Startups
The Template I Use to Buy Tech Companies
Over the years I’ve been involved in more than $100 million worth of transactions buying, scaling, and selling companies.
My biggest being Reviews.io, which I bootstrapped from scratch and later exited.
Since then, I’ve acquired multiple SaaS products and smaller tech companies, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: deals fall apart when trust breaks down or when momentum stalls.
I call it “deal drag.”
That stage where everyone’s half committed, waiting for the other side to move, and the deal starts losing oxygen.
It’s the silent killer of acquisitions and it’s usually the result of poor structure and communication.
That’s why I built the Buying a Tech Company Template in Assemble.
It’s the same workflow I now use to keep deals organised, transparent, and moving forward.
Why I Built It
I’ve had deals go sideways for all kinds of reasons. Unclear handovers, missing documentation, or founders going quiet. But underneath it all, the real issue is always a lack of process.
Without a structured workflow, small uncertainties quickly snowball into distrust.
And once trust starts to slip, it’s hard to get it back. This template fixes that.
It creates a shared roadmap where everyone involved can see exactly what’s been done and what’s still pending, eliminating confusion and deal drag entirely.
It’s built for acquisitions under $1 million, where you don’t need bankers or a full M&A team, but you do need discipline and visibility. For bigger transactions, you can easily layer on more legal and financial steps.
The Five Phases That Keep a Deal on Track
These are the exact stages I use in every acquisition, built from experience and refined through mistakes.
Pre-Close Due Diligence
This is where you separate great opportunities from bad ones.
Go deep on the product, the metrics, the tech stack, and the team.
And here’s one thing I always do: run a customer feedback survey using something simple like Google Forms.
It serves two big purposes:
It proves that the customers are real and paying, not inflated numbers on a spreadsheet.
It gives you honest feedback that often highlights product gaps, frustrations, and new feature ideas you can feed straight into your roadmap post acquisition.
A good survey can be worth more than any line item in a data room.
Deal Closing & Asset Transfer
Once diligence is clear, move fast to sign and transfer.
Domains, Stripe, AWS, GitHub, social accounts, get it all listed and handed over cleanly.
Momentum matters. Every day you delay is another chance for deal drag to set in.
Knowledge Transfer & Stabilisation
Don’t underestimate this phase.
You’re not just buying a product, you’re buying the seller’s knowledge.
Keep them involved for a few weeks post close to document workflows, explain code dependencies, and ensure a smooth transition.
Brand, Legal & Customer Migration
Now you integrate everything into your systems, billing, support, legal ownership, trademarks, and IP.
This is where the business becomes officially yours in every sense.
Product Optimisation & Roadmap
Once things are stable, you shift into growth mode.
Use what you learned from the customer survey, clean up the product, and build your first 90 day roadmap to start adding value.
Avoiding Deal Drag
Every bad deal I’ve seen has one thing in common: uncertainty.
When people don’t know what’s next, they hesitate. When they hesitate, trust fades.
Structure removes that uncertainty.
It gives both sides confidence that things are moving in the right direction and that’s what gets deals done.
How Long It Takes
For smaller acquisitions, this full process usually runs about six weeks from start to finish, assuming both parties stay responsive and aligned.
Speed creates trust, and trust closes deals.
Final Thoughts
Buying a company isn’t about luck, it’s about process.
Every deal I’ve closed has followed the same rhythm: structure, transparency, and trust.
The Buying a Tech Company Template in Assemble keeps everything organised, visible, and on track.
It’s the exact framework I’ve used across multiple acquisitions, refined from real experience, not theory.
👉 Use the Buying a Tech Company Template
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