💰 Micro M&A Interview 002: Selling an early-stage, no-code product on the cheap

Hey team! Wow, it’s been a while since the first interview that I sent out, but I finally knocked out another, and I’ve got a few more in the works. Should be a steadier cadence now, as I dial things in for this MVP.

Let’s get into it.👇

High-level data

• Product: MakerPage

• Asking price: $2,768

• Revenue multiple: 66x

• TTM Revenue:$15

• Expenses: $81/mo

• Users: 48

• Date founded: August, 2024

• Tech stack: Bubble

• Competitors: Indie Page

• Link to listing

Seller takeaways

• If you’re no longer enjoying something, sell it. There’s no point in holding onto it at that point, and you can make a bit of money by selling.

• There’s little risk in listing your product for sale — if it doesn’t sell, you’re still in the same position.

• Building is only half the journey. You have to convince people of the value — even if you’re going to sell it.

• Know your product’s value.

• Be prepared for the long game, both in building and selling.

Buyer takeaways

• Most sellers are willing to negotiate — quite a lot, in this case.

• When lacking revenue, it’s difficult to accurately determine the value of a product, so many sellers price according to effort rather than actual value.

• Products being sold at lower price points generally have few users and little revenue, so you have to be prepared to put in the work.

A few weeks back, I was looking through acquisition opportunities and I came across Makerpage. It wasn’t the right fit for me, personally, but I got the chance to speak with the founder, David García.

David is a no-code founder who is trying to sell an early-stage product at a low price so that he can focus on what he loves — building. He’s had some bites, but no offers yet.

Here’s what he had to say about the experience so far. 👇

Makerpage

Makerpage is a platform that allows indie hackers and solopreneurs to showcase their side projects and track earnings in a structured portfolio format. Users can create profiles, add projects, and display earnings per project, which helps them present their work professionally.

It’s built on Bubble, but I plan to rebuild it in SvelteKit for better performance and reduced maintenance costs.

I launched the MVP in August after about 45 days of developing it alongside my full-time job.

55 users, 1 customer

It’s a freemium model with an annual premium plan. Users can create their portfolio for free, but have to pay to access extra customization. Currently, the platform doesn’t generate substantial revenue — €15 annually.

That’s just one paid user. But we do have around 55 free users as well.

My expenses are about €32/mo for Bubble hosting and maintenance. This covers server costs and associated platform expenses.

Why sell?

I enjoy building new things. And after launching this one, I realized I don't have enough time to invest in marketing while working at my job and also continuing to create new things.

I’ve built Makerpage to a stable point, so it feels like a natural time to let someone else take over its growth.

Deciding on an asking price

My asking price is around €3k. I decided on this price by looking at the number of hours it took me to build it — €3k is roughly what I would earn if I spent the same number of hours working at my full-time job.

But I’m open to negotiation. I’d say €2k is the lowest offer I might consider, as I need to cover my work. And based on offers I’ve seen on similar products, I think that’s reasonable.

Finding the right buyer

There’s been interest from smaller buyers and the feedback has been positive, but no formal offers as of yet.

I think this is a good purchase for a buyer interested in indie hacker spaces, or someone looking to acquire a niche community platform. Those familiar with Bubble, or willing to migrate to a more scalable stack like SvelteKit, will benefit the most.

The pros of the product are that it’s a fully developed product with a clear target market and potential for growth, with no need to build from scratch.

The con is that it’s early stage, so it’s not the right purchase if you’re looking for immediate, high-profit returns.

Teach your buyers

Through this process of selling Makerpage, I realized that building something is only half the journey — convincing others of its value, especially in early-stage products, is much more challenging.

And interestingly, that’s the case regardless of whether you’re marketing the product or trying to sell it.

What you need to know

Know your product's value.

Don’t expect overnight success.

And be prepared for the long game, both in building and selling.

What’s next?

If I find a buyer, I’ll likely reinvest the money into new projects or personal growth, such as learning new skills. I’m particularly interested in creating some mobile apps with no code for a B2C market.

If I don’t sell it, I’ll likely maintain it passively for a while and try to set time aside for marketing and gathering new users.

You can check out my Makerpage or my Flippa listing. And follow me on X.

Thanks for reading the second Micro M&A interview! Any feedback? I’d love to hear it.

-James

Creator @ Micro M&A (newsletter teach how to buy/sell micro-SaaS)
Creator @ SaaS Watch (micro-SaaS acquisition opportunity newsletter)
Creator @ Ancient Beat (archaeo/anthro newsletter)
Contributor @ Indie Hackers
Cofounder @ Solutrean Holdings (acquiring 6 products in 12 months)
Cofounder @ LoomFlows (easy customer feedback via loom)
Cofounder @ reHuman writing agency