Platform Acquisition Roll-Up

A breakdown of how Tiny Capital (Andrew Wilkinson's company) built a $560M company through strategic platform acquisitions and reinvesting profits.

Core Business Foundation

• Started with Metalab in 2008 as a website design agency
• Grew to $62.8M in revenue with 40% profit margins
• Used agency profits to fund acquisitions
• Maintained 23% annual growth rate

Platform Acquisition Strategy

• Groups similar companies into "platforms":
  • Agency platform (Metalab + 7-8 other agencies)
  • Job boards platform (WeWorkRemotely.com)
  • Creative tools platform (Dribble, Creative Market)
  • Misc long-tail acquisitions (BeFunky, Mealtime)

Financial Structure

• Revenue Breakdown (2021):
  • Digital Services (Agencies): $63M
  • Creative Platform: $34M
  • Other Revenue: $14M
• Total Revenue: ~$111M
• EBITDA: $50M
• Majority of value comes from 2 main assets:
  • Metalab
  • Dribble

Growth Funding Approach

• Used debt instead of equity for acquisitions
  • Took ~$100M in debt facilities
  • Significantly cheaper than giving up equity
  • Higher risk but better returns when successful
• Extracted dividends along the way
  • ~$15M in dividends since 2021
  • Additional exits like Mealtime ($25M sale, $13M profit)

Key Success Factors

• Started with profitable core business
• Minimal initial capital required (<$10M)
• Focus on acquiring similar types of businesses
• Used debt strategically instead of equity
• Maintained profitability while scaling