Bootstrapping a two-sided M&A marketplace: MicroAcquire's story

Executive overview

Selling a small bootstrapped startup is hard — no PE firms call, no process exists. Andrew Gazdecky built MicroAcquire to fix this: a free marketplace connecting startup founders with buyers, with no commissions or exclusivity.

Launched in January 2020 while working a day job and raising a newborn, MicroAcquire reached 300+ acquisitions and $100M+ in deal volume within 18 months.

The core insight: founders are at an informational disadvantage when selling — a modern marketplace can level the playing field and aggregate the entire M&A services industry around them.

Getting both sides of the marketplace off the ground

• Cold outbound email campaign to seed buyers and sellers simultaneously
• Direct calls with angel investors, VCs, and corporate dev teams to populate the buyer side
• Answered every email, live chat, and call personally to find product-market fit
• Product Hunt launch came only after enough supply and demand were already in place
• Growth has been up-and-to-the-right since launch, driven by word of mouth

What MicroAcquire does and who it serves

• Free listing for sellers: no commissions, no exclusivity, live within a day
• Sweet spot: six- to seven-figure revenue, mostly bootstrapped profitable businesses
• 70,000 registered buyers; adding 300+ daily
• Surpassed Flippa in site traffic within 18 months
• Acquisitions closing almost every other day across a wide range of deal sizes

The path to venture scale: stacking revenue streams

• Current revenue: $290/year buyer subscriptions — not enough alone
• M&A advisor directory: brokers pay to list; MicroAcquire takes a referral commission on services rendered
• Lending partnership: financing for SaaS acquisitions over $1M revenue; commission on referrals
• Legal and due diligence services: optional add-ons, same referral model
• Sellers can always list and transact free — paid services are layered on top

Vision: the Zillow of M&A

• Data-driven valuations based on real marketplace transaction data
• Connect Stripe, Google Analytics, and billing tools to auto-generate a listing
• Yelp-style reviews of brokers and M&A advisors — transparent track records
• End-to-end transactions without leaving the platform (escrow, asset transfer, legal)
• Target market expanding up to $20M+ revenue businesses over time

Hardest part of building it

• Working 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. while managing family responsibilities and a day job
• Wearing every hat: marketing, product, customer support, sales
• Sheer hustle required before any flywheel momentum exists
• Goal now: delegate everything and work on the business, not in it