[oneelectron]

I also founded, grew, but have not yet sold a boutique software services co.

I see on your profile you sold to a client. We have had that option before but the multiple on our earnings was too low to actually consider it. Curious what your revenue/earnings multiple was on the acquisition. Also curious about the handcuff terms. Giving up autonomy over my daily life is hard to swallow without 8 figures.

[edanm]

I can't get into exact details. It was a fairly typical multiple, a bit higher than normal after some negotiation. That's smaller than a startup, obviously, as there was no IP, just a team. However, since we were bootstrapped, all of the money went to us, none to investors.

It ended up being fairly profitable to sell, though we were by no means dependent on this - we could have just as easily continued and possibly gotten more money in the long run by not selling (with a greater risk, of course).