They Got Acquired - Negotiating over... WhatsApp?

March 24, 2023
​Read on web​

This multi-million-dollar deal was negotiated in an unlikely way: over WhatsApp.

And it shows that the buyer for your business might not be who you expect.

Louis-Luas Thibault and Thomas Jacquesson created two tools for social media growth—Tweet Hunter for Twitter, and Taplio for LinkedIn—under their parent company, Pony Express.

By partnering with creators who shared the tools, they grew to 5,000 users for Tweet Hunter and 3,000 users for Taplio, with a combined $100,000 MRR.

But building on the back of a social network is risky. So the pair looked for a buyer to share that risk with them.

They started by talking to big companies, but couldn’t see themselves working there post-acquisition, which they knew would likely be part of the deal since the startup was so new.

Then Thibault reconnected with his buddy from middle school, who ran a company that built business-networking tools… and it turned out to be a fit.

We share the deal terms and more in our story:

​Why building a company based on social media can be risky—and have huge upside​

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Going to CEX?

Are you going to the Creator Economy Expo? It's in Cleveland on May 1-3.

There aren't many in-person conferences specifically for content creators and media entrepreneurs, so I was happy to see this one launch last year.

I'm joining the event as a speaker and would love to connect in-person with They Got Acquired readers. Give a shout if you'll be there.

(If you sign up using our link, we'll get a small cut.)

Until next time,

Lexi Grant
Founder & CEO
​They Got Acquired​
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🙌 How we can help

Here's what we offer for founders looking to sell in the next year:

- Help choosing an advisor or broker you can trust

- M&A coaching if you have a potential buyer or want to approach buyers on your own

- A sounding board (free call) if you're not sure where to start

- Reports full of case studies and data about other founders who sold

- Posts covering the basics of how to sell your business​

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