Portfolio, app flipping & selling

Who this is for

This is for builders who can ship a small app or micro-SaaS in days, would rather run many small bets than one long project, and are open to selling what works. It suits people who treat products as assets. It does not suit anyone who needs one product to pay the rent next quarter, because the guests who champion the approach say most attempts earn little or nothing (Max · Max (Dec 2025) ▶ 01:52).

The route at a glance

1. Ship many small bets and let data pick the winners.
2. Expect most to fail, and kill flat projects fast.
3. Serve one niche with related products that cross-sell.
4. If you build to flip, set the exit goal first and package clean metrics.
5. Price and sell: know what raises value and where the buyers are.
6. Counterweight: stay focused and watch for portfolio burnout.
7. Alternative: buy instead of build (thin evidence).

Step 1 — Ship many small bets

Build small and ship often. You rarely know in advance what will work, and experiments are cheap (Louis Pereira · Louis Pereira (Dec 2025) ▶ 04:38). Marc Lou describes this as rolling the dice again rather than sticking with one roll (Marc Lou · Marc Lou (Apr 2026) ▶ 02:56). Max, an iOS engineer with a day job, spent years on one pet app before switching to many one-feature apps (Max · Max (Dec 2025) ▶ 02:16):

(Max · Max (Dec 2025) ▶ 02:40)

Make each new app mostly assembly. Max drags in his existing settings, onboarding and paywall screens and reuses up to 90% of his code (Max · Max (Dec 2025) ▶ 06:51). After the App Store launch boost fades, he watches which apps hold steady, and only then adds polish and ads to those (Max · Max (Dec 2025) ▶ 10:18). Expect revenue to concentrate: four of his 28 apps produce most of it (self-reported) (Max · Max (Dec 2025) ▶ 01:53).

Step 2 — Expect most to fail; kill flat projects fast

Plan for a high miss rate. The counts below are all self-reported. Marc Lou puts his hit rate at about 5% (Marc Lou · Marc Lou (Apr 2026) ▶ 02:53). CJ Zafir built 11 products in a public challenge, and 10 of them collapsed (CJ Zafir · CJ Zafir (May 2025) ▶ 04:33). Tibo says to compress build time into weeks so you can survive those odds (Tibo · Tibo (Dec 2025) ▶ 07:14). Then set a rule. After a few weeks or months, either double down on whatever has traction or move on from a flat project “without feeling any guilt” (Florin Pop · Florin Pop (Feb 2026) ▶ 10:44).

Common mistake: getting emotionally attached to a first project that may take years to pay off (Marc Lou · Marc Lou (Apr 2026) ▶ 09:32).

Step 3 — Serve one niche with related products

The portfolio operators agree on one discipline: every product should serve the same customer. Presh builds wellness apps for the same audience, so each launch reaches warm users (Presh · Presh (Dec 2025) ▶ 03:13). Pat calls this “the secret to building multiple apps” (presenters’ view) (presenter · Presh (Dec 2025) ▶ 13:31). Lotts Ezeike puts each new app into the same funnel, uses lookalike audiences built from his email list and cross-sells between his apps (Lotts Ezeike · Lotts Ezeike (Nov 2025) ▶ 15:26). Jeremy Redman’s “tentpole” strategy places cheap, specific products around a core product, with an upgrade path back to the core (Jeremy Redman · Jeremy Redman (Apr 2026) ▶ 03:35):

(Jeremy Redman · Jeremy Redman (Apr 2026) ▶ 10:56)

Add products one at a time. Florin Pop builds each project until it sustains itself before he starts the next (Florin Pop · Florin Pop (Feb 2026) ▶ 06:43). See Cross-selling product family (tentpole).

