Ian Landsman
@IanLandsman United States1.8K followers
Bootstrapper behind HelpSpot since 2005, LaraJobs and the Mostly Technical podcast
HelpSpot, LaraJobs, Outro +2
exit story · 2015 · saas founders
Snappy acquisition (2015)
Snappy was built by Ian Landsman and sold in 2015.
Key facts
- Buyer
- Undisclosed
- Year
- 2015
- Price
- Undisclosed
- Revenue at sale
- —
- Years operated
- 3 years
- Channel
- Direct sale
Why they sold: Ian Landsman said Snappy was a good app but not a good business for UserScape. Its low price point needed huge customer volume, and the small team's time was better spent on its main product, HelpSpot.
The story of Snappy
Snappy was a lightweight help desk for small support teams, built by Ian Landsman's company UserScape alongside its main enterprise product, HelpSpot. Development began in 2012.
On March 11, 2015, Landsman announced that Snappy would stop taking new sign-ups and shut down in May. He said the roughly $30/month average sale took as much effort to win as much larger HelpSpot deals, and that the scope had grown beyond the original simple vision.
The announcement drew a lot of interest from potential buyers. Less than a week later, Landsman said he had agreed to sell Snappy to a team with a bigger vision for the product, so it would keep running. He kept a minority stake in the new Snappy company. The buyer was not named in his post.
Lessons Ian Landsman shared
- 1.Landsman said he should have tried harder to sell before announcing the shutdown, since the announcement brought in many interested buyers.
- 2.Letting scope creep beyond the original simple idea was, in his view, where things first went wrong.
- 3.Running a full second product stretched a five-person company too thin.
Paraphrased from the maker's public posts and interviews (see sources).
The maker
See the Snappy product page or Ian Landsman's full profile for everything they have built since.
Related exit stories
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Sources
- ianlandsman.com — ianlandsman.com/snappy-is-saved
- ianlandsman.com — ianlandsman.com/why-were-closing-snappy/
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
Snappy acquisition FAQ
Who bought Snappy?
The buyer of Snappy has not been publicly disclosed; the sale happened in 2015.
How much did Snappy sell for?
The price was not publicly disclosed.
Why did Ian Landsman sell Snappy?
Ian Landsman said Snappy was a good app but not a good business for UserScape. Its low price point needed huge customer volume, and the small team's time was better spent on its main product, HelpSpot.
How long did it take Snappy to get acquired?
Snappy was sold about 3 years after launch, through a direct sale (sold directly to a buyer, often a competitor, customer or acquirer that reached out).
What did Ian Landsman learn from selling Snappy?
Landsman said he should have tried harder to sell before announcing the shutdown, since the announcement brought in many interested buyers. Letting scope creep beyond the original simple idea was, in his view, where things first went wrong.