From Idea to Business: The Birth of Ring Hero

Niki, a dedicated mother of three and a tech sales professional, juggles her busy schedule from school runs, work tasks, and cherished family dinners where gratitude and communication take center stage. To balance this, Niki finds solace in her commitment to fitness and her passion for growing companies, a hint at the entrepreneurial spirit that drives her.

Ring Hero emerged from a casual gathering of friends pondering over a common dilemma: how to protect precious rings during workouts. This simple question sparked an idea that blossomed into a solution: a wristband to keep rings safe during physical activity. With her co-founders, Niki embarked on a journey to solve this problem, leading to the creation of Ring Hero in 2015.

Scaling Organically and Strategic Partnerships

Ring Hero’s success story is one of organic growth fueled by strategic partnerships and influencer endorsements. From fitness studios to lifestyle bloggers, Ring Hero found its niche in intersecting the worlds of fitness and jewelry, carving out a unique space in the market. Collaborations with renowned brands like The Skim, Cupcakes and Cashmere, and Core Power yoga studios propelled Ring Hero’s visibility, paving the way for further expansion.

The Decision to Sell with Flippa

As Ring Hero reached a critical juncture in its growth trajectory, Niki and her co-founders faced a pivotal decision: how to scale beyond their current capabilities. Recognizing the need for a partner with extensive retail connections and resources, they turned to Flippa to facilitate the sale. Flippa’s user-friendly platform, valuation tools, and guided assistance made the selling process seamless, empowering Niki to find the right buyer for Ring Hero.

A Successful Sale and Beyond

With Flippa’s support, Niki successfully sold Ring Hero for over $138,000, marking a significant milestone in her entrepreneurial journey. Beyond the financial gain, the experience provided invaluable lessons and connections, reinforcing Niki’s belief in the power of entrepreneurship. As she embarks on her next venture Niki remains grateful for the opportunities Flippa has afforded her and looks forward to scaling her new business nationwide.

Conclusion: Empowering Entrepreneurs with Flippa

Niki Cordell’s story exemplifies the spirit of entrepreneurship—driven by passion, resilience, and a willingness to embrace new opportunities. Through her journey with Ring Hero and the successful sale facilitated by Flippa, Niki has not only realized her entrepreneurial dreams but also paved the way for others to follow suit. With Flippa’s user-friendly platform and expert guidance, aspiring entrepreneurs can turn their ideas into reality, just like Niki did.

As the entrepreneurial landscape continues to evolve, platforms like Flippa play a vital role in empowering individuals to buy, sell, and grow businesses with confidence. Niki’s story serves as a testament to the transformative power of entrepreneurship and the endless possibilities that await those bold enough to pursue their dreams.

Ali’s Acquisition Story: Transforming Dreams into Business

Ali, the acquirer of My Night Light, embarked on a business journey that transformed his personal challenges into a successful venture. Ali was searching for a simple solution to stop his newborn from crying, he never expected that finding that solution would result in the acquisition of a business and his first entrepreneurial venture.

Ali was struggling with the challenges of being a new parent. He and his wife were faced with sleepless nights and a crying baby. They needed a solution, and at the same time they were looking to acquire a business that they could run while his wife was on maternity leave. They found the solution to both their needs when they discovered My Night Light on Flippa.  

Philippa’s Exit Story: Navigating Business Growth and Transition

14 years ago, Phillipa was pregnant with her first child and looking to start a side-project that would allow her to spend more time at home with her growing family. She hadn’t landed on a business idea when she started having trouble with her crying baby. She tried many solutions but the only one that worked was a particular night light that changed color. This was the solution she had been looking for as well as the business idea that would lead to her building an ecommerce business for 14 years. 

After over a decade working on the business, Phillipa was ready for a new venture. She decided to sell the business and came to Flippa to exit. 

“I loved using Flippa’s valuation tool. The first thing you think about is, ‘what is my business even worth?’”

Philippa, Flippa Seller

Without Flippa Philippa never would have found the perfect person to take over the business and someone who shared her passion for it. She highlights the importance of connecting with the right people when selling a business. Flippa became a crucial platform for her, offering the necessary tools, processes, and connections to successfully navigate the sale of her business.

“Flippa connects you with the right people, which is the most important part, because if you’re not connecting with the right people who want to buy your business, you’ve not going to sell your business.”

