A guide to the lifecycle of a listing from draft to Acquire'd
Last updated: July 24th, 2023
Your listing moves through various stages as you sell your business. When its status changes, we'll let you know by email and through the platform. You can also view your listing's status from My listing.
Below, are the different statuses and what they mean.
Draft
Your listing is incomplete or you've not submitted it to our curation team yet.
The faster you get out of this stage, the better, since no one can view your public listing or contact you to discuss your acquisition until it's live.
Complete your listing and submit it as soon as possible. You don't pay anything to list, and only pay a 4 percent closing fee when you sell (and only if you sell).
Ready to submit
You've completed your listing and it's ready for review by our curation team.
Again, don't waste time wondering whether or not to list. If you came here to sell, get your listing into the public eye and start fielding inquiries!
Remember: Listing is free, and no one can see your private details until you grant them access to your startup.
Under review
You've sent your listing to our curation team. We usually get back to you with one business day, and if you're approved for the marketplace, you'll go live instantly.
Listed
Your startup is live on the marketplace! All buyers can view your public information, but only Premium and Platinum buyers can contact you and request access to your private details.
Now is when you'll field inquiries, evaluate buyers, and review offers.
You might hear from a customer success manager (CSM) after you've submitted your listing. Their goal is to help you sell quickly by perfecting your listing and guiding you through the process. It's a free service, and you can ask about our customer success program by emailing us at support@acquire.com.
Rejected
We couldn't list your startup for one reason or another. Our curation team will have sent you an email explaining the reason for the rejection. Usually, it's an easy fix like correcting a typo in a URL or uploading proof of business ownership.
Sometimes, you might need to grow the business a bit more, and in rare cases, your business might not be the best fit for our marketplace.
Although rejections can feel disappointing, we want you to attract buyer interest and won't list your business until we're confident that'll happen.
Under offer
Whoop whoop! You've accepted a buyer's letter of intent (LOI). At this point, you won't be able to discuss your acquisition with other buyers. Any other buyer with access to your startup will also lose that access unless your current deal falls through.
Acquire'd
Your startup got acquired! You or the buyer produce this status when marking your startup Acquire'd, which we'll ask you to do once you've moved to escrow or if you've closed off-platform. When in this status, your listing no longer appears in buyer search results.
Unlisted
Your listing has been removed from the marketplace. This can be temporary – for example, if you've edited your listing and not submitted the changes to our curation team to review. Or, you might unlist your startup if you decided not to sell after all.
Archived
You archived your listing and deactivated your account – permanently (that said, you can reactivate an archived listing by contacting us at support@acquire.com).
Perhaps you sold your business and want to delete all listing information. Or, you decided not to sell and want to remove your details from the platform.
Still need help?
Please search the help center again or contact us at support@acquire.com.