How He Acquired an EdTech SaaS and 10x’d Its Revenue

Chanakya Yerneni didn’t want another promotion. He wanted freedom—and the chance to build something of his own. After a decade in enterprise SaaS, he quit corporate, browsed Acquire.com, and bought a small AI grading tool for teachers. It had $5K MRR, no SEO, and no real growth engine. Twelve months later, that product—EssayGrader—is on track to hit $1M ARR. In this episode, Chanakya shares how he evaluated listings, rebuilt the product from scratch, and scaled an EdTech SaaS with product-led growth and word of mouth. You’ll learn:How he picked the right SaaS to acquireWhy talking to 400+ customers changed everythingWhat made the product go viral in schoolsHow to approach SEO from zero and winWhy founder fit matters more than perfect metrics 3 lessons from Chanakya’s exit journey:Start with PMF, not just profitBuild for a customer you deeply understandA clean, focused process beats complexity every time Whether you’re buying your first startup or scaling your next, this episode is a playbook in clarity, conviction, and customer-first growth. Follow Chanakya’s journey on LinkedIn.