Brennan Dunn
@brennandunn United Kingdom18K followers
Founder of RightMessage and Double Your Freelancing, author of This Is Personal
RightMessage, Double Your Freelancing, Planscope
exit story · 2016 · saas founders
How Brennan Dunn Sold Planscope to Josiah Johnson (2016)
Planscope was built by Brennan Dunn and sold to Josiah Johnson in 2016.
Key facts
- Buyer
- Josiah Johnson
- Year
- 2016
- Price
- Undisclosed
- Revenue at sale
- —
- Years operated
- 4.3 years
- Channel
- Broker
Why they sold: Dunn's education business, Double Your Freelancing, had overtaken Planscope, and he realized he enjoyed teaching far more than supporting and coding a SaaS. Planscope had gone into passive mode, so he wanted it to go to an owner who could give it full attention rather than shut it down.
The story of Planscope
Planscope was a project management and estimation tool for freelancers and agencies. Brennan Dunn made the first commit in November 2011 while running an 11-person agency. He launched it at LessConf and later left the agency to focus on the product.
Growth was slow. Dunn kept getting support questions about pricing and finding clients, so he pre-sold an e-book to Planscope users. That grew into Double Your Freelancing, which soon passed seven figures in sales and eclipsed the SaaS. Planscope kept customers but got little attention.
In 2015 Dunn contacted FE International, whom he knew through MicroConf. The broker introduced him to Josiah Johnson, a solo engineer and father in Portland who wanted to run a small software business. The deal was an asset sale of the code and customers rather than of the company, and the new owner was announced in March 2016. Dunn then focused fully on his education business and later co-founded RightMessage.
Lessons Brennan Dunn shared
- 1.Give any product you might sell its own bank account, credit card and service subscriptions. Mixing it into one umbrella company forced a painful clean-up during due diligence.
- 2.Treat an early SaaS as an asset that compounds over time, not as something that will replace your income quickly.
- 3.Adoption is harder for tools that need whole teams to change habits than for tools aimed at a single buyer.
Paraphrased from the maker's public posts and interviews (see sources).
The maker
See the Planscope product page or Brennan Dunn's full profile for everything they have built since.
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Sources
- doubleyourfreelancing.com — doubleyourfreelancing.com/doubling-down-on-doubleyourfreelancing/
- garrettdimon.com — garrettdimon.com/starting-and-sustaining/interviews/brennan-dunn
Facts are taken from the maker's and buyer's public statements and press coverage. Prices and revenue are shown only when publicly stated; self-reported figures are not independently verified.
Keep exploring
Planscope acquisition FAQ
Who bought Planscope?
Planscope was acquired by Josiah Johnson in 2016 from Brennan Dunn.
How much did Planscope sell for?
The price was not publicly disclosed.
Why did Brennan Dunn sell Planscope?
Dunn's education business, Double Your Freelancing, had overtaken Planscope, and he realized he enjoyed teaching far more than supporting and coding a SaaS. Planscope had gone into passive mode, so he wanted it to go to an owner who could give it full attention rather than shut it down.
How long did it take Planscope to get acquired?
Planscope was sold about 4.3 years after launch, through a broker (sold through an M&A broker such as FE International or Quiet Light).
What did Brennan Dunn learn from selling Planscope?
Give any product you might sell its own bank account, credit card and service subscriptions. Mixing it into one umbrella company forced a painful clean-up during due diligence. Treat an early SaaS as an asset that compounds over time, not as something that will replace your income quickly.