This week we teamed up with payment processing giant Payoneer to discuss a Quickfire Guide on How to Sell an Amazon FBA Business. In the article, Thomas covers how an Amazon FBA business are valued, how to increase sales salability and options for timing a sale. FBA entrepreneurs, don’t miss these vital tips on increasing the value of your business to help generate more profit!
In SaaS news, Asana has this week raised $50M in a Series E round of funding led by Generation Investment Management. The new round raises the software company to unicorn status with a $1.5 billion valuation and grants it the resources necessary to focus on product and international expansion (50% of new sales currently generate from outside of the US). Asana serves 50,000 paying organizations and has raised a total of $213 million since its founding in 2008.
In cloud computing news, at the re:Invent conference this week Amazon launched several new features for AWS, including blockchain for AWS, a managed blockchain service and a cloud security hub for AWS users. The blockchain service, called Quantum Ledger Database (QLDB), will operate as a fully managed ledger database with an append-only, immutable journal to track and cryptographically chain and verify a history of all changes. Amazon Managed Blockchain, on the other hand, supports Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric and will allow users to conduct millions of transactions. The AWS cloud security hub provides a comprehensive overview of high-priority security alerts, aggregating all security alerts or findings from multiple AWS services in one place.
The e-commerce and retail world saw Cyber Monday beat expectations and yield record online revenues of $7.9 billion, making it the biggest shopping day in US history. Multi-channel shoppers increased from 2017 by an astonishing 40% to 90 million total. This broker Black Friday sales with consumers spending a record $6.22 billion online for an increase of 23.6% over 2017, according to an Adobe Analytics report.
Featured in digital service listings this week we have a $580K B2B digital marketing services platform, with productized service monetized via recurring subscriptions, meticulous documentation of SOPs and highly trained and autonomous team in place, high customer lifetime value of c.$13,000 with average revenues per user of $1,100 in the LTM, authoritative brand in a rapidly-growing niche and proven value proposition with plenty of avenues for growth.
Featured in e-commerce listings this week we have a $720K fashion and apparel business, with proven market fit with a diversified portfolio of thousands of high-quality SKUs, high customer repeat rate of 14% since launch, strong organic search traffic with keyword rankings for over 40,000 keywords and extensive social media presence with hundreds of thousands of social media followers. Also featured in e-commerce listings this week, we have a $316K print-on-demand design automation business, with revenues growing at a 26% CAGR for the period 2016 to (e)2018, highly scalable business using design automation scripts to create tens of thousands of unique designs, diversified sales with income generated across Amazon FBA, Amazon Merch and Teespring, and other platforms, 36,000 tier Amazon Merch account and branded website with growing traffic offering clear opportunity for expansion.
A particular highlight in e-commerce listings this week comes as a newly SBA-eligible $500K hunting and outdoors business, with revenues reaching a c.46% CAGR for the period 2016 to (e)2019, authoritative website with hundreds of pages of content helping drive steady organic search traffic, proven market fit with hundreds of five-star product reviews on Amazon, popular brand with tens of thousands of social media followers and diversified revenue streams with plenty of opportunities for growth. If you are interested in any of the above businesses, please follow the link to request a prospectus.
In events news, Founder Thomas Smale had a great time at SaaS North over the past few days, where he had a chance to catch up with fellow SaaS entrepreneurs and thought leaders. Next week, Thomas is off to Sydney for SaaStock Oceania in Australia where FE is sponsoring a Happy Hour on December 6 for clients and industry friends. Planning on attending SaaStock Oceania? Click here to RSVP to the drinks event!
Continue reading below for more on Asana’ recent funding round, AWS blockchain and the Cyber Monday shopping results.
