This week, we’re talking about Jeff Bezos’ shareholder letter. Bezos makes a comparison of the different sentiments between “Day 1” of starting a company and “Day 2”. Amazon is a Day 1 company and has been since his original 1997 Letter To Shareholders, which he includes in all subsequent annual updates to remind everyone of Amazon’s culture. Bezos pushes to maintain the drive of businesses that are starting off their potential, rather than the sigh of relief and what he considers an eventual decline that happens on Day 2. Here at FE International, we carry that same passion and attitude to bring our clients the best possible service.
This week we are featuring a display advertising business with 3.5 million unique visitors over the last 12 months. Follow the link to request more information or fill out or investor form to browse more SaaS and e-commerce businesses.
After a hugely successful MicroConf this past week, founder Thomas Smale is now heading off to two other events to talk about how to scale SaaS and what to look for when buying an online business. The first, LTVConf, is a one-day gathering on April 19th of boostrap SaaS business owners in Brighton, England. The second, is a private digital investor event from April 20th to 22nd in Atlanta. If you’re attending or in any of those areas, please let us know and we can set up a meeting with Thomas directly. Keep an eye out for our write-up of MicroConf 2017, too!
Read more below on Bezos’ letter, a Stripe acquisition and third-party Amazon sellers being hacked.
Deal Highlights
Display Advertising – Quotes – $2.4K gross/mo
- Diversified revenues
- 3.5 million unique users in the trailing 12-months
- High net margins of over 95%
- Long visitor sessions, averaging 5.2 min/session
- Low owner involvement
Yearly net profit: $27,800
Asking price: $78,000
In the News…
Jeff Bezos Shareholder Letter
As mentioned above, this week, Jeff Bezos released his annual letter to Amazon Shareholders. In previous years, Bezos has focused on the importance of revenue diversification, examined the role of failure in invention, and revealed their “get paid to quit” program. The main focus for this year is Amazon’s need to remain a “Day 1” company rather than a “Day 2” company. In Bezos’ words, “Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that’s why it is always Day 1”. His argument: Amazon’s life depends on staying relevant and exciting and pushing the future rather than waiting for it.
In the letter, Bezos describes how businesses can avoid falling into Day 2 by providing advice from his own experience. He refers to this as a “Day 1 starter pack.” This includes customer obsession, a skeptical view of proxies, the eager adoption of external trends, and high-velocity decision making.
As a business owner, you might find his advice useful. To read more, see a copy of his letter here.
Amazon Third Party Sellers Hacked
Hackers have stolen logins and thousands of dollars from third-party Amazon sellers. In a report from the WSJ (paywall), the hackers have been taking over non-active accounts and changing bank information. Once bank information changed, the hackers would post fake products at cheaper prices, sell the product and collect payment. Buyers who have been scammed by these hackers are being offered refunds, but from the sellers.
Sellers are now having to deal with the consequences of the hackers and dealing with angry customers and simultaneously collecting debt. Amazon states that it has been working hard to prevent sellers from having to deal with this financial hit, by trying to ensure that seller and customer information is secure on the site. Amazon suggests that sellers and customers should regularly monitor their accounts in addition to adding two-factor authentication to their logins.
Whether you’re a seller or buyer on Amazon, it doesn’t hurt to be extra cautious with your information, seeing that Amazon currently has over two million sellers in its marketplace and is a big target for hackers.
Indie Hackers Acquired by Stripe
Indie Hackers, he platform where founders and entrepreneurs can share their knowledge about projects and businesses, has recently been acquired by Stripe. Indie Hackers founder Courtland Allen, expresses his excitement of being able to grow the site from 0 to $6000/mo. Due to limited capacity, Allen could not dedicate his time producing content for the site and saw an opportunity in the Stripe deal. Allen will transition as a Stripe employee to focus his efforts solely on Indie Hackers, to further grow the community and forum.
The Indie Hacker community is composed of independent founders who run bootstrap businesses, earning revenue from a few hundred per month to tens of thousands. To learn more about Indie Hackers, check out their site here.