Framework
M&A As User Acquisition
Dan does not think of acquisitions as acquisitions. He thinks of them as UA.
How it works
- 1Every acquired app arrives with an audience, so the customer acquisition cost is baked into the purchase price rather than paid to Meta.
- 2Layer EarnOS on top of a business that is already profitable from ads and subscriptions. Continued profit covers ops. No burn.
- 3Each acquisition also adds a new first-party demographic to the data supply.
- 4Consumer app valuations are depressed right now because bootstrapped founders are scared AI eats their category in two or three years. That fear is the discount.
Hear it on the podcast
The Consent EconomyListen to the episodeMore from this episode
The Consent ExchangeConsent is not a checkbox problem. It is a pricing problem.The Laggard ArbitrageEveryone is racing to serve early adopters. Dan buys the other end of the curve.Data Exhaust MonetizationMode Media exists because Dan noticed what he was already sitting on.The Fundraising Business UnitCrowdfunding is not a campaign. It is a department.Zone Of Genius PruningKnowing what to stop doing.
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