- The business scientist
- Posts
- Andrew Gazdecki
Andrew Gazdecki
Most people know startup acquisitions as opaque, stressful, and founder-unfriendly. Andrew thought that was insane. So he built Acquire.com to fix it.
What you’ll learn:
Why Andrew believes small exits are underrated
The story behind Acquire.com (and why VCs didn’t believe in it)
How a cold email turned into a company-changing acquisition
Tactical lessons on building trust, community, and liquidity in a startup
Andrew Gazdecki: The Anti-Unicorn guy
At 22, Andrew Gazdecki launched Bizness Apps—a drag-and-drop mobile app builder for small businesses out of his college dorm.
That hustle took him from a $100 startup budget to over $10 million in annual revenue, 100+ employees, and an acquisition from a private equity firm by the time he was in his late 20s.
But after the deal closed, Andrew realized something strange:
Selling a company is way harder than it should be.
Too much red tape. Too many brokers. Too little transparency.
And founders? Mostly left in the dark.
The Origin of Acquire.com
In 2020, Andrew launched MicroAcquire (now Acquire.com) with a simple idea:
Make buying and selling startups as easy as selling a car on Craigslist.
Founders list their startups. Buyers reach out. Terms are discussed directly.
No 5-figure broker fees. No secret handshakes.
At first, investors passed. “Too niche,” they said. “Not scalable.”
One even told him, “There’s no market for small acquisitions.”
He built it anyway.
Now, Acquire.com has helped facilitate thousands of deals—from $20,000 side projects to 8-figure SaaS companies.
It’s become the de facto platform for bootstrapped founders looking to exit on their own terms.
The Cold Email That Changed Everything
In 2021, a SaaS founder listed his business on Acquire.com with modest expectations. He had a few conversations, but no serious traction.
Then Andrew saw the listing and cold-emailed a buyer he knew would be a perfect fit.
That email turned into a call. The call turned into due diligence. A few weeks later, it closed:
$2.4 million in cash.
Stories like that don’t make TechCrunch. But they make founders free.
Rejection Is the Price of Entry
Andrew’s playbook was built on rejection.
Even Apple once rejected his mobile app submission… and then turned around and launched a near-identical product.
Instead of giving up, Andrew doubled down. He posted about it publicly, not to cry foul, but to show what builders are up against and to inspire others to keep going.
He later tweeted:
“Apple rejected my app. Then copied it. I didn’t sue. I sold my company. You can too.”
Startup Twitter’s No-BS Truth Teller
Andrew Gazdecki didn’t just launch Acquire.com—he launched a new narrative for founders.
Through his unfiltered presence on X (formerly Twitter), he became a rallying voice for the bootstrapped founder.
Instead of chasing viral threads about unicorn valuations, he focused on the real stuff:
Why you don’t need venture capital to win
How a $1M exit can be more impactful than chasing a $1B one
What happens when you try to sell your startup
He posts the gritty details—screenshots, failed deals, awkward cold DMs, red flags from buyers, and everything in between.
And that’s why founders follow him. Not because he’s polished. But because he’s practical. He’s lived it. And he tells the truth.
Lessons
1. “Unsexy” is underrated.
He didn’t chase hot AI trends or web3 hype. He built tools for real businesses—SaaS for gyms, mobile apps for salons, and marketplaces for founder exits.
2. You don’t need permission.
He was rejected by Apple, Y Combinator, and ignored by VCs. He built anyway. And now has founders and investors alike using his platform.
3. Build what you need.
Acquire.com was born from a pain Andrew felt firsthand. That gave him the insight to build Acquire.com
4. Distribution > perfection.
Acquire.com launched as a no-code MVP on Webflow. He focused on shipping, not polishing. Buyers came. Founders listed. Real revenue followed.
5. Transparency compounds.
Founders trust Acquire because Andrew shows the receipts. Every lesson, every mistake, every number. It’s not branding. It’s earned trust.