SaaS Valuations in 2026: Sell Smart Without VC

Most bootstrapped founders wait too long to think about an exit—and it costs them. Not because they “missed the market,” but because they built a business that only makes sense with them in the middle of every decision, every invoice, and every customer issue.

If you’re building a SaaS company without VC (by choice or necessity), your exit path is still real. In fact, the secondary market for profitable, owner-led SaaS has gotten more mature over the last few years: better buyer pools, more standardized metrics, and clearer valuation expectations.

This post is based on insights from Rob Walling’s conversation with M&A advisor David Newell (Quiet Light Brokerage), but it goes further—especially for founders in the US who care about sustainable growth, practical marketing, and keeping control. It also fits squarely into our SMB Content Marketing United States series: your marketing engine and your exit readiness are more connected than most people realize.

What SaaS valuations actually hinge on (profit vs. revenue)

The valuation method you’ll get depends on what kind of SaaS you’ve built: a profitable “operator business” or a scalable “asset business.” Buyers price those differently.

The two common valuation models

1. SDE / profit multiple (common for smaller SaaS)

   • SDE = Seller Discretionary Earnings (more on this below)
   • Typical sale pricing is a multiple of annual SDE

2. Revenue multiple (more common once you hit meaningful scale)

   • Often discussed in terms of ARR multiples
   • More likely with private equity or strategic acquirers

Here’s the stance I agree with from the episode: most bootstrapped SaaS under ~$1M ARR sells on SDE, not revenue. Revenue multiples show up more consistently when you’ve crossed a scale threshold and you’ve proven the company can run without founder heroics.

What counts as “scale” in practice?

David Newell’s rule of thumb: revenue multiple conversations usually start around ~$1M ARR, with caveats:

• Churn needs to be under control (he referenced ~4% monthly churn or lower)
• Growth needs to be strong (he referenced ~40% YoY revenue growth)
• The company needs an actual operating structure (support, dev, onboarding, etc.)

That last one is the quiet killer: buyers don’t pay premium multiples for chaos.

SDE explained (and why clean books raise your multiple)

SDE is operating profit plus add-backs that a new owner wouldn’t keep paying. It’s the standard profit metric for many small business acquisitions in the US, including SaaS.

In the episode, SDE is described as operating profit plus three major categories:

• Owner compensation (salary, distributions, health insurance tied to the owner)
• Personal expenses run through the business (travel, meals, “business” subscriptions)
• One-time or non-recurring expenses (e.g., trademark filing, major legal setup)

Snippet-worthy truth: A buyer isn’t paying for your tax strategy. They’re paying for future cashflow.

What founders get wrong about SDE

They assume add-backs are “free money.” They’re not. If your books are messy, buyers discount your add-backs because they don’t trust them.

If you want a higher multiple, don’t argue harder—document better.

Practical move this week:

• Keep a simple “Add-Backs” spreadsheet with: date, vendor, amount, category, and a one-line explanation.

That spreadsheet becomes due diligence gasoline.

What multiples look like for bootstrapped SaaS in 2026

For SDE-based SaaS (common in bootstrapped exits), the realistic band is still measured in years of profit—just with more nuance now.

In the episode (2020), Newell cited a typical SDE multiple range of 3–5x, with a median around ~3.8–3.9x, heavily influenced by:

• Growth rate
• Churn
• Age of the product
• Owner involvement (hours/week)

That framing has held up because it maps to buyer risk. A bootstrapped SaaS with stable retention, low founder time, and clear marketing channels is low-risk. Low-risk businesses get higher multiples.

Revenue multiples (when you qualify)

Revenue multiple deals are more situational, but the logic still applies:

• The faster you’re growing at scale, the richer the multiple.
• Buyers use financial frameworks (including “Rule of 40”) to decide what’s defensible.

Newell referenced the Rule of 40 as a common heuristic:

• Revenue growth rate + EBITDA margin ≥ 40%

Example: 35% growth + 5% EBITDA margin = 40% → the company starts to command stronger revenue multiples.

