Chase is a long-time Flippa buyer who has bought four businesses on Flippa, totalling over $650,000 in transactions.
Initially, there was a sense of hesitation as he didn’t quite have the confidence to completely extract his living expenses and invest in an online business. However, after much research and vetting of the industry, Chase found the courage to take a leap of faith to entrepreneurship.
Becoming a Business Owner
In 2017 Chase came across Flippa and bought his first Amazon FBA ecommerce business. He wasted no time jumping on the opportunity to place a ‘buy it now‘ bid to the seller who was considering other prospects. This was the beginning of Chase’s roll up strategy. This approach of acquiring multiple assets in the same industry and consolidating them into a large company proved to be advantageous. By combining small like-kind businesses into a larger company, Chase was able to pull resources together, cut down on operational costs, and increase revenues.
“I’ve found it to be helpful to establish a relationship directly with the seller,” says Chase. “The number one thing is to have your financing in place. You have to be nimble enough to strike a deal. If you tease it out, someone will swoop in.”
Related: How To Interact With Sellers
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For Chase, there was an art to finding the right business to invest in: this could look like hitting 25 different roadblocks before finding something with merit. Out of those 25, one in 10 would have enough opportunity still left in the business to accelerate growth. If the business met this criteria, Chase would immediately jump to the opportunity and speak to buyers.
“I loved the idea of having product pages that were on Amazon,” says Chase. “That already existing search volume was taking place and all I had to do was come up with the creative art – that was the exciting part.”
“I’ve found it helpful to establish a relationship directly with the seller. The number one thing is to have your financing in place. You have to be nimble enough to strike a deal. If you tease it out, someone will swoop in.”
Chase Levitt, Flippa Buyer with $650K worth of acquisitions on Flippa.
Transitioning to Digital Products
Chase maintained a frugal lifestyle saving his extra income to buy a few businesses.
It wasn’t until he started working with an author who was in the process of releasing his second book that he recognized the similarities between book listings and physical products.
“I told him, what you need is not to finish your second book, but to find a way to scale this so you can release 100 books,” says Chase. “As soon as I said those words, it dawned on me that there’s where I need to be.”
So he jumped on Flippa and purchased his first digital product business for $355,000, and shortly after he made his second purchase for $195,000.
“Fast forward now about a year, I ended up selling all of my products in a roll up,” says Chase. “That was an exciting time for me and I wanted to continue on in the online ecommerce space and I made one difference, and that was I wanted to sell digital products that didn’t require being in the warehouse.”
Running all three businesses and maintaining them wasn’t always easy. It took plenty of trial and error, deploying the right contractors, and gaining tangible skills.
Today, Chase enjoys the passive nature of his portfolio as it allows him to spend more quality time with his kids. These days you can find him focused on maintaining his business, enjoying the fruits of financial flexibility, and keeping an eye out on businesses on Flippa that piques his interest.
“The best part about Flippa is the newsletter, and it dials in pretty close to exactly what I’m looking for,” says Chase. “I love the newsletter. I love the auction and access to the seller — that’s really tough to beat when you stand it up against its competitors.”
“I love the sales approach and access to the seller — that’s really tough to beat when you stand it up against its competitors.”
Chase Levitt, Flippa Buyer with $650K worth of acquisitions on Flippa.
The Next Level for Chase’s Portfolio
“The second big inflection point in my business is when I started to acquire similar businesses that I could integrate into my standard operating procedures.”
Chase Levitt, Flippa Buyer with $650K worth of acquisitions on Flippa.
In phase two of Chase’s online acquisition journey, Chase has now acquired $650K worth of online assets on Flippa. Growing to this level is an accomplishment in itself, but also worth noting is his strategy for growing his acquisitions.
As part of his selection criteria, he invests in businesses that are in an exciting growth stage and can integrate well with his existing standard operating procedures.
Next Steps
Inspired by this story? Read up on others who have successfully bought and sold their businesses here.
If you’re ready to sell, check out our First Time Seller’s Guide, or start looking for a website to buy.
Like this buyer and seller, you too can master proper buyer and seller communications etiquette. We’ll show you how to do that here.
Want to Hear More from Chase?
Watch his Humans of Flippa interview about becoming a high-Growth digital business aggregator here.
FIND OUT HOW MUCH YOUR BUSINESS IS WORTH
Flippa’s intelligent valuations engine is the industry’s most accurate tool, taking into consideration thousands of sales and live buyer demand. Find out what your business is worth with our free valuation tool and plan your next move.
