How Thomas built a $1B+ M&A firm starting from $100 website flips

Executive overview

Most people think they need capital, connections, or technical skills to get into business acquisitions. Thomas started with a maxed-out credit card and a $100 website flip.

The insight: the process of buying and selling scales. Learn it at $100, apply it at $1M. FE International grew from a one-man website-flipping operation into a firm that regularly closes eight-figure M&A deals.

The skill of buying and selling transfers across deal sizes — master the process, not the amount.

From dorm room to M&A firm

• Bought first domain in 2008; discovered websites had value because they generated income
• First deal: $100 website flipped to $500, funded on a credit card
• Wrote a book on website flipping to replace buying-and-selling income while in college; made ~$30K
• Readers asked him to sell their businesses — he accidentally entered M&A
• No established brokers served small online businesses at the time; FE filled a gap
• Partner Ismail joined from investment banking and applied institutional-grade processes to small deals

What makes a good business to buy or sell

• Evergreen niche: the audience or industry remains relevant long-term, even if specific products change
• Repeat or recurring customers: existing customers are always cheaper to monetise than new ones
• Growth: growing businesses command higher multiples and attract more buyers

How valuation works

• Small businesses are valued on a multiple of profit, not revenue
• Typical range: 4–10x annual profit
• Revenue multiples exist but are uncommon; most "revenue multiple" talk reflects businesses where revenue and profit are nearly identical
• Stronger recurring revenue, growth, and niche durability push multiples toward the top of the range

How to find and approach deals

• Start by defining your budget and the business model you want to own
• Research where target founders hang out online and reach out directly
• First message: don't immediately signal acquisition intent — open a conversation
• Personalise outreach; generic messages get ignored by busy founders
• For sub-$10K deals, no broker or advisor needed — gut feel and human connection matter more

Buying vs. building

• Buying removes two key unknowns: will someone pay for the product, and does the product work
• Best acquisition targets: businesses where the founder's skill gap matches your skill strength (e.g., a technical founder who can't do marketing)
• You don't need the same skills as the founder — ideally you bring complementary ones

Negotiation

• Know your priorities before entering any negotiation — price, transition length, team continuity
• Multiple offers will rarely be identical; trade-offs between cash and terms are common
• Don't argue every point — pick battles on what matters most to you
• Give the other side wins on what matters less to you
• Best deals happen when each side's priorities are different, so both can push on what they care about

Starting with no money

• You need at least some capital; $100 beats $0 — get it however you can
• Early deals are not about profit size — they are about learning the process
• Build skills in selling, negotiating, and subject-matter expertise through small deals
• A small but consistent track record (e.g., turning $10K into $20K repeatedly) is enough to attract investors later
• The goal of early deals: make any profit; don't optimise for hourly return