Bending Spoons’ €1.35B Miro Acquisition: Navigating Cold-Start Pitfalls
There’s been a big move in the SaaS world lately: Bending Spoons acquired Miro for $1.355 billion. Don’t just brush it off as another tech giant flexing its wallet— as founders, we need to read between the lines. Capital is going all-in on the “collaboration” space, and that’s both a warning and an opening for us targeting vertical niches.
1. Where’s the opportunity?
Beyond general-purpose collaboration platforms like Miro and Notion, vertical niches are being overlooked. This acquisition proves that collaboration tools with strong network effects have serious M&A value. Our play is clear: either build the “small Miro” for your vertical, or build a complementary tool that giants will want to acquire.
2. How to cold-start?
Don’t rush to write code. Start with research. Find vertical scenarios that giants haven’t touched yet—like dedicated collaboration whiteboards for legal teams, healthcare providers, or designers. This phase takes just 2–4 weeks and costs only your time, but it’ll quickly show you whether there’s real potential to stand alone or get acquired.
3. Biggest pitfall: Don’t clash head-on
Avoid diving straight into the red ocean where Miro and Figma compete. The verticals giants ignore or can’t easily enter are our moat. Rather than going toe-to-toe, build complementary tools within their ecosystem or deeply serve a niche they overlook.
4. What did Miro do right?
- Positioning: Expanded from online whiteboards into a visual collaboration platform, squarely hitting remote-work pain points.
- Customer acquisition: Freemium model plus an exceptional user experience drove viral growth.
- Pricing: Free basic tier; paid subscriptions for premium features like unlimited whiteboards and analytics.
- Result: A $1.355 billion valuation proves the model works.
Bottom line: Stop staring at red oceans. Go prospecting in the cracks between giants. Research first, then build—so you don’t end up as a casualty.
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