Bram Kanstein
@bramk Netherlands52K followers
Dutch no-code maker of Startup Stash who built and sold five curation products
Startup Stash, StartupWatching, Road to Scale +2
exit story · 2017 · directory makers
Startup Stash acquisition (2017)
Startup Stash was built by Bram Kanstein and sold in 2017 for 5 figures (reported in an interview with the maker). At the time of the sale it made ~$4-5K MRR from partnerships and affiliate ads.
Key facts
- Buyer
- Undisclosed
- Year
- 2017
- Price
- 5 figures (reported in an interview with the maker)
- Revenue at sale
- ~$4-5K MRR from partnerships and affiliate ads
- Years operated
- 2.8 years
- Channel
- Direct sale
Why they sold: Kanstein says he mostly loves the part of taking an idea to a finished product, and treats what comes after as a bonus, which is why he has sold most of his projects.
The story of Startup Stash
Startup Stash was a curated directory of hundreds of tools and resources for startup founders. Bram Kanstein built it in early 2015 from a WordPress directory template while working for a tech investor, turning roughly 700 bookmarked tools into a simple site. Its Product Hunt launch drew about 230K pageviews in 48 hours, coverage in Forbes, Business Insider and Entrepreneur, and became the most-upvoted product of all time on the platform.
The site earned around $4-5K a month from partnerships and affiliate ads and reached about a million users in total. The sale happened almost by chance: on a call with someone from a media agency in Tel Aviv, Kanstein mentioned he planned to sell, the other party was immediately interested, and they accepted his asking price. The buyer, an Israeli media company, completed the acquisition in November 2017.
Kanstein went on to build and sell several other curation products, including StartupWatching, Road to Scale, My Pitch Deck and Start with Magic.
Lessons Bram Kanstein shared
- 1.An idea's value matters more than its polish: Startup Stash was a plain grid of blocks, but people valued the curation behind it.
- 2.Ask what the fastest way is to learn what real users need, and whether you should build something before asking whether you can.
- 3.Building with no-code tools forces you to focus on the core of a product early on.
Paraphrased from the maker's public posts and interviews (see sources).
The maker
See the Startup Stash product page or Bram Kanstein's full profile for everything they have built since.
Other exits by Bram Kanstein
S
StartupWatching
→ Andrew Askins · 2018
Bram Kanstein wanted to clear his head space to focus fully on new projects and wanted cash up front to fund them, while making sure the newsletter ended up in good hands.
by Bram Kanstein
Related exit stories
Same buyer, category or sale channel as Startup Stash.
AllGPTs
→ Chipp · 2024
Once the custom-GPT hype faded and traffic declined, the directory and its community still needed ongoing time, and John prefers directories he can run on autopilot. He wanted it to go to someone who could invest more time in it.
by John Rush
Amazon changed how its affiliate links worked, which broke about 90% of the site's affiliate links, and Michael Lynch no longer had time to maintain the site.
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DudeRanch.com
buyer undisclosed · 2025
Peter Askew said he felt he had accomplished what he set out to do with the site and that it had given him as much as he had given it.
by Peter Askew
I
Islands
→ WeWork · 2019
by Greg Isenberg
Sources
- nocodeexits.substack.com — nocodeexits.substack.com/p/5-curation-products-acquired-for
- growthmentor.com — growthmentor.com/mentors/bram-kanstein
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
Startup Stash acquisition FAQ
Who bought Startup Stash?
The buyer of Startup Stash has not been publicly disclosed; the sale happened in 2017.
How much did Startup Stash sell for?
Startup Stash sold for 5 figures (reported in an interview with the maker), as publicly stated. At the time of the sale it made ~$4-5K MRR from partnerships and affiliate ads.
Why did Bram Kanstein sell Startup Stash?
Kanstein says he mostly loves the part of taking an idea to a finished product, and treats what comes after as a bonus, which is why he has sold most of his projects.
How long did it take Startup Stash to get acquired?
Startup Stash was sold about 2.8 years after launch, through a direct sale (sold directly to a buyer, often a competitor, customer or acquirer that reached out).
What did Bram Kanstein learn from selling Startup Stash?
An idea's value matters more than its polish: Startup Stash was a plain grid of blocks, but people valued the curation behind it. Ask what the fastest way is to learn what real users need, and whether you should build something before asking whether you can.