They Got Acquired - Communities are hot

June 6, 2023
​Read on web​

When co-founder Mark Johnson sold his online food and beverage community Foodboro in 2021, it wasn’t his first time selling a company.

In 2008, he had sold SFO Media, his travel blog company, to the online arm of Conde Nast.

That deal launched his seven-year career at Conde Nast — and gave him the experience to build and sell Foodboro.

In three years, Foodboro accumulated a niche newsletter audience of 5,000 food and beverage professionals.

A small niche, yes, but that’s what attracted subscribers to the informative weekly newsletter. And it proved a successful gateway to the paid community, which drove revenue.

In 2021, Johnson found a buyer on the online marketplace Acquire. That buyer was Sylva, a company that acquires and grows niche online communities.

Here’s the full story:

​This online food and beverage community attracted 5,000+ subscribers — then a buyer​

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Behind the business (about TGA)

Last month at CEX, Joe Pulizzi, who organizes the conference for content entrepreneurs, brought me on stage for an award! I was a finalist for their Entrepreneur of the Year:

When I got home and pulled the trophy out of my bag, my 5-year-old looked at it and said, "Mom! What race did you win?"

I laughed hard at the idea of me moving fast enough to win a race.

But that's the kind of confidence and support we all need, someone who believes we can do the impossible.

When you run your own business, there's not much external recognition: no promotions, no raises, no shout-outs at the company meeting. You have to muster a lot of motivation from within.

So I appreciated this tangible reminder that we've created something from nothing since we launched 1.5 years ago!

Building this brand has been a team effort; it would not have happened without the hard work of many contributors, and of course, our readers and listeners.

Thanks to all of you for believing in us 💙

This phrase has become cliche, but it also feels true in this moment:

We're just getting started!

See you 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:

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