Philippa, Flippa Seller

Empowering Entrepreneurship: Flippa’s Impact on Business Owners

Flippa has left a lasting impact on the lives of entrepreneurs like Ali and Philippa. From the valuation tool to the comprehensive negotiation processes and the invaluable support from the Flippa team, Flippa facilitated a smooth experience for those looking to buy or sell a business. This story underscores the significance of not just the technology but the people behind Flippa in making entrepreneurship accessible and fulfilling. 

Erilan, named after a combination of her two children Dylan and Erin, became so much more than a successful business providing post-mastectomy clothing, sun-safe headwear and accessories. It was a safe space for women going through their own cancer journeys to support and help each other move forward with their lives. 

Jill sold the business on Flippa for $533,460 USD in late 2022. At a time when her business was experiencing tremendous growth and boasted a loyal customer base with a 32.51% repeat rate.

“I thought it was always going to be successful, but how successful is another question,” Jill remarks. 

Read Jill’s inspiring success story about founding, growing, and exiting Erilan.

How It All Started

Jill Tucker loved growing up on a farm. “Living in a rural town instills this strong sense of community and helping each other out. But you can also feel very isolated,” she explained. 

For Jill, founding her business Erilan, was her way of creating another kind of community of women who could support and help each other navigate through the hardship and vulnerability of their experiences.

“Wagga Wagga is a country city with a big rural population (~67,000). Before Erilan, there were no services or anyone here to provide women with what they need. So I just thought this wasn’t good enough, I could do something about it,” she said. 

Erilan serves women locally and beyond through both a brick-and-mortar store (an extension added to Jill’s home) and an online store.

As a trained bra and prosthetic fitter, Jill offered professional fitting services that took place in the privacy of her homestore.

Jill’s main reason for selling online began as a lifeline to many farmers doing it tough in the 2017-2020 droughts.

“I thought, how could they possibly afford to travel two and a half hours to Canberra, which was the closest access to a store.” 

So, in addition to running the homestore for in-person appointments, Jill started offering remote online video appointments.

The Big Learning Curve

During the first 10 years of running Erilan, Jill also managed and taught 200 students at a speech and drama school in Wagga Wagga.

Despite having no experience in Ecommerce or the clothing industry, Jill was set on her purpose and mission with Erilan.

“I am a dreamer and always think positively. But it took a long time to get going.” 

Luckily, Jill’s son was able to set up the website and integrate it with Shopify. 

The business slowly grew. Albeit with very little social media activity and sporadic email marketing (which Jill’s son eventually took over). 

“I posted things on Instagram and Facebook, but it wasn’t regular. I started getting customer stories and knew they were valuable, but I got busy with other things,” Jill admitted. 

“I employed a manager (Sarah) through word of mouth, who is now working with Erilan’s new owner. We started with 3–6 hours a week and grew from there. I also had two other part-time employees, plus my husband was always lending a hand.”

When Jill retired from teaching three years ago (2018), all focus turned to Erilan. 

The first turning point and acceleration for Erilan’s growth: Google Ads.

Jill also believed her experience as a speech and drama teacher gave her a great base for building the business.

“Hosting charity fashion parades, morning teas, community group meetups—I could speak to people. And people wanted me to tell my story,” Jill said.

Erilan experienced 128% growth from 2019-2020, 84% growth from 2020-2021, and as of the end of May 2022, 49% growth compared to the previous year. 

Time To Sell

“It hit me when my husband retired and turned 70. I was thinking I’ve got to stop and do things together, there’s more to life than working!” Jill recalls.

As there were no local options available in their small town, Jill reached out to someone in Canberra for assistance. They couldn’t help. Jill’s son Dylan suggested using Flippa as an option for listing the business. 

“Flippa ended up being the only option for us, and Dylan helped with listing the business as I am not as computer-savvy. Once the business was listed, I initially panicked about what to say and do. However, Ashwin was extremely helpful and responsive, which made the process easier,” Jill said.

To Jill’s surprise, the sale ended up being more than she ever thought it would be. “I even questioned the price at first, but Ashwin assured me that it was accurate.”

Initially, Jill had a buyer who wanted to purchase the business but backed out due to vendor financing issues. Within two months, they had another interested buyer. 

“The buyer was a doctor who I trusted, and we were able to negotiate a deal.

Throughout the handover process, I stayed in touch with the new owner and was involved in the transition,” Jill said.

As the buyer was based in South Australia and had difficulty finding a storage location for the stock, Jill ended up moving $100,000 dollars worth of stock to the part-time employee’s (who had been helping since day dot) home for better management.”

