The last option is creative, but would it run afoul of securities regulations?
not sure, but it might avoid it. I mean you as a company are just selling your company to another company.
The other company just happens to have 400 co-founders, who each threw in $250
A horrible rule.
i kind of liked the last option - i would say motivated crowdsourcing!!!
the other option (which has become preferred option recently) is to sell 25%-50% to the new owner who will run and/or control the operations (and see how it goes) and u be there to provide training and support - this will gain the confidence of the buyer community that your business is real business and you're transparent about revenue and growth potential... once the new owner sees that there is real revenue and growth, he/she start taking more ownership on monthly basis or give you lumpsum amount that was agreed upon.
Re:Ask HN: Selling a Startup?
by falsestprophet on Thursday July 02, 2009 @12:58PM
(#684708)
Don't get too excited. The last option is not legal.
#2 is interesting - hadn't thought of that approach - are you aware of examples of where this has happened?
i've seen few times on sitepoint - most of them are experienced buyers and they dont want to take any chances - there are many frauds and scams in web business as they inflate revenue and make a story which is too good to be true, of course one should have an eye for it to know that. also this practice is very common amongst small non-web businesses (convenience store, gas station, laundromat etc.) and now it is becoming popular on web as well...
Competitors: as long as you have more than one, and one of them is bigger than you(to afford the $100K).
Customers: if some of your customers are big in the industry you serve, one of them might pick you up.
Media Companies: look around to see if there is one that lacks a website in your space.
Or you can setup a webpage for users to throw together a bunch of money, and then help them register a corporation, which will then take the pooled money and buy your company.