Since 2020, online business aggregators have been “all the rage”. The most common example can be seen in Amazon FBA aggregators like Thrasio. Such business aggregators have made headlines after the digital aggregation market reached USD 14 billion, according to Entrepreneur. As a result, industry leaders speculate that growing competition amongst digital businesses will drive more need for these business aggregators.
While e-commerce aggregators aim to buy profitable businesses that already have loyal consumers, different types of aggregators have emerged as well. “Digital demand aggregators” are claiming a different concept and aim to acquire, operate, and grow content websites. These sites are in-demand because they already receive massive organic searches. Interested aggregators intend to scale up, develop, and further monetize these assets.
Last year, TreasureHunter entered this industry with its own type of aggregator model. Currently, this team is purchasing content websites in many different industries 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.
When in Doubt, Aggregate it Out
During the pandemic era, everything under the sun from shopping and learning, to communication and work, all had to be done digitally. As a result, eCommerce businesses reached new heights. While the COVID storm spun, firms like Berlin Brands Group, Thrasio, and Razor Group began to acquire and aggregate eCommerce businesses.The success of this concept has kept investors’ money flowing to other aggregators—especially those that work with businesses found on Amazon’s marketplace. In 2021, 41% of all US eCommerce sales occurred via Amazon.
The startup, TreasureHunter, is promoting the team that plans to differentiate itself from Amazon FBA aggregators. While their concept is similar, TreasureHunter’s crew will be acquiring content from websites and blogs rather than eCommerce businesses. The company leaders have goals to buy digital equity in these areas where eCommerce is influenced.
Aggregation Digitization
Large companies have been buying smaller entities for years–this reflects business as usual. Yet just in the last two years, several large digital aggregators have come to the forefront. These 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 arbitrages,’ so it’s no surprise that the trend is making its way online.”For example, the leaders at TreasureHunter plan to acquire content websites that deal in certain niches–think sports content portals and foodie blogs. These websites were created and have been maintained by entrepreneurs who are also passionate “doers” in their field.
After acquiring websites from asset owners, TreasureHunter’s team hopes to increase output by streamlining tasks that individual blog owners and their smaller teams currently struggle to perform. Aggregators like TreasureHunter possess larger teams of professionals who can cut operating costs of these blogs, increase advertising revenue, and create more quality content (while still preserving the site’s “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.”
What Will the Future of Content Aggregation Look Like?
Many companies have goals to control the massively influential Amazon realm. On the other hand, some digital aggregators are buying up content websites where eCommerce is driven and influenced.With this in mind and investor funding secured, the TreasureHunter crew is working hard to onboard newly-acquired assets and establish them under their web of brands. This startup’s leadership has bet on their differentiated aggregator model to find future success as the internet landscape evolves.
Today, there are 32 million (and growing) active content portals with audiences across the US and Europe. So, businesses like TreasureHunter are predicting greater competition and a heightened need for online assets with loyal viewers. If aggregation is indeed the future for digital businesses, individuals using the web will begin to see a new landscape unfold.