Awesome Motive — the company behind OptinMonster and WPForms — has sold two of their products in a multi-million dollar deal.
Soliloquy and Envira Gallery were first products by Thomas Griffin, who partnered with Syed Balkhi and is now the CTO of the Awesome Motive organization. Soliloquy and Envira have continued to thrive under the AM umbrella, but they have also steadily become a lesser focus for the business and their future goals.
Their focus for Awesome Motive is on the path of “growth products” — things that aid website owners to grow their audiences, leads, and revenue. That’s why OptinMonster, MonsterInsights, and WPForms fit into their model, but Soliloquy and Envira weren’t the right path for them anymore.
I discussed the sale with Syed soon after it finalized. The new owner is Nathan Singh, who is new to WordPress, but experienced in tech and startups, and is ready to take these products and offer them a bright future; they will be his primary business focus. Awesome Motive used a private listing with the Quiet Light Brokerage for the sales process.
The team that was working on these products — five people in total — moved to the organization with the sale, to be able to offer a seamless transition for existing customers. It consists of development, support, and content marketing. They’ve already released a new version of each product.
There are 39 people at Awesome Motive post-sale, and they are actively hiring for new roles, bringing on eight people right now.
The sale makes total sense to me. When Syed told me they sold two products, and asked me to guess which, they were my first two guesses. They are pretty mature products, and while both have plenty of runway I think, it is obvious to me that OptinMonster, MonsterInsights, and WPForms are where the focus for the future lie for Awesome Motive.
I will say I’m incredibly impressed with the multi-million dollar sale price, and with some of the details that went into the listing, negotiation, and sale. Keeping a tidy ship is definitely in the interests of any business, whether you’re looking to sell or not; but if you are looking to sell, it’ll definitely help your prospects.
