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.

Initially, there was a sense of hesitation as he didn’t quite have the confidence to completely extract his living expenses and invest in an online business. However, after much research and vetting of the industry, Chase found the courage to take a leap of faith to entrepreneurship.

Becoming a Business Owner

In 2017 Chase came across Flippa and bought his first Amazon FBA ecommerce business. He wasted no time jumping on the opportunity to place a ‘buy it now‘ bid to the seller who was considering other prospects. This was the beginning of Chase’s roll up strategy. This approach of acquiring multiple assets in the same industry and consolidating them into a large company proved to be advantageous. By combining small like-kind businesses into a larger company, Chase was able to pull resources together, cut down on operational costs, and increase revenues.

“I’ve found it to be helpful to establish a relationship directly with the seller,” says Chase. “The number one thing is to have your financing in place. You have to be nimble enough to strike a deal. If you tease it out, someone will swoop in.”

Related: How To Interact With Sellers

For Chase, there was an art to finding the right business to invest in: this could look like hitting 25 different roadblocks before finding something with merit. Out of those 25, one in 10 would have enough opportunity still left in the business to accelerate growth. If the business met this criteria, Chase would immediately jump to the opportunity and speak to buyers.

“I loved the idea of having product pages that were on Amazon,” says Chase. “That already existing search volume was taking place and all I had to do was come up with the creative art – that was the exciting part.”

“I’ve found it helpful to establish a relationship directly with the seller. The number one thing is to have your financing in place. You have to be nimble enough to strike a deal. If you tease it out, someone will swoop in.”

Chase Levitt, Flippa Buyer with $650K worth of acquisitions on Flippa.

Transitioning to Digital Products

Chase maintained a frugal lifestyle saving his extra income to buy a few businesses.

It wasn’t until he started working with an author who was in the process of releasing his second book that he recognized the similarities between book listings and physical products. 

“I told him, what you need is not to finish your second book, but to find a way to scale this so you can release 100 books,” says Chase. “As soon as I said those words,  it dawned on me that there’s where I need to be.”

So he jumped on Flippa and purchased his first digital product business for $355,000, and shortly after he made his second purchase for $195,000.

“Fast forward now about a year, I ended up selling all of my products in a roll up,” says Chase. “That was an exciting time for me and I wanted to continue on in the online ecommerce space and I made one difference, and that was I wanted to sell digital products that didn’t require being in the warehouse.”

Running all three businesses and maintaining them wasn’t always easy. It took plenty of trial and error, deploying the right contractors, and gaining tangible skills. 

Today, Chase enjoys the passive nature of his portfolio as it allows him to spend more quality time with his kids. These days you can find him focused on maintaining his business, enjoying the fruits of financial flexibility, and keeping an eye out on businesses on Flippa that piques his interest.

“The best part about Flippa is the newsletter, and it dials in pretty close to exactly what I’m looking for,” says Chase. “I love the newsletter. I love the auction and access to the seller — that’s really tough to beat when you stand it up against its competitors.”

“I love the sales approach and access to the seller — that’s really tough to beat when you stand it up against its competitors.”

Chase Levitt, Flippa Buyer with $650K worth of acquisitions on Flippa.

The Next Level for Chase’s Portfolio

“The second big inflection point in my business is when I started to acquire similar businesses that I could integrate into my standard operating procedures.”

Chase Levitt, Flippa Buyer with $650K worth of acquisitions on Flippa.

In phase two of Chase’s online acquisition journey, Chase has now acquired $650K worth of online assets on Flippa. Growing to this level is an accomplishment in itself, but also worth noting is his strategy for growing his acquisitions.

As part of his selection criteria, he invests in businesses that are in an exciting growth stage and can integrate well with his existing standard operating procedures.

Next Steps

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, or start looking for a website to buy.

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

Want to Hear More from Chase?

Watch his Humans of Flippa interview about becoming a high-Growth digital business aggregator here.

Discovering Opportunities with Flippa

Alvaro’s entrepreneurial spirit was ignited when he realized the vast potential in the world of online business. Despite facing language barriers and unfamiliar territory after moving from Peru to a new country, he took the leap into entrepreneurship. He began by offering digital marketing services to local businesses, honing his skills and building his confidence along the way.