“I would recommend selling your business on Flippa. My accountant initially estimated that my business would sell for around $300,000, but Flippa’s expertise in online businesses allowed us to realize its true value. They helped me understand the global potential of my business, and I am convinced that working with Flippa was the best decision.”

Sale Details

• Erilan sold for $533,460 USD
• Age: 13yo
• Monthly Profit: $21,647
• 24% profit margin
• 178,812 monthly page views
• Sale profit multiple 2.1x
• Revenue multiple 0.5x
• Last 3 years of growth:
  • 128% increase for 2019-20
  • 84%increase 2020-2021
  • Currently up 49% compared to the previous year as of the end of May 2022. (based on net turnover & Australian tax years). 
• 3 part-time staff
• $101 AOV
• $1,067,634 annual revenue

Happy Retirement

Looking back, Jill is content.

“I haven’t missed it, so it was the right decision. The only thing I would have changed is diversifying earlier, getting into sun protection instead of only focusing on breast cancer and breast surgery.”

“I would have spread out earlier into lymphedema areas, which is a side effect of having breast cancer. And become more cancer-focused in general, with hats for skin cancer.”

Jill is looking forward to traveling, meeting her new grandchild and visiting her son in the UK, building memories with her three grandchildren in Canberra, revamping her garden, getting more involved in her church, taking up playing croquet, and going on day trips and road trips with her husband.

“I believe that out of hardship, good things can come.” 

Many would argue that Erilan—and everything the business stands for—is far better than simply ‘good.’ It’s a shining example of how one person’s struggles can lead to a positive impact on the lives of countless others.

Inspired by this story? Read up on others who have successfully bought and sold their businesses here.

If you’re ready to sell, check out our First Time Seller’s Guide.

Like this buyer and seller, you too can master proper buyer and seller communications etiquette. We’ll show you how to that here.

The Birth of a Business

When Michela was setting up her 2 year old daughter’s bedroom, she wanted to create an exciting space that would foster creativity and imagination for her daughter. With most of the bedroom setup, Michela wanted one final piece to complete the room, a tipi. And so her search began to find the perfect tipi. What she thought would be a quick online purchase, turned into a time consuming hunt across the internet.

Michela wanted a tipi that was a stylish, high quality, timeless edition for her daughter’s room. But what she found were childish designs that she felt her daughter would quickly grow out of, made with cheap materials. After hours of searching, finally she came across an olive green, canvas tipi. She purchased, and waited for the product to arrive. When the product turned up on her doorstep, her excitement quickly turned to disappointment.

Michela had spent over $200 on the product and it couldn’t have been further from the ideal tipi she was expecting to receive. The tent area was small and constrictive, there was no mat on the base so her daughter would slip when inside the tent, and it continually fell down. 

Frustrated and disappointed, Michela took matters into her own hands. 

Launching the Business

With a background in digital marketing, and having worked for start-ups of all sizes, Michela knew if she could create a better product, she had the skills to successfully sell it online. So she started her own Ecommerce business.

At this time, Michela was pregnant with her second child, and while not everyone would see this as an opportune time to start a business, Michela felt it would work for her. She could run the business around looking after her kids, she wouldn’t have to answer to anyone, could complete the work that was essential for her to do, and for everything else she could outsource to virtual assistants. And with that, Little Teekies was born. 

Michela spent a huge amount of time researching tents and tipis for sale online, particularly focusing on Amazon. She scoured through hundreds of product reviews to understand what people liked about the best selling tents, and what they didn’t like. From there, Michela created a sketch of what her dream tipi looked like – it needed to have a frame that didn’t collapse, high quality tent material, durable tent poles, and a play mat that was attached to the tent so that kids didn’t trip when inside. She then mapped out her target customer – a mum who is extremely considered about what she brings into the home, she’s stylish, likes beautiful things, and is willing to pay for quality products. 

The next step was to find out more about how many customers were looking for a product like hers, and the results were overwhelming. Michela knew that it was a quintessential childrens playroom item, but she had no idea just how in demand tipis and play tents were. In the US alone, there were over 40K google searches every month. And on Amazon there were more than 1M searches for related terms each month. The sheer size of search volume indicated the opportunity for a business like Michela’s. The market was split between low cost play tents or stylish but impractical tipis. Michela’s product would be the best of both worlds and fill a sizable gap in the market.

