Built a Profitable Startup and Got Acquired at Just 18

Built a Profitable Startup and Got Acquired at Just 18

Author: Acquire.com June 3, 2025 Duration: 19:26

At just 18 years old, Siyabend Özdemir bootstrapped and sold Gen PPT, an AI-powered presentation generator used by students, marketers, and solopreneurs across the globe.


What started as a school-night experiment turned into a viral hit driven by indie hacker hustle, programmatic SEO, and a killer demo shared on X. Siyabend listed the business on Acquire.com and closed a smooth acquisition just days later.


In this episode, he shares how he built, scaled, and exited Gen PPT and what comes next for a founder just getting started.


You’ll learn:

► How Siyabend validated the idea using a real SEO dataset ► Why building in public on X was key to early growth

► What made Acquire.com the best fit for a solo founder exit ► How he handled burnout, due diligence, and buyer negotiation

► What to do after your first big win, including gold bars and Range Rovers


3 takeaways from Siyabend’s exit:

  1. Organize everything—docs, access, financials—for a fast handoff
  2. Structure your business and taxes early, even if you're young
  3. Use the right platform to streamline the acquisition process


Whether you’re 18 or 38, bootstrapping solo or building in public, this conversation is proof that you can build something valuable and sell it on your terms.


Listen now to hear how Siyabend pulled off his first exit and what he’s building next.


Follow Siyabend on LinkedIn



Behind every successful startup acquisition, there's a story-a complex mix of strategy, emotion, and paperwork that rarely gets discussed openly. Startup Acquisition Stories, from the team at Acquire.com, pulls back the curtain on those real-world transactions. Each episode features founders and entrepreneurs who have personally navigated the process of selling or buying a business through their platform. You'll hear them recount the nuanced decisions that don't make it into press releases: the challenging conversations around valuation, the subtle art of vetting the opposite party, and the critical, often overlooked, steps after the handshake. This podcast digs into the practicalities of due diligence, structuring terms, and managing the transfer of assets, all the way through to escrow and the crucial post-deal transition. It’s a grounded, detail-oriented look at the mechanics of a business exit or expansion, straight from the people who’ve lived it. For anyone curious about the actual path to a deal, beyond the theory, this series offers a rare archive of lived experience and hard-won advice.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Startup Acquisition Stories
Podcast Episodes
A Hidden MacBook Feature That Became an App Acquisition [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:35
Will Giess turned an overlooked feature inside newer MacBooks into Knock, a paid app that became his first real source of online income before he sold it through Acquire.com.Will first validated the idea with 15 to 25 be…
How Jake Moshel Built a Niche E-Commerce Brand at 14 and Sold It at 16 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:10
Jake Moshel built Apexsendco from cold Instagram DMs and print-on-demand into a profitable, niche e-commerce brand at 14 before selling it through ⁠⁠⁠Acquire.com⁠⁠⁠ at 16.Instead of chasing a massive audience, Jake focus…
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Duration: 30:45
Jordan Calderon built StratDev from free work, case studies, and self-taught marketing into a performance marketing agency before selling it through ⁠Acquire.com⁠.Before StratDev had paying clients, Jordan had to earn tr…
From LinkedIn Script to a Life -Changing Acquisition [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:07
Riccardo Pisano built Growth-X from an internal LinkedIn automation script into a SaaS lead generation business with millions in revenue before selling it through ⁠Acquire.com⁠.Before writing code, Riccardo and his cofou…
6 Exits by 24: The Demand-First Startup Sale [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:50
Faiz Imran had already gone through six exits by 24. His latest, IntentPost, started with a crowded B2B outreach problem and became a startup sale through ⁠⁠Acquire.com⁠⁠.Before building the full product, Faiz tested whe…
50 NDAs → 3 Offers: Why This Agency Drew Buyer Interest [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:12
Epropel started as a side hustle and grew into a profitable SEO agency with recurring revenue, long-term clients, and a distributed team across North America and the Philippines.Along the way, cold outreach became the en…
From Minecraft STEM Programs to a Business Exit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:10
Mike Blackwell did not set out to build a business around Minecraft.What started as coding classes evolved into Code Knights, an education company built around Minecraft STEM programs, library partnerships, and community…
An Amazon Brand That Became a Business Sale [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:28
Anna Zimmer built Lillinello as an Amazon-first home brand with strong reviews, low returns, and Amazon Choice recognition.From the outside, the business looked healthy. But as Lillinello grew, running it started to feel…
A Test Listing That Turned Into a Startup Sale [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:08
Hamza Saleem didn’t set out to sell Client Commander. It started as a side project, a CRM built for real estate and recruiting teams based on a market he already knew.The product worked, and early customers came through…
The Clear Use Case Behind an Early-Stage Startup Sale [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:29
Arman Mkhitaryan didn’t set out to build a business for scale. PostFlow started as a side project, a simple social media scheduling tool built around a familiar workflow.The product worked. It solved a clear use case. Bu…