How Derrick Reimer sold a side-project SaaS for $128k in one month

Executive overview

Derrick Reimer built Cotri, a GitHub Issues–based project management tool, as a nights-and-weekends side project while working full-time on Drip. After growing it to just over $4,000 MRR he decided to sell when Drip demanded his full attention, rather than let the opportunity compound further. He engaged Quiet Light Brokerage, which handled valuation, buyer prospecting, negotiation support, and due diligence — the entire process closed in roughly one month. The $128,000 exit was priced at 3.5× seller's discretionary earnings, and the broker's hard-line stance during due diligence protected that price when the buyer pushed back.

A broker's network and negotiating leverage can be worth far more than their commission, especially for a first-time seller.

What Cotri was and why it sold

• GitHub Issues was intentionally stripped-down; Cotri added kanban views, prioritisation, and structure for small dev teams
• Revenue model used three or four tiers at $24, $49, and $99/month, tiered by number of projects and users — not pure per-seat pricing
• Peak MRR reached just over $4,000; the business was profitable but small
• The catalyst for selling was opportunity cost: Drip was accelerating, and Cotri was getting eight to ten hours of nights-and-weekends attention at best
• Reimer knew growth was being left on the table but could not commit the time to capture it

Why using a broker was a clear decision

• Selling solo felt as inadvisable as selling a house without an agent — too many unknowns, too little confidence in valuation
• The broker produced a prospectus from a detailed seller questionnaire covering unit economics, traffic, and growth opportunities
• Buyer was found through the broker's private network; the listing may never have gone fully public
• Broker vetted all prospects before arranging calls, saving Reimer from wasting time on unqualified buyers
• Having a "bad guy in the room" allowed Reimer to stay relationship-focused while the broker deflected premature or inappropriate questions

Valuation and the negotiation process

• Price was based on seller's discretionary earnings (SDE) — revenue minus operating costs, excluding founder salary — the standard method for small SaaS
• A 3.5× SDE multiple reflected the upper end of what the 2016 market would support; the same asset might fetch 5–7× today
• Buyer pushed back, calling the multiple high; the broker held the line, knowing the buyer was already committed
• Annual subscription cash already collected created a revenue-normalisation dispute during due diligence; the broker negotiated a wash rather than a price reduction
• Final sale price matched the asking price of $128,000 after minor back-and-forth

Due diligence: what it actually involves

• Starts with a large spreadsheet of questions requiring documented evidence for every claim
• Revenue figures must be verified through read-only Stripe or Baremetrics access plus bank statements
• Annual billings received before close require careful normalisation so the buyer isn't paying for cash the seller already pocketed
• Reimer credits the broker with preventing him from conceding too much under pressure — his instinct was to have "too much empathy for the buyer"
• The whole process — listing to close — took approximately one month, far shorter than Reimer expected

Key lessons for first-time SaaS sellers

• The scalability of software means a nights-and-weekends project genuinely can convert to a six-figure lump sum
• Timing the exit around a competing opportunity (Drip) preserved energy for the higher-upside bet
• A broker's value is not just admin: it is market knowledge, buyer network, and negotiating backbone
• Stress peaks during live buyer calls, not during paperwork — preparation and clear broker guidance help manage it
• Framing the proceeds in real-world terms (house down payment, premium espresso machine) makes the abstract feel tangible and motivating