Insights to make you a more profitable website investor. <br/><br/><a href="https://investing.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">investing.substack.com</a>
Website Investing from Investing.io
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41 episodes
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Podcast Overview
Insights to make you a more profitable website investor. <br/><br/><a href="https://investing.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">investing.substack.com</a>
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Publishing Since
5/2/2020
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Recent Episodes
May 14, 2021
Ep 39: Mohit Tater - Website Operations with EF Capital Fund
<p>In this episode, Avi talks to <a target="_blank" href="https://blackbookinvestments.com/team/">Mohit Tater</a>, one of the operators for the Empire Flippers (EF) Capital Fund. They discuss his investing background and the various sites he has acquired. They also dive into the operations of EF Capital, and how Mohit works with his team to run a bunch of sites.</p><p><strong>EPISODE SPONSOR</strong></p><p>🔥 <a target="_blank" href="https://smashdigital.com/">Smash Digital</a> - an SEO growth agency with actual skin in the game, ranking their own portfolio of profitable businesses, and offering the exact same services to clients. <a target="_blank" href="https://smashdigital.com/">Check. Them. Out</a>.</p><p><strong>📝 </strong>Show Summary & Insights</p><p>Approach by EF Capital</p><p>* Mohit has had a relationship with the team at EF Capital for some years. This led to EF Capital approaching him to see if he’d like to join them as an operator. That's no surprise, considering Mohit’s extensive experience in the website investing field.</p><p>* At the time, EF Capital were looking for 5 operators for their first batch of sites. Two operators would run FBA businesses and the other 3 would handle content businesses. Mohit was among those running content businesses.</p><p>The Deals</p><p>* At the start, each operator had around $1-2 million, and they set out to raise an amount equal to that.</p><p>* EF Capital (EFC) would then tap into their investment network and raise money for the 5 deals based on what the 5 investors set out to achieve. EFC determined how much money they would raise based on what each investor was doing, and their goals. </p><p>* Currently, Mohit's fund is complete, and he is now looking to acquire around 5 different content sites.</p><p>Operations & Profit Splits</p><p>* The content operators may only acquire sites from Empire Flippers. This means they are searching for viable sites in the Empire Flippers Marketplace. </p><p>* Mohit will then operate these websites and online businesses with his existing team.</p><p>* The net profit is apportioned 3 ways: 60% goes to investors, 30% to the operator, and the last 10% to Empire Flippers. This distribution ratio also applies to any capital gains when a site is sold. </p><p>* Empire Flippers handles all communication with the investors. The operators don’t necessarily need to contact the investors, and Mohit may not know them. This allows the operators to run their businesses and websites freely and easily without having to worry about establishing and maintaining investor relations. </p><p>* Empire Flippers essentially takes care of all investor relations and management, and raises the necessary capital for the operators. The operators then handle all business operations.</p><p>* Mohit put down 7% of the $1 million capital raised, which is $70,000.</p><p>Mohit’s Plan</p><p>* The plan for the future is to have bigger raises, with the next step at $2 million. This will allow the operators to be involved in larger deals and to acquire more businesses. </p><p>* What’s important now, however, is to initiate the whole process and get a foot in the door. </p><p>* Dividends will be paid quarterly to investors, starting in Q3 or Q4 of 2021.</p><p>* Mohit has a team of 18 people to help him run the different content sites. Most of the team is remote, with an office in New Delhi. There are 2 tech people, 5 site managers (with great SEO experience), 5 junior SEOs, 4 writers, 1 HR, and 1 SEO project manager. The team also has a few interns. </p><p>* Mohit prefers his site managers to have prior experience handling a site. He leans towards people who run and manage their own sites. However, Mohit admits that it is difficult to find people like this. </p><p>* He often looks for people with good experience, but who have hit a plateau and are looking to grow further. Mohit provides them with the avenues for learning and sharpening their skills. </p><p>* In terms of acquiring sites, Mohit says that he isn’t looking for any niche in particular. </p><p>* The businesses will be sold in around 2 to 3 years on the Empire Flippers marketplace, with EF taking a commission from those sales.