Finding the right manufacturer took some time and she partnered with a product designer to ensure the product would deliver on all the key features she wanted. Once she received a sample she loved, Michela was ready to go into production and start selling. 

From here things moved quickly, she set up a Shopify site using photos from the sample she received, placed her first order and started running presales. It was also at this time that her second child was born. 

With a new baby and a two year old daughter, Michela set to work building Little Teekies. The business started to grow and slowly Michela began to scale her orders. 

Fast Growth Led to a Fast Exit

In just twelve months, the business was generating an annual revenue of six figures, making it very attractive to potential buyers. The drivers for the fast growth was largely from the strong marketing strategy Michela implemented. Soon after launching, the brand was featured on an Australian network tv show and Michela leveraged this PR to grow the Instagram following. She ran Instagram giveaways generating thousands of entries, and paired this with a social media campaign which achieved a ROAS of 3:1. The brand also generated a number of five-star reviews in a short period of time, giving potential customers confidence in the product.

After a few production challenges and having to air freight some product to get orders delivered, she learnt that in order to grow the business to the level she wanted to, it would take a lot more logistical organization and time, time that Michela didn’t want to spend away from her family. So she decided to sell the business on Flippa.

Exiting an Ecommerce Business for Five-Figures

Once Michela made the decision to sell, she needed to work out how to sell her Ecommerce business. Having no knowledge of Flippa prior to selling, Michela went to Google. A quick search for ‘selling an Ecommerce business’ brought up flippa.com as the number one search result, and from there it was pretty simple. “When I thought about selling the business I had no idea how I would do it. I searched online for ‘selling an Ecommerce business’ and Flippa came up first,” says Michela.

After looking at listings on Flippa that were similar to her business, Michela input all of the details for Little Teekies and launched her listing on Flippa. 

It was around the same time that Flippa’s Sydney Meetup Event was on so Michela went along to learn more about the marketplace and meet others who were also selling their businesses. 

“It was a really good event and I met lots of interesting people. Entrepreneurship can be really lonely, so it was great to meet like minded people who are building a career on their terms.” Michela, First-Time Seller & Founder of Little Teekies.

Find out more about The Exit Meetup Events here.

As soon as Little Teekies was live on Flippa, Michela began seeing interest from buyers. 

“I didn’t realize I would see so much interest so soon after going live on Flippa.” Michela, First-Time Seller & Founder of Little Teekies.

As she moved through the sale journey, three buyers were particularly interested: a Canadian company who acquire Ecommerce businesses and scale them; a US VC company; and Katherine, a buyer from Adelaide, Australia looking for a side-hustle.

After initial conversations with all three buyers, Michela quickly knew that Katherine would be the right buyer for her business. Katherine loved the product and the brand, she had a clear vision for the growth of the business, and she was a mother. While this wasn’t going to impact the sale, Michela liked the idea of passing the business on to another mother.

Conversations continued with all interested buyers as Michela negotiated to get the best price for her business, but she didn’t want to drag out the sale. After Katherine had made an offer Michela was happy with, she went back to the other two interested buyers to find out if they would be making counter offers. They were both interested but wanted to undertake more due diligence, so with that Michela accepted Katherine’s offer and exited for five figures. The entire sale period was just 45 days. 

“I believe a fast sale is a good sale.” Michela, First-Time Seller & Founder of Little Teekies.

Life after Little Teekies

Michela has a few ideas brewing, and with everything she’s learnt from her experience she knows she can sell anything online. Whatever business Michela creates next, if she does want to exit again, it will be through Flippa. 

The idea was simple but unique. Create women’s tights and hosiery for all body shapes, that is both stylish and comfortable.

Hipstiks was founded in 2016 at the beginning of the year and Laura and Jason moved quickly to get the business launched. The idea was fully formed in February and by the end of February they had a name, a logo, a mission statement and a plan for how they would build the business. When June rolled around, they’d secured a manufacturer and were working on fit-testing. By September the website was live, and before the end of the month customers were receiving products.

“The slower you work, the further away you are from knowing the viability and the further you are away from a revenue stream,” says Laura, Co-Founder of Hipstiks Legwear.

Changing an industry

While the business officially launched in 2016, Laura had been sitting on the idea from a very young age. As a child Laura had always hated having to wear uncomfortable and itchy hosiery, pantyhose and tights. Later in life she saw how many other women had the same struggles when she worked in a department store in the hosiery department.

