The offer
Month 8. A B2B SMB services aggregator approached us. $5M cash + earnout offer. The aggregator had acquired 3 similar non-resident LLC services in the prior 12 months. Standard playbook: roll up competitors, integrate, scale.
The math we ran
- $5M offer minus deal fees (~10%): $4.5M
- Founder/team dilution post-deal: ~$3.5M net to existing team
- Year 1 revenue trajectory: $400K with 45% margin = $180K profit
- Year 2 projection: $1.2M revenue, $540K profit
- Year 5 projection: $5M revenue, $2.25M profit
- Cumulative profit 5 years: ~$8M (and growing)
Beyond the math
Customer trust was the bigger consideration. Customers chose us because of pricing transparency, honest comparisons, and founder accessibility. Aggregator ownership would likely raise prices, dilute the brand voice, and lose customer trust. The 1,400 customers who chose us would feel betrayed.
What we are building toward
- Sustainable independent operator at fair prices
- Year 5 target: 10,000+ customers, $5M+ revenue, $2M+ profit
- Build the open-source handbook into the definitive resource for non-resident US LLC formation
- Maintain customer trust through transparency and honest service
- Build a small profitable durable business, not a venture-scale unicorn
What the aggregator likely wants
Roll-up strategies typically: acquire profitable services, integrate operations, raise prices 30-50%, accept some customer churn for the margin lift, sell the combined entity in 3-5 years at higher multiple. The math works for the aggregator. Customers and original founders typically lose.
Lessons from saying no
The offer focused us. Forced us to write down what we are building toward and why. The answer (durable independent operator at fair prices) clarified subsequent decisions: no VC funding, no aggressive pricing changes, continued investment in brand and customer trust.