I started Microns.io to make it easier for founders to find buyers for their startups. We began by selling micro-startups and mobile apps, then expanded into non-software businesses such as content businesses, ecommerce brands, etc. In 2025 alone, our platform helped sell more than 40 micro-businesses.

I’ve seen more closed deals than I can keep track of, but I’ve also seen many fall apart. From my experience facilitating these acquisitions, I’ve learned two key things: many micro-SaaS founders struggle to find buyers for their startups, and even more end up selling for less than they think their business is worth. Remember, you’ll probably sell for less than your own valuation, but you don’t have to accept a lowball offer.

A lot goes into selling, and there are some avoidable mistakes that, when prevented, can make you sell faster and at a good price. I’ll share them with you in this article.

9 Mistakes Micro-SaaS Founders Should Avoid when Selling their Startups

These are the common mistakes I see founders making when selling their micro-startups. I’ve also outlined how you can avoid them.

Valuing your startup based on emotions

Many micro-SaaS founders, especially first-time founders, see their startup as their baby; this emotional attachment often leads to overvaluation and impacts negotiations, as it may be challenging for both parties to arrive at a reasonable price.

Another common mistake is that many founders believe they can sell their business for the same price as similar businesses sold for; this can also lead to overvaluing their business. What they don’t know is that there are many moving parts involved in determining a business’s valuation. They range from churn rate, customer retention, revenue, customer acquisition, and branding, etc. 

Not getting a hang of your micro-startup’s value before beginning negotiations can scare off potential buyers and lead to you waiting a long time for a good deal.

Fix: Your business isn’t your baby; it’s an asset, so treat it as such. Every asset has a proper valuation, so find yours and back up your asking price with proof, not emotions or guesswork. Also, try to view your business objectively through the lens of a potential buyer and ask yourself if you’ll buy the business at your asking price.

Dealing with only one buyer

While the first point talks about overvaluation, there’s no better way to get a lowball offer for your business than speaking to only one prospect. This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when selling your business. 

One of the reasons micro-SaaS founders make this mistake is that they get an ‘exciting’ offer out of the blue when they weren’t thinking of selling. Also, they may have a prior relationship with the potential buyer (maybe from previous deals) and may not feel the need to speak to others.

Getting multiple offers will ensure you get more competitive prices, a better deal, and close the deal faster.

Fix: List your business on an acquisition marketplace like Microns.io to get lots of competitive offers. Also, always inform buyers that you’re speaking to others to create a sense of urgency.

READ: What is an asset purchase agreement?

Misrepresenting your business

When selling a business, many founders are tempted to put their micro-startup in the best possible light, falsify figures, and hide the real situation of the business. They don’t mention the liabilities, unpaid taxes, or any other issues the business may be facing. This is fraudulent, and you don’t want to get caught or shatter the trust of your prospective buyer. 

Fix: Come clean with your buyer and let them know about the business’s assets and liabilities, and any other issues that may arise.

Neglecting proper documentation

Another common mistake founders make is not conducting due diligence on their startup. Many sellers believe that due diligence is only for buyers, but that’s not true. Having proper documentation makes your business more attractive and makes prospective buyers perceive you as organised.

As mentioned earlier, you want to show proof that your business’s valuation is worth your asking price. To do this, you need to have proper business records: financial/accounting data, marketing data, sales data, customer support data, etc.

Your records need to be clean. For example, your financial records will need to clearly show the monthly and yearly profit and loss. Your marketing data needs to show the campaigns you ran, your CAC, revenue, traffic data, marketing channels, and LTV. Your sales data needs to show the number of customers you have and churn metrics. Your customer support data needs to show the volume of support tickets raised, etc.

Fix: Before listing your business, ensure you’ve done proper bookkeeping. Build a data room. Start consolidating your data early, even when you don’t plan on selling. This will also help you make better business decisions.

Skipping buyer due diligence 

Due diligence isn’t only for the business. You also need to know who you’re selling to so you can pre-qualify them. Some buyers are tyre kickers; some are scammers looking for innocent founders to prey upon; some are competitors looking to steal information. So it’s worth doing some background checks.

Fix: Mind the information you share with interested buyers. Also, interview them as they interview you, so you can be sure you’re speaking with serious buyers.

Avoiding building relationships with prospective buyers

Many founders believe that building relationships with potential buyers isn’t necessary. Building relationships helps you understand the buyer’s motivation and better position the business during negotiation. Second, it’ll make the acquisition process smoother. Third, this person will be the new owner of your business, so it’s worth understanding their plan and ideas for the startup. 

At Microns, we advise founders to build good working relationships with their buyers because we encourage them to offer a 1-month of post-sale support service. When you build a good relationship with the buyer, working with them during this phase will be easy. 

Depending on your asking price, some buyers may want to offer a payment plan or lengthy earnouts: you need a good relationship to navigate this as well. Another reason why you need to build a good relationship with the buyer is that they may be interested in doing business with you again or buying another project you build down the line. 

Fix: See building good relationships as important as every other aspect of the negotiation process.

Not knowing the right time to sell

Deciding the right time to sell has to be one of the most difficult things to navigate when selling your micro-startup. Sell too late, and you may have poorly timed the market, or be selling out of desperation and get a bad deal. Sell too early, and you’ll miss out on a lot of great offers.

So how do you know the right time to sell? 

There really isn’t a perfect time to sell. However, a few telltale signs are the condition of the market, buyers are already reaching out to you organically, you’ve got other exciting projects you’d prefer to focus on, etc.

Fix: Do not wait till you’re ready to sell. The moment you start consistently hitting profitable months, you should begin finding your business’s valuation and keeping proper documentation.

READ: Best profitable AI micro-SaaS startup ideas

Not optimising business operations

As an indie hacker, it’s not uncommon for you to juggle multiple roles in the business, but this could pose a challenge when you want to sell. If your business is heavily reliant on you to the point where nothing functions without you, you haven’t built a business: you only got yourself a job.

Fix: Establish a standard operating procedure (SOP) where you document your processes so that anyone can go over the document and run the business operations without much handholding. 

Having one big customer

There are situations where many micro-SaaS founders are left scrambling after losing one or two key enterprise customers who bring in a large percentage of their revenue. You don’t want to be in this situation, and this is a red flag; buyers will think twice about buying the business. 

Fix: While you can’t control how many key customers you have, ensure you have lots of normal customers, so you’re not over-reliant on a select few customers.

Final thoughts

If you’re thinking of selling your business, list it on our marketplace: this guide will show you the step-by-step process of listing your startup. There are lots of hungry buyers who’d be delighted to learn about your business. Also, it’s free to do so, you’ll get competitive offers, and you’re likely to sell your business very fast; a lot of the businesses are sold within 30 days.