Messenger For Desktop Update: How I Sold My Company On MicroAcquire

Alexandru Rosianu

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Published: April 19th, 2022

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Alexandru Rosianu

Founder, Messenger for Desktop

$1.5K

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

Messenger for Des...

messengerfordesktop.com

from

started March 2015

$1,500

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

Discover what tools recommends to grow your business!

Discover what books Alexandru recommends to grow your business!

Mastering Bitcoin: Programming The Open Blockchain: Andre...

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About M... Robert T. Kiyosaki

Want more updates on Messenger for Desktop? Check out these stories:

1. How I Developed A $1.5K/Month Facebook Messenger App For Desktop (2020) ➜

This is a follow up story for Messenger for Desktop. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published about 4 years ago, check it out here.

Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.

Hello again! I built Messenger for Desktop, a simple app that lets you use Facebook Messenger from your Mac or Windows computer.

Since the first interview on Starter Story more than a year ago, the biggest update and something I'm proud of is that I've sold the app to an American company.

The first page of the pitch deck I created when I posted the business for sale on MicroAcquire.

Tell us about what you’ve been up to! Has the business been growing?

In 2020, the advertising industry (on which my monetization depended) was impacted by marketing budget cuts caused by COVID, the backlash on advertising (ad blockers), and people generally being more privacy-conscious.

Messenger for Desktop had reached a point where I had to find new marketing channels to grow, as well as potentially new ways of monetization. I sat down and wrote a doc with all the marketing ideas I had.

I even hired a marketing consultant whom I paid $100/hour to help me come up with a strategy. I could handle the execution myself, but I needed help with the strategy. That wasn't a good experience because not only was it hard to find a professional on UpWork specializing in the kind of monetization I was doing (pay-per-install model) but when I finally chose someone, who was knowledgeable in many areas but he could not help me much.

At the same time when I was struggling with marketing, I started advertising the business for sale. I posted it on MicroAcquire and a few other places. Most of the marketplaces I found seemed either dead, impossible to get into or from 2005. MicroAcquire, on the other hand, was a breath of fresh air and it brought me around 50 inquiries over 2–3 months.

After I created a pitch deck and submitted the listing on MicroAcquire, the founder was kind enough to offer me a video call with advice. I asked all kinds of questions mostly about how the payment should be made and the legal contracts that are required. Props to Andrew Gazdecki, who was super helpful.

Fast-forward through tens of inquiries to which I responded but then never heard back from, 2 buyers were highly interested. The first one offered only 3x the monthly revenue, basically peanuts! It was disheartening, after all the time I invested on calls with them and answering questions. I declined.

When the 2nd highly interested buyer turned up, they ticked a lot of boxes and overall I felt they were a good match. After a few presentations, extensive documentation, and more negotiations, I finally closed a deal. I did it! My first "exit", as they say.

What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?

Nothing out of the ordinary, just to be persistent. It took a long time to sell, but I guess that's valid for most sales in the space.

In hindsight, it was the right decision. I was able to move on to new projects that excite me, while someone with different a perspective, experiences, and skills can give Messenger for Desktop a new life.

What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?

With the funds from the sale, I started experimenting with new side projects in crypto. It would be ideal to find another idea that works and then invest some of the funds from the sale to bootstrap quickly.

I'm excited about web 3.0, decentralized software becoming mainstream instead of the centralized privacy-invading BigTech that dominates today, Defi cutting out middlemen in FinTech, and overall better incentivized and more inclusive public organizations.

OK, back to the real world, I am now working full-time on a new startup called Proptee. Proptee's mission is to bring real estate investing to every millennial in the world.

It started with a problem that many of my friends had—it's hard to invest in real estate without upfront capital and a mortgage. Meanwhile, Robinhood and Freetrade managed to fractionalize investments such that anyone can invest in the stock and crypto markets.

Have you read any good books in the last year?

Mastering Bitcoin by A. M. Antonopoulos as a technical explanation of how Bitcoin's technology works. More in-depth than reading articles, and more approachable than reading the source code.

Rich Dad Poor Dad was a nice reminder about what money means to me—it's just a tool.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?

I can only give the advice that worked for me. If you find yourself in my situation, consider selling and starting something new. I was in a lucky position because I didn't have pressure to sell, so I could wait long enough for the right buyer.

Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?

If you want to make real estate investing more accessible, or you too are annoyed that the first rung on the property ladder keeps changing and you can never get onto it, join us at Proptee!