Has anyone worked with Empire Flippers?
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.
from Harvard University in New York, NY, USA
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3 - Podcast "6 Tire-Kicking Strategies For Vetting A Website" (note this is from 2013, so some details may be outdated) starting at 5:12: https://empireflippers.com/efp-43-6-due-diligence-tips/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.
from Michigan State University in Dallas, TX, USA