HTBS Private SaaS Marketplace

One Private Marketplace for SaaS Funding, Investment, Acquisitions and Exits

HowToBuySaaS brings founders, investors, and acquirers into one structured private marketplace. Choose your journey, complete the relevant onboarding process, upgrade when required, and use the marketplace to discover or present SaaS opportunities.

Join as Founder Join as Investor or Acquirer

HTBS operates the marketplace, reviews applicable submissions, facilitates introductions, provides marketplace communication, and acts as a mediator. HTBS does not guarantee funding, acquisition, valuation, investment performance, or transaction completion.

Private Marketplace Operating Model Four Journeys

HTBS Private Marketplace Onboarding, listings, paid access, introductions, inbox communication and mediation

Founder Raise Capital

Create a fundraising opportunity for investor discovery.

Founder Sell SaaS

Create a private business-sale opportunity for acquisition interest.

Investor Invest in SaaS

Define investment preferences and evaluate live fundraising opportunities.

Acquirer Acquire SaaS

Define acquisition preferences and review live founder-sale opportunities.

Each journey has its own onboarding requirements and marketplace workflow. Access and publication depend on the applicable account and plan status.

Choose your journey

Four Different Objectives, One Private Marketplace

The onboarding process identifies why you are joining HTBS, so the marketplace can present the correct workflow for your role and objective.

Raise Capital

For SaaS founders looking to raise capital while continuing to operate and grow the business.

Explore Raise Capital

Sell SaaS Business

For founders exploring a full business sale or acquisition-led exit.

Explore SaaS Sale

Invest in SaaS

For investors who want to evaluate SaaS businesses raising capital.

Explore Investor Journey

Acquire SaaS

For acquirers looking to evaluate SaaS businesses that founders are exploring selling.

Explore Acquisition Journey

Marketplace operating process

How the HTBS Private Marketplace Works

The exact workflow differs by role, but every participant starts by selecting their purpose, completing onboarding, and progressing through the access or listing process relevant to that journey.

01 Create an account

Join HTBS as a founder, investor, or acquirer.

Account

02 Select your journey

Choose whether your objective is raising capital, selling a SaaS business, investing in SaaS, or acquiring a SaaS business.

Journey

03 Complete onboarding

Provide the information requested for your specific role and marketplace objective.

Onboarding

04 Listing or preferences

Founders prepare a fundraising or sale listing. Investors and acquirers provide the preferences relevant to the opportunities they want to evaluate.

Setup

05 Review or upgrade

Founder listings move through HTBS review. Applicable paid upgrades are required before founder listings go live or investors and acquirers receive paid marketplace access.

Access

06 Marketplace participation

Live opportunities can be discovered by eligible marketplace participants, and HTBS can also introduce relevant opportunities within its private network.

Discovery

07 Conversation

Eligible paid users can use marketplace communication, including inbox messaging and applicable NDA or LOI progression.

Engagement

08 Mediation and meetings

HTBS remains present as a marketplace mediator and can help coordinate meetings when the parties are ready to continue.

HTBS Support

Founder side

Founders Can Raise Capital or Explore a Business Sale

Founder journeys are listing-based. The opportunity must move through onboarding, submission, HTBS review, approval, and the applicable paid activation process before it becomes live.

Raise Capital Create a fundraising listing containing the information requested for the capital-raising journey. HTBS can conduct an introductory founder call after submission.

Sell Business Create a private sale opportunity describing the SaaS business and relevant acquisition information.

HTBS review HTBS reviews the submitted opportunity before approving it for marketplace activation.

Upgrade Once approved, the founder receives an upgrade requirement before the opportunity can become live.

Live listing After the applicable payment, the approved listing can become visible inside the private marketplace.

Investor and acquirer side

Investors and Acquirers Define What They Want to Evaluate

Investors and acquirers complete separate onboarding journeys and provide information about the kinds of SaaS opportunities they want to consider.

Investor onboarding Investors explain their investment objective and provide the preferences requested during onboarding.

Acquirer onboarding Acquirers explain the types of SaaS businesses and acquisition opportunities they want to evaluate.

Paid upgrade The applicable plan is required before accessing the paid marketplace experience and relevant communication features.

Marketplace discovery Eligible users can review live opportunities appropriate to their marketplace journey.

Interest and conversation Relevant parties can express interest and continue through the applicable marketplace communication workflow.

Listing lifecycle

Draft, Review, Approval, Upgrade and Live Status Are Different Stages

Founder listing status

Creating a listing does not automatically publish it to the marketplace.

Draft The founder is still completing the listing.

Submitted The listing has been sent to HTBS for review.

Under Review HTBS is reviewing the information submitted by the founder and may request clarification where necessary.

Approved The opportunity has been approved to move toward marketplace publication.

Awaiting Upgrade The founder must purchase the applicable listing plan before publication.

