Delivery Date, a Shopify App that enables customers to select a date for delivery of their order during checkout, was founded in August 2017. Tolu Akinola used his passion for tackling challenges across the board to create a solution for frustrated Shopify app users. After three years of modifying the app based on customer feedback, Tolu decided it was time to divest of his business. He successfully exited Delivery Date through FE International in the spring of 2021.
We recently caught up with Tolu Akinola on a video call to ask him about his experience founding, scaling and exiting a successful app in the Shopify niche and found out a bit more about the genius behind the code.
How did you come up with the concept for Delivery Date?
I had built apps before this that gained decent traction, but never anything on the Shopify platform.
It wasn’t my intention to build anything commercial. I wanted to improve my programming skills, so I spent time reading all the forums with Shopify merchants, trying to figure out what people were complaining about. I was trying to find that one thing that people were saying they needed. I realized a lot of people were upset about not having their packages delivered on the date that they needed them. I started reaching out to merchants that had complained and asked them if I created an app that could fix this, would they be interested in using it.
I then started to ask the following questions: What would an app like this look like? What would a good version of this app be? A couple of merchants responded to my messages and I sat down with them to have conversations to understand what they were trying to do and what was important to them.
I asked a few of them if they would like to test the application as I was building it. That way they could review designs and wireframes and to let me know if I was on the right track. Only one person took me up on this offer and helped me review in real time. Funny enough, he didn’t end up being a customer.
After I built the first version and launched it, people started to organically install it. I thought it was fascinating that people were using it and depending on it, but I knew that the app was poorly built. I didn’t know what I was doing in the early stages of developing the first version.
After about four or five months of getting bug reports and complaints from customers, I went back and rebuilt the application from scratch. I completely fixed all the problems it had and made it a much better experience the second time around.
That was the foundation of how I created Delivery Date.
Once the business was established, how did you grow it and how did you promote it?
I never had time to grow or market Delivery Date. This was an area where I struggled throughout the entire process. I never had time to scale or promote the product and Delivery Date was always just a fun side project for me. So, the time I did have, I would spend writing code, not marketing.
How long did the exit process take for you?
It was about three years from the inception of Delivery Date to the exit. Late last year I decided I didn’t have time to grow, scale or market the business. I didn’t have the time to continue to make Delivery Date effective in the market. My other projects required more of my time. I would only spend about two to three months a year working on Delivery Date. I would note all the features people had asked before, and build them in the short amount of time that I would dedicate yearly to the app. I would not touch the app outside of that. Every year I found myself repeating this process and that is not a great way to build lasting success. I knew that if the competition spent every day committed to building the app, they would take over Delivery Dates position in the market easy.
I realized I wasn’t giving Delivery Date the love it deserved and I knew that my time would yield bigger returns elsewhere, so I decided to exit.
What made you to decide to go with an M&A advisor and, specifically, FE International?
I researched on the internet and came across articles that had been written about FE International. I saw a common theme that people were successful exiting their business through FE. I filled out a form on the FE website and people from the team reached out to me shortly thereafter.
I had two businesses that I was looking to exit. I started another app about a year and a half after Delivery Date, but it was much smaller in terms of scale. It did not meet FE’s threshold of an eligible business they would consider. I ended up having to sell that one myself and listed it on a marketplace.
I had a side-by-side comparison of what it was like to work with both. They both took the same amount of time, but I had very different experiences.
What was it like talking to potential buyers?
The M&A advisors would call me up and say, “Hey, we’ve got a buyer that wants to learn more. We are going to set up a call.” They would set up the call with the buyer and they would ask me questions about the business. The questions were standard, nothing out of the ordinary, and the prospectus we put together captured a lot of the details about the business.
For me, the calls were more about seeing if the buyer had the human element I was looking for. It was more about finding the person I felt was a good fit to hand my business over to, rather than getting answers that could have already been found in the prospectus.
Did you feel that the human component was an important part of your decision?
Yes. One of the things that made me feel good about going through the with the sale was hearing the FE International guys say that the prospective buyer had bought multiple apps from them. This helped me see that they buyer was legitimate.
I’m handing over an app that has a connection to hundreds of thousands of people’s businesses. The app helps them generate income and support their families and employees. I didn’t want to hand it over to someone who was going to let them down. I wanted to find someone who wouldn’t misuse their data and someone who would support them properly. I was trying to get the sense that whoever bought Delivery Date would understand that the app was connected to real people, with real businesses. Also, someone who was familiar with Shopify who know the pros and cons and who was concerned with growing it to the level I knew it could get to.
Were you surprised by anything in the process?
I was surprised by the due diligence. I assumed the process would go like this: I would call FE International up, I would let them know the app that I have for sale and the price I wanted to sell it, FE would scan the internet for potential buyers, and then I would eventually get a check for the business.
I had no idea that FE would go into every aspect of my business. My bank statements, my Shopify account, checking everything that I claimed and making sure it was all well documented.
It made me think that I would have a whole lot of trust in this company if I were coming in as a buyer.
For the app that I sold on a marketplace platform, they trusted me at my word and did not investigate any data to back up my claims. They never even logged in to Shopify to check and they never looked at my bank statements.
What’s next for you?
I always have a lot of projects I am working on and different opportunities always seem to arise. I plan on building more apps in the future, but as for Shopify apps, I plan to move on to a different niche.
Are you interested in having a smooth exit like Tolu? Fill out this short form and get a confidential valuation.
You can read other FE International client success stories on our blog:
Why working with an M&A advisor can save your most valuable resource: Your time
When is it time to sell your SaaS business: Interview with Chad Boyd