SaaS M&A Advisor
Nate Lind of Maximum Exit is a specialist M&A advisor for SaaS founders, helping bootstrapped and founder-led software companies prepare for and execute exits in the $1M to $150M revenue range. He has closed $123M+ across more than 75 transactions, including SaaS, ecommerce, and digital businesses.
What Nate Lind Does for SaaS Sellers
I sell SaaS companies the way a top real estate agent sells a home. Not to the first buyer who shows up. To the right buyer, at the right price, with multiple people competing for it.
Most SaaS founders who try to sell on their own end up talking to one buyer in a private conversation. That feels safer. It is not. One buyer is not a market. One buyer means you have no leverage, no competition, and no way to know if the price you accepted is anywhere close to what the market would have paid.
My job is to build the buyer competition that sets the price. My listings average 97 buyers per deal. One of my SaaS-adjacent listings had 163 buyers sign NDAs. When multiple qualified buyers are moving through a process in parallel, the seller controls the outcome.
Here is what I do from start to close:
- Valuation: I run a hybrid of earnings-based and market comparison analysis to determine the probable pricing range. I will tell you where you sit and whether the gap between your goal and the market is closeable now or in 12 months.
- Pre-market prep: I help you clean up the financials, document key operational processes, and reduce owner dependency before the marketing package goes out. The market punishes sloppy financials fast.
- Marketing package: I build the teaser and CIM. These are not generic templates. They are written to position your business for the buyers most likely to pay a premium.
- Buyer sourcing and vetting: I source from my own buyer database and go outbound to strategic acquirers and PE firms actively looking in your vertical. I qualify everyone before they see the full details.
- Competitive process: I run parallel conversations with multiple buyers to create competition. This is where price is made.
- LOI negotiation: I review every term, not just the headline number. Net working capital definitions, exclusivity windows, earn-out structures, and transition requirements all have material impact on what you walk away with.
- Due diligence through close: I protect momentum. The deal is most fragile between LOI and close. I stay in the middle of every conversation to keep things moving.
Who Nate Works With
My target client is a bootstrapped or founder-led SaaS company with:
- Revenue: $1M to $150M ARR
- Profit: $200K+ in annual SDE or EBITDA
- Growth: Year-over-year revenue and profit trending up
- Age: At least 3 years in operation
- Operations: Remotely operable. Not dependent on the founder being physically present.
- Geography: US-based (I also work with international SaaS companies with US revenue)
Business types I work with regularly: B2B SaaS, vertical SaaS, compliance or workflow automation, subscription-based software, software-enabled services, and data or analytics platforms.
I do not work with pre-revenue SaaS or businesses with declining profit. Both are situations where a sale process will produce poor outcomes regardless of how it is run.
The Process
Phase 1: Discovery call. I learn the business. Revenue, profit, growth, owner role, and what the founder's goal is. I give you a probable pricing range and tell you if there is a gap to close before going to market.
Phase 2: Engagement and prep. You sign an engagement agreement. We clean up the financials, document operations, and get the business presentation-ready. I build the teaser and CIM.
Phase 3: Go to market. The teaser goes to my buyer network and outbound targets. Qualified buyers sign NDAs. I send the CIM. Buyer calls happen. Multiple buyers move toward LOI simultaneously.
Phase 4: LOI and negotiation. Multiple offers come in. I negotiate structure and terms. You pick the buyer that best fits your goals.
Phase 5: Due diligence and close. Buyers and lenders go deep on the financials. I protect the deal. The wire hits.
Proof
75+ transactions managed. $123M+ in closed deals. 97 buyers per listing on average.
A few anonymized examples from closed deals:
B2B compliance SaaS (email marketing vertical). Bootstrapped, 17 years at the helm. The founder had one prior conversation with a buyer, got spooked, and walked away. We ran a private process. 40+ buyers signed NDAs. Three competing LOIs. The final price was significantly above the founder's initial expectations. The competitive process was the entire difference.
Marketplace platform (audio services vertical). 123 buyers, $775K close. Even at this size, competition from over 100 buyers shapes the outcome in ways a direct negotiation never could.
Digital agency with recurring revenue. 163 buyers signed NDAs. Three competing offers. Closed at a premium multiple relative to industry comparables.
The pattern is consistent across SaaS, ecommerce, and digital businesses: more buyers, more competition, better price.
The Guarantee
For SaaS businesses that meet the qualifying criteria, I guarantee this in writing:
40 serious buyers and at least one letter of intent in under four months of going to market.
Qualifying criteria:
- Business is at least 3 years old
- Generating $200K+ in annual profit (SDE or EBITDA)
- Growing year over year in profit
- Remotely operable
If your business qualifies, I am not asking you to take a bet on me. I am telling you what I will deliver, and I back it up.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a SaaS M&A advisor do?
A SaaS M&A advisor manages the full process of selling a software company: valuation, building the marketing package (teaser and CIM), sourcing and qualifying buyers, running a competitive offer process, negotiating the LOI, and managing due diligence through close. The goal is to create competition among multiple buyers so the seller gets the best price and terms, not just the first offer.
How is a SaaS company valued for sale?
SaaS companies under approximately $5M in purchase price are typically valued on a multiple of SDE (seller's discretionary earnings). Larger, more mature SaaS businesses are valued on EBITDA multiples. Key metrics that move the multiple up or down: monthly churn rate, net revenue retention, customer acquisition cost, gross margin, owner dependency, and revenue growth trajectory. Twenty-seven distinct factors ultimately determine the probable pricing range.
What SaaS companies does Nate work with?
Bootstrapped and founder-led SaaS businesses generating $200K or more in annual profit, with revenue typically between $1M and $150M ARR. The business should be at least three years old, growing year over year, and operable without the owner physically present.
How long does it take to sell a SaaS business?
The average process from engagement to close is 9 to 10 months. Time to LOI averages about 5 months. LOI to close averages 3 to 4 months. Preparation before going to market adds time for businesses that need financial cleanup or operational documentation.
What is the difference between selling on a marketplace vs. using a SaaS M&A advisor?
Public listing marketplaces work for deals under $500K. Above that threshold, a private process almost always produces better outcomes. Listing publicly exposes the company name before the seller has vetted buyers, compresses the buyer pool to whoever is browsing that day, and typically produces a single offer with no competitive tension. A private advisor builds a targeted buyer list, runs parallel conversations, and creates competition that sets the price.
How many buyers does Nate typically bring to a SaaS listing?
My listings average 97 buyers per deal. On one listing, 163 buyers signed NDAs. More buyers mean more competition. Competition is what drives price. I guarantee a minimum of 40 serious buyers and at least one LOI in under four months for qualified businesses.
What does the guarantee mean in practice?
For businesses that qualify, I commit in writing to deliver 40 or more serious buyers and at least one letter of intent within four months of going to market. Qualifying criteria: at least three years old, $200K+ in annual profit, growing year over year, remotely operable.
What are the most common mistakes SaaS founders make when selling?
Talking to one buyer in private and taking the first offer. Without competition, there is no market and no leverage. Other common mistakes: starting the process with declining revenue, waiting until burnout forces the sale, and underestimating owner dependency as a valuation risk. Most failures happen because of decisions made before a buyer ever shows up, not because the business was not good enough.
Work With Nate
If your SaaS company is generating $200K+ in profit and you are thinking about an exit in the next 6 to 24 months, the first step is a discovery call. I will tell you what your business is probably worth, whether now is the right time, and what would need to change to close the gap if there is one.
Learn more about Nate Lind | Read about the exit process | How to value a SaaS company for sale | Ecommerce M&A Advisor