Ramp Acquires Negotiation Service

Andrew shares a successful business called Buyer that provided negotiation as a service, helping clients save money on big purchases. The business was started with a small investment and sold to Ramp within a year.

Key Points:

• Business Model:

  • Provided negotiation services for large purchases
  • Helped negotiate deals for:
    • Car purchases
    • Office equipment (desks)
    • Lease negotiations
    • Other big ticket items
  • Consistently achieved ~40% savings for clients

• Business Performance:

  • Initial investment: $50-100k
  • Became profitable within first year
    • Projected to make couple hundred thousand in profit
  • Sold to Ramp after ~6 months for single-digit millions

• Structure:

  • 50/50 partnership
  • Provided rails and accounting support
  • Integrated into Ramp's services after acquisition

• Market Opportunity:

  • Andrew believes the business model still has potential
  • Suggests opportunity to restart similar business
  • Could focus on non-SaaS negotiations to avoid competing with Ramp