Solo founders at $500K-$10M revenue considering an exit. Works for content, SaaS, ecommerce, services, and media businesses. Especially relevant as strategic acquirers and micro-PE firms (Tiny, Constellation, Acquire.com buyers) increase interest in solo-operated assets.
From decision-to-sell to close: 4-9 months typical. Shorter for content/SaaS with clean books; longer for service businesses with client concentration.
The playbook
- 1
Month 1 — Valuation + positioning
AI CFO calculates SDE (seller's discretionary earnings) over last 12-24 months. For SaaS, calculate ARR, NRR, and growth rate. Benchmark against comps on Acquire.com, Flippa, and Empire Flippers. Write the one-page teaser: what it is, revenue, profit, why selling, asking price range.
Acquire.comFlippaEmpire FlippersGoogle Sheets - 2
Month 2 — Due diligence pack
AI Bookkeeper assembles clean P&L, balance sheet, cash flow for 24 months. AI CFO writes financial memo. AI General Counsel compiles contracts (hosting, domain, IP assignments, customer TOS). AI Data Analyst exports metrics dashboards (MRR/ARR curve, churn, CAC/LTV, cohorts). All in one Notion / Dropbox room.
QuickBooksNotionDropboxPandaDoc - 3
Month 3 — Buyer universe + outreach
AI BDR identifies 40-80 qualified buyers: strategic (competitors, adjacent tools), PE rollups (Tiny, SureSwift, Constellation, Saas.group), individual operators, marketplace listings. Personalized outreach with NDA + teaser. Run parallel, not sequential — creates competitive tension.
ClayApolloLinkedIn Sales NavigatorGmail - 4
Month 4-5 — LOIs + diligence
Goal: 3-5 LOIs (letters of intent) to pick the best price and terms. AI Scribe joins every diligence call and captures minutes. AI General Counsel flags red lines in each LOI (earn-out triggers, seller notes, working capital adjustments). You pick the buyer with the best total package, not just highest price.
DocuSignPandaDocFirefliesCalendly - 5
Month 6-9 — Definitive + handover
Definitive agreement (APA or SPA). Pre-close: AI team training pack — document every workflow the AI team runs so the buyer's team can maintain or replace. Post-close: you typically stay 30-90 days transitioning relationships. The AI team can transfer with the business, reducing the founder-handover risk that kills 30-50% of solo acquisitions.
Escrow.comDocuSignNotionLoom
Pitfalls to avoid
- Selling too early — most solo founders underestimate by 50%+. Get multiple LOIs; let the market price you.
- Selling to the first offer — scarcity drives terms. Parallel conversations are worth 30-50% on final price.
- Skipping a clean financial pack — buyers discount 20-30% on messy books; cleaning up is the highest-ROI pre-sale work.
- Forgetting the handover plan — if the business runs on 'things in your head', buyers assume risk and lower offers. AI-team-documented businesses command a premium.
- Emotional attachment blocking the deal — the business exists to create optionality for you. Exit without guilt.