Live The approved and activated listing becomes available inside the private marketplace.

Marketplace communication

Deal Conversations Can Continue Through the Internal Marketplace Inbox

Eligible paid participants can use the marketplace inbox to continue relevant founder, investor, and acquirer conversations. HTBS remains present as a mediator.

Investor or acquirer expresses interest in a live marketplace opportunity.

Founder decides whether to continue the conversation.

HTBS remains present as the marketplace mediator and can help coordinate the appropriate next step.

Depending on the transaction, the parties may continue with information sharing, an NDA, an LOI, an investment discussion, or a scheduled meeting.

Messaging

NDA

LOI

Meetings

Marketplace roles

What HTBS Facilitates and What the Parties Decide

HowToBuySaaS role

HTBS operates the marketplace and facilitates the processes around opportunity discovery and communication.

Role-based onboarding journeys for founders, investors, and acquirers
Review of founder fundraising and sale listings before publication
Paid marketplace access and listing activation workflows
Introductions to relevant participants within the HTBS private network where appropriate
Marketplace inbox mediation
Meeting coordination when relevant parties want to continue

Participant responsibility

Founders, investors, and acquirers remain responsible for evaluating and completing any transaction independently.

Verify financial, operating, technical, and commercial information
Review legal, tax, contractual, regulatory, and liability matters
Assess investment or acquisition suitability independently
Negotiate valuation, ownership, price, structure, and other terms
Obtain appropriate professional advice
Decide whether to proceed with or complete a transaction

Private marketplace design

Information Sharing Progresses Through the Marketplace Workflow

HTBS is designed for private deal conversations, but participants should still use appropriate judgment when sharing commercially sensitive, financial, legal, or technical information.

Start with marketplace information

Founder opportunities can begin with the information needed for marketplace discovery rather than requiring unrestricted public publication of sensitive business details.

Share more as conversations progress

Additional information can be exchanged when the parties decide a conversation is relevant and the applicable marketplace steps have been completed.

Use NDA where appropriate

Parties may use an NDA or other appropriate agreement before exchanging more sensitive information during an active opportunity.

Marketplace expectations

What HTBS Does Not Guarantee

A private marketplace can facilitate discovery and conversations. It cannot guarantee the commercial or investment outcome of those conversations.

No guaranteed investor or buyer interest A live opportunity does not guarantee inquiries, meetings, offers, investment, or acquisition interest.

No guaranteed funding or transaction HTBS does not guarantee that a funding round, acquisition, partial sale, or other transaction will be completed.

No guaranteed valuation or terms HTBS does not promise a particular valuation, purchase price, multiple, ownership structure, or investment terms.

Marketplace review is not an audit HTBS review of a listing should not be interpreted as financial, legal, technical, or commercial certification.

Independent diligence remains necessary Founders, investors, and acquirers should independently evaluate information and obtain appropriate professional advice.

Choose Your Private Marketplace Journey

Join as a founder if you want to raise capital or explore a SaaS sale. Join as an investor or acquirer if you want to evaluate private SaaS opportunities.

Start Founder Onboarding Start Investor or Acquirer Onboarding

Marketplace FAQ

Questions About the HTBS Private Marketplace

Who can join the HTBS private marketplace?

The marketplace supports SaaS founders raising capital, founders exploring a business sale, investors evaluating fundraising opportunities, and acquirers looking for SaaS businesses to acquire.

Do founder listings go live immediately after submission?

No. Founder fundraising and sale listings move through HTBS review first. If approved, the founder must complete the applicable paid upgrade before the listing becomes live.

How do investors and acquirers get marketplace access?

Investors and acquirers complete their applicable onboarding journey, provide the requested preferences, and upgrade to the relevant paid marketplace plan before receiving the corresponding marketplace access.

Does HTBS introduce opportunities to investors and buyers?

HTBS can introduce approved live opportunities to relevant participants within its private network and can help move interested parties into direct conversations. This does not guarantee that either party will proceed.

Can participants message each other inside the marketplace?

Eligible paid marketplace users can use the internal inbox communication workflow. HTBS remains present as a mediator during applicable marketplace conversations.

Can an NDA or LOI be used?

Depending on the transaction and stage of the conversation, the marketplace workflow can support progression involving an NDA, an LOI, or other relevant deal communication.

Does HTBS schedule meetings between parties?

HTBS can help coordinate meetings between founders, investors, and acquirers when an active marketplace conversation reaches that stage.

Does HTBS verify every figure submitted by founders?

No. HTBS reviews marketplace submissions, but the review should not be interpreted as an audit or independent verification of every financial, legal, commercial, technical, or operational statement.

Does HTBS guarantee funding, investment, acquisition or sale?

No. HTBS facilitates marketplace access, introductions, communication, and mediation. Transaction and investment outcomes remain dependent on the participating parties, their diligence, negotiations, and decisions.