Build something someone would buy
Most projects sell because a buyer can't easily build what you have. Here's how to get ready, in five steps, long before you list.
Write your buyer's thesis
Take one page and write down what in your project would cost a buyer the most time or money to rebuild. It could be a licence or permit, an audience, data, infrastructure, or a team that knows the market. That page becomes the start of every conversation you have with a buyer.
On Prow: On Prow it's the “Why buy this” part of your listing, the first thing buyers read. You pick from a licence or permit, distribution or audience, data, infrastructure or code, a team that knows the market, brand, contracts or partners, then say it in your own words.
Map your likely buyers
List ten companies that could buy your project: competitors, companies next to yours, companies trying to enter your market, and funds that buy working businesses. Most exits go to local and regional buyers. Get to know them through partnerships and plain conversations while there's no deal on the table, because the first meeting shouldn't be a negotiation.
On Prow: Your listing has a private list for this. Only you see it.
Get your books ready
Before you list, look at your project the way a buyer's team will. This is called due diligence. Close your books every month, match your bank statements to your records, keep recurring revenue separate from one-off income, and keep your tax filings up to date. Problems a buyer finds on their own can change the deal or end it.
On Prow: Connect Stripe and buyers see your recurring revenue on its own, pulled straight from the source.
Check what needs approval
Some businesses can't simply change owners. A licence or permit often needs the regulator to approve the new owner, and that takes time. In Nigeria, large mergers need the FCCPC's approval before they close, and deals involving banks and other licensed financial institutions fall under the CBN. Most small software sales need none of this, but list anything that does, early.
On Prow: It's one line on your ready-to-sell checklist, so you check it before a buyer asks.
Sell from strength
Start talking to buyers while you still have the money and time to walk away from a bad offer. Sales that start when a company is running out of money often fall apart, and being able to say no is worth real money at the table.
On Prow: You can mark a project “open to offers” long before you list it, so buyers find you early.
Based on Consonance Club's guide, How to build a company someone would buy. Read it for the examples and sources behind each step.
This isn't legal or financial advice. Speak to a lawyer and an accountant before you sign anything.
