Frequently Asked Questions

A profit multiple (also called earnings multiple or SDE multiple) is the ratio of sale price to annual profit. For example, a business earning $5,000/month in profit that sells for $180,000 has a 3× profit multiple. It's the most common valuation metric in the sub-$1M indie acquisition market.

Based on data in the FounderSold database, the median profit multiple for bootstrapped SaaS exits under $1M is approximately 3–4×. High-quality businesses with strong retention, organic growth, and low churn can achieve 5–7×. Businesses with platform dependencies, high churn, or concentrated customers typically sell below 3×.

Any completed acquisition of an indie startup, micro-SaaS, newsletter, mobile app, or digital product for under $1M. We include exits from bootstrapped founders only (no VC-backed companies). The business must have been acquired — not just shut down or abandoned.

Data comes from three sources: public marketplace listings (Acquire.com, Flippa, Empire Flippers), founder announcements on Twitter/X and blogs, and direct submissions through our submit form. The Verified badge means key financial metrics have been cross-referenced against an independent source. See our Methodology page for full details.

Based on exits in the FounderSold database, the average time from listing to close is 2–4 months for most categories. SaaS businesses with clean metrics and steady growth close faster (often under 60 days). Content businesses and marketplaces can take longer depending on due diligence complexity.

The most commonly used platforms in the FounderSold database are Acquire.com (best for SaaS and subscription businesses), Flippa (broad marketplace, best for content sites, mobile apps, and lower-price deals), and Empire Flippers (selective vetting, best for high-quality businesses with >$2K MRR). Many exits also happen privately through founder networks or Twitter/X.

MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) is the predictable monthly revenue from subscriptions. It matters because buyers pay premiums for revenue predictability — an MRR-based business reduces buyer risk. A $5K MRR SaaS will generally command a higher multiple than an equivalent-revenue one-time sales business.

SDE (Seller's Discretionary Earnings) is revenue minus operating expenses, before adding back the owner's salary and non-recurring costs. It represents the total economic benefit to a single owner-operator. SDE is the standard metric for valuing sub-$1M businesses because it normalizes for owner compensation. See our Glossary for a full breakdown.

Yes. Use our Submit form. You control how much data to share — even partial data (category, approximate price range, lessons learned) is valuable. Submitted data is reviewed before publication. We can anonymize your company name if you prefer.

In an asset sale, the buyer purchases specific assets (code, domain, brand, customer list) without acquiring the legal entity. In a stock sale, the buyer acquires the company itself including all liabilities. Asset sales are by far the most common structure for sub-$1M indie acquisitions because they're simpler and reduce risk for both parties.

An earnout is when part of the sale price is contingent on future performance. For example: '$100K upfront + $50K if MRR stays above $5K for 12 months.' Earnouts are uncommon in the sub-$1M indie market but appear occasionally when there's uncertainty about revenue quality or the seller wants to stay involved post-acquisition.

The FounderSold Pro plan ($19/month or $149/year) includes advanced market analytics (platform breakdowns, price distributions), CSV export of the full database, unlimited saved exits, unlimited price/activity alerts, and pre-verification data. The core database is free for all users.

Yes. Cancel anytime from your dashboard. You keep Pro access until the end of your current billing period. We also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee — no questions asked.