The Journey of Developing Product and Software for Acquisition Financing with Juan Ignacio Garcia Braschi - E9

Join host Richard Bundock with Juan Ignacio Garcia Braschi, CEO of Boopos, as he shares his journey of developing innovative products and software for acquisition financing. Learn about SaaS valuations, business acquisitions, and scaling software-driven solutions.

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[00:00:10]

Rich: Welcome to another episode of Software Meets Business! Today, I’m thrilled to have Juan Ignacio Garcia, CEO and founder of Boopos. This is going to be a fascinating conversation because Juan wears two hats—on the software side and the business side. Juan, can you tell us a bit about your background?

Juan: Thanks for having me, Rich. It’s great to be here. I founded Boopos four years ago. Before that, I was the CFO at Cabify, which is like Uber for Spain and Latin America. I co-founded the business and spent eight years there, during which we turned it into a unicorn. It was an exciting journey that gave me exposure to operations, payments, and finances in unique ways.At some point, I decided I wanted to be behind the wheel, not the co-pilot. The CEO position wasn’t open at Cabify, so I started exploring ways to buy a business instead. I began looking into e-commerce businesses, but I quickly realised that the M&A market for small businesses lacked transparency, was hard to navigate, and made financing incredibly difficult. That’s how the idea for Boopos was born—to help people find and fund small business acquisitions. We initially focused on both e-commerce and SaaS businesses but later dropped e-commerce due to volatility. Now, we’re solely focused on SaaS businesses.

[00:02:22]

Rich: So, the core mission of Boopos is to help buyers acquire SaaS businesses by providing financing?

Juan: That’s right. We provide the financing ourselves, backed by a UK-based credit fund called Fasanara, which has given us a $100 million credit line. We support buyers in completing acquisitions. We also assist SaaS business owners by helping them find buyers through our platform and guiding them through the sale process.

[00:03:12]

Rich: So, if I want to buy a SaaS business, I can come to you, find a business that fits my goals, and you’ll help me fund it?

Juan: Exactly.

[00:03:33]

Rich: How do you determine the value of these businesses?

Juan: Our platform is data-driven. We use data connectors to pull information from the SaaS businesses listed with us, including their bank accounts, payment platforms, and ERP systems. We also scrape market data to gather valuation multiples.

Combining this data with benchmarks and market trends, we arrive at a valuation for the business.

[00:04:44]

Rich: Is Boopos available only in the U.S.?

Juan: We operate in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

[00:05:00]

Rich: Did you start this business with spreadsheets, or did you build software from the beginning?

Juan: The MVP was spreadsheet-based, but we quickly realised the scalability limitations. To grow the business efficiently, we needed automation. One of our first hires was a CTO, who played a key role in automating our processes from the start.

[00:07:01]

Rich: Tell me about hiring your CTO. How did you find them?

Juan: He was a university friend who had worked on several startups before. In the early stages of a business, you often rely on your network for key hires.

[00:07:44]

Rich: Did the CTO build an internal team or rely on external resources?

Juan: Initially, we used a mix of both. We worked with an external team based in Poland and Ukraine while building our internal team. Over time, we transitioned fully to an internal team to retain knowledge and ensure continuity.

[00:09:05]

Rich: Let’s dive into the features of the software platform you’ve built for Boopos.

Juan: Our platform has two core components:

1. User Experience: We focus on making it easy for buyers to find relevant businesses and for sellers to list their businesses. This involves designing an intuitive web app and ensuring a smooth onboarding process to minimise attrition.

2. Data Processing: This is more technically challenging. We process large amounts of data from transactions, accounting ledgers, and payment systems like Stripe or Paddle.

For example, we use transaction data to create retention cohorts for user and revenue analysis. This allows financial analysts to assess customer retention, which is crucial for evaluating SaaS businesses.

[00:14:22]

Rich: How does the process work for a SaaS business wanting to sell on Boopos?

Juan: Sellers interact with both our platform and our advisory team. They start by signing up on our platform, indicating whether they’re a buyer or seller. If they’re a seller, they connect their bank accounts, ERP systems, and payment platforms to provide us with data. Our advisors then provide feedback, including a valuation based on benchmarks and comparables. Once the seller accepts the mandate, the business is listed on our platform for qualified buyers to view.

[00:16:51]

Rich: How do you qualify buyers?

Juan: We filter buyers by assessing their credit score, availability of funds, and LinkedIn profile to determine their suitability as operators. This ensures sellers only engage with serious buyers. Buyers also define their investment thesis—such as the type of SaaS business, ARR range, or industry vertical—so they see only relevant listings.

[00:18:31]

Rich: What’s the typical valuation for a SaaS business?

Juan: It depends on the size and profitability of the business. Smaller SaaS businesses with up to $2 million ARR might be valued at 2-4x ARR. Larger businesses with solid metrics can go for 3-5x ARR. Retention metrics and gross margins play a big role, as do vertical SaaS businesses, which generally command higher multiples than horizontal ones.

[00:21:22]

Rich: Do you handle the entire transaction process?

Juan: Yes, we assist buyers through due diligence, document gathering, and the migration of technology platforms. Our platform facilitates the closing process to ensure a smooth transaction.

[00:23:00]

Rich: What were the biggest challenges you faced while building Boopos?

Juan: Early on, we focused too much on e-commerce, which turned out to be too volatile for our financing model. On the technical side, we made mistakes in hiring—building a large external and internal team that stretched our cash flow. We also built features that weren’t widely used, which could have been avoided with better prioritisation.

[00:26:05]

Rich: What’s next for Boopos?

Juan: We aim to move upmarket, working with larger SaaS businesses. This requires adapting our analysis tools to handle the complexities of bigger businesses. We’re also exploring ways to enhance our data-driven insights, which will drive the development of new features.

[00:28:23]

Rich: Do you see Boopos expanding beyond SaaS?

Juan: In the long term, yes. We’ve had inquiries from industries like brick-and-mortar businesses, but extracting data from those sectors is more challenging. For now, the SaaS industry is massive, so we’ll remain focused there for the foreseeable future.

[00:29:10]

Rich: Juan, it’s been fantastic having you on the podcast. Thank you for sharing your journey and insights into building Boopos.

Juan: Thank you, Rich. It’s been a pleasure.