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Sep 26, 2023 · 18m · startup-acquisition-stories

Startup Acquisition Stories with David Sorbara, Founder of Barkley HQ

David Sabara · 9m spoken Andrew Gazdecki · 7m 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 Barkley HQ founder David Sorbara about building, scaling, and successfully selling his niche pet grooming SaaS in a high six-figure acquisition on Acquire.com. David details his hands-on validation approach, buyer vetting strategy, due diligence best practices, and future plans to become a software acquirer.

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 41.3% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Andrew as informed peer 3.8 Guest teaching 1.0 Guest disagreement 0.0 Andrew pushing back 0.0
05100:0010:001:53–6:08 · Andrew as informed peer 4/10 Discovering the Pet Grooming Market and Inception of Barkley HQ The conversation is very collaborative and friendly as Gazdecki asks about the genesis of Barkley HQ. Gazdecki shares his own perspective on point SaaS solutions and non-technical founder strategies, but there is no friction or pushback.6:08–9:37 · Andrew as informed peer 3/10 Core Product Features and the Pet Relationship Manager Concept Sabara explains the core product workflows and how he coined the term Pet Relationship Manager (PRM). Gazdecki praises the branding concept and inquires about Sabara's eventual decision to seek an exit due to burnout.9:37–11:49 · Andrew as informed peer 4/10 Navigating Marketplace Inquiries and Selecting the Ideal Buyer Gazdecki and Sabara discuss the listing process on Acquire.com and managing high buyer call volume. Gazdecki provides commentary on evaluating identical offers by prioritizing founder-buyer alignment and goodwill.11:50–16:15 · Andrew as informed peer 6/10 The Due Diligence and Asset Transfer Process Sabara reflects on the importance of maintaining an accurate P&L and hiring earlier. Gazdecki displays clear domain expertise, elaborating on financial modeling, fractional CFOs, and personal mistakes from running previous companies.16:16–18:27 · Andrew as informed peer 2/10 Current Projects at AV Smartly and Future Acquisition Plans A brief, lighthearted wrap-up covering Sabara's new role at AV Smartly and his interest in buying a pre-revenue business. Gazdecki playfully pitches Acquire.com as the venue for his next acquisition.1:53–6:08 · Guest teaching 1/10 Discovering the Pet Grooming Market and Inception of Barkley HQ The conversation is very collaborative and friendly as Gazdecki asks about the genesis of Barkley HQ. Gazdecki shares his own perspective on point SaaS solutions and non-technical founder strategies, but there is no friction or pushback.6:08–9:37 · Guest teaching 2/10 Core Product Features and the Pet Relationship Manager Concept Sabara explains the core product workflows and how he coined the term Pet Relationship Manager (PRM). Gazdecki praises the branding concept and inquires about Sabara's eventual decision to seek an exit due to burnout.9:37–11:49 · Guest teaching 1/10 Navigating Marketplace Inquiries and Selecting the Ideal Buyer Gazdecki and Sabara discuss the listing process on Acquire.com and managing high buyer call volume. Gazdecki provides commentary on evaluating identical offers by prioritizing founder-buyer alignment and goodwill.11:50–16:15 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Due Diligence and Asset Transfer Process Sabara reflects on the importance of maintaining an accurate P&L and hiring earlier. Gazdecki displays clear domain expertise, elaborating on financial modeling, fractional CFOs, and personal mistakes from running previous companies.16:16–18:27 · Guest teaching 0/10 Current Projects at AV Smartly and Future Acquisition Plans A brief, lighthearted wrap-up covering Sabara's new role at AV Smartly and his interest in buying a pre-revenue business. Gazdecki playfully pitches Acquire.com as the venue for his next acquisition.1:53–6:08 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Discovering the Pet Grooming Market and Inception of Barkley HQ The conversation is very collaborative and friendly as Gazdecki asks about the genesis of Barkley HQ. Gazdecki shares his own perspective on point SaaS solutions and non-technical founder strategies, but there is no friction or pushback.6:08–9:37 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Core Product Features and the Pet Relationship Manager Concept Sabara explains the core product workflows and how he coined the term Pet Relationship Manager (PRM). Gazdecki praises the branding concept and inquires about Sabara's eventual decision to seek an exit due to burnout.9:37–11:49 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Navigating Marketplace Inquiries and Selecting the Ideal Buyer Gazdecki and Sabara discuss the listing process on Acquire.com and managing high buyer call volume. Gazdecki provides commentary on evaluating identical offers by prioritizing founder-buyer alignment and goodwill.11:50–16:15 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Due Diligence and Asset Transfer Process Sabara reflects on the importance of maintaining an accurate P&L and hiring earlier. Gazdecki displays clear domain expertise, elaborating on financial modeling, fractional CFOs, and personal mistakes from running previous companies.16:16–18:27 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Current Projects at AV Smartly and Future Acquisition Plans A brief, lighthearted wrap-up covering Sabara's new role at AV Smartly and his interest in buying a pre-revenue business. Gazdecki playfully pitches Acquire.com as the venue for his next acquisition.1:53–6:08 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Discovering the Pet Grooming Market and Inception of Barkley HQ The conversation is very collaborative and friendly as Gazdecki asks about the genesis of Barkley HQ. Gazdecki shares his own perspective on point SaaS solutions and non-technical founder strategies, but there is no friction or pushback.6:08–9:37 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Core Product Features and the Pet Relationship Manager Concept Sabara explains the core product workflows and how he coined the term Pet Relationship Manager (PRM). Gazdecki praises the branding concept and inquires about Sabara's eventual decision to seek an exit due to burnout.9:37–11:49 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Navigating Marketplace Inquiries and Selecting the Ideal Buyer Gazdecki and Sabara discuss the listing process on Acquire.com and managing high buyer call volume. Gazdecki provides commentary on evaluating identical offers by prioritizing founder-buyer alignment and goodwill.11:50–16:15 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 The Due Diligence and Asset Transfer Process Sabara reflects on the importance of maintaining an accurate P&L and hiring earlier. Gazdecki displays clear domain expertise, elaborating on financial modeling, fractional CFOs, and personal mistakes from running previous companies.16:16–18:27 · Andrew pushing back 0/10 Current Projects at AV Smartly and Future Acquisition Plans A brief, lighthearted wrap-up covering Sabara's new role at AV Smartly and his interest in buying a pre-revenue business. Gazdecki playfully pitches Acquire.com as the venue for his next acquisition.

