Key Takeaways
- Herrera based EHVM Apps Capital final yr, drawing on her cellular apps background.
- The founder emphasizes the worth in assembly potential purchasers in individual every time potential.
- With half a billion in lively deal administration, Herrera is eyeing an thrilling future for the agency.
This as-told-to story relies on a dialog with 27-year-old Evelin Herrera, founder and CEO of EHVM Apps Capital, an M&A agency working solely with cellular app companies. Based in 2025, EHVM Apps Capital closes as much as 25 cellular app M&A offers a month. At the moment, the agency manages about $500 million in lively deal worth. The piece has been edited for size and readability.
I labored in apps for 5 years, doing each advertising and enterprise improvement, so I acquired to know totally different gamers within the business by attending conferences and speaking with corporations nonstop. Additionally, I by no means had a house base; I had an Excel sheet of all the businesses that I needed to fulfill on Earth, about 30,000. I needed to journey and meet as many as potential. Finally, that led to assembly very excessive web value people. One in all them requested me if I might get him some corporations to purchase within the cellular app business as a result of he didn’t know anybody. That’s how my enterprise began.
M&A: The possibility to change into a millionaire quicker
With M&A, from day one, it was a unique reference to founders — as a result of it’s giving them the prospect to change into millionaires or multi-millionaires. It’s totally different from elevating VC, the place possibly you may obtain success 10 years from now. In M&A, you may shut the chapter and materialize your success tomorrow or six months from now. M&A for client tech wasn’t as well-known. Everybody noticed client tech extra like You possibly can solely obtain a giant exit should you’re Spotify. However truly, should you’re a small music app, you too can safe a extremely good exit.
The enterprise is absolutely bootstrapped. I had some financial savings from my earlier full-time job, and that was it. We’ve two full-time staff along with freelancers and consultants.
By speaking about this on social media, I constructed two funnels. One was for patrons from LinkedIn, so extra company. After which from X, it was extra founder-to-founder. Like, “Hey, I’m constructing this firm. In the present day I noticed this. In the present day I spoke with this founder. We’re doing a founder’s dinner.” So it was neighborhood constructing on X.
Our give attention to cellular app corporations solely is a bonus. We don’t do commerce, SaaS. We don’t attempt to do all of it and settle for any shopper. Simply apps. Additionally, it’s not easy sufficient to be an app; you need to have good metrics and never be a replica of one other app.
Managing half a billion {dollars} in lively deal worth
EHVM Apps Capital is managing half a billion {dollars} in lively deal worth. I’ve unlocked that milestone by specializing in the agency’s service and outcomes — as a result of folks discuss. Notably in smaller industries, everybody is aware of one another. So for us, each time we shut one deal, we get 5 to 10 referrals. Roughly 60% to 70% of our offers are by means of referrals, after which the remaining by means of inbound.
One other worthwhile technique is assembly folks in individual. Proper now, we’re touring 22 cities in 4 to 5 weeks, and I’ll be assembly 50 CEOs many different business gamers haven’t met earlier than. An extra secret is, if I’m at a desk of 5, I wish to have at the very least one or two individuals who already work with me, both on the purchase or promote aspect, who can advocate for my providers.
Making a case to main gamers as a younger founder
One of many largest challenges is after we discuss with buyers in numerous Fortune 500 corporations and public corporations and attempt to persuade them that this business is value their time and funding. You may get a music app that wishes to be offered to Spotify. However Spotify may see it as, “Oh, it is a very small enterprise. Nothing new for me.”
Additionally, I’m 27 years outdated, and my group members are 25, 26, so typically folks see us and make judgments on age and gender or how we discuss, as a result of I don’t converse as formally as a typical company chief.
Educating founders on the cellular app business
One other problem is educating founders. Now with social media, so many individuals publish YouTube movies claiming they grew to become millionaires in a single day. Perhaps, however you additionally paid 50% of that in taxes. There are such a lot of particulars folks pass over. Additionally, the App Retailer takes 30% of your income. So instantly you’ve a 30% tax. When you’re simply beginning, they’ve some small enterprise packages that take 15%, however as quickly as you get massive, they cost 30%.
