Unlocking Startup Growth: The Flippa Invest Revolution | Webinar

For founders navigating the challenging world of fundraising, finding the right investors can be a time-consuming, frustrating process. While venture capital (VC) funding gets much of the attention, it’s not always the best fit for every business. Enter Flippa Invest, an innovative fundraising platform helping digital businesses with growing revenues connect with accredited investors in a smarter way.

Recently, Laurits Just, the former founder of BitsForDigits and now Manager of Flippa Invest, joined Jason Kirby on his podcast, Fundraising Demystified, to discuss his entrepreneurial journey, the lessons learned from building and exiting a startup, and why Flippa Invest is revolutionizing the way founders raise growth capital.

The Journey: From BitsForDigits to Flippa Invest

What was BitsForDigits?

BitsForDigits started as a partial acquisition marketplace designed for founders looking to sell a portion of their business rather than exiting completely. Unlike full acquisition marketplaces like Flippa, BitsForDigits focused on secondary sales, allowing founders to take chips off the table via minority and majority buyouts.

Bootstrapping & Scaling to Profitability

The inspiration for BitsForDigits came from a blog post by David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH), the co-founder of 37signals (Basecamp, HEY). The post detailed how DHH and Jason Fried sold a minority stake to Jeff Bezos. Recognizing that most founders don’t have access to investors like Bezos, Lourdes saw an opportunity to build a marketplace for partial buyouts.

Bootstrapped from the start, BitsForDigits relied on direct outreach, word of mouth, and organic marketing to attract users. Twitter and LinkedIn played a significant role in acquiring sellers and buyers. While founders required education on the benefits of secondary sales, institutional investors and private equity firms were already familiar with these deals.

The Decision to Sell

As the company scaled, it reached a crossroads: continue bootstrapping, raise VC funding, or explore acquisition. After speaking with over 100 VCs, Laurits and his team opted for a strategic exit. While BitsForDigits had strong profitability, they recognized the limitations of bootstrapping and the potential drawbacks of VC funding.

Flippa CEO Blake Hutchison, who had been following BitsForDigits since its early days, expressed interest. After receiving multiple acquisition offers, Lourdes and his co-founder decided to sell to Flippa, recognizing the synergies between their marketplace and Flippa’s growing ecosystem.

The Birth of Flippa Invest: A New Fundraising Model

Why Traditional Fundraising Is Broken

Raising capital through traditional VC channels is not always the best option. Many founders are forced to give up significant equity, deal with high-pressure growth expectations, and risk losing control of their business. Meanwhile, traditional crowdfunding platforms often attract uninformed retail investors, leading to unrealistic valuations and uncertain exits.

What Makes Flippa Invest Different?

Flippa Invest provides an alternative: a network of 78,000+ accredited investors interested in investing in established, revenue-generating businesses. Unlike VCs, these investors prioritize sustainable growth, profitability, and long-term success rather than high-risk, high-reward moonshots.

Key differentiators:

• AI-Powered Investor Matching: Uses data-driven insights to connect businesses with relevant investors.
• Focus on Revenue-Generating Startups: Only businesses with growing revenues are eligible.
• Accredited & Experienced Investors: Unlike traditional crowdfunding, Flippa Invest ensures investor quality by requiring accreditation.
• Flexible Investment Models: Supports both direct raises (investors added to cap tables) and SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) raises for cleaner equity structures.

Who Can Raise on Flippa Invest?

To ensure quality, Flippa Invest has strict criteria:

• U.S.-registered digital businesses (SaaS, eCommerce, fintech, mobile apps, marketplaces, etc.)
• Growing revenues (not just an idea or MVP)
• Funding targets between $50,000 and $1M (oversubscription possible)

Bootstrapped startups with growth and profitability, or at least a path to profitability, are often the best fit, as Flippa Invest caters to investors looking for sustainable, long-term returns rather than speculative VC-style growth.

How Flippa Invest Works

1. Application & Screening

• Founders apply via Flippa Invest.
• The team reviews financials, pitch decks, and growth potential.

2. Deal Room Setup and Launch

• A fundraising page is prepared to contain pitch deck, founder bios and business metrics.
• The deal room is created for investor engagement (Q&A, webinars, document sharing).
• The round is launched and the business is matched with relevant accredited investors.

3. Engaging & Closing Deals

• Investors can review verified financial data and perform due diligence using up to 15 connected data integrations including Stripe, QuickBooks, and Google Analytics.
• Founders can engage in real-time discussions, host Q&A sessions, and negotiate terms.
• Investments are finalized via FlippaPay or an SPV depending on the method of fundraising.

4. Raising Capital & Growth

• Once funding is secured, founders can focus on scaling their business.
• A potential flywheel effect allows startups to raise capital via Flippa Invest and later exit on Flippa when ready.

Why Flippa Invest Is a Game-Changer

Access to 80,000 investors: High-net-worth individuals, family offices, and private equity firms. 

Smart Money Over Retail Crowdfunding: Investors with domain expertise and networks, not just capital.

Flexible Funding Models: Direct investment or pooled SPVs for clean cap tables. 

Affordable & Transparent Pricing:

• $3,500 launch fee (for investor outreach and setup)
• 2.5% processing fee per investor (Direct Raises)
• 4% fee on SPVs, including compliance & filings (Group Raises)

Investor-Aligned Growth: No pressure for hyper-growth, IPOs, or forced exits.

The Future of Fundraising Starts Here

For founders seeking an alternative to traditional VC, Flippa Invest is redefining startup fundraising. Whether you’re looking to raise growth capital or explore acquisition opportunities, Flippa’s ecosystem provides a seamless path to scaling and exiting successful