Andrew's first users came from direct outreach to small businesses — specifically going into restaurants and trying to track down owners. He quickly learned this was a brutal, low-yield approach. The early signal came from a job board he had built prior to Business Apps, which connected mobile developers with businesses. He noticed repeated job postings from hotel and restaurant owners asking for mobile reservation and ordering systems at $50,000–$100,000 a pop, validating massive demand for a cheaper templated solution. Within the first 30 days of launching, paying customers came in quickly because the product solved a real pain point: before Business Apps, getting a custom mobile app cost ~$50,000, which was out of reach for small businesses. The product undercut that dramatically. The early traction was visceral enough that Andrew knew almost immediately he had something worth pursuing beyond his original goal of just covering rent.
Business Apps (Mobile App Builder)
Drag-and-drop mobile app builder for small businesses via white-label reseller agencies
8 moves, in order
- Pre launch / Idea DiscoveryJob board side project
Built a job board connecting mobile developers with businesses to immerse himself in the mobile industry. Observed repeated postings from small business owners willing to pay $100k for basic mobile apps, validating the pain point and the opportunity for a templated solution.
Identified core product idea and confirmed willingness to pay before building - Launch / Early TractionDirect smb sales
Attempted direct in-person sales to small business owners (restaurants, salons). Quickly realized this channel was inefficient — owners were hard to reach and skeptical of cold pitches.
Channel abandoned; pivot to reseller model - Early GrowthWhite label agency partnerships
Pivoted to partnering with digital and web design agencies worldwide, allowing them to resell Business Apps under their own branding to their existing small business clients. This turned agencies into a distributed sales force without needing a large direct sales team.
Scaled to tens of thousands of mobile apps sold across the world - ScalingPress and tech media
Ran a maniacal press strategy — pitched TechCrunch, VentureBeat, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal for every company milestone (new partnerships, product updates, Android launch). Andrew became a guest author on TechCrunch. They would pitch a journalist, wait a month if busy, and pitch again.
Regular coverage in top tech publications; described as the primary channel for reaching potential customers at the time - ScalingLocalization and international expansion
Translated the platform into 30+ languages to enable agency partners worldwide to sell in their local markets. This compounded the reseller distribution strategy globally.
Enabled worldwide distribution through agency partners; contributed to scaling to $10M ARR - Growth / OperationsOffshore team building via upwork
Hired one engineer from Upwork in China, then hired his entire network/friends who ran a software house. Built full engineering teams in China, Ukraine, Philippines (design), and South America to scale operations capital-efficiently.
Grew to ~75 employees globally while remaining profitable and bootstrap; $2M+ cash in company at exit - Brand Positioning (All Companies)Brand storytelling and narrative
Crafted a brand story beyond the product — at Business Apps, the narrative was 'helping small businesses compete against mega-brands who could afford $50k custom apps.' At Acquire.com, the story was championing bootstrapped founders who don't need VC to build a life-changing outcome.
Created broader market resonance and press-worthiness; made the brand memorable and easy to root for - Post exit / Acquire.com LaunchFounder personal brand and twitter
Leveraged his own exit story and bootstrapped founder identity to build credibility for Acquire.com. Shared the narrative of selling Business Apps without VC as a proof point and content engine for the marketplace's positioning.
Over $1 billion in closed deals on Acquire.com; positioned as leading startup acquisition marketplace under $50M
Strong mentor (Christian Freeland, founder of Build.com, a ~$1B/year business) who coached Andrew from early on. Also had a pre-existing job board in the mobile developer space that served as an idea petri dish and surfaced the Business Apps opportunity organically. Was a college student with low personal overhead, enabling full focus.
White-label reseller partnerships with digital/web design agencies worldwide
Direct door-to-door sales to small businesses (e.g., walking into restaurants to pitch owners) — described as "pretty brutal" and ineffective. Going too broad in target market (serving all small businesses rather than a specific vertical like pizza shops) was cited as a key mistake in hindsight.
$10M/Year Founder Shares His Exact Playbook (He Did It Twice)
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