DocStoc makes a big acquisition
DocStoc is best known for being a professional document sharing community, but has recently added features pointing to its goal to transform into a small business resource powerhouse. Having recently acquired License123 for their massive database of licenses for new businesses, today’s announcement that they have acquired BestVendor, the Yelp of vendor services, is a massive step in the company’s ambitious direction.
BestVendor is a free online resource helps professionals to quickly find the best apps based on the recommendations of others, aiming to be the “social discovery” resource for all business products. They began with the web, desktop and mobile applications, and have expanded into marketing and operations tools.
Terms of the deal
BestVendor will continue to operate independently, CEO and Co-Founder Jason Nazar told TechCrunch, adding that there may be an opportunity to integrate these acquisitions into a premium subscription service model.
Although terms of the deal have been kept private, the acquisition is primarily an asset purchase, not necessarily a talent acquisition, so product development will take place at DocStoc’s headquarters in Santa Monica, California.
Becoming a small business resource
As they beef up their small business offerings to cater to their already 35 million registered users, DocStoc could be making more acquisitions in the future, perhaps next will be advice communities like 1099.is which answers tax questions or polling tools with built in user counts in the millions, like QuickSurveys.
For now, visitors to DocStoc’s main page still see the same landing page asserting they are a resource for small business, and their Premium Membership model continues to offer premium content like licenses, online videos and more.
In 2011, BestVendor raised $600k in seed money which was funded in part by former PayPal CEO, Peter Thiel, later to announce a Series A round of funding to the tune of $3 million, a major vote of confidence in the business model. DocStoc, in contrast, has only raised $4 million along the way. Both companies are said to be profitable.
