Introduction:
I loved consuming SaaS content, but at one point, i realized it wont lead me to anywhere. That’s when i realized i need to start “producing or building” instead of “consuming”. I always loved SaaS, but having no coding background meant i can’t develop one myself (Being a PM at a tech company helped tremendously though). Left with only two choices, either to outsource development of an idea, or acquire a SaaS from acquire.com. To me, acquiring was easier, meant you can pick an already validated product, and shortcut the development.
Choosing a SaaS to acquire:
My goal was to pick a product that was a painkiller not a vitamin. A product that the customer will get their ROI on it. While searching, many products were highly valued for no reason (no customers, no mrr, and 3 weeks old…cmon?), so it wasn’t that easy to find a great product. Until i found a product that solved a real problem facing every SaaS… Churn 🔥.
The acquisition:
I found Cancelo.io , and was very interested in it. I spoke to the founders to understand more about the product, their current customers, and how they marketed it. What really attracted me to the product was the high customers retention rate, and the marketing opportunities out there! Fast forward, we closed the deal 🤝.
Post-acquisiton:
I expected cancelo.io to be up and running in no time after the acquisition, but it wasn’t that smooth initially, as i encountered many roadblocks post acquisition that i didn’t account for. I interviewed many devs, but it wasnt easy to find a good one, especially since you are on a tight budget. You want a dev that have a great experience, and more importantly is great at communication! However, after a dozen of interviews, i founded a really great dev.
It took more than expected, for Cancelo.io to be ready, we kept testing and further developing the product together until we are finally able to launch 🚀.
What the product does:
The product helps you understand your churn and also reduce it, ultimately increasing your $MRR. It does so via cancelation flows, and by showing you analytics on the reason customers churned. The cancelation flows can be also customized to offer discounts when the cancelation reason is high price, or by offering to extend trial, in case the customers wanted a longer trial period. Basically customized the way you want.
PS: You wont need cancelo.io if your $MRR is low, but if your $MRR is higher than $7K you are guaranteed to get back your ROI with it.
Try it now: www.cancelo.io
Very keen on hearing your suggestions!
that’s a bold step.
opting for acquisition over building from scratch, especially without coding skills, is a practical choice.
smart focusing on a product that solves a real problem like churn.
post-acquisition challenges sound tough but finding the right dev is crucial.
the product’s approach to reducing churn and boosting MRR seems spot on.
curious how it’s going since the launch. anyone else jumped into saas by acquiring? how’d it go?
Hey pal, since launch, the first challenge was refurbishing the product. However, the biggest challenge is customer acquisition ofc.
If you ever decided to acquire a SaaS, will be happy to help.
you’re so awesome bro. i’m usually available on Twitter. where can we chat?
No you’re awesome haha. Twitter: Rashid_builds
How would someone build something like this? Does the software sync to like a cancel subscription button, which then triggers the flow?
Pretty sure this is all handled prior to passing any cancellation to stripe. Setup a button action that prompts a window with prebuilt options of your choice. Depending on the choice that response will be captured and then handled on the backend.
Fuck anyone that uses stuff like this. I just want to cancel, not go through you’re stupid “smart cancellation flow”.
It’s a good product, but god damn do I hate those. Just let me f-ing cancel my subscription.
Haha, apologies for that. However, if one day you had a SaaS based biz you might want something similar, then it will be on us :)
Trying to understand how does stripe come into picture. Does you company also allows actual cancellation via stripe I guess or just the flow that talk about the reason for cancel and offers. Can you support customers who dont go through stripe? I really liked the demo. It was super easy to understand and interact with. Do you know who are you competitors in this space?
Its just a form your website that intercepts the user.id and then i just see the stats of the cancelation flow? I can do a form on my website, better, styled as my app and i dont give data to other website. And why i would need 2 cancelation flows? Only if i had 2 SaaS apps? Thats unlikely
Rather than sharing irrelevant information, it would have been great if u have mentioned the following things
- What are the things u were looking for when u were planning to acquire a SaaS?
- What’s the MRR of cancelo and how much did u acquire it for?
- How did u validate the retention rate metrics and the data of how many months subscriptions?
- How exactly did u get to join the meet with Founders?
What is the rate you are paying for dev work now?
Absolutely fascinated by your journey from content consumer to SaaS owner, especially with your insightful approach to choosing a painkiller over a vitamin. Your story with Cancelo.io resonates, and it’s inspiring to see the dedication post-acquisition. 💪 Quick question- What were some unexpected challenges you faced during the development phase, and how did you overcome them? Curious to hear more about your experience!
Absolutely fascinated by your journey from content consumer to SaaS owner, especially with your insightful approach to choosing a painkiller over a vitamin. Your story with Cancelo.io resonates, and it’s inspiring to see the dedication post-acquisition. 💪 Quick question- What were some unexpected challenges you faced during the development phase, and how did you overcome them? Curious to hear more about your experience