Editor’s note: We know that a lot of our readers are interested in acquiring and building businesses, so we’re re-publishing one of our most popular pieces on this topic from our archives. It’s part of a series on side businesses by author and founder Justin Mares.
Before starting Kettle & Fire—a direct-to-consumer bone broth company—I had a previous life in the SaaS world, running growth for a company that bought small SaaS apps and grew them. We sold the bundle of businesses to Rackspace for eight figures in early 2013.
When I left Rackspace after the acquisition and went out on my own, I wanted to replicate the model with which we’d seen so much success: I wanted to buy and grow my own SaaS business.
My partner Ryan and I were on the lookout for a business that fulfilled one of my side hustle criteria. A strong potential acquisition had to:
Solve a problem someone is already aware of,
In a niche where customers are already paying,
Where the product does not require a lot of maintenance or hand-holding,
And is profitable or has a no-brainer path to profitability.
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### Summary
- Side Hustler Justin Mares made his fortune buying and growing SaaS apps, then selling them for a tidy profit.
- In early 2016, Mares acquired Shopify plugin Notify for $0, having seen a 40% lift in conversion on his own website.
- After seeking to acquire other SaaS apps and having a deal fall through after $10,000 in legal fees, Mares sought to acquire apps that were making less than $20,000 a month, as such apps were often more akin to a job than a business, and their owners might be more willing to sell.
- Notify has since grown into a million-dollar revenue business known as Fomo.
#### By Justin Mares / Superorganizers
