Who buys
Twelve reasons people buy instead of build.
Buying a finished product takes weeks off the calendar and most of the risk off the table. Here is who tends to do it, and what they usually pick.
- Hospitality
The restaurant group tired of commission
Two or five sites losing a third of every delivery ticket to a marketplace.
- Licence a finished ordering app, brand it, launch it
- Card payments into your own Stripe account
Licence Live in 3 weeks - First-time founder
The non-technical founder who wants a running start
Someone with the market knowledge and no way to build the product.
- Buy a small product with real customers instead of a prototype
- Learn the business by running it, not by hiring
Acquisition, at the lower end Handover in 7 days - Operators
The operator buying cash flow
Someone who runs businesses well and wants one that already makes money.
- Verified revenue from day one
- Optional maintenance so no engineer is needed in house
Acquisition Handover in 7 days - Prototypes
The founder who wants to be first, not second
Somebody who knows a market well and would rather shape a product than inherit one.
- Take on an unlaunched product at a fraction of a revenue-generating one
- Set the pricing, the positioning and the first customers yourself
Prototype, acquisition or founding team Weeks to launch, scoped with you - Distribution
The person with the audience and none of the software
Someone with a list, a following or a sales channel and nothing to sell through it.
- Come on as a founding team and put in reach instead of capital
- The studio sets the split and keeps building alongside you
Founding team Answered in 5 working days - Agencies
The agency productising its service
A consultancy that has delivered the same engagement thirty times.
- Licence a client portal instead of building one
- Seat pricing that is not tied to your calendar
Licence Live in 2 weeks - Small business
The shop that wants a direct line to customers
A business whose only channel is a mailing list nobody opens.
- A branded app with push, live in weeks
- Repeat purchase in two taps
Licence Live in 3 weeks - Trades
The trade network arming its crews
A group of electricians, plumbers or fitters quoting on paper.
- Quoting and scheduling already in use by working trades
- Ad account and keyword history included where there is one
Acquisition Handover in 7 days - Nonprofit
The charity that cannot fund a build
A community organisation running shifts through a group chat.
- Licence a finished product for less than a month of contracting
- Recurring donations with proper receipts
Licence Live in 2 weeks - Investors
The search fund looking for a first acquisition
A buyer who wants diligence to take days rather than months.
- Financials verified from the payment processor before listing
- Data room, code and the original engineers
Acquisition Close in 2 to 4 weeks - Corporate
The company that needs it this quarter
An internal team whose build request is eighteen months down a roadmap.
- Licence a finished product and skip procurement of a build
- Hosted by you if security requires it
Licence Live in 2 weeks - Fitness
The studio chain outgrowing spreadsheets
A gym or yoga group running bookings on a shared calendar.
- Buy a booking product and use it in house
- Or run it as a product for other studios
Acquisition Handover in 7 days