</p><p>Resources</p><p>* Website: <a target="_blank" href="https://blackbookinvestments.com/">blackbookinvestments.com</a></p><p>Guest Info</p><p>* Mohit’s email: mohit@blackbookinvestments.com</p><p><strong>What did you think?</strong></p><p>Did you enjoy this episode or do you have a question?</p><p>Please <strong>leave a comment</strong> to let us know.</p><p>Cheers,</p><p>Juliet</p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://investing.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">investing.substack.com</a>
April 30, 2021
Ep 38: Freddy Lansky on SBA vs Investment Funds for Business
<p>In this episode, Avi talks to Freddy Lansky, owner of <a target="_blank" href="https://pointspanda.com/?investingio">Points Panda</a>, about the pros and cons of SBA loans, and why he’s currently thinking of starting a fund instead of taking out an SBA loan. </p><p><strong>EPISODE SPONSOR</strong></p><p>🔥 <a target="_blank" href="https://smashdigital.com/">Smash Digital</a> - an SEO growth agency with actual skin in the game, ranking their own portfolio of profitable businesses, and offering the exact same services to clients. <a target="_blank" href="https://smashdigital.com/">Check. Them. Out</a>.</p><p><strong>📝 </strong>Show Summary & Insights</p><p>Starting Out </p><p>* In 2010, Freddy started a business called iChess with his business partner. The business focused on selling chess courses and videos online.</p><p>* Together, they scaled the business to just over 7 figures. In 2019, Freddy's business partner bought him out.</p><p>* After taking a few months off, Freddy started a new business called Points Panda, which began as a product tie service. </p><p>* At the same time, Freddy used his funds for an affiliate blog in the credit card and travel hacking space. Due to travel restrictions resulting from COVID, the business model tanked.</p><p>* Later, Freddy thought about buying a business. He ended up thinking about putting up a fund of his own, after getting offers for SBA loans.</p><p>SBA Loans</p><p>* SBA loans are usually between $300,000 to $5 million. Typically they are provided by banks, and supported and backed by the government through the Small Business Administration. Their terms are usually very good, considering that they are government-backed. These days, the interest rate is generally at 6%-7% over terms of 10 years. </p><p>* These days, it's easier than ever to get a loan for an online business through these SBA loans. The market is at an all time high, but Freddy says that there are pros and cons. Around 95% of businesses on the major brokerages are either not SBA eligible, or the sellers don’t want to deal with SBA. This is often due to the huge amount of paperwork and due diligence required from banks. It can take months to close. </p><p>* Banks also don’t like extending loans for Amazon FBA businesses because they regard them as too risky. Also, despite having low interest rates, you can have high multiples and debt service payments. </p><p>* You usually sign a personal guarantee, which means that banks can go after your property if you default on your loan.</p><p>* Freddy says that good SBA loans are hard to find unless it's an off-market deal.</p><p>Fund Thoughts </p><p>* To address these issues, and after talking to investors, Freddy is thinking of putting up a fund for online businesses as an alternative to SBA loans. </p><p>* With funds, you might have less risk and you can source deals faster when compared to SBAs. However, Freddy says that the cons of going this investor route is that you may not keep the majority of equity. There would be a need to ensure that more passive investors won’t gang up on you and remove you as the operator. </p><p>* Right now, Freddy is stuck choosing between whether he wants to go majority debt and a little equity to investors, or the other way around. He is more in favor of setting up as a fund or as an operator for someone else's fund. </p><p>* Sourcing good investors who understand the business and have your back is very important. Finding them can be tricky. Interestingly, Freddy usually finds good investors in online forums and Facebook groups. These people are generally realistic investors who are looking to diversify.</p><p>* EF Capital is a good model for a fund. In terms of payments, it gives 30% to the operator, with the brokerage taking 10%.</p><p>* Freddy is currently preparing and figuring out the best way to go about this. If it fails, he can always go the SBA loan route.</p><p>Guest Info</p><p>* Find Freddy inside the investing.io community</p><p>* Freddy's email: <a target="_blank" href="mailto:frederick.lansky@gmail.com">frederick.lansky@gmail.com</a> and <a target="_blank" href="mailto:freddy@pointspanda.com">freddy@pointspanda.com</a></p><p><strong>What did you think?</strong></p><p>Did you enjoy this episode or do you have a question?</p><p>Please <strong>leave a comment</strong> to let us know.</p><p>Cheers,</p><p>Juliet</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://investing.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">investing.substack.com</a>
