Some exits take years to build. Others begin as class projects and grow into real businesses.
That’s exactly what happened with Tanmay Kejriwal and Editify. What started as a senior project gradually grew into a Shopify app with steady revenue. So it gained hundreds of users and eventually led to a successful exit on Acquire.com.
And while this wasn’t Tanmay’s first acquisition, it became the one that showed how even small projects can become valuable when they solve real problems.
From a College Hack to a Real App
Editify didn’t start as a company. At TCU, Tanmay and a friend convinced their professor to let them build a Shopify app as a class project. The inspiration came from his friend’s sister, who ran a coffee e-commerce store. She needed a way to backdate orders inside Shopify. But the platform didn’t allow it, so Tanmay wrote a simple script. As a result, the first version of Editify was born.
The response surprised them. Installs came in steadily, five to ten per week, with no marketing budget. So, what began as an academic exercise quickly started looking like a real product.
When Growth Meets Opportunity
By the time Editify reached 300 users, the founders decided to test monetization. They added a paid plan. Conversions were modest, but revenue started to grow every month.
As the app expanded, the number of support requests increased. But the product became more valuable. With added features, merchants stayed loyal, and churn stayed low. Most importantly, the Shopify App Store kept driving organic installs.
At first, it only let merchants edit order dates. Later, it added tax edits and a customer-facing module. That feature allowed buyers to fix mistakes, such as changing shoe sizes before shipping, which reduced returns.
Although the app was profitable, Tanmay and his co-founder were already exploring new SaaS ideas, especially in AI. So running both at once wasn’t sustainable. For this reason, they decided to sell Editify and focus on building their next product.
Listing on Acquire.com
Tanmay already knew Acquire.com. He had sold a smaller SaaS product through the platform the year before, so he understood what to expect. However, this time, he doubled down on preparation.
For three weeks, he and his team worked on:
- Cleaning the codebase
- Writing documentation for customer support issues
- Organizing every account, service, and domain into one central spreadsheet
That preparation made listing simple. As a result, within two weeks, buyers had signed NDAs. Tanmay used a template to answer questions on revenue, conversions, and growth. Each reply included a calendar link for calls. That kept momentum alive.
From Offers to a Profitable Exit
Soon, two strong offers arrived. One came from a serial SaaS entrepreneur. Another came from someone new to Shopify but eager to break into e-commerce.
Instead of chasing only the highest valuation, Tanmay looked for the right fit. Editify was his first real project since college, and he wanted it in the hands of those who would grow it further. After a few meetings, he chose the buyer who felt easiest to work with and most committed to the app’s future.
Due diligence was tough. It lasted 21 days with constant back-and-forth. Shopify data was hard to extract. Tanmay added ChartMogul to prove revenue. Account transfers delayed the deal. Not all services used one login.
Eventually, everything cleared. The deal closed, though not without a scare: during the transfer, the app briefly crashed. Tanmay fixed it within minutes. Only after that did he and his co-founder finally celebrate with a Chinese dinner.
Editify’s Lessons for Founders
Tanmay’s experience offers practical lessons for founders thinking about an exit:
- Preparation pays off. Clean documentation, organized assets, and ready metrics build trust.
- Centralize accounts early. Using one master email avoids weeks of transfer issues.
- Momentum matters. Keep conversations moving because delays can kill deals.
- Choose wisely. The right buyer is not just about price; fit and vision matter too.
What’s Next
Selling Editify wasn’t the finish line for Tanmay. Instead, it gave him freedom to build again. Today, he is working on MakeX, a no-code AI platform that helps non-developers build mobile apps.
For him, acquisitions aren’t about closing chapters. They’re about opening new ones with even bigger ambitions.
Tanmay’s journey is just getting started. Follow our guest and get inspired by the full podcast episode.
Thinking about your own exit? Let’s get you acquired.