“At that time it was difficult to help women find comfortable and correctly fitting hosiery. The sizing charts were difficult to navigate and it was often embarrassing for women to have to disclose their weight in order to find a size and even then they would often be ill-fitting,” Laura.

As Laura put it, “This particular category of women’s apparel was very broken and it needed some help.” 

Laura had no idea at the time, but she would be the person to give the category the help it needed.

It would be a few more years before the idea for Hipstiks came to life. Back then, shapewear was growing in popularity and women’s clothing was more about changing your body shape for a certain look rather than making the clothes fit you. The market wasn’t quite ready for a different perspective.

Fast forward a number of years and the body positivity movement is growing, particularly among women, making way for Laura and Jason to create a diverse hosiery product that is comfortable for women to wear. Placing equal value on comfort and style, the market was crying out for a product like Hipstiks.

Partners in life and in business

Some may question going into business with their spouse but this wasn’t the first time Laura and Jason had worked together. The pair met while working at a marketing agency where they would work on client projects together.

Together, they had a combined 30 years of marketing and product experience which they drew on to grow their business. It was a busy time as they had just gotten married and originally launched the product as a side hustle to their day jobs at the marketing agency.

“It was interesting to draw on our experience in launching products to see if we could do it ourselves, be more entrepreneurial and build something with our own money,” says Jason.

Having launched products for clients before they knew they had the skills to nail the initial phase, but would they be able to manage the day to day operations after launching, ongoing inventory management, and finances? While it was a learning curve, they mastered the skills and adapted along the journey.

With a quality product, a strong early customer base, SEO and marketing skills, and a diverse sales channel strategy, Hipstiks began to grow. At the time of sale the business was generating a Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) Revenue of more than $112K and a returning customer rate of 23%. The time they invested in SEO had resulted in 20K average monthly page views and a Domain Authority score of 36.

When is the right time to sell?

From the beginning they had planned to sell, but identifying the right time to sell is not always obvious when you’re working on the business day in and day out. For Laura and Jason, it took someone looking in from the outside to help them realize the value of what they built.

“Ashwin [Flippa Account Manager] helped us tremendously to see the value and that Flippa is the right place to find the right buyer for us,” says Laura.

Jason and Laura knew selling might take some time but they were willing to be patient. And they timed the sale to perfection. Sales for hosiery increase throughout the winter months so in order to capitalize on their peak sales months, they launched at the start of winter which meant buyers would see real-time revenue growth while the business was listed for sale on Flippa. Another great example of the importance of connecting financial and site traffic integrations through Flippa when selling.

“I heard about Flippa on a podcast and our fulfillment partner also told us about it… What we loved about Flippa was the pay for performance model” Laura. Jason and Laura liked that it wasn’t costing them anything to keep the live listing on Flippa, they only paid when the business sold.

Once they found the right buyer there wasn’t too much negotiation thanks to Flippa’s accurate valuation of the business. Coupled with the know-how and continued support from Flippa, negotiations were smooth and fast, but the due diligence process was extensive. The detail in which the buyer went into gave them the confidence that they were serious, and after four months the deal closed!

What’s next?

The sale of Hipstiks is not the last entrepreneurial venture for Laura and Jason. They took their success growing Hipstiks, and built a marketing agency that uses their previous experience in launching brands that consumers value to help other Ecommerce businesses replicate the success they had with Hipstiks.

So will Laura and Jason be starting another Ecommerce business? Right now they’re focusing their efforts on their marketing agency Fifty Fifty, although they have a few ideas bubbling under the surface. And they continue to keep an eye on Flippa to see what’s for sale!

“There’s some intriguing things for sale on Flippa, it’s overwhelming just how much opportunity is out there!” Jason.

For now, Laura and Jason are enjoying having just one job, but they’re not ruling anything out – they see another Ecommerce business in their future in some way, shape or form. 

“We would either buy on Flippa or sell again on Flippa.”

Read more Flippa Success Stories here, or find an Ecommerce business to buy on Flippa and make your own success! 

About the Business

Powell Owls sells Baltic amber jewelry, amber gift sets, and teething mittens for children and adults. At the time of sale, the business only sold 100% real, authentic amber certified by the Gemological Institute of America.

The key ingredient of the product, amber, has historically been known to have homeopathic pain relief and healing properties, which is particularly useful in soothing teething toddlers. It contains a “natural analgesic”, which is activated by a baby’s body heat and releases chemicals from the amber that absorbs into the skin, thereby easing the baby’s pain. 

