Hey buddy,
Issue #6 of Business For Sale. This week's listing is different from everything we've covered so far — it's not a solo founder side project, it's an ad network co-built by two people, one of whom you've probably come across if you spend time in indie hacker circles.
That founder context changes how you read the numbers, and not always in the direction you'd expect.
(Quick disclosure: the link below is my referral link on TrustMRR — costs you nothing, but I wanted you to know it's there.)
What It Does: TinyAdz is a B2B ad network connecting small-to-medium websites, newsletter publishers, and niche social creators with advertisers who want real users rather than mass-market impressions.
Publishers earn from their traffic; advertisers get niche reach.
The platform uses AI matching, automated creative testing, fraud scoring, and content moderation rerouting — meaning it does most of the operational work that typically requires a team.
The Listing:
Business: TinyAdz — AI-powered niche ad network for publishers and advertisers
Asking price: $75,000
Revenue: $3,463 MRR from 47 active subscriptions, $3,156 last 30 days, $95,399 in lifetime revenue, founded April 2024
Multiple: 1.8x annualized
Verified or self-reported: Stripe-verified, last updated August 31, 2026 — yesterday
Where I found it: TrustMRR
The Business Model: B2B marketplace subscription — publishers and advertisers both pay to participate. ~1,062 total users, 47 active paying subscriptions. 75% profit margins. 2,303 website visitors in the last 30 days. Domain Rating 34/100.
Why It Caught My Eye:
One of the two founders is John Rush — a prolific indie builder behind ShipFast, IndiePage, ZenVoice, and several other products. When someone with that track record co-builds something, it's worth looking at what they built
$95K in lifetime revenue over 16 months from a two-person bootstrap with no funding is a legitimate operating history
The founder note describes a platform that "mostly runs itself" — AI matching, autopilot budget shifting, fraud scoring, automatic content rerouting. If that's accurate, the operational burden on a new owner is low
75% profit margins on an ad network is strong — ad infrastructure typically has meaningful costs, so margins this high suggest the platform is running lean
Two-sided marketplace with 1,062 users means there's an existing network effect, even if it's modest — that's harder to replicate from scratch than a single-sided SaaS product
The Math: At $75,000 for a business doing $3,463 MRR, the multiple is 1.8x annualized ($3,463 × 12 = $41,556).
That's slightly above where we'd expect a similar-sized SaaS without a strong growth story, but within normal range for a marketplace business where the two-sided network has real value beyond the MRR alone.
The wrinkle worth noting: last-30-days revenue ($3,156) is slightly below current MRR ($3,463), which means the most recent month was a touch softer than the standing recurring base suggests.
Not a red flag on its own — but worth asking whether that's noise or a trend.
Tech Stack You'd Inherit:
Vue.js, JavaScript (frontend)
Node.js, Stripe (backend)
What I'd Dig Into Before Buying:
John Rush's name being attached to this is a double-edged signal. His involvement likely drove early credibility and some customer acquisition through his existing audience and network. Find out specifically how much of the current subscriber base came through his channels, and whether those customers stay when he's no longer associated with the product
The founder note is technically impressive: AI matching, autopilot creative testing, fraud scoring, but "mostly runs itself" is a claim worth verifying, not taking at face value. Ask for a breakdown of how many hours per week each founder currently puts in, and what tasks those hours cover
Two founders selling together means you need to understand why both are selling, not just one. Are they aligned on price and terms, or is one keener to exit than the other?
At 47 paying subscriptions across ~1,062 users, the conversion rate from user to paying customer is about 4.4%: ask what the friction is between free and paid and whether that ratio has been improving or flat
The last-30-days revenue being below MRR is a small flag worth a direct question, instead ask for the last 6 months of revenue month by month
My Take:
This is the first listing in this series where the founders themselves are part of the asset.
John Rush's name carries genuine weight in the communities TinyAdz is selling into: indie hackers, newsletter publishers, niche site builders.
That reputation likely opened doors the product couldn't open on its own.
The real question isn't whether the product works. It's whether the product keeps working just as well when the people who built it and vouched for it are no longer in the picture.
At 1.8x ARR for a two-sided marketplace with real infrastructure and strong margins, the price is fair if the answer is yes. It's expensive if the answer is partly no.
My Verdict: Would I buy it? I'd have a serious conversation at this price: the margins, the automation story, and the marketplace dynamics are all genuinely attractive.
But I'd spend more time on founder-dependency diligence here than on any other listing we've covered.
I'd want to know specifically which customers came through John Rush's orbit and what those retention numbers look like versus customers who found TinyAdz organically.
What This Teaches You (Even If You're Never Buying a Business):
Founder reputation is a real asset — but it's also a real liability when it doesn't transfer.
Any time you're buying a business where the founder has a public profile or existing audience, treat that as a customer acquisition channel you might be inheriting in name only.
Ask how much of the revenue depends on who built it versus what they built.
If You Want to Look Yourself:
For any listing with a well-known founder, search their name and see which other products they've built — it tells you where their attention likely went after this one
For two-sided marketplaces, always ask for publisher count and advertiser count separately — one side being much larger than the other is a structural imbalance worth understanding
When last-30-days revenue is below current MRR, ask for the 6-month trend before assuming it's noise
"Mostly runs itself" is a claim that deserves a specific weekly-hours breakdown from the seller
For any marketplace business, ask what happens to the network if the top 3 publishers or advertisers leave — concentration risk is often hidden in aggregate numbers
Use TrustMRR's free APA/LOI/NDA templates once you're seriously negotiating
Pro Tip: On any listing where the founder has a public audience or personal brand, ask one specific question: what percentage of your customers found you through your own name, profile, or following? The answer tells you whether you're buying a business or buying someone else's reputation at a markup.
Talk soon, Kris
