Investors Club provides several exclusive benefits and attractive deals for investors and sellers of online businesses. They host a private marketplace that allows both buyers and sellers to make the most profit Investors Club is beginner-friendly.
Sales-side, they mediate each deal so that sellers have less work to do during the sales process and are at less risk. Their expert analysis means that buyers can be confident in their purchases legitimacy and value, too.
Below we will explore more reasons everyone involved in online business transactions can benefit from Investors Clubs’ services.
UPDATED: June 2023
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Overview Of Investors Club
Investors Club is a broker for clients looking to buy or sell a profitable online business privately. One of their most interesting exclusive benefits is their member’s only marketplace. This marketplace only increases their ability to speed up the sales process.
The private marketplace and associated agreements allow members to remain confident in their broker choice. Deals on Investors Clubs’ market are private.
An Investors Club membership for sellers allows them to boost their sales, and they receive access to a deals’ concierge.
Investors Club works for its clients by doing the footwork of selling so that the business owner can keep running their business.
Unlike other big brokers – no fees, and significant attention to detail on each deal
Investors Club launched in January 2020, so while this broker may not have an extensive history of deals yet, its sales have completed so far.
Learn more about how Investors Club helps buyers and sellers profit the most below.
Types Of Businesses Investors Club Sells
Investors Club specializes in the sale of online businesses looking to sell via its private platform. If an investor looking to buy has at least $20K, Investors Club is likely to be one of the best brokers online to find a property.
As long as the business is based online and is profitable, Investors Club welcomes sellers to try out a free valuation. From the tech industry to lifestyle brands, outdoors, or in, and more,
Currently, Investors Club focuses on sites that host content, like those that display ads or generate leads. They have plans to expand their sales territory into e-commerce and other types of online businesses like SaaS.
Investors Club Valuation Process
Investors Club’s Valuation process is extensive and efficient. They offer expert evaluation on each site’s traffic, profitability, backlink quality, and 24 other factors to determine the full value of each listing.
Among these factors includes an estimated asking price, monthly revenue, and monetization methods used currently within the business. Other factors include the age, and multiple, for each listing. The seasonality, stability, (traffic, revenue), content, and backlink quality on the site are other factors that affect the value of the site as well.
Investors Club compiles a SWOT Analysis for each listing. SWOT is an acronym. This term stands for four different areas of analysis: “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.” Some things a SWOT report covers include:
- A financial overview is a report of the business’ revenue vs. expenses and sources of revenue.
- Traffic Overview an overview of what traffic are sites receiving and where it is coming from.
- Detailed Seller Notes are notes that include information like listing assets belonging to the business, a workload summary, and methods or ideas for support. It can also include warnings or other tips for growth for the new owner.
- Support, in this sense, generally looks like communication via email, video chat, or phone. Terms of support are agreed to upon purchase. Many sellers offer support for at least 30-days post-sale.
- An interview with the seller
- SEO overview which analyses SEO content like domain strength and other tech stack analysis like Wayback or other archived content
- Content Analysis of the site(s) associated with the business
- A growth paths analysis that explains the businesses’ earning potential vs. capital.
- A guidebook for the new owner that contains information about practices to continue best growing the business.
And of course, this includes a Questions and Answers Section. Investors Club always strives to answer questions at every step of the sales process, but this is the most detailed step in that regard.
All of these criteria are crucial in exacting the actual value of the business with the most accuracy. Finding the real value of a company is, in turn, one of the most vital parts of selling a business for the most profit.
Sales Process
With Investors Club, the time frame to sell businesses isn’t months like with some big brokers.
Within seven days, Investors Club will have a listing live on their site. They then should have that listing sold within another seven days and ready for verification and closure.
Because of Investors Clubs’ private listings, buyers have a lot less competition. With this broker, there’s no competition with 1000s of public buyers due to public listings.
Investors Club ensures that the buyers it gives access to are vetted and have the cash, ready to buy, before they’re able to bid. These private listings are only accessible to Investors Club members, which increases the security for all sides of the transaction.
Another great feature lauded by past clients is the feature to quickly contact and negotiate right from within the Investors Club app. In-app communication cuts down on annoyances that only prolong the process like missing each other’s calls or emails.
Transactions always include an Asset Purchase Agreement, which outlines all the criteria both buyer and seller agree to together. Terms of agreement can include things like what support the seller will offer after the sale.
Investors Club Success Rates
The Investors Club boasts a membership base of over 800 members. Currently, they have at least 20 active listings with the constant potential for growth.
The average asking price for businesses on the Investors Club is $42,914.
While Investors Clubs’ turnaround is very quick and efficient, it can be hard to determine how quickly every business will sell. It can vary greatly depending on the business’s worth.
The broker advises that businesses worth less than $100K, often sell within weeks, but those above that threshold may take longer to sell. However, they also give the caveat that no rule is ever set in stone, and even this doesn’t necessarily guarantee a sale to be fast or not.
This is why they ask sellers to agree to an exclusivity period. The details on this also vary from business to business, but they ask for at least a three month exclusivity agreement.