Step 4 — Build to flip: set the exit goal, package the asset

A distinct “build to flip” school exists (Build to sell (flip micro-SaaS and apps)). Lotts Ezeike argues that the consumer-app market is liquid because many buyers think they can market an app better than its builder, and he aims to exit within 6–12 months (Lotts Ezeike · Lotts Ezeike (Nov 2025) ▶ 03:56). Domenico Gagliardi says you should decide your exit timeline first, because it shapes your roadmap and how fast you need to move (Domenico Gagliardi · Domenico Gagliardi (Oct 2025) ▶ 04:27). Then make the business easy to take over:

(Domenico Gagliardi · Domenico Gagliardi (Oct 2025) ▶ 05:40)

Improve the metrics buyers ask for: ARR, gross margin, ARPU, LTV, CAC and churn (Domenico Gagliardi · Domenico Gagliardi (Oct 2025) ▶ 05:56). Keep operations simple, because Lotts says over-complicated set-ups and long-winded answers kill deals (Lotts Ezeike · Lotts Ezeike (Nov 2025) ▶ 05:34). He grows apps to 10–20k MRR (self-reported, currency unstated) before he looks for a buyer (Lotts Ezeike · Lotts Ezeike (Nov 2025) ▶ 10:43). He also makes sure the last three months show an uptick (Lotts Ezeike · Lotts Ezeike (Nov 2025) ▶ 10:48).

Step 5 — Price and sell

Where to sell: Nico listed on Acquire.com, which introduces you to buyers but leaves the transaction to you (Nico · Nico (Mar 2025) ▶ 12:37). Jeremy Redman used brokers as well as an Acquire.com listing and received over 100 enquiries (Jeremy Redman · Jeremy Redman (Apr 2026) ▶ 12:04). Maddox contacted a company that had bought a similar site, and used escrow for the payment (Maddox · Maddox (Mar 2026) ▶ 08:42). Write the listing like a landing page and let buyers compete. Nico’s offers rose until one buyer offered $65,000 in cash on condition that the deal closed within two weeks (Nico · Nico (Mar 2025) ▶ 13:08). Lotts puts speed ahead of price: he sells to the third-highest bidder if they can close in three to four days (Lotts Ezeike · Lotts Ezeike (Nov 2025) ▶ 06:06).

What it is worth (all self-reported): Lotts quotes 2–4× EBITDA for his app sales (Lotts Ezeike · Lotts Ezeike (Nov 2025) ▶ 11:26). Adam Lyttle sold an app for two times its annual revenue, $224,000 (Adam Lyttle · Adam Lyttle (Feb 2025) ▶ 11:13). Domenico sold Softgen for nearly 3× ARR (Domenico Gagliardi · Domenico Gagliardi (Oct 2025) ▶ 01:13). Thomas Smale, an M&A broker, says small online businesses usually sell for four to ten times annual profit and that revenue multiples are uncommon (Thomas Smale · Thomas Smale (Apr 2023) ▶ 12:11). Smale runs a brokerage, so read his framing as that of an interested party. See How small businesses are valued.

Step 6 — Counterweight: focus and burnout

The loudest voice for portfolios is Jacky Chou:

(Jacky Chou · Jacky Chou (Mar 2026) ▶ 00:18)

The resilience argument has substance. Google’s updates and AI Overviews hit Jacky’s content sites, and his agency kept him afloat (Jacky Chou · Jacky Chou (Mar 2026) ▶ 03:30). But Tibo admits that fear of fast AI change is what drives his own portfolio (Tibo · Tibo (Dec 2025) ▶ 16:04). Gus notes that Jacky probably left out many unsuccessful projects (presenter · Jacky Chou (Mar 2026) ▶ 10:46). The costs are real too: Nick Buzz ran about 12 projects and burned out (Nick Buzz · Nick Buzz (Sep 2024) ▶ 13:36). Alex Lieberman would “rather four successful businesses than 12 non-successful” ones (Alex Lieberman · Alex Lieberman (Nov 2023) ▶ 14:48). Pat’s view is that shipping matters more than the number of projects, (presenter · Florin Pop (Feb 2026) ▶ 13:33), and that starting eight at once is not the method (presenters’ view) (presenter · Florin Pop (Feb 2026) ▶ 07:12).

