Blinksale, one of the companies that pioneered web-based invoicing software in the early aughts, was acquired by Verne, a Chicago-based micro-private equity firm, in March 2021.
Though the invoicing startup was co-founded by Josh Williams and Scott Raymond, it had been owned and operated by Doublewide Labs founder Brandon Cotter since 2009. Cotter, who did not respond to requests for comment, put it up for sale on the marketplace MicroAcquire in January 2021.
The listing for the profitable SaaS business drew more than 100 bids, buyer Colin Keeley, co-founder of Verne, tweeted after the sale. “We weren’t the top offer,” he wrote. “Being easy to work with and offering a good home for companies goes a long way in a messy market.”
The entire process, from discovery to close, took about 41 days, according to a timeline on Keeley’s website. While some details of the deal have not been disclosed, he said it was a six-figure sale in a MicroAcquire YouTube interview.
Although the Dallas-based business doesn’t have a sales or marketing team, Blinksale has had a loyal customer base since its founding in 2005, Keeley said on his podcast while discussing the acquisition. “It’s a super sticky product,” he added.
Keeley and his Verne co-founder Brent Sanders are working on improving its features and have already given the business a “modern facelift,” they wrote on the Verne website.
