Horizon Partners is pleased to announce that payments giant Stripe has acquired our client Lemon Squeezy. This transaction marks a significant milestone for Lemon Squeezy, aligning the company’s innovative solutions with Stripe’s extensive capabilities and market reach.
Strategically, this is a big moment in the payments industry, bringing merchant of record solutions to the forefront of innovation and customer service. Of the post-deal implications, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison commented that Stripe is “going to scale merchant of record selling in a big way.” Anytime a bootstrapped business and its indie builder team can make that kind of an impact on global commerce, it is Horizon’s view that the journey belongs in the bootstrappers’ Hall of Fame. Amazing story. Amazing execution.
About Lemon Squeezy
Founded by J.R. Farr, Orman Clark, and Gilbert Pellegrom, Lemon Squeezy emerged as a leader in simplifying the complexities of selling digital products online. The company’s platform acts as a global merchant of record, managing global sales tax compliance, fraud prevention, chargeback handling, and license key management. This comprehensive approach quickly made Lemon Squeezy a vital partner for software businesses and digital-product online merchants worldwide.
Since its public launch in 2021, Lemon Squeezy has experienced rapid growth, establishing itself as a key player in the digital product ecosystem. The platform’s ease of use and robust feature set have attracted thousands of businesses, with significant traction in what the company terms the ‘Indie Maker’ community, which comprises key Lemon Squeezy customer categories like software, e-books, and e-courses, among other business models.
Strategic Alignment with Stripe
Stripe’s acquisition of Lemon Squeezy represents a strategic convergence of goals and values. Stripe, known for its world-class payments platform, has been at the forefront of innovation in the payments industry (i.e., top-tier developer experience, API standards, etc.). The acquisition will enable Stripe to further innovate through Lemon Squeezy’s merchant of record product, rapidly enhancing its offerings and expanding its reach.
Stripe CEO Patrick Collison expressed enthusiasm for the acquisition, highlighting the complementary strengths of both companies. Chief Product Officer Will Gaybrick emphasized the potential to significantly enhance Stripe’s merchant of record capabilities while referencing strong customer-level demand for such solutions and related innovation.
Horizon Partners’ Role
A decade-long relationship between Lemon Squeezy CEO J.R. Farr and Horizon Founder Mike Firmage put Horizon in an ideal position to provide Lemon Squeezy with high-impact strategic and negotiation advice that connected with the company’s mission, culture, and values on a rapid timeline. Throughout Lemon Squeezy’s journey, Horizon was able to stay strategically connected with the Company , putting Horizon in a position to provide high level tactical advisory services at each key decision making node, each negotiation stage (driving a strong valuation and non-financial terms), and throughout rapid closing due diligence and definitive purchase agreement negotiations. Leveraging Horizon’s proprietary ‘Product-first M&A’ model, Horizon integrated deeply with Lemon Squeezy’s infrastructure, systems, and team to minimize company due diligence burden and associated stresses while guiding management and key team members through the intricate process of working with a global, top-tier strategic acquirer like Stripe.
Of Horizon’s advisory services, Mr. Farr commented: “Mike and the team at Horizon Partners were involved in every aspect of the transaction. From the initial planning stages to the final closing, they provided unwavering support and guidance. Mike and his team’s deep understanding of the industry, coupled with their meticulous attention to detail, ensured that every aspect of the deal was handled with the utmost professionalism. I would wholeheartedly recommend Horizon to anyone looking for a top-tier investment bank.”
Looking Ahead
As Mr. Farr underscored in a blog post about the acquisition, Lemon Squeezy is poised to continue its mission of making “selling digital products easy-peasy.” The combined resources and expertise of both companies will accelerate the development of new features, improve customer experience, and expand global reach. Lemon Squeezy’s focus on simplifying complex billing and tax compliance will now benefit from Stripe’s extensive infrastructure and market presence, setting up an environment for massive global adoption.
“We’re incredibly excited about the future,” remarked Mr. Farr. “Partnering with Stripe provides us with the resources and scale needed to take our platform to the next level. We remain committed to our customers and will continue to innovate in the digital product space.”
For more information on this transaction and how Horizon Partners can support your company’s strategic growth, please contact us as contact@horizonpartners.com or feel free to reach out to us on LinkedIn. You can also read about the deal on TechCrunch and HackerNews.Our team remains dedicated to delivering exceptional results through our customized, product-first advisory services. If given the chance, we are confident that we will deliver similarly for you.