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

0:00 · Andrew 14.8% · guest 85.2%0:00 · Andrew 14.8% · guest 85.2%3:00 · Andrew 43.5% · guest 56.5%3:00 · Andrew 43.5% · guest 56.5%6:00 · Andrew 27.9% · guest 72.1%6:00 · Andrew 27.9% · guest 72.1%9:00 · Andrew 50.7% · guest 49.3%9:00 · Andrew 50.7% · guest 49.3%12:00 · Andrew 58% · guest 42%12:00 · Andrew 58% · guest 42%15:00 · Andrew 59.3% · guest 40.7%15:00 · Andrew 59.3% · guest 40.7%18:00 · Andrew 0% · guest 100%18:00 · Andrew 0% · guest 100%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:17 Dispelling acquisition preparation assumptions

In an otherwise completely agreeable episode, Sabara clarifies that he did not do deliberate preparation to optimize for acquisition and that the business attractiveness happened largely by accident.

 Hardest push from Andrew ▶ 14:04 Strongly reinforcing P&L requirement

Gazdecki emphasizes and escalates Sabara's point about financial hygiene, stating definitively that maintaining a proper P&L is 100% required for multi-million dollar sales.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 6:30 Educating on pet grooming workflows

Sabara educates Gazdecki on how groomers operate on paper calendars and explains his custom PRM terminology tailored to pet owners.

