Take
Don't learn to code, learn to manage engineers
Andrew, a non-technical founder, grew a no-code SaaS to $10M ARR by finding one elite overseas engineer (Raymond Chester in China) and hiring all of his friends. His advice for non-technical founders: skip learning to code and learn to manage engineers well.
“I always recommend don't learn how to code, learn how to manage engineers. Properly. And so I ended up just hiring all his friends. So we ended up having like a house for them and they had like 20 engineers in China”
Steal thisIf you're non-technical, find one great engineer, treat them like a brother, and hire their network.
Fact
QSBS: pay zero federal tax on the first $10M of a sale
Andrew explains he structured his exit as a stock purchase to qualify for QSBS (Qualified Small Business Stock), which exempts up to the first $10M of gain from federal taxes. He flags it as essential knowledge for anyone selling a business.
“We did a stock purchase, so I benefited from QSBS, which if you're looking to sell a business, look up QSBS. You pay zero federal taxes on up to the first $10 million.”
Steal thisStructure your company so an exit qualifies for QSBS and shields the first $10M of gain from federal tax.
Tactic
Have the acquirer buy your cash to get QSBS on it
Andrew negotiated to roll $2M of company cash into the purchase price at a 1x multiple. Normally that cash gets distributed and taxed at ~40%; by selling it as part of the QSBS stock deal, he shielded it from that tax.
“typically if you are acquired, you have $2 million cash in the bank account that is divided back out to shareholders and you're taxed at 40%. So we got QSBS on that $2 million cash.”
Steal thisIn a stock sale, fold your bank cash into the purchase price at 1x so it inherits the QSBS tax treatment.
Take
Go boring with money so you can focus on what you're great at
Andrew's investment philosophy after his exit: dump everything into boring index funds, expect ~10% compounded for 40 years, and never check the market. Removing money worries lets him take big swings and focus all his energy on building.
“10% market returns compounded for 40 years, sell when you're 70, you're set. You're going to be balling when you're 70. You're going to be rich. You're going to die with that money. And so for me, I don't like checking the stock market. I don't care to. I don't want to understand it.”
Steal thisPark your exit money in boring index funds and stop checking it, so your focus stays on building.
Prediction
Miss
The future small business will be online, digital, and profitable
Andrew predicts that aspiring entrepreneurs who once would have opened a restaurant or plumbing business will instead start niche SaaS or e-commerce companies, shifting the small business economy toward online, digital, profitable ventures.
“I think the future of the small business economy is going to be online, digital, and profitable. People who used to want to start like a restaurant or like a plumbing business or something like that, Those young entrepreneurs are going to be looking to start a niche SaaS company or a niche e-commerce company.”
Number
MicroAcquire: one employee, 1,500 subs, ~$400K ARR
Andrew Gazdecki's MicroAcquire is a curated marketplace newsletter for buying small SaaS businesses. With Andrew as the only employee, 1,500 subscribers paying $299/year put it at roughly $400K-$425K ARR, mostly grown in the prior 4-5 months.
$400K
MicroAcquire annual revenue · USD/year
“And so as of today, he's got 1,500 subscribers paying $299 a year. And that brings his revenue to about $400,000 a year.”
Idea
Drop the price, add a course and community to MicroAcquire
Sam's playbook for MicroAcquire: cut the subscription to $39-$99/year to make it an impulse buy, then layer a $2K-$5K course and community around buying and selling companies. He estimates it could reach $30-$50M/year revenue and $10-$20M/year profit.
“what I would do if I was Andrew is I would decrease the price to $99 a year because that, or even $39 a year because that would make it an impulse buy and I would get loads of people. Then I would do this company selling. Then I would have a course that costs $2,000 to $5,000 and it would include a community and was all focused on buying and selling companies, growing businesses.”
Steal thisMake the entry product an impulse-priced subscription, then monetize with a high-ticket course plus community.