2025.03.07 - Online Biz Acquisition Opps

Author

Corey Philip
March 07, 2025

Corey’s Quick Take: Revenue is declining here. Understanding why it is declining is crucial. If the courses are high-quality, and not tied to the seller’s persona, there may be opportunity here for a skilled media buyer.

🎓 Digital Course Business – $213K SDE – Asking $350K – 1.6x Multiple

Listing Type (?): Small Growth Opp

A profitable digital course business in the e-commerce & apparel space that has generated over $2.5M in total revenue since launching in 2019. The course teaches entrepreneurs how to build profitable online apparel brands and has an engaged student base of over 2,000 customers. The business is highly automated, requiring minimal hours to operate.

While revenue has declined from its peak, the low 1.6x multiple makes this an appealing acquisition—understanding the cause of revenue decline will be key to evaluating upside potential.

✅ What I Like

  • Attractive Valuation – 1.6x SDE multiple is below market for digital education businesses.

  • Highly Automated – Funnels, email marketing, and course delivery are already built.

  • Engaged Audience – Email list of 16K+, SMS list of 20K+, and active student community.

  • Multiple Revenue Streams – Core course, plus opportunities for coaching, memberships, partnerships, and software.

  • Proven Ad Performance – Facebook & Instagram campaigns have driven past growth.

⚠️ Risks / Challenges / Questions

  • Revenue Decline – 2021: $505K → 2022: $405K → 2023: $659K → 2024: $428K. Why?

  • SEO Dependency? – Is the decline tied to organic traffic drops, or is it due to reduced ad spend?

  • Seller Dependency? – Is the brand built around the seller’s personal authority, making transition difficult?

  • Market Saturation? – How competitive is the apparel eCommerce education space now vs. 2019?

📈 Ways to Grow

  • Direct Response Marketing – If past success came from ads, there’s opportunity to scale paid traffic profitably.

  • New High-Ticket Offers – Launching a coaching program or membership community could boost LTV.

  • Affiliate & Influencer Marketing – Leverage existing students and industry influencers to drive organic sales.

  • SEO & Content Expansion – If traffic loss is the issue, investing in SEO and YouTube content could revive growth.

  • B2B Angle – Position the course for businesses offering custom apparel services, not just individuals.

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