sales-trustmrr

What this skill does

# TrustMRR Platform Help

Helps the user with TrustMRR — from listing a verified-revenue startup and picking boost tiers to querying the API or running due diligence on a listing.

## Step 1 — Gather context

If `references/learnings.md` exists, read it first for accumulated knowledge.

Ask the user:

1. **What do you need help with?**
   - A) Listing a startup — payment provider verification, boost tier selection
   - B) Buying a startup — due diligence, offers, escrow
   - C) Understanding fees — listing tiers, marketplace fee, Escrow.com split
   - D) API usage — querying endpoints, auth, rate limits
   - E) Comparing TrustMRR to Acquire.com, Microns, or Flippa
   - F) Something else

2. **If seller — what's your asking price range?**
   - A) Under $10K
   - B) $10K–$50K
   - C) $50K–$200K
   - D) $200K–$1M
   - E) $1M+

3. **What's your payment provider?**
   - Stripe / LemonSqueezy / Polar / Paddle / DodoPayment / RevenueCat / Superwall / Creem / Other

**If the user's prompt already provides enough context, skip directly to the relevant step.** Lead with your best-effort answer and ask only the most critical 1-2 clarifying questions.

## Step 2 — Route or answer directly

If the request maps to another skill, route with an explicit command:

| User's problem | Route to |
|---|---|
| Choosing which marketplace to list on (not TrustMRR-specific) | `/sales-side-project-valuation {user's question}` |
| Valuing the business (revenue multiples, pricing strategy) | `/sales-side-project-valuation {user's question}` |
| Selling on Acquire.com or Flippa instead | `/sales-acquire {user's question}` or `/sales-flippa {user's question}` |
| Showcasing a side project without selling | `/sales-sideprojectors {user's question}` |

Otherwise, answer from platform knowledge below.

## Step 3 — TrustMRR platform reference

**Read `references/platform-guide.md`** for the full platform reference — payment provider integrations, listing tiers, fee structure, deal flow, API details, stealth mode.

For API-specific questions (endpoints, parameters, responses), also read `references/trustmrr-api-reference.md`.

Answer the user's question using only the relevant section — don't dump the whole reference.

## Step 4 — Actionable guidance

You no longer need the platform guide — focus on the user's specific situation.

- **Pre-listing**: Connect your payment provider (Stripe/LemonSqueezy/Polar/Paddle/DodoPayment/RevenueCat/Superwall/Creem) first. Verified revenue is the platform's only currency — unverified listings don't exist here. Listing the startup in the directory is free. Only pay for marketplace boost tier ($29/$199/$499) if you're actually ready to sell.
- **Listing**: Set asking price based on verified last-30-day revenue × 12 (annualized) × a reasonable multiple (1.5-4x for side projects). TrustMRR shows the multiple publicly, so pricing irrationally high hurts listing performance. Write a concrete seller message — AI filters low-quality offers.
- **Buyer side**: The revenue is pre-verified — that's 80% of typical due diligence already done. Focus DD on customer concentration, churn trend, tech stack transferability, and platform risk. APA-only deals mean no earnouts or installments — price accordingly.
- **During escrow**: Include verifiable asset details (domain URLs, repo links, social handles) in the APA. Escrow.com rejects vague asset descriptions. KYC (Stripe Identity) is optional but speeds up escrow steps.
- **API usage**: Bearer token with `tmrr_*` prefix, 20 req/min hard limit. All monetary values in USD cents. Slug is the primary key — fetch list first, then drill into specific startups by slug.

If you discover a gotcha, workaround, or tip not covered in `references/learnings.md`, append it there with today's date.

## Gotchas

*Best-effort from research — review these, especially items about listing tiers and fee structure that may be outdated.*

- **Revenue verification is mandatory — no exceptions.** Every listing requires a read-only API key from one of the 8 supported payment providers. If you're on a payment provider not supported (Square, Braintree, custom Stripe Connect), you can't list until that changes.
- **APA only, no earnouts or installments.** TrustMRR only supports single lump-sum escrow deals. If you need 50% upfront + 50% after 60 days, structured earnouts, or seller financing, go to Acquire.com or a broker instead. This is a significant constraint for deals over $200K.
- **3% marketplace fee is separate from Escrow.com fees.** The /fees page shows tiered combined fees (5.60% ≤$5K down to 3.70% above $10M) — that's TrustMRR's 3% plus Escrow.com's percentage. Split 50/50 between buyer and seller at closing.
- **Listing tiers are one-time payments for permanent visibility boosts.** Starter $29 is basic listing, Growth $199 gives 5x permanent visibility + newsletter feature, Scale $499 gives 20x + 30-day pinned placement + buyer matching. The boost is permanent unless you unlist.
- **Buyer alerts cost $199/year.** Filter-based or AI-match alerts for new listings. Serious buyers pay; casual buyers don't get notified when new listings match.
- **Up to 30% discrepancy between TrustMRR's numbers and Stripe's dashboard.** Different reconciliation formulas for refunds, trials, and prorations. TrustMRR reconstructs metrics from raw transaction data — expect variance if you cross-check.
- **Stealth mode hides name/logo/website/description but not revenue.** If you need full anonymity before a sale, stealth mode works for pre-contact. Once a buyer makes a qualified offer, you'll need to reveal identity through the APA process.
- **Primary payment provider is fixed per listing.** You can swap API keys within the same provider or attach a secondary provider, but the primary provider chosen at listing creation can't be changed.
- **KYC is optional but speeds up escrow.** Stripe Identity verification unlocks advanced metrics (churn, etc.) and can materially speed up Escrow.com steps that would otherwise stall on identity verification.
- **API rate limit is strict at 20 req/min.** Not ideal for bulk data pipelines. Third-party scrapers exist (Apify) but violate ToS. Use the official API with pagination and caching.

## Related skills

- `/sales-side-project-valuation` — Side project valuation strategy — pricing, revenue multiples, deal structuring, and comparing TrustMRR against Acquire.com, Flippa, Empire Flippers, Microns, Little Exits
- `/sales-acquire` — Acquire.com platform help (curated SaaS marketplace, NDA-gated listings, supports earnouts)
- `/sales-flippa` — Flippa platform help (largest open marketplace, broader asset types, auction format)
- `/sales-sideprojectors` — SideProjectors platform help (free peer-to-peer showcase for non-revenue projects)
- `/sales-startupage` — StartuPage platform help (founder-ecosystem with verified MRR leaderboard + 4-track Opportunities marketplace where acquisition is one of four post types)
- `/sales-arrfounder` — Arrfounder platform help (social-proof founder-revenue directory pulling MRR/ARR from Twitter/X bios — lighter-weight alternative to TrustMRR for passive discoverability, but not API-verified)
- `/sales-do` — Not sure which skill to use? The router matches any sales objective to the right skill. Install:
  `npx skills add sales-skills/sales --skill sales-do`

## Examples

### Example 1: Pick a marketplace listing tier for a $40K SaaS
**User says**: "I have a $3K/mo MRR SaaS verified on TrustMRR and want to list it for ~$40K. Which tier should I pick — Starter, Growth, or Scale?"
**Skill does**:
1. Calculates multiple: $40K / ($3K × 12) = 1.1x annualized — reasonable for side-project range
2. Recommends **Growth ($199)** as the sweet spot for $40K asking price — 5x permanent visibility + newsletter feature
3. Notes Starter ($29) is too quiet for this size; Scale ($499) is overkill for <$100K deals (buyer matching matters more at higher prices)
4. Reminds that total transaction fee at $40K wil