How should you sell your SaaS or software company?
Before you choose a broker, it is worth knowing who the buyers actually are and how each route is paid. This page lays out the four common paths, who each one tends to suit, and what changes for your product and team afterwards.
RETIEB Labs is one of those paths. When RETIEB acquires a company, RETIEB is the buyer and intends to own and operate the company long term — not an intermediary representing someone else.
The four common paths
Most owners of a SaaS or software company end up choosing between four routes. None of them is universally right, and the correct answer depends on the company, the owner, and what should happen next.
Broker or M&A intermediary
An intermediary is engaged to represent the seller: preparing materials, approaching buyers, and running a process. Intermediaries are typically compensated by the party that engages them, commonly through some combination of engagement or success-based compensation set out in their agreement. The buyer is someone else, and is usually identified later in the process.
Online marketplace
A marketplace lists the business and exposes it to a pool of registered buyers. The route can be quick to start and is often used by smaller and bootstrapped businesses. Marketplaces generally define their own compensation in their terms, and the eventual buyer's intentions for the product and team are usually unknown until conversations begin.
Private equity or financial buyer
A financial buyer acquires with a return objective and an investment horizon. That often brings structure, capital, and professional process — and it also means the company is held within a fund's timeline, with a later transaction generally anticipated as part of the model.
Direct long-term owner-operator
A direct buyer is the party that would actually own the company. There is no listing and no representation: the conversation happens with the people who intend to operate the business afterwards. RETIEB Labs sits in this category — acquisition is the start of a long relationship with a company we intend to carry forward.
When each path may make sense
| Route | May suit | How it is typically compensated | Who owns the company afterwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broker / M&A intermediary | Owners who want a represented, competitive process and have the time for one | Compensation is set in the intermediary's own engagement agreement, commonly engagement and/or success-based | A buyer identified during the process |
| Marketplace | Smaller and bootstrapped businesses looking for broad, fast exposure | Defined by the marketplace's own terms | Whichever registered buyer transacts |
| Private equity / financial buyer | Companies with steady financials that fit an investment thesis | Compensation, if any, is defined by the parties and any advisors they engage | The fund, within its investment horizon |
| Direct long-term owner-operator (RETIEB) | Owners who want to know exactly who the buyer is and what happens next | Terms depend on the transaction | RETIEB, which intends to operate the company long term |
What selling directly to a buyer means
Selling directly means the company is not listed and the seller is not represented by a third party. The conversation is with the party that would own the business, so questions about the product, the team, and what happens after closing can be answered by the people who would be responsible for those answers.
It also means there is no process manufactured on your behalf. A direct route is a conversation first: a direct conversation, a thoughtful diligence, and clean terms. Whether that suits you depends on how much you value a competitive process against knowing the buyer from the first message.
For the categories, stages, and ownership intent behind that route, see what RETIEB acquires.
What RETIEB is — and is not
RETIEB is
- The acquiring party — when RETIEB acquires a company, RETIEB is the buyer
- An owner-operator that intends to operate acquired companies long term
- Founder-friendly and never brokered, with terms discussed directly
- A studio that also builds new companies, so operating is the default outcome
RETIEB is not
- A broker, intermediary, or seller's representative
- An M&A advisor or investment bank
- A marketplace or listing service
- A provider of independent valuation or appraisal services
A conversation is not an offer, and RETIEB does not acquire every company it speaks with.
What RETIEB welcomes
We look for technology companies, platforms, and intellectual property with a real reason to exist.
What we welcome
Software and SaaS platforms, AI products, automation and robotics technology, hardware-enabled systems, niche tools, and intellectual property with a genuine reason to exist.
Stage & size
Bootstrapped to mid-stage. From pre-revenue with meaningful IP to established businesses with steady recurring revenue.
Categories
B2B software, vertical platforms, operations and community systems, AI-native products, robotics and automation, and adjacent infrastructure.
What happens after the first conversation
Every message reaches a human, and we reply in kind.
If both sides want to continue, the route is a direct conversation, a thoughtful diligence, and clean terms — founder-friendly, never brokered, and respectful of what came before.
Questions a founder should ask any buyer or intermediary
These questions are worth asking whoever you talk to, including us. If a route cannot answer them clearly, that is useful information.
- Who is the actual buyer, and am I speaking with them or with someone representing them?
- How is each party in this process compensated, and who pays them?
- What is intended for the product, the customers, and the team after closing?
- Is the company expected to be held and operated, or transacted again within a defined horizon?
- What is expected of me during and after the process?
- What would cause this conversation to stop, and will I be told plainly if it does?
- What has this buyer done with companies it already owns?
Tell us about your company
Founders, operators, inventors, and owners of technology companies are welcome to start a conversation, whether or not you have decided how to sell. A conversation is not an offer, and RETIEB does not acquire every company it speaks with.
Tell us about your company