Get a First Look: Buy your ideal business before it hits the market

Connect with founders looking to sell *before* they list the business for sale

Access to deal flow you won’t find anywhere else, in your inbox every month.

Off-market deal opportunities

We talk to lots of founders who would like to sell their business.

First Look lets you review these off-market deals and connect with those founders before they list the business for sale.

How it works:

  • Our First Look email hits your inbox every 3 weeks or so
  • It includes descriptions of several companies whose founders would like to sell and have not yet listed with a broker or on a marketplace (the company and founder remain anonymous)
  • If you want an introduction, you let us know
  • We pass that along to the founder, and they have the option to accept or decline
  • If the founder accepts, we’ll put you in touch, and you take it from there

Buyers who subscribe say...

“First Look has been an invaluable resource to escape the auction dynamics of many newsletters, and connect directly with teams at the earliest stages of their sale journey – which has allowed me to relationship build and shape post deal dynamics at a pace that’s comfortable for everyone rather than the frenzy of an auction-based process.”

– Josh, buyer looking for SaaS and e-comm

Easy sign up

It only takes 10 seconds to join.
No setup, just an email address.

 

Get leads now

Get our latest list when you join.
Then new opps every 2-3 weeks.

 

No middleman

Connect directly to the founder.
We intro you and step out.

 

 

Want to see a sample issue?

If you’re curious what to expect…

Have a look at this sample issue.

When you sign up, you’ll also get our most recent issue right away via email.

After that, you’ll get an issue every 2-3 weeks.

Every issue includes about three deal opportunities.

It’s $99/month or $1,000/annually. (No finder’s fees.)

See you inside!

Deals you won't find anywhere else: They Got Acquired

Handpicked by us

We handpick each business, so you get high-quality deals.

 

Online businesses

Featuring SaaS, e-comm, agency, media and marketplace cos.

 

Revenue stats

About 2/3 companies < $1M revenue; 30% have > $1M revenue.

 

 

Why founders want to be featured in First Look

These founders come to us in search of information about how to sell their business.

They find our newsletter, podcast or website, and use our contact form to ask for help getting started with their sale process.

We didn’t seek them them out. Instead, they found us.

They’re proactive about selling, even though they aren’t working with a broker yet. In fact, many knock on our door asking for help selecting a trust-worthy broker, and they may use one later in their process.

But first they share their intent through First Look to see if they can find a good-fit buyer without that middleman.

Founder Testimonial

We decided to participate in the First Look newsletter because we are at the very early stages of exploring an acquisition.  This felt like a great way to gauge interest and consider opportunities without officially listing the business or having to commit to broker fees.

It was exactly that. We had some wonderful potential buyers reach out who we likely never would have connected with had they not learned about us in the newsletter, and we’ve had some great initial conversations. We are excited to see what comes from all of it!”

– Katie, e-commerce founder


Frequently Asked Questions

We are not a brokerage or a marketplace, and we do not curate opportunities from either of those places.

We feature opportunities from founders in our community who we’ve talked to directly who have expressed an interest in selling and haven’t yet listed the business for sale.


We focus on online businesses (no brick and mortars). Most founders we talk to are looking to sell these types of companies:

  • SaaS
  • Media/content
  • Agencies
  • E-commerce

About two-thirds of the companies we share have revenue below $1 million, and about a third have revenue between $1 million – $10 million.


You can expect about three opportunities in each newsletter and the newsletter goes out once or twice each month.


No. The company and founder remains anonymous until they accept your request for an introduction. If they aren’t comfortable accepting your request for any reason, they can decline the intro.


Yes, we sometimes include distressed opportunities. We identify those as distressed in the newsletter.


Just respond to the email and let us know. If possible, it’s best to include:

  • Your name and email
  • Company name and URL
  • A sentence about why you’re interested

We’ll pass that information along to the founder, and it’s up to them to decide whether to pursue the introduction.


Absolutely.


Absolutely!

Here’s a sample issue.

That issue will give you a sense of the variety we aim for in each issue.

It features an agency, SaaS and marketplace, with annual revenues at $3.25 million, $1 million and $250,000.

 


Yes, we recognize most players in this space take a percentage of the sale, either through finder’s fees from the buyer or via commission from the seller.

While we’re leaving the door open to other models in the future, this subscription model keeps things simple, which is how we like it.

Our goal here is to make this a win for buyers AND founders — and a low subscription price (and no finder’s fee) makes it an easy yes for you.


Not this deal flow. These companies aren’t yet listed for sale on a marketplace or with a broker.

Other newsletters aggregate deal flow, sometimes for free, but they typically pull from companies listed for sale on marketplaces or brokerages.

We find these opportunities by talking directly to founders who would like to sell. They’re handpicked.


You can cancel anytime by clicking “Unsubscribe” at the bottom of any First Look newsletter or emailing us (team[at]TheyGotAcquired.com).

We don’t issue pro-rated refunds, so please keep that in mind when you opt into the annual subscription.