 Andrew holds their own ▶ 15:22 Host sharing startup financial management pitfalls

Gazdecki demonstrates his startup expertise by sharing his historical mistake of tracking business expenses solely via the Mint app before understanding the necessity of dedicated finance leadership.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicAndrew as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementAndrew pushing backWhy
Discovering the Pet Grooming Market and Inception of Barkley HQ 4100 The conversation is very collaborative and friendly as Gazdecki asks about the genesis of Barkley HQ. Gazdecki shares his own perspective on point SaaS solutions and non-technical founder strategies, but there is no friction or pushback.
Core Product Features and the Pet Relationship Manager Concept 3200 Sabara explains the core product workflows and how he coined the term Pet Relationship Manager (PRM). Gazdecki praises the branding concept and inquires about Sabara's eventual decision to seek an exit due to burnout.
Navigating Marketplace Inquiries and Selecting the Ideal Buyer 4100 Gazdecki and Sabara discuss the listing process on Acquire.com and managing high buyer call volume. Gazdecki provides commentary on evaluating identical offers by prioritizing founder-buyer alignment and goodwill.
The Due Diligence and Asset Transfer Process 6100 Sabara reflects on the importance of maintaining an accurate P&L and hiring earlier. Gazdecki displays clear domain expertise, elaborating on financial modeling, fractional CFOs, and personal mistakes from running previous companies.
Current Projects at AV Smartly and Future Acquisition Plans 2000 A brief, lighthearted wrap-up covering Sabara's new role at AV Smartly and his interest in buying a pre-revenue business. Gazdecki playfully pitches Acquire.com as the venue for his next acquisition.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Gazdecki: Barkley HQ was acquired for high six figures
“He recently got acquired for high six figures.”
Andrew Gazdecki Sep 26, 2023 ▶ 0:28
Disclosure
Sorbara: Barkley HQ ran for four and a half years before acquisition
“And that was the SaaS business that I have been working on for probably about the last four and a half years which was recently acquired in May, 2020,”
David Sabara Sep 26, 2023 ▶ 0:47
Insight
Gazdecki: Niche vertical SaaS has much higher odds of product excellence
“Because if you're a dog groomer, and it's specifically made for them, ah, you know, the chances of you building the best software for that specific customer is just so much higher.”
Andrew Gazdecki Sep 26, 2023 ▶ 3:15
Insight
Gazdecki: Peak marketing is becoming a verb or an industry acronym
“I'd say the pinnacle of marketing is when you can either have a company name that's a verb or you make up some acronym that is adopted within the industry.”
Andrew Gazdecki Sep 26, 2023 ▶ 7:13
Disclosure
Sorbara: Barkley HQ was started with the end goal of getting acquired
“I kind of started the business with Always wanting the end goal to be getting acquired.”
David Sabara Sep 26, 2023 ▶ 8:18
Insight
Gazdecki: Vertical SaaS and vertical CRMs get significant acquisition interest
“SaaS solutions like yours, like a SaaS solution specifically, it could be like an invoice generator, CRMs, CRMs specifically for a specific vertical, get a lot of attention.”
Andrew Gazdecki Sep 26, 2023 ▶ 9:42
Disclosure
Sorbara: Multiple acquisition offers for Barkley HQ were identical
“Cause a lot of the offers were the exact same.”
David Sabara Sep 26, 2023 ▶ 11:11
Insight
Gazdecki: Signing an LOI is just the start of harder acquisition work
“Once you sign in a lie, that's kind of just the start of kind of the harder chapter of the acquisition process.”
Andrew Gazdecki Sep 26, 2023 ▶ 12:11
Insight
Sorbara: Track a P&L from day one to streamline future acquisitions
“My advice for any founder, whether you want to sell your business or you just want to have a business and run a business day one, you open up an Excel sheet and you start tracking with a P and L. Cause this is going to allow you to track your income, your expe…”
David Sabara Sep 26, 2023 ▶ 13:36
Disclosure
Sorbara: Plans to acquire and scale a pre-revenue software business next
“I think I want to acquire a smaller business, maybe something pre-revenue and then see if I can apply my skills to it, to build it and then sell it again. But coming up with the idea is the hard part. So that's kind of why I want to find something that's Someo…”
David Sabara Sep 26, 2023 ▶ 16:55
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