The Business Appeal

At the time of sale, Powell Owls generated an annual revenue of USD $137,382, an annual profit of $73,877,  a 54% profit margin, and a 1.4x multiple. 

The seller of the business, Gavin, sold all website content, files, images, intellectual property, logo, social media accounts, marketing materials, and forwarded the buyer all vendor and manufacturer contacts. 

The seller found many opportunities for growth in the business, as the buyer highlighted its ability to significantly increase its footprint in the industry in both the U.S. and international markets.

Related: How to Grow an Ecommerce Business and Increase Sales

Growth opportunities included: 

• Expanding into other segments in the industry to increase customer lifetime value (CLV).
• Adding targeted, paid and social marketing campaigns to capture new customers
• Add even more customers to the 15,000 database with email newsletters
• Expansion on Ambassador and Affiliate Programs and building strong relationships with bloggers

For the seller, the list of opportunities for expansion proved to be significant in the appeal of the business. 

Consumer Demographic

The typical customer for Powell Owls is female, ages 25-45,  looking for a healthy alternative to using medication on themselves or their children. The following are key customer details on the business:

• 76% women vs. 24% men
• 44% are aged between 25-34
• 19% are aged between 35-44

The Selling Journey

Powell’s Owls had always been a side project running on autopilot. When the owner, Gavin, had a baby and decided to relocate his family back to Australia after living in the U.S. for the past 8 years, he decided to sell the business. 

For the seller, selling the business was lucrative: it’s in a niche market, has a strong brand reputation, high quality products, and an established, consistent supplier relationship, which is especially important in the current geopolitical climate.

After conducting thorough due diligence, the business was sold on Flippa’s marketplace for a total of $100.

The original owner of the business provided 4 weeks of transition training to the new owner, with a complete hand-off of all documentation, contacts, suppliers, software, and websites to run the business.

 Needless to say, the new business owner has plenty of opportunities to expand this lucrative niche. 

Before then, the former navy mechanical engineer started his entrepreneurial journey by offering free tattooing services to shipmates and dabbling in a few dropshipping endeavors.

However, these ventures didn’t prove to be as lucrative as owning the online tattoo education business he bought on Flippa.

Finding the Right Business to Acquire on Flippa

It was only fitting that the journey from tattoo artist to owning Tattooing 101 happened organically: the business was in an industry he enjoyed, and almost immediately, he hit it off with the seller. 

Jay browsed through an entire spectrum of assets available, ranging from content, apps, Ecommerce, and more, discovering assets suitable for those just starting off in the digital acquisition space, and more higher valued assets in the thousands and millions.

After a thorough assessment of the potential risks and possibilities of low return, he decided to acquire a business.

“With Flippa, you can look at thousands of businesses – look at their model, and look at what their structure is. That’s how I eventually found Tattooing 101.

For me at the time, it was kind of a big leap to take that chance.”

Jay, Flippa buyer and seller.

Taking Calculated Risks

It helped tremendously that the business owner showed him the ins-and-out of the asset, and after Flippa provided thorough due diligence, Jay felt confident that the tattoo business was in line with where he wanted to be.

Related: Buyer Due Diligence Checklist

He framed it this way: Flippa being the #1 trusted marketplace to buy and sell digital assets was analogous to eBay as a marketplace to sell antiques and Amazon as a one-stop shop for books.

Jay understood the space was trusted, so he went for it.

“I think getting where I was comfortable, which for me was a reach at $10,000 to acquire this asset,” he says.

Learning by Doing

Diving in without a rulebook paved the way to developing a business strategy.

For example, if he came across an issue with SEO, he’d learn the necessary skills to expand his optimization reach. 

“I was looking at what was working well and what I could improve upon,” Jay says. “Scaling the asset after I acquired it – it was looking at the pieces that were already there.”

Ultimately, Jay decided to sell his tattooing business as he grew weary of running the technical aspects of the business and wanted to transition more to general marketing.

Selling for 10x the Initial Acquisition Cost

When he sold Tattooing 101, the business closed for roughly 10 times more than what he initially acquired it for.

“Acquiring something already in motion on Flippa gave me the foundation to build on top of, and take me where I am today. Not just financially, but in terms of lifestyle as well,” says Jay. “Flippa has changed my life.”

