Should I sell my SaaS business? Sell, keep or raise

Oscar

Alex, you won't believe this week. Axle Group from Kyiv, the ones who make software for parts distributors and dealerships, want to buy all of GarageDesk. Six million!

Nina

Four million at closing, two more only if MRR reaches 200,000 a year later. I stay twelve months, Oscar six. And the same week Richard called again: three million for 20%, to grow faster.

You

The same Richard who offered two million two years ago?

Alex Tutor

Told you the door was worth leaving open. So there are three answers on the table: sell to Axle, keep the company as it is, or raise Richard's money. Before any numbers, one question: why would you sell at all?

Oscar

Honestly? Everything my family owns is in GarageDesk.

Nina

And I love building the product, but running a company of twenty people to reach a thousand shops isn't the job I want.

Alex Tutor

Question 1

Which of these are solid reasons for founders to consider selling their company? Choose all that apply.

Choose all that applyAlmost all of their family's wealth is tied up in the businessThe next stage needs a kind of work they don't want to doThey want to move on to something elseThey had one bad week and feel tiredA buyer called, so they feel they should accept

Alex Tutor

Now the numbers for keeping. Where does GarageDesk stand this October?

Nina

240 shops, MRR 165,000. Costs without our pay are 67,000: Martha, Ethan, tools and SMS, the accountant. We pay ourselves 40,000 each. About 18,000 a month is left over.

Alex Tutor

So keeping means a good income, a growing business you own, and no single payday. Selling means the money arrives at once, and someone else shapes the product's future.

Oscar

My share at closing would be two million. How long would I need to earn that from my salary?

Alex Tutor

Question 2

Oscar's half of the 4,000,000 UAH paid at closing is 2,000,000 UAH. He pays himself 40,000 UAH a month from GarageDesk. How many years of that pay equal his closing share? Round to one decimal.

Your answer

Units: years (e.g. 3.5)

You

Does it matter who buys, if the price is the same?

Alex Tutor

A lot. A financial buyer buys a business for its profit and keeps it running much as it is. A strategic buyer buys it for something that fits its own business: customers, technology, a position in the market.

Oscar

Axle sells to the distributors our shops buy parts from. 240 repair shops using their software every day is exactly what they're missing.

Alex Tutor

So Axle is strategic. Expect changes: links to their parts catalog, maybe new prices, and they need you to stay, which is why Nina gets twelve months. Ask them what GarageDesk looks like in two years.

Alex Tutor

Question 3

Match each description with the kind of buyer.

Pick an answer for each row. Choosing an answer that is already used moves it to this row.

Buys for steady profit and wants the business to keep running much as it is
Choose an answer
Buys to connect the product to its own catalog and customers, and asks the founders to stay
Choose an answer
Buys a share of a fast-growing company, expecting it to become much bigger
Choose an answer

You

Richard's offer sounds even better: three million, and they keep 80%.

Alex Tutor

Look at where the money goes. It goes into the company, to hire salespeople and open new regions, not into Nina's and Oscar's pockets. Each of their shares falls from 50% to 40%.

And he pays three million for 20% because he expects GarageDesk to be worth far more than fifteen million later. That expectation comes with the money.

Nina

So it doesn't lower Oscar's risk at all. It raises the stakes.

Alex Tutor

Question 4

True or false: if the founders accept Richard's offer, each of them receives 1,500,000 UAH.

TrueFalse

Alex Tutor

Two years ago you answered three questions before saying no to Richard: size, speed, life. Ask them again.

Oscar

Size: still thousands of shops, not millions. Speed: shops still choose slowly. Life: I want my family to be safe.

Nina

Life, for me: building something new in a year or two, without a team of twenty to manage.

Alex Tutor

Then Richard's money answers a question you're not asking. Selling to Axle fits both of your answers, but only at the right price and terms. And offers are signals of interest, not deadlines: a business this healthy will get other offers.

Alex Tutor

Question 5

Richard offers 3,000,000 UAH for 20% of GarageDesk. What total value of the company does this price imply, in UAH?

Your answer

Units: UAH

You

So what should they do?

Alex Tutor

Nobody decides this week. Write the founders a short memo: which answer fits them and what they must find out before saying yes to anyone.

Alex Tutor

Question 6Short answer · AI-checked task

Write a memo to Nina and Oscar (4–6 sentences): which of the three answers (sell, keep, raise) fits them best and why, and what they must find out before accepting any offer.

Write your answer and get a score with feedback from our AI reviewer.

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Alex Tutor

Next time: is six million a fair price? We'll work out what GarageDesk is worth.

Alex Tutor

That’s the lesson. You answered every task — nicely done.

Next lesson: What the business is worth