Thibault Louis-Lucas (Tibo)
@tibo_maker France211K followers
Built and sold Tweet Hunter and Taplio; now runs a $1M/month AI portfolio led by Revid
Revid, Outrank, SuperX +6~$1M/mo across products
exit story · 2022 · marketing & seo tools
How Thibault Louis-Lucas (Tibo) Sold Taplio to lempire (2022)
Taplio was built by Thibault Louis-Lucas (Tibo) and sold to lempire in 2022 for Up to $10M (Tweet Hunter and Taplio together: $2M upfront + earnout; ~$8M received in total, self-reported). At the time of the sale it made ~$1.5M ARR (Tweet Hunter and Taplio combined, reported).
Key facts
- Buyer
- lempire ↗
- Year
- 2022
- Price
- Up to $10M (Tweet Hunter and Taplio together: $2M upfront + earnout; ~$8M received in total, self-reported)
- Revenue at sale
- ~$1.5M ARR (Tweet Hunter and Taplio combined, reported)
- Years operated
- —
- Channel
- Direct sale
Why they sold: The upfront cash gave the founders liquidity and reduced their downside risk.
The story of Taplio
Taplio is a LinkedIn personal branding tool for finding viral content, writing posts with AI and scheduling them, built by Tibo Louis-Lucas and Tom Jacquesson as the LinkedIn sibling of their Twitter tool Tweet Hunter, which launched in 2021.
In summer 2022 the pair agreed to sell both products to lempire, the company behind lemlist, whose founder Guillaume Moubeche was a middle-school friend of Tibo and a Tweet Hunter user. The deal was negotiated in about two weeks and announced publicly in early 2023. It paid $2M upfront for the two products together, at roughly $1.5M combined ARR, plus an earnout of up to $8M more.
The products grew to about $8M ARR under the earnout and the founders collected about $8M in total. Tibo later called the sale a financial mistake, saying they effectively sold an $8M-a-year business for $8M, and that after splits and taxes he kept around $3M.
Lessons Thibault Louis-Lucas (Tibo) shared
- 1.An earnout is conditional pay for future work, not a guaranteed purchase price.
- 2.Earnout targets can push short-term revenue decisions and distort the roadmap.
- 3.Price the company as it is today separately from the growth you are expected to deliver after the sale.
Paraphrased from the maker's public posts and interviews (see sources).
The maker
See the Taplio product page or Thibault Louis-Lucas (Tibo)'s full profile for everything they have built since.
Other exits by Thibault Louis-Lucas (Tibo)
Tweet Hunter and Taplio depended heavily on social platforms, which could shut them down at any moment, so the founders wanted a deal that rewarded their fast growth while protecting the buyer from platform risk.
by Thibault Louis-Lucas (Tibo)
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Sources
- nocodeexits.substack.com — nocodeexits.substack.com/p/the-10-million-exit-that-became-a
- indiehackers.com — indiehackers.com/post/tech/heres-how-tibo-sold-two-products-for-8m-and-why-he-ll-never-do-
- indiehackers.com — indiehackers.com/post/tweet-hunter-acquired-for-2m-earn-out-0709cae13a
- theygotacquired.com — theygotacquired.com/saas/pony-express-acquired-by-lempire/
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
Taplio acquisition FAQ
Who bought Taplio?
Taplio was acquired by lempire in 2022 from Thibault Louis-Lucas (Tibo).
How much did Taplio sell for?
Taplio sold for Up to $10M (Tweet Hunter and Taplio together: $2M upfront + earnout; ~$8M received in total, self-reported), as publicly stated. At the time of the sale it made ~$1.5M ARR (Tweet Hunter and Taplio combined, reported).
Why did Thibault Louis-Lucas (Tibo) sell Taplio?
The upfront cash gave the founders liquidity and reduced their downside risk.
How was Taplio sold?
Taplio was a direct sale: sold directly to a buyer, often a competitor, customer or acquirer that reached out.
What did Thibault Louis-Lucas (Tibo) learn from selling Taplio?
An earnout is conditional pay for future work, not a guaranteed purchase price. Earnout targets can push short-term revenue decisions and distort the roadmap.