Has anyone worked with Empire Flippers?

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July 26, 2021

by a searcher from Harvard University - Harvard Business School in New York, NY, USA

I see an interesting SaaS company for sale on Empire Flippers (www.empireflippers.com), but before I engage with them I'm curious to hear some feedback? How is their reputation?

I've read their Terms of Use and have scheduled a call with them to answer a few questions, but would like to hear some feedback from people who have used them, or considered using them.

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Reply by a searcher
from Harvard University in New York, NY, USA
Thanks again for the feedback above and for the calls everyone. I thought I'd provide some details on what I learned after speaking with Empire Flippers (EF) - bottom line: they have a good marketplace service and ethical reputation, so I plan to move forward with them.

First item to note is that you're buying assets only, except for the on-hand cash at the time of sale. This limits liability, but this fact should be factored into the purchase price accordingly.

Next, as Ujwal noted above EF seems to have a solid vetting/diligence process such that the companies listing in the marketplace are worth taking a look at. Of course, do your own diligence and consider using Centurica and DueDilio as well. To learn more about EF's vetting process check out three resources:

1 - Section 5 (Process to Submit a Business for Listing with Empire) in their TOS: https://empireflippers.com/empire-flippers-terms-use-agreement/

2 - "What’s involved during the vetting process?" in their FAQs: https://empireflippers.com/how-to-buy-a-website-faq/

3 - Podcast "6 Tire-Kicking Strategies For Vetting A Website" (note this is from 2013, so some details may be outdated) starting at 5:12: https://empireflippers.com/efp-43-6-due-diligence-tips/

To "unlock" a listing in order to find out the name of the target company, receive the financials and other materials and begin discussions with the seller, you will need to demonstrate your ability to finance 67% or more of the listing price. They do this to keep "tire-kickers" away.

They will not share your LOI details with other interested buyers, although they will notify buyers who have recently "unlocked" a listing in order to help out the seller. EF gets paid by the seller so the higher the sale price the better.

Once a sale is closed, what I like is EF will hold the buyer's funds in escrow and work with both the buyer & seller to conduct a formal inspection period. During this period they co-manage the transition process with me/investors to ensure the target company’s MRR are verified and the assets are securely transferred to us before the acquisition is finalized and the funds are released out of escrow. If you are interested in the details, visit section 17 "Inspection Period" and specifically 17 (e) "Substantial Deviation": https://empireflippers.com/empire-flippers-terms-use-agreement/

Please let me know if there are any questions.
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Reply by a searcher
from Michigan State University in Dallas, TX, USA
Yes, have attended their mastermind retreat a few years back and have been listening to their content for years. They have excellent content, and first got me thinking about the online business world. Easy to use platform, very easy to purchase as you have your funds in escrow essentially with them so you can make small deposits to view the businesses. It shows that buyers are serious and not just tire kickers, so you do get good response from sellers as well. A lot of US businesses, but also many that are from all over the world - something to consider if that falls outside your requirements. Great leadership team as well, and I think many buyers/sellers can vouch for them and their model, businesses, and process. I did end up selling one of my businesses with them and it was a pretty thorough process, they diligence well, but of course it does not take the place of your diligence. Also the sale agreement is using their documents, as a lot of online brokers are using these days, so they handle that aspect as well. They assist a lot with transition too, especially getting accounts migrated and funds in escrow till everything is assigned over.
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