Flippa, an online marketplace for buying and selling online businesses and digital assets, announced Monday that it has raised $11 million in Series A funding led by Sydney-based venture capital firm OneVentures.
Founded in 2009, Flippa said it has more buyers than any other platform, with 600,000 monthly searches from investors seeking to acquire businesses.
The company, which is based in Austin and Melbourne, plans to use its new funding to double its headcount to more than 100 employees across all departments in Melbourne, San Francisco, Austin and remotely.
Seven of the company’s 40 employees are based in the Austin area.
The funds will also be used to expand Flippa’s platform, including scaling the company’s business valuation tool, which is similar to a Zillow “Zestimate” for online businesses.
The company’s platform is powered by an algorithm that matches businesses with qualified buyers. Customers can sell their company directly through the platform or with the assistance of a broker or advisor.
Flippa also offers due-diligence and acquisition finance powered by Yardline Capital [a Thrasio company] and a new service called Flippa Legal, which is billed as legal-as-a-service.
These new features will provide an end-to-end platform for the selling process.
“We’ve witnessed thousands of success stories, where business owners use Flippa to realize value in their extraordinary efforts,” Flippa CEO Blake Hutchison said in a statement. “We are now growing into a market network to streamline transactions of all sizes and we’re excited to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and investors.”
With three million registered users to date, Flippa is the world’s largest community of buyers and sellers of online businesses. The platform processes more than 4,000 valuations each month.
“It’s not often you get an opportunity to invest in the number-one marketplace in a massively growing area, so we jumped at the opportunity,” Nigel Dews, operating partner at OneVentures, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with the Flippa team, as they democratize the exit for millions of small business owners and entrepreneurs.”
OneVentures was joined in the funding round by existing investor Andrew Walsh; Flippa co-founders Mark Harbottle and Matt Mickiewicz; and 99designs. New investors include Catch.com.au founders Gabby and Hezi Leibovich; RetailMeNot.com founders Guy King and Bevan Clarke; and Reactive Media founders Tim O’Neill and Tim Fouhy.