April 16, 2021
Ep 37: Stacy Caprio. Buying & Optimizing Websites - 400% ROI
<p>In this episode, Avi talks to Stacy Caprio, owner of <a target="_blank" href="https://her.ceo/">Her.CEO</a>. They discuss Stacy's previous website purchases, and her case study on acquiring an expired website listing on Flippa. Stacy grew this site’s ad revenue 4 times in 2 years, despite not creating any content and being fairly hands-off in its operation.</p><p><strong>EPISODE SPONSOR</strong></p><p>🔥 <a target="_blank" href="https://smashdigital.com/">Smash Digital</a> - an SEO growth agency with actual skin in the game, ranking their own portfolio of profitable businesses, and offering the exact same services to clients. <a target="_blank" href="https://smashdigital.com/">Check. Them. Out</a>.</p><p><strong>📝 </strong>Show Summary & Insights</p><p>Buying Expired Listings</p><p>* Stacy’s 3rd website purchase was a pair of sister sites. These became the first sites that made a profit for her. She purchased them on Flippa, after searching for expired listings that no one had bought. </p><p>* Stacy searched for expired listings because she doesn’t believe in artificial increases in listing prices. You can definitely find a diamond in the rough by looking for distressed sites.</p><p>* Stacy was confident in her purchase, thanks to her previous experience with online marketing and SEO. A big motivator to search for expired listings is that she likes finding sites in which not everyone sees potential, and which are undervalued. </p><p>Growing A Niche Site</p><p>* Stacy bought a site for $6,400. At the time, it was making around $240 a month in profit. </p><p>* Over two years, Stacy increased the ad revenue by 4 or 5 times. She added another ad network, as well as placing a static ad on the site. </p><p>* Stacy did not add any content or links. She was very much hands-off on the site, since it was a forum dedicated to a particular niche. Here, users were the ones generating the content.</p><p>* The downside to owning a forum is that you can’t control what people post, and this may lead to various copyright issues where you could face liability.</p><p>* Prior to the above purchase, her first 2 sites were making little profit, and weren’t breaking even. </p><p>* Stacy eventually dropped these sites because she became discouraged by how little they made.</p><p>Purchase Criteria </p><p>* Stacy’s criteria when purchasing a site is the purchase price. The price must be good, relative to your plans for the site. Another thing she considers is the plan for the site. This includes an SEO plan with keyword research, and how to restructure it to get the most traffic to the site. </p><p>* She also likes to buy smaller sites with little traction and with good RPM. Once purchased, she does the SEO work to improve the site and generate more traffic and profit. </p><p>* Stacy prefers buying sites that are in the same niche, or are relevant or connected to one another, thereby creating verticals. This allows her to easily support them, and give the sites a quick link or a boost in keywords. </p><p>* However, Stacy admits that this could be considered borderline gray hat SEO. </p><p>* She also warns against creating double content for your sites in the same vertical, or linking to your other site because Google could recognize these moves.</p><p>* Stacy places prime importance on RPM, because this means more meaningful interactions and engagement with site users. </p><p>* When it comes to e-commerce, Stacy recommends optimizing your site for sales first, including getting a good conversion rate.</p><p>Guest Info</p><p>* Her.CEO: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.her.ceo/">https://www.her.ceo/</a></p><p>* Stacy’s email: stacy@her.ceo</p><p><strong>What did you think?</strong></p><p>Did you enjoy this episode or do you have a question?</p><p>Please <strong>leave a comment</strong> to let us know.</p><p>Cheers,</p><p>Juliet</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://investing.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">investing.substack.com</a>
41 total episodes available
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