Their average listed multiple is 27x. This can range anywhere between 25-35x but can be as high as 50x. The multiple of any business depends on a variety of factors.
Investors Club transactions have netted sales ranging anywhere from $17k up to $170k.
This broker lists new sites for sale weekly, with new listings going up on Wednesdays at 9 am ET.
Investors Club is confident that once they approve a listing for sale on their marketplace, there is a high chance it will sell. This is why they offer a sales process guarantee, and why they advertise such quick turnarounds on their sales process!
Fees Charged By Investors Club To Sell A Business
Another impressive feature that Investors Club offers is a very universally appreciated one. This broker has no fees! Sellers sign an exclusivity agreement before listing their property with this broker.
Because deals are made private via an agreement between sellers and Investors Club, it can allow members to use its services for free. Members can upgrade to the paid membership at any time.
Investors Club charges sellers a 5% cut of the final sale price of their businesses. Since many other platforms can cost as much as three times this percentage, this discount makes a massive difference to sellers. Just like big box stores pass on their profits to their customers, Investors Club passes the success of its business model to its investors.
Investor Club membership for buyers costs $127 per month. This fee gains investors access to all listings immediately upon posting and makes the due diligence process free on purchases.
Without the membership, it costs $27 per detailed due diligence report. As an unpaid member of the site, members can only view listings after they’ve been up for at least five days.
Paid members gain access to several other services in tandem with the benefits listed above. The first of these is a deals’ concierge, which helps buyers find exclusive deals.
If a buyer is looking for a specific type of business, or another particular niche they aren’t able to find on their own on Investor Clubs’ listings, the Deals Concierge service is perfect.
With the deals concierge service, they will go off-market to find the best business for the buyer. This concierge produces privately sourced opportunities for these members only. They then act as a buying merchant.
Having this proxy to take over the process can be invaluable for buyers just as much as sellers. Document drafts that can quickly turn into time sinks get done for you without any of the hassles.
Through this service, buyers don’t have to manage contracts on their own either.
The same goes for escrow services. Investors Club provides services quickly, without fees, and without strict requirements.
Investors Club offers among the best due diligence analysis among brokers. They analyze at least 24 factors to ensure the most thorough guarantees.
Their more in-depth due diligence process means their auditors spend at least five hours on each listing process. Buyers can then inspect their purchase for seven-fourteen days after the purchase.
Another service that Investors Club offers is the opportunity for ongoing growth.
If an investor has the need, or want, to sell without being involved in the process, Investors Club has an answer for this entrepreneur. Their website operator service creates a transition throughout the entire process.
This service is provided via their parent company and takes buyers from finding their ideal investment while organizing the purchase, and even operates and grows it for clients.
This hands-free process simply means that they run, optimize, and otherwise place the business into the best position for the best growth before, during, and after the seller’s exit.
Day-to-day management of everything from SEO management to technological development and more runs without any need to intervene during the sales process.
Investor Clubs’ transparent process and clear communication help corral campaigns, vendors, comparisons, or other stressful and complicated processes into manageable reports.
Investors Club does charge a listing fee of $99. However, this fee is fully refundable once the site is sold. If three months pass without a sale, the broker will pay an additional $100 back to the seller.
This fee protects the broker from having people list only to abandon the process once prospective buyers begin to respond. Ensuring there are no ghost listings on their platforms helps ensure the quality of Investors Club’s marketplace.
Pros And Cons Of Using Investors Club
Pros
Some good reasons to use Investors Club include:
- No Fees – Investor’s Clubs free valuation report and no-fee transactions equal more profits than deals with website brokers who charge for these services!
- Fair Valuation – Their detailed due diligence reports prove the business’s actual value without pressuring buyers into a quick sale.
- Close Quickly – Investors Club takes weeks, not months, to sell your business.
- Simple Communication. In-app communication limits hindrances like playing phone tag with other parties involved in the sale.
- Guaranteed Sale – If a listing doesn’t sell, Investors Club will pay the seller!
- 100% Exclusive, Private Listings allow for confidence both seller and buyer-side.
- Deeper due diligence – Strengthens confidence and, therefore, profitability.
- Many services available even without a paid membership.
- Great response times at 2 hours 9 minutes.
Cons
- Some aspects of the Investors Club process that may be unhelpful for some:
- Membership can be costly – however, if one can afford the membership, it can be extremely valuable.
- Better benefits with membership – those who can’t afford the membership could be more likely to miss out on the top deals this broker provides to its members.
- Newer broker – a smaller track record means fewer reviews for prospective members to rely on for peace of mind as they begin with Investors Club.
Conclusion And Verdict
Investors Club reviews praise the broker’s private deal flow – no fees means that listings won’t appear anywhere else. This privatization allows buyers peace of mind to receive the best businesses for the best price, with the most transparency.
Investors Club reviews also mention that perhaps the only type of investors looking for content hosting sites that may not wish to take advantage of this broke are those that are looking to purchase for less than $20K.
This investment and sales broker is an excellent choice for anyone looking to take part in the sale of an online business. All in all, Investors Club is a trustworthy broker that offers many resources for paid and free members alike.