Listings
Featured
E-Commerce – Fashion & Apparel – $86K gross/mo
- Proven market fit with a diversified portfolio of thousands of high-quality SKUs
- High customer repeat rate of 14% since launch
- Strong organic search traffic with keyword rankings for over 40,000 keywords
- Extensive social media presence with hundreds of thousands of social media followers
Yearly net profit: $296,000
Asking price: $720,000
Digital Service – B2B Digital Marketing Services Platform – $44.8K MRR
- Productized service monetized via recurring subscriptions
- Meticulous documentation of SOPs and highly trained and autonomous team in place
- High customer lifetime value of c.$13,000 with average revenues per user of $1,100 in the LTM
- Authoritative brand in a rapidly-growing niche
- Proven value proposition with plenty of avenues for growth
Yearly net profit: $190,000
Asking price: $580,000
E-Commerce – Hunting & Outdoors – $42K gross/mo
- Rapid revenue growth with revenues reaching a c.46% CAGR for the period 2016 to (e)2019
- Authoritative website with hundreds of pages of content helping drive steady organic search traffic
- Proven market fit with hundreds of five-star product reviews on Amazon
- Popular brand with tens of thousands of social media followers
- Diversified revenue streams with plenty of opportunities for growth
Yearly net profit: $171,000
Asking price: $500,000
E-Commerce – Print-on-Demand Design Automation – $21K gross/mo
- Revenues growing at a 26% CAGR for the period 2016 to (e)2018
- Highly scalable business using design automation scripts to create tens of thousands of unique designs
- Diversified sales with income generated across Amazon FBA, Amazon Merch and Teespring, and other platforms
- 36,000 tier Amazon Merch account
- Branded website with growing traffic offering clear opportunity for expansion
Yearly net profit: $113,000
Asking price: $316,000
Sold
Display Advertising – Evergreen Lifestyle Products – $32K gross/mo
In The News…
Asana Raises $50M in Series E
Leading team-based project management software Asana has raised $50M in a Series E round of funding this week.
The new round has granted Asana unicorn status at a $1.5 billion valuation which the company will be using to invest in international and product expansion. Currently, 50% of new sales come from non-US customers. Since the company’s founding in 2008, Asana has riased $213 million, and will put the newest round to (among other ventures) an AWS-based data center in Frankfurt in H1’19. Also as part of its global expansion plan, the company will focus on offices in Sydney and Tokyo, with plans to hire in both markets as they are generating significant traction for sales. The company has also been adding machine-learning, predictive AI and has a “long-term vision for marrying computer and human intelligence to run entire companies.”
As of January, Asana has a self-reported customer base of 50,000 paying organizations.
AWS Launches Managed Blockchain and Cloud Security
At their annual re:Invent conference, Amazon announced two new blockchain services and a cloud security hub for AWS.
The new blockchain services will come in two packages: Quantum Ledger Database and Amazon Managed Blockchain. QLD is Amazon’s fully managed ledger database and will utilize a central trusted authority to cryptographically chain and verify changes. Other features include transparency, automatically scaling up or down and speed of functionality. According to AWS CEO Andy Jassy, “This service is going to make it much easier for you to use the two most popular blockchain frameworks.” While support for Hyperledger Fabric is available today, users will have to wait a few months for Ethereum support. The managed blockchain service will also integrate with QLD. AWS’s cloud security hub offers one centralized location for users to check notable security notifications across all AWS service accounts.
Those interested in signing up for a preview of the blockchain services can do so on AWS’s site.
Cyber Monday Set New Online Revenue Record
An Adobe Analytics report noted this year’s Cyber Monday broke records as the biggest shopping day in U.S. history.
Customers spent $7.9 billion on shopping, which is an increase of almost 20% over higher last year. Adobe had predicted $7.8 billion. The shopping season as a whole broke several records, including highest sales volume for Black Friday and Thanksgiving, smartphone sales, increase in referrals from social media and Buy Online Pickup In Store (BOPIS) sales. The nearly $2 million spent shopping on mobile phones on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday is important to note for marketers, as mobile shopping is typically thought of as limited to discovery-stage use. Knowing that consumers purchased on mobile should inform an increased ease of use that online retailers could bring to the shopping experience. It is worth noting that shopify reports more than $1.5 billion was generated in sales over the shopping weekend.
It is estimated that out-of-stock messages Cyber Monday cost retailers nearly $177 million in lost sales.