Two founder-relevant notes:

1. Bootstrapped companies often have healthier margins than VC-backed peers.
2. Bootstrapped companies often have slower growth because they didn’t buy speed.

Your job is to make the trade-off obvious: durable customers, clean retention, and efficient marketing.

The “exit-ready” checklist most founders ignore (until it’s painful)

Exit readiness isn’t paperwork. It’s marketing plus operations plus financial clarity—packaged as trust.

Newell shared a strong contrast between deals that go smoothly and deals that struggle.

What “great sellers” do differently

They make the business easy to understand and easy to transfer.

Here’s what tends to show up in the cleanest, highest-multiple processes:

• Crisp financials in a standard system (QuickBooks is common)
• One business, one set of books (no blended “holding company” mess)
• Clear SaaS metrics (MRR/ARR, churn, LTV, ARPU, expansion vs. contraction)
• Documented marketing assets (affiliate lists, influencer outreach, ad tests, content calendar)
• IP assignments signed (especially with contractors and overseas devs)
• Operational documentation (support macros, onboarding flows, deployment steps)

Snippet-worthy truth: A buyer pays more when they can picture themselves running your SaaS without you.

The mistakes that crush valuation

The episode highlights two repeat offenders:

1. Shared expenses across multiple projects

   • One team, three products, one blended expense base
   • Buyers can’t tell what the SaaS actually costs to run

2. No metric instrumentation

   • No Stripe
   • No Baremetrics/ProfitWell/ChartMogul
   • “Money shows up in the bank” bookkeeping

That second one is brutal. If you can’t show churn and retention, buyers assume the worst.

Why content marketing is an exit strategy (not just lead gen)

In the SMB Content Marketing United States world, founders often treat content as a cheap acquisition channel. Buyers treat it as a risk reducer.

Here’s why content marketing improves exit outcomes:

• It proves repeatable demand (search traffic and inbound leads don’t “quit”)
• It documents your positioning (what you stand for, who you’re for)
• It creates transferable assets (rankings, newsletters, lead magnets)
• It lowers buyer fear about “founder-driven sales”

If your growth depends on your personal network and your personal hustle, buyers see concentration risk.

If your growth comes from assets—SEO pages, partner programs, email funnels, webinars—buyers see a machine.

A simple content system that buyers love

If you want one practical model that improves marketing and exit readiness, do this:

1. Pick one ICP (industry + role + company size)
2. Create one pillar page (the “ultimate guide” for a high-intent keyword)
3. Publish 4 supporting posts (pain points, comparisons, how-to)
4. Build one lead magnet tied to the pillar (template, checklist, calculator)
5. Route leads into one onboarding email sequence

That’s not “branding.” That’s a measurable acquisition asset a buyer can keep running.

People also ask: quick answers bootstrapped founders need

When should I start preparing to sell my SaaS?

12–24 months before you want to exit. It takes time to clean up financials, reduce churn, and reduce founder dependence.

What’s the fastest way to increase my SaaS multiple?

Reduce perceived risk. The most reliable levers are:

• Lower churn
• Documented operations
• Cleaner books
• Reduced owner hours
• More diversified acquisition channels

Do I need a broker to sell?

If you’re below $250k–$300k sale price, you may find it hard to justify a full brokerage process. Newell noted that brokers often look for **$100k SDE** as a minimum threshold and tend not to list much below the $250k–$300k range.

If you’re above that range, a broker can help you package the story, run process, and create competitive tension.

Your next step: build like a buyer is watching

The best part of thinking about an exit is that it makes your current business easier to run. Cleaner metrics, cleaner finances, better documentation, and repeatable marketing aren’t “sell prep.” They’re how you stop being the bottleneck.

If you’re bootstrapping in 2026, you don’t need VC to get a meaningful outcome. You need a business that behaves like an asset: understandable, transferable, and resilient.

So here’s the question I’d sit with this week: if you stepped away for 30 days, would your SaaS keep acquiring customers and keeping them—or would everything stall?