When it comes to knowing a thing or two about starting a business, Mark Segal is no stranger to the act. After all, he holds 15 years of startup experience under his belt.
The business owners resides in Cremorne, a mini version of Silicon Valley, an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Australia, located just Southeast of Melbourne’s Central Business District. Flippa is a neighbor right next door.
Just a few years ago, when the online business space experienced a burgeoning swell of Amazon businesses coming to the forefront, Mark came across an ad on Facebook advertising Amazon FBA training and learned how to operate an ecommerce business.
That’s when the idea for a designer wall clock company blossomed to an ecommerce store called Marksson. Soon, Mark found himself flying out to China to meet with suppliers. The business was a mid-range, affordable luxury sort segment where Mark could create something that looked high end, but priced somewhere in the middle.
He set systems and processes in place until the business came to a position where it was running on autopilot. As his focus began shifting away, he knew it was time to find a new owner and place the business up for sale on Flippa. His digital and design agency business was taking up more of his time and Mark knew he couldn’t devote the attention that his business deserved.
Instantly, his listing received massive buzz on Flippa’s marketplace.
“I really sort of put it on there just to gauge the market. It exceeded my expectations. It was pretty quick from then on,” says Mark. “The team from Flippa was really like a major help. It was kind of like a concierge service where the guys jump on and they give you all sorts of advice, whether it’s optimizing the listing, or helping with valuation.”
“The team from Flippa was really a major help. It was kind of like a concierge service where the guys jump on and they give you all sorts of advice, whether it’s optimizing the listing or helping with valuation.”
A Speedy Sale
Mark knew the business had to go to someone who wanted to own a designer homewares/lifestyle brand without all of the headaches of creating the actual business. At the time of sale, the business was a perfect springboard to expand into a D2C (direct-to-consumer) company where the new owner could build on the brand and introduce other home and office products.
When Marksson was bought, the 3-year old profitable Amazon FBA ecommerce business had a seller rating of 91%, and was sold along with brand assets, social media accounts, and more.
Marksson was listed in a 30-day auction and in just 1 week, the deal was closed and the business was sold.
“I was comfortable in the end having it sold on Flippa,” says Mark. “There’s so much opportunity that I feel like there’s a lot of talk around buying investment properties. But I feel like you can get the same benefit from the right assets online. You can jump on Flippa — there’s a lot of opportunity there.”
“There’s so much opportunity and a lot of talk around buying investment properties. You can get the same benefit from the right assets online. You can jump on Flippa. There’s a lot of opportunity there.”
Today, Mark operates a successful SEO agency where he works with various kinds of businesses and provides services like website speed optimization and spec link audits to clients.
Ready to buy your first online business? Check out our First-Time Buyers Guide: Buying Your First Online Business.
