Ep 197: Expert tips on the art of app acquisitions

In this episode of our Apptivate podcast, app founders, developers, and aspiring product developers can learn a lot about how apps are acquired. We speak to Josh Peleg, the Head of Business Development and Mergers & Acquisitions for BlueThrone, a company that buys and scales consumer apps. Find out how to increase the odds of your app being acquired, what acquisition companies might be looking for in your app, and what you should consider when evaluating potential buyers.

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• How big is the mergers & acquisitions marketplace for mobile apps?
• What advice do you have for app developers at an inflection point with their business where they’re not meeting their goals?
• What categories are BlueThrone’s strengths?
• What can app developers do to increase their odds of being discovered by an acquisition company?
• How do you evaluate an app to determine if you want to acquire it?
• What should founders and developers be cautious about when talking to app buyers?

• 1:24 Josh’s background and a little about BlueThrone
• 4:40 The mobile app M&A marketplace
• 5:47 BlueThrone’s value proposition
• 7:05 What can acquirers do for app developers
• 11:17 How to be discovered by an app acquisition company
• 14:15 What are app acquisition companies looking for in an app
• 17:43 Red flags for app buyers

(14:20-14:28) “A good litmus test is to see how much of your traffic is organic. If you can sustain the business based on its organic traffic, that really signifies product-market fit.”

(15:32-15:46) “A really good piece of advice I often give founders is don’t be shy about the stuff that’s not working. You can very much tell the potential acquirer about it. But the winning formula is to present a game plan on how you’re going to solve that.”