How SparkLoop sold to its partner, ConvertKit

October 3, 2023
​Read on web​

If you take one thing away from today’s story, let it be this:

Your ideal buyer might be one of your partners or clients.

How can you foster those relationships early on, so the foundation is there when you’re ready to deepen the partnership?

That’s what led to an acquisition for the founders of SparkLoop, a newsletter growth SaaS.

They partnered with several email service providers (ESPs) to grow their user base, and eventually one of those partners, ConvertKit, bought the business to bring it in-house.

Founders Manuel Frigerio and Louis Nicholls launched SparkLoop in 2020, then a year and a half later, raised 6 figures in angel funding to support growth.

The business was bringing in low 7 figures in revenue, with 25% month-over-month growth, when ConvertKit bought it in 2023.

The founders are staying on to continue to grow the business.

Here’s the full story:

​Newsletter growth SaaS SparkLoop sold to one of its early partners, ConvertKit​

Sponsored by

When your buyer is... a bully

What happens when the buyer who wants to acquire your business leans on bullying tactics to try to get the deal done?

This happened to me (Lexi) when I sold a content site. I didn't end up selling to that buyer, in part because I had an advocate on the call who called out the behavior afterward.

That advocate was my lawyer, Andrew Ritter. We reconnected for this conversation, which was meant to be about mistakes to avoid when you sell... and ended up including tips for when your buyer tries to pull the "we know what we're doing and you don't" card.

Many buyers, by the way, are respectful and even collaborative. But if you end up with one of these bad apples, you'll know what to look for and how to react.

Watch our conversation, or if you'd prefer to take us along for a ride or a walk, there's also a podcast version:

Behind the business (of TGA)

When we started selling out our newsletter slots, I knew we needed to think bigger.

Our sponsors wanted more ways to reach our audience, and we needed more inventory to sell.

So a few months ago, we launched a new offer, the sponsored interview.

Here's how it works: We interview an expert or thought leader who wants to share their perspective with our audience.

Then we share that interview in our newsletter in the sponsor section, and readers can watch the video or listen to the audio like a podcast.

There's an example above where you can learn from M&A lawyer Andrew Ritter of Wiggin and Dana.

We also published an interview with Matt Camrud, a financial planner at Brighton Jones, about how to minimize taxes when you sell your business.

These interviews take considerably more effort to produce than a written sponsor message.

But they're also more helpful and interesting to our readers, because it's content you can learn from and apply to your own business.

For the sponsor, this approach can lead to higher ROI, because readers get to know them better and understand what they offer. The in-depth conversation showcases their expertise and fosters trust. Sponsors also get an asset they can share with their own community, as well as a back-link.

We have a few slots open this fall for sponsored interviews. If you'd like to be featured, press reply so we can chat.

See you next time,

Lexi Grant
Founder & CEO
​They Got Acquired​