Entrepreneur behind business selling platform Bizdaq is looking to the US

ONE year on, the serial entrepreneur behind business selling online platform Bizdaq is showing no signs of slowing down.

Sean Mallon’s ambitious aims to build a new marketplace on which businesses can be bought and sold has already attracted 1,000 businesses who sell on the platform with more than 10,000 business buyers registered.

The entrepreneur, who launched his first business at the age of 21, also said he wanted to look seriously at the US market in the coming years, though an office elsewhere isn’t on the cards.

“It’s easy to run this type of business from Leeds, but we are going global. It’s a case of getting traction out there and it is a big task ahead,” he said.

With 7 staff at Bizdaq and more than 60 in the complimentary business, Mr Mallon continues to grow his ventures.

“It’s been bigger and more exciting than anticipated,” said Mr Mallon. “The quality of the businesses being listed is one of the biggest changes we have seen over the past year.

Neat, profitable businesses are the most popular on the site, with pubs, hotels and coffee shops up there as top selling businesses. Digital businesses are also near the top of the list.

“Anything owner operated works well,” said Mr Mallon. “They need to be manageable and are often aspirational.”

This does not mean the place of the traditional business broker is obsolete. His other business is more of a conventional firm, but both complement one another.

Now Bizdaq has seen interest from the US and Australia, with owners listing their businesses for sale there, and also unusually, Nepal, though the business is lacking in the necessary exposure there to be able to market the business properly, said Mr Mallon.

Mr Mallon said aims for this year are to build on solicitor’s partnering networking.

The business recently won the European fintech award and was also received an Everline 50 Real Business Award, of which Secret Escapes and Funding Circle are also alumni,
for its market-disrupting concept,.

Though Mr Mallon’s preference is to self-fund, he has had some help, starting with a cash injection of £1m, predominantly from Yorkshire retail entrepreneur Tim Whitworth through his investment vehicle TIM Group Holdings.

Mr Mallon says that this works “because we share the same sort of vision. We would consider venture capital funding in a couple of years,” he said.

“Raising money is fun,” he said, “but making money is more fun.”

“More people are familiar with the idea of self service. We still maintain that element of support. We’re starting to change the industry.

Though, like most digital and technology businesses in the region, there is a shortage of skills in the region, particularly when competing with bigger players such as Sky.

It has been a successful first year for the business, but not always plain sailing. Mr Mallon said the top two things he learned this year, and over the course of his entrepreneurial career was to learn patience, and “mistakes are part of the journey. I’d never built a technology business before Bizdaq, so that was a steep learning curve. Accept and learn from them.”