“Acquiring something already in motion on Flippa gave me the foundation to build on top of, and take me where I am today. Not just financially, but in terms of lifestyle as well.”

Jay, Flippa buyer and seller.

Today, you can find the Bend, Oregon resident running a marketing consulting agency.

Inspired by this story? Read up on others who have successfully bought and sold their businesses here.

If you’re ready to sell, check out our First Time Seller’s Guide, and buy an online business on Flippa.

Like this buyer and seller, you too can master proper buyer and seller communications etiquette. We’ll show you how to that here.

Age: 22 years

Authority Score: 48

The Company

Rentalo was listed and sold on Flippa for $33,000. The seller, Alfredo Purrinos, a small business owner and board certified professional engineer with work experience in the U.S. Federal government, was looking to retire and when he found the right buyer the sale happened quickly. 

The company is an eCommerce website ranked by travel experts as the world’s largest online vacation rentals company providing travelers with access to a broad inventory of rental properties like vacation homes, villa rentals, boutique hotels, motels, holiday apartments, and more.

The company’s main client base are small business owners who rent their properties short-term.

Travelers can find great deals on properties like beach vacation homes, mountain cabins, unique bed and breakfasts, and world resorts. 

From family vacations to business trips, over 5 million travelers have successfully booked property rentals via Rentalo. 

How it works

Rentalo features databases of over 100,000 vacation property owners and over 1 million registered travelers. 

Users are able to send inquiries to property owners that match their vacation needs and receive multiple no-obligation offers via email to reserve the property of their choice.

The Appeal

Rentalo.com is a profitable e-commerce website that has generated over $12 million in revenue since 2002 through three different income sources:

• Listing subscriptions
• Pay-per-lead clients
• Banner ads 

The 22-year-old site generates 24,823 page views and 12,232 unique visitors per month, and gains its revenue through listing subscriptions, pay-per-lead clients, and banner ads.

In addition, the company has a Facebook social media following of 2,700 followers and 1,000 followers on instagram.

The Selling Journey

A member of our Flippa buying community, Martin Mansell reached out to a sales team member with an interest in acquiring travel websites on Flippa.

Immediately, we were able to connect the buyer with Alfredo, and the two were able to successfully negotiate a deal and release the funds to Alfredo’s account in less than 30 days.

Just like Alfredo, you too can be matched with a vetted seller that meets your criteria. Our goal here at Flippa is to match quality listings with acquisition fit buyers. 

Start your journey today by scheduling an appointment with our Flippa Finder expert. 

Finding the business of your dream is only one meeting away!

Now, John has six transactions on Flippa, totalling $750,805, with no plans to stop.

With no funds or connections, but an entrepreneurial spirit, Chen took this eagerness to Flippa and purchased his first company, a jewelry business, for $7,500. 

“When I first got the jewelry business, I didn’t know how to grow it, so I tried a bunch of different avenues,” Chen says. “Long story short, I figured out different avenues like Facebook ads and paid social media marketing and was able to grow it through there.” 

Buy, Grow, Sell, Repeat

Chen grew that company and later sold it for an incredible $550,000.

He then went on to purchase a plus-size clothing business for $60,000 from a husband and wife duo. This year, his second company purchased on Flippa is on its way to making 2 million in revenue. 

This is the story of how he became a serial entrepreneur by buying and selling e-commerce businesses on Flippa.

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“It’s considerable growth. When I first started out it was kinda in my apartment, had no employees, now we have a whole team, we have a warehouse, and we’re going to continue growing,” says Chen. “It’s been a good journey for sure.”

When it comes to successfully purchasing a business and making a stream of profit from it, Chen knew right off the bat that he wanted an e-commerce business that incites emotion. 

According to Chen, there’s a science when it comes to how people purchase online.

For example, if someone sees an ad for a jewelry item or piece of clothing, they have to see themselves in it. 

Before user conversion, there’s a psychological element that plays a role in it, and if you’re able to achieve that successfully, you’ve unlocked a whole new level of e-commerce. 

Chen believes that Flippa makes it more accessible for people who want to get started in the entrepreneur space and start a side hustle, while not necessarily committing a ton of money from the get-go.

“Without Flippa, I would be working another job, probably unhappy,” says Chen. “Flippa gave me this career path I didn’t know existed. Flippa has been a game-changer for me.”

Read more about the first business John bought and sold on Flippa here.

John Chen was also our very first guest on Humans of Flippa, you can watch his interview here.