AI is making the market extra aggressive too. For an app that has one use case, such as you take an image of your meals and get the vitamins, that’s really easy to develop. To create a enterprise 15 years in the past, you wanted to offer far more worth than immediately. Now, you’ve influencers promoting an e book that they created with AI for $150. After which you’ve apps which have one performance charging $29 monthly on subscription.
M&A is a finance enterprise that hinges on relationships
EHVM Apps Capital depends extra on automations than AI. As an illustration, after we get an NDA signed it notifies the group, or after we signal a brand new settlement it prepares a possible record of patrons, and so forth. However AI itself for us, I solely see that it decreases worth. If I create an AI abstract and ship it to my group, they don’t learn it. They provide it to their AI to offer them a abstract. After which it’s simply communication by means of AIs. I would like my group to make use of their brains.
M&A is a finance enterprise, nevertheless it’s additionally a relationship enterprise. If I ship you an AI doc that I didn’t clear up first myself, I’m placing the work on you to undergo AI slop. I don’t wish to run our course of based mostly on AI. I run it based mostly on figuring out who’s on the purchase aspect and what they wish to see. We additionally customise materials relying on the reader, and so forth.
Why each Fortune 500 firm ought to have a cellular app
Wanting forward, I need each single Fortune 500 firm, public firm to have their very own cellular app enterprise as a result of it makes a lot sense. When you’re any enterprise that doesn’t have an app, you’re not interacting along with your customers each day. An app is the one approach of interacting each day as a result of everybody makes use of their cellphone for hours each single day. It doesn’t matter should you’re retail, experiences, just about something — it’s the one alternative that it’s important to have each day contact factors. And that’s so loopy worthwhile. It’s the one approach to change into a part of folks’s way of life.
The business is barely getting greater, and entrepreneurs occupied with breaking into it ought to discuss to individuals who have been doing this for 5 years. Then resolve if you wish to be a seven-figure, eight-figure or nine-figure enterprise, as a result of it’s a very totally different path, and there are only some apps that hit the $1 billion vary. Deciding that upfront will help you provide you with your imaginative and prescient as a founder. Perhaps you wish to construct a portfolio firm and have 10 apps in well being and health, or possibly you guess on one to change into a $200 million firm. That’s essential. The execution is totally totally different relying in your objective: the group, the imaginative and prescient, the viewers.
Key Takeaways
- Herrera based EHVM Apps Capital final yr, drawing on her cellular apps background.
- The founder emphasizes the worth in assembly potential purchasers in individual every time potential.
- With half a billion in lively deal administration, Herrera is eyeing an thrilling future for the agency.
This as-told-to story relies on a dialog with 27-year-old Evelin Herrera, founder and CEO of EHVM Apps Capital, an M&A agency working solely with cellular app companies. Based in 2025, EHVM Apps Capital closes as much as 25 cellular app M&A offers a month. At the moment, the agency manages about $500 million in lively deal worth. The piece has been edited for size and readability.
I labored in apps for 5 years, doing each advertising and enterprise improvement, so I acquired to know totally different gamers within the business by attending conferences and speaking with corporations nonstop. Additionally, I by no means had a house base; I had an Excel sheet of all the businesses that I needed to fulfill on Earth, about 30,000. I needed to journey and meet as many as potential. Finally, that led to assembly very excessive web value people. One in all them requested me if I might get him some corporations to purchase within the cellular app business as a result of he didn’t know anybody. That’s how my enterprise began.
M&A: The possibility to change into a millionaire quicker
With M&A, from day one, it was a unique reference to founders — as a result of it’s giving them the prospect to change into millionaires or multi-millionaires. It’s totally different from elevating VC, the place possibly you may obtain success 10 years from now. In M&A, you may shut the chapter and materialize your success tomorrow or six months from now. M&A for client tech wasn’t as well-known. Everybody noticed client tech extra like You possibly can solely obtain a giant exit should you’re Spotify. However truly, should you’re a small music app, you too can safe a extremely good exit.
