Since the beginning of 2020, online business aggregators have been the “talk of the town.” Amazon FBA aggregators, for example, have made headlines and have received investor attention after the digital aggregation market reached USD 14 billion, according to entrepreneur. Those working in this industry speculate that growing competition among digital businesses will drive more need for such aggregating conglomerates.
While ecommerce aggregators buy proven companies with dedicated audiences, different types of aggregators have thrown their name into the hat. Digital demand aggregators claim a slightly different business model and are using it to acquire content websites. These websites or blogs already receive massive organic search–and aggregators intend to further grow and monetize such assets.
In 2021, TreasureHunter hit the “business roll-up” industry with this aggregator model. Currently, this team is purchasing content websites in many different verticals from thought leaders and content creators.
“With TreasureHunter, we want to revolutionize the digital content segment and give small websites and blogs the exact tools, resources, and partners we could have only dreamed of back when we established our first blogs in 2013,” said Benjamin Schardt the Co-Founder & Co-CEO of TreasureHunter who started his entrepreneurial experience with his own blog.
The Current Climate of Online Aggregation
Anybody not living under a rock could ascertain that ecommerce skyrocketed during the pandemic. Everything under the sun – shopping, learning, communication, work, and more – all had to be done digitally. While the COVID-19 storm spun, aggregating firms like Berlin Brands Group, Thrasio, and Razor Group began to acquire ecommerce businesses.
The success of this business model has kept investors’ money flowing to other digital aggregators—especially those in the Amazon realm. Last year, 41% of all the US ecommerce sales occurred through Amazon’s marketplace. The startup known as TreasureHunter boasts a team who plans to differentiate themselves from Amazon FBA aggregators by buying up digital equity in other areas where ecommerce is influenced.
Aggregation Goes Digital
It’s no secret that large corporations have been buying up smaller entities for years. Yet in 2022, the “new normal” business climate has produced several large digital aggregators in a short span of time.
Digital roll-ups “are the aggregation of smaller companies into larger firms, creating a potentially compelling path for equity value,” according to TechCrunch. “…roll-ups often achieve much greater exit multiples, known as ‘multiple arbitrage,’ so it’s no surprise that the trend is making its way online.”
The leaders at TreasureHunter plan to acquire content websites that deal in certain niches–think sports blogs and digital recipe houses. These content websites have been created and maintained by entrepreneurs who are also passionate “doers” in their field or content niche.
After acquiring websites from these individuals, TreasureHunter’s team hopes to uplift output around tasks that individual blog owners are currently struggling with while using their smaller teams. With larger teams of professionals, the aggregators at TreasureHunter plan to cut operating costs of these blogs, increasing advertising revenue, and create more helpful content that preserves the site’s unique DNA.
“We are leveraging the strong collaborations with respect to marketing, advertising, content management, and creating synergies between technology our teams are using to enable massive growth,” continued Schardt. “This is growth that would not be possible for the asset, stand-alone.”
The Future of Digital Business Aggregation
With investor funding secured, the TreasureHunter crew is hard at work onboarding newly-acquired assets. The startup’s leadership is betting on their differentiated aggregator model to find future success. As many companies hope to control the massively-influential Amazon market, other digital aggregators are buying up digital property where individuals are influenced by digital content to make digital purchases.
Given the 32 million (and counting) active content portals with audiences in the US and Central Europe, businesses like TreasureHunter are predicting greater competition and a growing need for online assets with loyal audiences. If aggregation is indeed the future for digital businesses, the internet’s users will start to see a new landscape unfold.
Author:
Ryan Gallagher
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