From Shiny Object Syndrome to Strategic Acquisition

Alvaro’s journey with Increasingly wasn’t without its challenges. Initially enticed by various online business opportunities, he eventually found his niche in advertising services. Focused on Facebook ads, Google ads, and revenue generation strategies, Alvaro streamlined his agency’s services, discarding distractions and focusing on what truly worked.

The Decision to Sell with Flippa

As Increasingly grew, Alvaro realized the need to scale further by bringing on additional personnel—a step he wasn’t ready to take himself. Recognizing that there were entrepreneurs more experienced and equipped to take the agency to the next level, he made the strategic decision to sell.

Alvaro turned to Flippa for its valuation tools and resources tailored to online mergers and acquisitions. Listing Increasingly on Flippa proved to be a pivotal decision, as the platform’s extensive reach and support network facilitated a smooth selling process. With buyers from Europe and the U.S., Alvaro felt confident that Flippa’s platform would connect him with the right buyer.

Navigating the Selling Process

Selling a business for the first time can be daunting, but Flippa’s support team provided Alvaro with guidance every step of the way. From valuation assistance to navigating inquiries from potential buyers, Alvaro felt supported throughout the entire process. Flippa’s vetting process further instilled confidence, ensuring a secure transaction for both parties involved.

A Life-Changing Experience

For Alvaro, Felipa—his affectionate term for Flippa—has been a game-changer. It not only provided him with a platform to sell his business but also opened his eyes to the vast opportunities in the online business landscape. Alvaro’s journey exemplifies the power of resilience and adaptability in entrepreneurship. With confidence in his abilities and a willingness to overcome challenges, Alvaro’s success story serves as inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere.

Alvaro’s journey from a door-knocking entrepreneur to a successful exit with Flippa highlights the transformative power of perseverance and strategic decision-making in the world of online business. His experience underscores the importance of leveraging resources like Flippa to navigate the complexities of buying and selling online businesses. As Alvaro continues his entrepreneurial journey, one thing remains clear: with the right tools and mindset, anything is possible in the world of online entrepreneurship.

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. 

Together, Mark and Alex co-founded Linkfluencer, a renowned SaaS platform specializing in LinkedIn marketing. Linkfluencer empowers individuals and companies to create leads and sales on the platform using a purpose-built custom software. Featured in 100+ media publications, this award-winning business operates as a hybrid subscription and agency model.

The Genesis of Linkfluencer

The Linkfluencer journey began in 2013 when Alex stumbled upon an email with a captivating subject line: “94% of editors and journalists are on LinkedIn.” 

Intrigued by the potential of LinkedIn for personal branding, Alex actively cultivated his LinkedIn presence. In just six months, he amassed over 300 media contacts, was featured in more than 50 publications, and recognized the platform’s potential for personal branding and PR. This realization sparked the idea for Linkfluencer.

Creating the Perfect Platform

Founded in 2013, Linkfluencer quickly became a global leader in LinkedIn marketing and training. Its mission is to help people unlock the full potential of LinkedIn, offering training, campaign management, certification, licensing, and speaking services. Over the span of a decade, Linkfluencer has generated millions of dollars for clients across 35 countries and 65 industries.

Initially, the business started just by selling courses on LinkedIn success, but Mark and Alex responded to customer demand for additional services, including events and ongoing advisory support. These valuable offerings propelled the company’s growth. 

Juggling their other commitments, Mark and Alex decided to explore an acquisition on Flippa to ensure Linkfluencer’s continued success.

The Decision to Sell

Mark and Alex were determined to secure the best possible outcome for Linkfluencer’s sale. Their goal was to find a buyer whose vision aligned with theirs and who would offer the right price. They considered various options, including appointing a CEO, but eventually, they found the perfect match.

‘The good thing about Flippa is that it wasn’t just about the sale. We had people approaching us with different options’, says Alex. 

The Exit Process on Flippa

Alex and Mark were helped through the transition by Certified M&A Advisor Fiona Laidlaw. 

