Why (to me) sortofolio is a bad investment for a buyer:
1) They made a big deal about the sell. "We are selling it within x days and if no one buys we will be shutting it down" because apparently its not worth their time; but at the same time, according to them it takes zero involvement from their part. Doesn't sell it in x days but makes it available at flippa.
2) Doesn't answer any important questions regarding the sale on flippa. Either its not worth their time or they are not telling the whole story.
3) As someone who would use sortfolio this looks like a complete lack of confidence on the business/platform by their owners and has unstable future as a product, so why bother using the service?
4) Sortfolio almost definitely exist as a platform and makes money simply because of its association with 37singnals. The product is nether impressive or unique.
To me the whole "will shut it down in x, if not sold" not only leaves a bad taste towards sortfolio but also its parent company 37signal. I am not sure exactly why.
Not to mention the people who've paid $99/month for a service. Surely if they're going to shut it down they need to sunset it properly.
It's always interesting when the hype meets reality, and it seems that the users of flippa are far more astute and deserve more credit than they're often given. They're asking the right questions and getting no answers. Clearly 37signals may price it at $250,000 but doesn't value it as such.
EDIT: Changed to $99/year. Thanks for pointing that out melvinram.
Re: #4 - It's trying to be manipulative, when there's no need to be. I too was turned off by their presentation of the sale as well.
I am guessing they don't have a lot of experience selling off things, especially things they are attached to. It sounds like they really don't want to sell it, or at least not let it fall into a competitor's hands.
> Why (to me) sortofolio is a bad investment for a buyer:
I don't want to get into a debate about absolutism or anything, but that's a pretty bizarre statement. "to me" = acknowledging my own subjectivity. "for a buyer" = a generalised group. Weird.
> because apparently its not worth their time; but at the same time, according to them it takes zero involvement from their part.
They didn't say "not worth [their] time". They said that it didn't fit with their core businesses and as a result they are spinning it off. Those are two different things. Sortfolio has been running without engineering support for a while, but it still costs them hosting and support, plus the fact that they have a fiduciary responsibility for a product which they aren't excited about and doesn't fit with their core business. This is their iPod HiFi.
> Doesn't answer any important questions regarding the sale on flippa. Either its not worth their time or they are not telling the whole story.
I think they are telling the whole story at a narrative level but not at a numbers level. No information about whether customer data transfers, etc. I don't see any reason not to believe them when they say that the business is profitable and they believe it could be grown. It's an alien concept to most people that a business making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year isn't wanted by its owner, but it happens. It's a smart move. Sortfolio is a mental distraction. They aren't putting man hours into it, but that doesn't mean it's not at the back of their minds. Having $20k of revenue per month = giving a shit about who it came from.
> As someone who would use sortfolio this looks like a complete lack of confidence on the business/platform by their owners and has unstable future as a product, so why bother using the service?
That doesn't make it a bad investment for someone. It means you shouldn't use it yourself. It's debatable that 37signals' brand has made the platform what it is (a C+ or B- web service which generates revenue), but I know plenty of people who could take it and make it a six-month project to increase revenues and give it some more clout. Do you believe that fundamentally there is a market for this sort of product? If so then you have a great head start by buying Sortfolio.
> Sortfolio almost definitely exist as a platform and makes money simply because of its association with 37singnals. The product is nether impressive or unique.
I agree that its success to date has been largely defined by the 37signals brand. I find the product moderately impressive in its restraint. I'll be interested to see where it goes from here.
"I don't want to get into a debate about absolutism or anything, but that's a pretty bizarre statement. "to me" = acknowledging my own subjectivity. "for a buyer" = a generalised group. Weird."
I'm sure he meant "in my opinion, it's a bad investment [for whoever buys it]". There's nothing bizarre on that sentence, really.
1) They made a big deal about the sell. "We are selling it within x days and if no one buys we will be shutting it down" because apparently its not worth their time; but at the same time, according to them it takes zero involvement from their part. Doesn't sell it in x days but makes it available at flippa.
2) Doesn't answer any important questions regarding the sale on flippa. Either its not worth their time or they are not telling the whole story.
3) As someone who would use sortfolio this looks like a complete lack of confidence on the business/platform by their owners and has unstable future as a product, so why bother using the service?
4) Sortfolio almost definitely exist as a platform and makes money simply because of its association with 37singnals. The product is nether impressive or unique.
To me the whole "will shut it down in x, if not sold" not only leaves a bad taste towards sortfolio but also its parent company 37signal. I am not sure exactly why.