56–17:33 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Navigating a Smooth Two-Week Due Diligence Process Gazdecki asks about due diligence and founder advice, while Oenning advises uploading comprehensive metric screenshots upfront to streamline buyer interactions. Gazdecki reinforces the classic startup pairing of a builder and a go-to-market founder.

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

0:00 · Andrew 13% · guest 87%0:00 · Andrew 13% · guest 87%3:00 · Andrew 16% · guest 84%3:00 · Andrew 16% · guest 84%6:00 · Andrew 10.1% · guest 89.9%6:00 · Andrew 10.1% · guest 89.9%9:00 · Andrew 34.4% · guest 65.6%9:00 · Andrew 34.4% · guest 65.6%12:00 · Andrew 16.8% · guest 83.2%12:00 · Andrew 16.8% · guest 83.2%15:00 · Andrew 19.2% · guest 80.8%15:00 · Andrew 19.2% · guest 80.8%18:00 · Andrew 26.4% · guest 73.6%18:00 · Andrew 26.4% · guest 73.6%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 5:14 Steering interview flow back to monetization

Oenning politely pushes back when Gazdecki jumps straight to the acquisition, insisting on first covering the critical step of monetizing the product.

 Hardest push from Andrew ▶ 7:58 Challenging customer reaction to the paywall

Gazdecki presses Oenning on whether existing free users were upset when abruptly forced to either pay or self-host.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:14 Educating on viral open-source backlink mechanics

Oenning explains the overlooked SEO mechanics of Fider, showing how every self-hosted and cloud instance generated automated footer backlinks that drove high buyer interest.

 Andrew holds their own ▶ 9:13 Internet vending machine synthesis

Gazdecki demonstrates his SaaS expertise by synthesizing Oenning's low-maintenance model into the 'internet vending machine' archetype while noting how rare and difficult such businesses are to maintain.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicAndrew as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementAndrew pushing backWhy
Meet Guy Oenning: Software Engineering Background and Leap 3200 Gazdecki opens with standard introductory questions about Oenning's software engineering background and the origins of Fider. Oenning explains his motivation to learn a new tech stack by building an open-source alternative to UserVoice.
Explaining Fider Mechanics and Finding Initial Users on Reddit 3310 Gazdecki asks Oenning to explain UserVoice and how Fider gained initial traction. Oenning educates listeners on feedback portals functioning like Reddit for product features and gently clarifies the audience distinction when Gazdecki draws a parallel.
Monetizing Fider and Operating the Business on Autopilot 4321 When Gazdecki skips ahead to the sale, Oenning politely steers the narrative back to his monetization transition from free to $1,000 MRR. Gazdecki probes on whether users were angry about the paywall and frames the autopilot business as an internet vending machine.
Deciding to Sell Fider to Eliminate Mental Overhead 3400 Oenning details how running four side projects created mental clutter, prompting him to list Fider on Acquire.com. He explains how the buyer recognized the latent SEO value of open-source footer backlinks.
Navigating a Smooth Two-Week Due Diligence Process 4300 Gazdecki asks about due diligence and founder advice, while Oenning advises uploading comprehensive metric screenshots upfront to streamline buyer interactions. Gazdecki reinforces the classic startup pairing of a builder and a go-to-market founder.

Statements from this episode (7)

Disclosure
Oenning: Fider's initial hosted version cost $5 per month to run
“It cost me like five dollars per month to run it. I just want to get users and get feedback from that. So that's why I made it free.”
Guilhermo Oenning Aug 22, 2024 ▶ 3:00
Disclosure
Oenning acquired Fider's first users by sharing the open-source project on Reddit
“So I think the first few came from Reddit. I was building this. I shared it on a few Reddit communities, and because it was an open source product, I wasn't really monetizing it because it was kind of easy to get a little bit of traction in the beginning.”
Guilhermo Oenning Aug 22, 2024 ▶ 4:16
Disclosure
Fider reached $1,000 MRR on autopilot after transitioning from free to paid
“So, I think I got to, like, around thousand MRR. From that going from free to paid, which is not a lot, but at the same time, from someone who is not getting anything on this site, brother, to getting a thousand dollars from, was paying my mortgage, basically,…”
Guilhermo Oenning Aug 22, 2024 ▶ 6:39
Insight
Running four autopilot SaaS products simultaneously creates excessive mental overhead
“When I decided to sell the visa, I had four products running, and I think that's one of the main mistakes. I learned a lot, but running four products a lot, even though this was on autopilot, one of the other ones was also kind of autopilot-ish, but two of the…”
Guilhermo Oenning Aug 22, 2024 ▶ 10:18
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fider reached an agreed sale on Acquire.com in just two weeks
“And I think I have noticed here that it took like two weeks to go from publishing on Acquire to Sale Agreed.”
Guilhermo Oenning Aug 22, 2024 ▶ 12:08
Assertion Supported
Free self-hosted Fider instances generated SEO backlinks to the main site
“The open source side of the product is every time someone hosts it for free, even though I not can pay for that, they are giving me back a backlink.”
Guilhermo Oenning Aug 22, 2024 ▶ 13:43
Insight
Providing upfront Stripe screenshots filters repetitive buyer questions during acquisition
“I took screenshots of most of the tools, like the revenue, MRR, churn, everything that they could find on, on our Stripe, just posted on, on the account, on Acquire. And I think that, that made the process a lot more because whenever someone reached out, they …”
Guilhermo Oenning Aug 22, 2024 ▶ 15:25
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