Squarespace Goes Private in 7Bn Deal: Implications and Opportunities for Solopreneurs
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In this episode of the unofficial Squarespace Entrepreneur Podcast, host Omari Harebin discusses the recent news of Squarespace's $7 billion private equity acquisition. As a solopreneur whose business is closely tied to the Squarespace ecosystem, Omari shares his perspective on what this transition could mean for entrepreneurs and the potential for growth and innovation within the platform.
Show Notes:
00:00 - Introduction and overview of the episode
01:15 - Squarespace's journey: from going public to being acquired privately
02:30 - Benefits of Squarespace's public era: transparency and collaboration
03:45 - Potential advantages of Squarespace going private
04:30 - The growing importance of online ventures and e-commerce
06:00 - Comparing Squarespace to competitors and the significance of app ecosystems
07:15 - Opportunities for growth within Squarespace's ecosystem
08:00 - The potential of a more open technical model (APIs, extensions, developer platform) 09:30 - Mirroring Squarespace's growth as a solopreneur
10:45 - Broadening the perspective: Squarespace as a tool for storytelling, business, community, and relationships
11:30 - Wrap-up and preview of upcoming episodes in the new season
Transcript
Welcome back to the unofficial Squarespace Entrepreneur Podcast. My name is Omari Haribin. This show is all about building a business on Squarespace, especially businesses that serve Squarespace users.
This week, big news: Squarespace is being acquired in a private $7 billion private equity deal. I wanted to talk about it briefly from the perspective of a solopreneur within the Squarespace ecosystem and what this could mean for us.
Two years ago, when Squarespace announced they were going public in a direct listing, I was excited to be able to invest in the company and own shares. Going public brought more transparency in terms of what Squarespace was working on and their roadmap. The Circle community and leadership have done a great job cultivating the Circle perspective.
Now with Squarespace going private again, I think there will be some good benefits. While there won't be public financial disclosures, I anticipate a lot of growth in areas we may not have seen until now. Commerce has been a significant part of the product's growth over the past 4-5 years and I don't see that slowing down.
In the future, having an online venture will become the norm rather than the outlier it was 10-20 years ago. Selling online seems simple on the surface but gets complex with all the nuances and ways to sell. That's why there are so many companies in this space.
One of Squarespace's larger competitors attributed their growth to their app ecosystem, which allowed them to prioritize core functionality while the ecosystem filled gaps and long-tail use cases. I've always seen that as an opportunity for Squarespace's ecosystem too.
If Squarespace adapts a more open model on the tech side, such as with APIs, extensions, and the developer platform, I think the ecosystems that have been brewing for the past decade can really blossom and drive a lot of growth. There's potential with becoming more open on the technical side.
As someone whose business has mirrored Squarespace's growth, I know these macro conversations are important. While we can saturate Squarespace's addressable market, what if we also bring people into a world where Squarespace is just one of the tools, not the constraint. For me, Squarespace has always been a tool for storytelling, business, community and relationships.
Stay tuned for our next episode coming soon as we enter a new season with several shows lined up. See you in the next show!