The entrepreneurs praised the ease and straightforwardness of the process and appreciated the high caliber of individuals they encountered on Flippa. Conversations with venture capital firms, fellow entrepreneurs, and business owners eventually led to a successful exit. Alex and Mark are confident that Flippa facilitated the sale to the right buyer.

The sale has given both Alex and Mark the opportunity to focus on their other businesses and projects. 

Working in a corporate job that was unfulfilling, Daniel started his own business and when he felt he had taken it as far as he could, he decided to sell it on Flippa. This is Daniel’s exit story from getting a free valuation on Flippa to connecting with high-quality buyers on the platform, and then exiting for $300K.

Reaching Your Potential

Daniel was working a corporate job as an estimator or quantity surveyor, but he never felt truly fulfilled by the work and couldn’t shake the feeling that he could be doing more with his life. 

“I never truly felt like I was reaching my potential. I always felt like there was something more and that led me to starting a business.”

Daniel Galea, Sold SaaS business for $300K on Flippa.

Daniel acted on those feelings, and turned his hand to online entrepreneurship, which is how Front Digital was created. 

Front Digital is a real estate lead generation marketing agency: it generates and qualifies buyer and seller leads for real estate agents, buyers, agents, and other real estate professionals. 

Once Danial found a process or service that was successful and repeated, he worked on finding a way to automate that process in a way that allowed him to scale the business. For Front Digital, Daniel was able to automate advertising, outreach, service delivery and fulfillment. 

A Passion for Building Businesses 

Initially Daniel’s motivation for starting a business revolved around money, but after he got a taste for the type of impact and results he could achieve, the feeling of success became the main driver. 

After a number of years, Daniel felt he had taken Front Digital as far as he could and he was eager to explore his next entrepreneurial venture. At the time of sale, the business was generating around $10K USD profit per month with a 75% profit margin and steadily growing revenue. Having built the business in Australia and focused on growing it in the Australian real estate market, it was an incredible opportunity for a buyer from another area to acquire and scale to other regions. 

Exiting Your Business on Flippa

Daniel sold Front Digital for $300,000 USD, this ended up being slightly more than the amount Flippa’s Valuation Tool provided initially. 

For Daniel, he not only found success selling on Flippa, but the experience opened up a network of investors and entrepreneurs that he would never have had access to otherwise.

Along with expanding his personal network, Daniel believes that the sale process was accelerated due to the volume of quality buyers on Flippa. In total, Daniel had 61 discussions with different buyers, ultimately selling to a buyer based in Canada who was acquiring the business with the goal of scaling it across the US.  

The sale of Front Digital gave Daniel the leverage he needed to take advantage of new opportunities and continue to focus on his passion for building businesses. 

Daniel’s advice for other business owners looking to sell is to take advantage of the vast and varied network Flippa has to offer. 

“I think people should look at Flippa to sell their business purely because of the connections… I love how easy it is just to get connected with qualified people.”

Today Daniel continues to run multiple business ventures, focusing on growing and scaling his businesses.

They created three websites in the guitar review niche, with Gearank.com being the largest website.

After seven years of hard work, they decided to list Gearank (as the main business) on Flippa—but the sale included all three sites.

At the time of sale, the business was generating $4.2K profit per month and had 102K page views per month.

We sat down with Daniel to learn more about their story and how they were able to achieve such success in growing and selling Gearank on Flippa.

Starting Gearank

Daniel and his business partner, Jason, started working together in the late 1990s during the dot-com boom. They had a background in music, playing in a band together during the late 80s-early 90s.

Cover image from the bands single “Strange Haze” in 1991, with band members Jason Horton, Ian Craig and Daniel Barnett.

“Jason was the one who started up a music software site really early in the internet days, that’s where it all came from. I’m still a bit of a gearhead and always on the lookout for the next cool piece of music gear to try out,” Daniel said.

Back in the day, Daniel studied programming at university and adapted to the emergence of the world wide web as it came along.

Over time, both Daniel and Jason started other gear-related sites, some of which were very successful and turned a decent profit. However, the success of these websites started to slowly decline.

One of the earlier guitar review sites Jason and Daniel created, also part of the sale.

They needed something else to keep the income flowing. That’s when they saw an opportunity with Gearank.