Step 7 — Alternative: buy instead of build (thin)

This step rests mostly on one broker interview. Smale’s case is that the downside of buying is needing the money, while the upside is that demand and the product are already proven (Thomas Smale · Thomas Smale (Apr 2023) ▶ 13:19). His advice is to cold-email owners with a specific acquisition message (Thomas Smale · Thomas Smale (Apr 2023) ▶ 07:36), to buy where your skills complement the founder’s (Thomas Smale · Thomas Smale (Apr 2023) ▶ 13:52), and to treat early deals as a way of learning the process (Thomas Smale · Thomas Smale (Apr 2023) ▶ 18:17). Two guests have done it. Karl Hughes spoke to 50–100 founders and bought a productised service with a friend, taking on significant debt (Karl Hughes · Karl Hughes (Oct 2023) ▶ 11:17). John Rush paid almost a million dollars (self-reported) for Unicorn Platform on condition that its founder mentored him for a year (John Rush · John Rush (May 2025) ▶ 02:26). One deal is visible from both sides. Bhanu says he sold Feather for $250,000 (Bhanu · Bhanu (Jan 2026) ▶ 04:56), and Tibo says he bought it for 250K (Tibo · Tibo (Dec 2025) ▶ 03:05). See Buying a business.

Where guests disagree

• Sell for runway, or hold for recurring revenue? Sell: Lotts would rather exit “for like a cool 250k” (Lotts Ezeike · Lotts Ezeike (Nov 2025) ▶ 04:38), and Adam Lyttle’s first sale let him repay a debt before a court date (Adam Lyttle · Adam Lyttle (Feb 2025) ▶ 11:02). Hold: the narrator (Pat) says building apps purely to sell them “isn’t sustainable” (presenter · Adam Lyttle (Feb 2025) ▶ 13:12), and Maddox slightly regrets selling (Maddox · Maddox (Mar 2026) ▶ 08:58).
• Profit multiple or revenue multiple? Smale says profit (Step 5), while recent app sales were quoted on revenue (Adam Lyttle, Domenico above). The gap may reflect deal type and era: a 2023 broker interview against flippers talking in 2025.
• Many bets or one focus? See Step 6 and Focus vs shiny-object syndrome.

What can go wrong

• Selling can be brutal. Jeremy Redman took on about 200 grand of personal debt during a six-to-seven-month sale that “took me to such a dark place” (Jeremy Redman · Jeremy Redman (Apr 2026) ▶ 12:11).
• Not every flip works. Domenico calls one of his products “not so successful” (Domenico Gagliardi · Domenico Gagliardi (Oct 2025) ▶ 03:41).
• Luck plays a part. Louis Pereira credits “a large portion of luck” (Louis Pereira · Louis Pereira (Dec 2025) ▶ 04:35).

How strong is the evidence

The overall rating is weak because of Step 7. Steps 1 and 2 each draw on about ten or more independent guests. Steps 3, 5 and 6 each draw on roughly eight to fourteen. Step 4 rests on about seven, led by Lotts Ezeike and Domenico Gagliardi. Step 7 rests on three or four sources, and most of its substance comes from Thomas Smale (2023), who runs an M&A firm. Marc Lou and Tibo each appear in two episodes and count once. The Adam Lyttle story comes from a documentary narrated by Pat, so some of its claims are the narrator’s framing. Episode titles inflate some figures. Domenico’s “$1M” and “seven figures” are host framing (presenter · Domenico Gagliardi (Oct 2025) ▶ 00:19). John Rush’s title says $250K a month, but he states about 3 million ARR (currency unstated) (John Rush · John Rush (May 2025) ▶ 01:16). Several of these episodes carried sponsor reads and plugs for Starter Story’s own products, which were removed as ads.

Go deeper

Many shots on goal · App portfolios · Portfolios & multipreneurs · Selling and flipping apps · How small businesses are valued · Buying a business · Focus vs shiny-object syndrome · Cross-selling product family (tentpole) · Build to sell (flip micro-SaaS and apps) · If you started over today, what would your step-by-step playbook be? · Lotts Ezeike · Domenico Gagliardi · Thomas Smale · Build in public / personal brand → product