Simple Business Appeal

Sarah Moore shares her experience buying and running egg cartons.com, highlighting how pursuing simple, established businesses can be more valuable than chasing trendy startups. Her story demonstrates the power of persistence and creative deal-making in business acquisition.

Key Points:

• Business Search Strategy:

  • Used 50+ unpaid interns from Craigslist
  • Screened over 400,000 private companies
  • Searched for 1.5 years before finding egg cartons.com

• Acquisition Criteria:

  • Wanted 100% ownership using all debt financing
  • Needed stable historical cash flows for bank approval
  • Sought business simple enough for someone with zero operational experience
  • High barrier to entry (valuable domain name + 100+ related domains)
  • Profitable since 2001

• Creative Deal Structure:

  • 75% bank debt
  • 25% seller's note
  • No personal collateral except 2012 RAV4
  • Rolled accountant fees into the deal

• Business Scale:

  • Revenue less than $50M
  • 40% of business unrelated to eggs
  • Notable clients include Boeing, SpaceX, Disney, Madison Square Garden
  • Evolved from egg company to specialty packaging business

• Persistence in Deal-Making:

  • Contacted over 100 banks
  • Harassed owner until getting a response
  • Used unconventional tactics like faxing photos wearing "I want to buy your business" sweatshirt
  • Built relationship with seller to structure mutually beneficial deal

• Post-Acquisition Growth:

  • Expanded beyond eggs into specialty packaging
  • Focuses on protection and separation products
  • Services major brands and corporations
  • Maintains low profile despite significant success