Gearank.com homepage

Daniel explained that people responded positively to their product advice, and it became very popular.

“Some folks think there are too many of those “best of” lists out there, but we brought a unique approach by researching the products and presenting the information in a straightforward and honest way. We even created an algorithm for ranking the products based on feedback and other factors. People seemed to like it and it ranked well on Google,” he said.

Gearank has 122 gear guides and counting. 

Success in Peak Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, their websites experienced a significant increase in traffic and income.

“It was crazy. Gearank.com was getting over 300,000 page views per month— because a lot of people were buying musical instruments. So it was a really good time during COVID, for income,” Daniel said.

However, when the pandemic ended, their traffic declined—sitting closer to 200k visits per month.

What they didn’t expect was for these visits to dwindle further—when Google rolled out its Product Reviews algorithm.

Deciding to Sell

Although they had considered selling earlier, they were hesitant to pursue it. However, when their traffic fell due to Google’s product reviews update, they decided it was time to sell. 

The traffic drop meant that their websites were no longer providing a sustainable income. They tried to address the issue but ultimately felt like they were out of ideas and lacked the energy to turn things around. Daniel’s business partner had been in the business for 25 years, while Daniel had been involved for about 14 years, so they both felt that it was time to move on to something else.

They sold Gearank for $67,500 USD.

“We knew about Flippa. We had looked into it before when we were thinking of acquiring a site about 12 years ago. We were just looking for businesses that could complement what we had at the time. However, we didn’t end up going through with it,” Daniel said.

Finding a Buyer on Flippa

Daniel found the process of listing his business on Flippa to be straightforward and user-friendly. Although he admitted it took some time to write the listing, get the numbers right and think about what to say about the business.

“It involved a bit of soul-searching,” Daniel added.

Daniel created a detailed listing that included information about his business, its history, and its financial performance. He also included screenshots and other visual elements to help potential buyers understand what his business was all about.

Once they listed their business, they received interest from several buyers. 

While they were pleased with the number of inquiries they received, they were not prepared for how quickly things would move.

It took about three weeks from listing to selling the business. 

“We were expecting maybe to get more offers from the United States, but it ended up being two Australians who were the serious buyers,” Daniel said.

Daniel said the most interested buyer of the two had a number of discussions with them. They had calls, and messages and he even sent them a letter of intent, which showed that he was serious.

“He’s run other websites before and he has a site in the musical instruments niche. It’s an Italian site from what I understand, so he had some insight into that,” Daniel said.

During the process of listing his business, Daniel had access to a dedicated Flippa representative who helped him along the way. 

“Despite some challenges we encountered along the way, the support team was quick to resolve them. And Ashwin was fantastic. He just guided us through the process, and he was there for us when we needed him, available to talk.”

Daniel was asked if he would recommend Flippa.

“Definitely, I would. Flippa can really get the results. I think that’s the important thing. They’ve got the buyers, and they can help along the way. I definitely recommend, especially for someone selling a site of our price, higher and maybe even a bit lower. It really is good to have someone to talk to. I think looking at those things with a dedicated rep, it’s definitely worth it.”

What’s Next for Daniel?

When asked about his future plans, Daniel said he is uncertain and considering taking a short break to think.

“Look, I might just duck back into being a web developer, a corporate web developer. Could be fun,” Daniel said.

“Or maybe I’ll get another business idea, and be operating that.”

With that said, we hope to see Daniel back on the Flippa platform as a seller in the not-so-distant future.

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

If you’re ready to sell, get a free valuation for your business here.

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

Chris was a Project Manager in the corporate world for over ten years. After climbing to the top of the corporate ladder, he realized he wasn’t feeling fulfilled in his career – and life. That’s when he decided to change everything.

Freeing up his property’s capital, he started to make various investments into websites on Flippa. This allowed him to completely change his life, giving him the freedom he lacked in the corporate world. 

How it All Began on Flippa

Chris bought his first website on Flippa for just $400. The content site focused on natural dyeing products, and wasn’t monetized. Chris had to invest time in making it a revenue generating business. He monetized it with ads and affiliate programs, created an e-book and one year later, he sold the website for over $4K on Flippa. 

