Getting Acquired: How I Built and Sold My SaaS Startup - Summary and review
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š Summary: Getting Acquired: How I Built and Sold My SaaS Startup in 30 seconds
Contents
Some main takeaways
Before jumping into the three big takeaways from this book - here are some initial thoughts that stood out:
The ideas on friendly and personal leadership
Using storytelling as your (main) lever of growth
Most ideas are already occupied with solutions - donāt wait for the perfect novel idea, instead build something better, find holes in competing solutions, and use competition as a means to scale and differentiate. Double down on the things your competitors miss or do not do well.
Treat competition nicely
Customer success and making customers happy are everything
Bootstrapping and having customers as your investor can force you into making the right decisions and priorities
1. How to tell a story - using storytelling as a competitive edge š«
Compete on price and you have successfully failed and entered the race to the bottom š - something the bookĀ $100M OffersĀ warns about as well.
Instead, compete on brand and youāre in a race to the top.
Companies like Apple ļ£æ have used storytelling to be perceived as vastly different and stand out - remember the famous ā1,000 songs in your pocketā vs. āAn MP3 player with 5GB storageā. Which is most memorable? Which makes the benefit feel most real?
How Gazdecki used storytelling as an early customer acquisition strategy
However, storytelling is not just for the big players. Andrew Gazdecki used storytelling as an early customer acquisition strategy for Bizness Apps, which came to be their most powerful tool for sales.
āStories are more than just bedtime entertainment.ā š¤
Gazdecki talked about simplifying mobile app development and making it affordable and easy for small businesses, no matter their size or budget.
What they did
Asked people to pick a side - hard and expensive way VS easy and affordable
Created an irresistible story for Techcrunch, Forbes, etc. - a complex and expensive process was made faster, cheaper, and easier
Avoided generic messages like āwe do it betterā that donāt cut it for news outlets and PR attention
Stopped thinking about what they did, but rather why they did it - āhelping small businesses compete with big businessesā
Why did it work?
Bizness AppsĀ wasnāt the firstĀ app builder. BUT it did make it super easy to build one. A prerequisite was a clear alignment between what they did and WHY. But the WHY was something people got inspired by, spread, and wanted to be a part of.
A David-and-Goliath story āļø
āBizness Apps gave local businesses a chance to fight against the global megabrands stealing their market share. Something that democratized entrepreneurship and put every local business in the pockets of its customers.ā
The impact š„
Suddenly, people were hearing about this story all over the world, even though Bizness Apps were not the first, and maybe not even the best product out there. But they had a clear and honorable WHY, which people bought into emotionally.
According to Harvard researcher Gerald Zaltman, 95% of purchase decisions are emotional ones.
Just likeĀ Start with WhyĀ talks about, it both inspires the customers in order to close more deals and aligns the internal team who feels they were doing something meaningful.
The framework - how do you tell a good brand story?
Brand + story = brand story. You should keep your story simple. Maintain a sharp and clear message that is easy to understand. Use your customersā language. Use visuals to reinforce your messaging. Know your audience, be consistent and be personal. Your story neednāt be unique - but it must have a NEW ANGLE.
Here are 4 steps to tell a good brand story:
Identify a shift
Create a new category
Reinforce a theme
Start a movement
Pitch your story often. Publish many variants and see which ones people love. When you hit upon that one inspiring narrative, tell it in a 100 different ways and share with all journalists and publications in your field.
Repurpose and produce tons of content: blogs, videos, emails, podcast, whitepapers, case studies, webinars, TikToks, LinkedIn posts.
If you want to dive deeper into building your founder story, Founder Brand by Dave Gerhardt is an amazing read on the topic.
Work with brand across your offering - identify your best customers
Who are they and what are their qualities? The better you know them, the more you can tailor the message and the user experience inside of your product. Personalize ads, emails, and the design of your UI.
2. Approaching and embracing competition š
Sell your vision, NOT your products. The vision and WHY are what make people listen. People that listen and trust will also buy.The modern buyer journey involves checking out the competing alternatives. 88% of customers shop around, with 94% reading online reviews before making a purchase. Thus, today competition is completely natural.Instead of fearing competition, you should start embracing it and find ways to use it to your advantage. These are some ways you can use competition to your advantage:
Competition helps define your business - it forces you to be different, and helps you build a story regarding what you are not.
Zero in on these differentiators. Shout them from the rooftops! š¢
Acknowledge competitors in your sales negotiations. Recommend that customers speak to them, or research their offerings. This might sound counterintuitive, but it creates trust and authenticity.
The Transparency SaleĀ talks about this as well - both the value of being able to reference transparent reviews for your product. Also, in how you approach competitors and the sales process itself. Be open and focus on providing unexpectedly transparent expert advice to your prospect, and they will reward you in
3. Optimizing outcomes for the founder - the exitĀ š
Maximize your own goals of a successful exit rather than get caught up in endless fundraising.Think strategically: āYouāre sixteen times more likely to be bought than reaching an IPO.āKeep an open and sound mind in terms of preparing for the right acquisition. Build for scalability and be informed.
Some notable statistics on fundraising and exits
From a study referenced in the book:
Only 8-9% of startups ever got acquired at pre-series A.
60% donāt ever make it to the next stage.
Most startups are acquired at series E, but few make it that far.
The more funding you raise, the more likely you are to be acquired. Fundraising is tougher in the early stages and can interfere with running your business - itās thus a risky strategy, if an exit is the goal.
An offer at pre-series A is uncommon yet highly desirable. If itās offered at that stage, statistically, you should take it.
Getting Acquired: How I Built and Sold My SaaS Startup review - what kind of book is it?
Really enjoyed how the author put the storytelling first, weaving in advice and insights; instead of the usual business book that let occasional real-life anecdotes support their suggested (and VERY unique) frameworks. The book was an easy read, with lots of great nuggets. Both on the topic of bootstrapping vs VC, but also a ton of value on building a company, entrepreneurship, and growing a SaaS. Nicely structured that the last half was separate - consisting of more practical advice about the actual acquisition process.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Q: Who is Andrew Gazdecki?
Andrew Gazdecki is an author and growth-minded entrepreneur. He started broke in his early 20s, developing business apps, then selling to a PE firm before the age of 30. Gazdecki has led over 100 employees in his own companies, worked as a growth consultant for several multimillion-dollar startups, and been featured in TechCrunch numerous times.
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