Interesting... that got me thinking... long reply warning, but maybe there’s some value here from one operator to another. I’ve noticed a couple things in my recent acquisition convos... a) the floor seems to have fallen out for lower-quality, slower, or declining apps b) true growth apps have been much more durable in their value... many even priced higher because there are so few of them, and even fewer for sale I’ll put my rose coloured glasses on for a second here… Buying a quality app with growth today definitely looks like an attractive purchase to me, it’s like a safe haven... I've had success investing in the past, but past performance does not guarantee future returns as the money guys always like to parrot at me… so buying a quality app, which is scarce, at a premium in todays envronemtn makes me a little less comfortable or rosy on the potential. It’s the risk reward for the investment… I feel like I should be buying at a discount but i’m being asked to pay a premium.. Even when so many signals are supporting the saaspocalypse scenario… and then layer on top the doomer scenario playing out and even the best apps find their values/moats eroding too. But apps are still my comfort zone... I’ve built and bought across my portfolio so maybe I’m chasing a safe harbour in the market I know even while the whole ocean is swelling like a scene from the perfect storm Maybe there’s a better way… makes me wonder if the better acquisition play is a lower-volume category where you can buy an established beachhead instead of trying to build one... A category large enough to matter, but small enough to win. For example, just for the sake of argument... an app with a decent review count for its category, some recent review velocity, a mid-pack position, and an active install base with real usage and retention... but maybe it’s under-monetized, generating little revenue, or even free. At least that way I’m not paying a scarcity premium for someone else’s growth or code... I’m buying a position in the Shopify App Store arguably the most valuable distribution channel available to a Shopify app... and maybe from there It’s possible that my product and CS experience can create the growth. The review hurdle does seem to be category-specific. In a big category like Bundles, I’m competing against review moats measured in the thousands and all-star operators... and even if recent velocity helps with the algo, merchants still see that total review gap. It’s a massive climb where the mountain keeps getting taller. I don’t think I want to compete on that mountain... I’d probably end up frozen before reaching basecamp. Maybe that’s too dramatic... But I do think there are smaller mountains where the distance between a mid-pack app and the leader may actually be closeable and within my reach. Sure it’s a smaller market... but it’s a much more winnable game for my skills anyway. The flip side... or maybe the sharpest left turn alternative... is what to do if I’ve already invested in a category with superstar incumbents. Maybe I take the money I might have spent buying a winner and use it to fund velocity in my own app... go free, accelerate installs, invest in product and CS, and build the review flywheel. In that case free isn’t really a pricing strategy... it’s customer acquisition spend. That’s the common thread here... either buy an established position in a winnable category or spend the money to create one in the category I’m already in. Either way, what I’m really trying to buy is distribution and velocity... not someone else’s code or current MRR. That’s where my head is at anyway… would love your take.

Personal update: looking for my next gig 👋 I'm a frontend dev working with React, TypeScript & Next.js, with experience in ops, automation & PM too. Available immediately for freelance or full-time work. Building something and could use an extra pair of hands? DM me :) 🙏🏼