This was the point at which he knew he had tapped into a winning formula – and his next acquisition resulted in a six-figure exit. Chris acquired a unique content website in the dream interpretation niche, he improved it over the course of a year, and eventually sold it for over $200K on Flippa.

Chris’ next purchase was an established 11-year-old blog focusing on French-inspired weddings. When he decided to sell it, the deal took just 30 days to complete, and he had multiple offers from a diverse pool of buyers, including big corporations. 

Finding The Perfect Business

In 2022, Chris was browsing Flippa and found an unmissable opportunity: a nine-year-old WooCommerce site selling engraved seeds, Live Love Bean. He purchased it right away for $4K, knowing that there was plenty of room for growing the business.

The business is now booming: the products are sold online, direct to consumers, through wholesale, as well as at local markets during the weekend. Chris and his family are absolutely loving this new business venture. 

“To anyone thinking of buying or selling on Flippa, I would definitely recommend it.” 

Chris Hammond, Flippa Super Seller

When it comes to Flippa, Chris states that nowhere else can you find such a variety of businesses available for sale, any kind of niches or products, and have access to such a large community of buyers and sellers across the world. 

Flippa has completely changed Chris’ life: he couldn’t have achieved what he achieved without Flippa. Chris is now able to work on something for as long as he wants, and then just list it on Flippa, and find the next big thing to work on. 

Check out Chris’ latest business venture, Live Love Bean, a unique Ecommerce store selling magic beans, engraved seeds that sprout to reveal their message on the side of the plant.

And find your next business venture on Flippa. 

Shoot for the moon 

Brad Younger lives in the northern beaches in Sydney, but he has dreams of travelling far from the Eastern Coast of Australia. What Brad really wants to do is get to space one day. It’s a big dream, but one that Flippa has helped Brad get a bit closer to reaching.

“I want to get to space, and Flippa’s helped me get there.”

Brad had always wanted to build something for himself, so when a friend put him in touch with an online retail manager looking for a way to manage orders, Brad jumped at the opportunity.

“This sort of married up, there was a need and there was a want, I had the skills to do it, so it all sort of fell together”, says Brad.

Now, Brad has built several apps, but there’s one in particular which Brad had a lot of success with. IDA Connect is an integration app for Ecommerce businesses, specifically targeting Ecommerce brands selling on The Iconic, one of Australia’s largest fashion and sports retailers. Acting as a middle-man, the app sends information between the marketplace and vendor to track inventory and orders.

It’s All in the Connection

Brad first came across Flippa in 2010. Back then, he had an information marketing site, his first ever website which he was using as a learning tool. It was around the same time that he heard of Flippa and remembers how easy it seemed to buy and sell online businesses.

But it wasn’t until Brad went to a Flippa Meetup event and connected with Ashwin, one of Flippa’s trusted Advisors. His conversation with Ashwin got Brad thinking about when would be the right time to exit his app business.

“I went to the Flippa meetup and met Ashwin, he was able to basically convince me that now is the right time to sell.”

And that’s exactly what happened. Brad listed his business on Flippa and sold it for $470,000. 

Selling at the Right Time

Brad didn’t know straight away when the right time to sell was, but after talking to Ashwin at the Sydney Meetup he started to consider what he wanted to focus his attention on.

“I decided to sell IDA Connect and then focus on my second app.”

But it wasn’t a smooth sale process. Brad a number of interested people, some of whom were financial investors, others operational investors, and took a couple of months to find the right buyer who would be capable and willing to operate the app.

“I started talking to a couple of operators and then the new owner came along and it was just a perfect match.”

Brad would never have found the right buyer if it wasn’t for Flippa. “I’d recommend Flippa because of the the reach they have in the marketplace.They brought in a lot of people looking to buy a business.”

“Flippa has changed my life by giving me the freedom and the money now to pursue other business ventures that I’ve always wanted to do.”

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.

Helping teams through the use of gamification, she became intensely curious about its potential. 

She took this emerging field to the next level, co-founding and building PentaQuest— a SaaS business that helps teams and organisations thrive using cutting-edge behavioural science and gamification.

After four years, Kerstin decided to sell PentaQuest and use Flippa’s marketplace to connect with potential buyers from around the world.

