Acquiring Black Magic for $128K During the Shakeout
The Story
In May 2023, in the aftermath of Twitter’s API changes, Hypefury acquired Black Magic, a Twitter analytics/CRM tool built by indie hacker Tony Dinh, for $128,000.
The acquisition happened because Twitter’s new API pricing ($42K/month for Enterprise) made it unsustainable for smaller tools to operate independently. Tony Dinh saw Hypefury as a good home for Black Magic because they had enterprise API access and the scale to keep the product alive.
Samy and Tony shared indie hacker backgrounds, which made the deal feel like a natural partnership rather than a corporate acquisition. The acquisition was reportedly acknowledged by Elon Musk.
Hypefury was the survivor of the API shakeout. While competitors got banned or priced out, Hypefury was whitelisted, kept growing, and started absorbing complementary products at reasonable prices.
Lesson for Creators
Platform changes create acquisition opportunities. When the rules change and smaller players can’t survive, the survivors can grow through acquisition, not just organic growth. Being the one who adapts and endures positions you to absorb what others abandon. The $128K acquisition added capabilities that would have cost far more to build from scratch.
Related
- Surviving the Twitter API Apocalypse — The crisis that created the acquisition opportunity
- Bunk - His First (Tiny) Acquisition — Learning acquisition mechanics at small scale before making bigger moves
- The HubSpot Deal - Radical Transparency as a Negotiation Weapon — The other side of an acquisition, from seller’s perspective