Why Candy Banners Sold for a Mint
“Tim Grassin started Candy Banners in 2014 and eventually sold his business in 2021 for 5X EBITDA,” shares Sam Thompson a Minneapolis business broker and the president of M&A firm Transitions In Business. “Candy Banners designs banner ads for websites. Tim shares how he grew his business by finding low cost labor. He was able to build a company that can function without him which made it much easier to sell.”
In 2014, Tim Grassin founded Candy Banners, which designs ads that show up along the top, bottom, and sides of a website.
Grassin built a remote team in the Philippines to minimize his costs. Hiring inexpensive developers allowed Grassin to charge lower rates to agency owners, resulting in rapid growth.
The business had grown to over seven figures in revenue in 2020 when Grassin received an acquisition offer from one of his clients, Native Touch. The offer valued Candy Banners at around five times EBITDA, and the deal closed in 2021. In this episode, you’ll learn how to:
- Build a company that can thrive without you.
- Establish trust with a team of freelancers.
- Repair a damaged relationship with your co-founder.
- Structure a favorable earn-out when selling your business.
- Avoid a tricky mistake many founders make during due diligence.