The business sold within 30 days. 

Kerstin shares her founding story and how she navigated the process of selling a business close to her heart.

Where It All Began

Kerstin has always been interested in people, business, and how they work together.

She began experimenting with gamification as a business consultant and quickly saw the potential for combining high performance and psychology to boost performance.

“It was a lightbulb moment,” Kerstin said. “I thought this is it, this is how you connect the two.”

She decided to undertake a PhD in Gamification to further her research.

“I designed an experience for my colleagues to encourage a range of team behaviours. From daily irritants like tidying a mess and submitting a form, to strategically critical behaviours like sharing knowledge and building culture of appreciation.” 

For example, one game mechanic to help colleagues reframe daily behaviour like cleaning up a mess was called “Mess Monster”.

“You would place them on a mess to signal that this area of the office needs cleaning and to empower someone to clean it— even if it wasn’t their own” Kerstin explained.

She put together a physical leaderboard as a way of tracking progress and motivation. 

Kerstin’s approach to gamification and her systems were so popular that her consultant clients began asking if she could create similar systems for their teams.

It was time to take her proof of concept and turn it into a minimum viable product (MVP). 

From MVP to a Fully-fledged SaaS Business model

Kerstin partnered with the Australian National University to develop a MVP for a gamification platform through their Tech Launcher program, which pairs undergraduate students with real-life projects. 

The MVP was built in 2016 and was tested in multiple offices, including Kerstin’s own workplace.

Kerstin got talking with a client, who expressed interest in building their own HR gamification platform. Kerstin was able to use the MVP she had already developed as the foundation. 

PentaQuest was born.

The name PentaQuest came from the idea of a quest or game with the goal of striving towards a high-performing team with five key attributes. It was also a nice nod to the positive gesture of high fives.

Growing & Selling PentaQuest 

PentaQuest grew through word-of-mouth and through speaking at events. One event in the US led to Amazon becoming a client. The company also had a strong presence in multiple teams of the Australian government in Canberra.

“At first I thought ‘can I survive doing this?’ and then you let your mind wander and think ‘maybe this could be Australia’s next million dollar unicorn!’ Kerstin beamed.

While Kerstin saw herself building the business and working in it for 10 years, the exit plan was always a sale or acquisition. 

After four years of building PentaQuest and with her first baby on the way, Kerstin decided it was the right time to sell PentaQuest.

Kerstin googled marketplaces for selling businesses and came across Flippa.

“If you don’t have buyers in your network, where do you find them? Flippa made it easy to connect to potential buyers all over the world,” Kerstin said. 

She listed the company on the platform in early January and received a valuation from Flippa’s calculator. While it was in the same ballpark of Kerstin’s initial gut feel, they had to take into consideration the huge amount of IP baked into the business.

At the time of listing, the business was turning over six figures in annual profit with a 72% profit margin.

The Process of Selling on Flippa

The selling process was both validating and vulnerable for Kerstin.

“We listed it early January. There weren’t too many bites (messages/interest) in the first week. However, when we were featured in Flippa’s monthly newsletter, I woke up the next morning and there were 30 messages in my inbox!”

🔥Hot tip for other sellers: Kerstin generated a word document with common responses to make the process faster.

After receiving several offers from Australia, Kenya, US and UK, Kerstin narrowed down the list of potential buyers to a shortlist of eight. Evaluating them based on criteria such as location, cultural fit, their proposed use of the platform, and terms and conditions. 

They accepted an offer from an Australian-based company who was the best cultural fit.

“In some ways, PentaQuest was my first baby,” Kerstin explained. ”I didn’t want it in the hands of someone who didn’t get the values of it.”

From the time of listing, PentaQuest sold in under a month. 

Looking back on her experience Kerstin said, “I had no idea what to expect with selling a business, but Flippa has scaffolded that process nicely. I felt supported every step of the way.” 

Kerstin was still in touch with the new owner after the sale and even worked with them on a short contract to assist with the transition. The client transfer process went smoothly, with the buyer regularly meeting with clients to ensure they were happy.

As for building another business to sell, Kerstin says nothing is off the table “never say never!”

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.