Building the Investment Bank for the 99% with Flippa's Blake Hutchinson

Feb 2, 2026

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This episode is sponsored by Daily Body Coach

Blake Hutchinson, CEO of Flippa, joins Connor Tomkies to unpack how Flippa became a global marketplace for buying and selling digital businesses, from SaaS and e-commerce to YouTube channels and newsletters. Blake shares his path from founder and growth operator to leading Flippa through seven consecutive years of growth, and explains why “small” online business M&A remains a massive, underappreciated asset class. They dig into how buyers actually behave, why “passive income” is mostly a myth, what it takes to run a small business post-acquisition, and why zero-money-down deals are extremely rare. Blake also details Flippa’s product “plumbing” for safer transactions, the rise of off-market deal sourcing, and Flippa’s AI roadmap, including its matching engine, and what’s coming next in negotiation and due diligence.

Chapters:

[00:00:00] Welcome to Made It
[00:00:02] Introducing Blake and Flippa
[00:00:35] How Flippa works
[00:01:45] The investment bank for 99%
[00:04:25] Why this market is nascent
[00:07:05] Blake’s background and path
[00:09:45] Flippa’s origin story
[00:10:49] Founder-to-CEO transition
[00:12:22] Turning around a neglected business
[00:14:42] Flippa's AI overview
[00:16:00] Off-market deal sourcing
[00:19:47] Negotiation agent teaser
[00:21:41] AI due diligence opportunity
[00:23:33] Who buys businesses today
[00:28:39] Turnarounds and distressed deals
[00:30:53] Marketplace safety plumbing
[00:33:40] Not everyone should buy
[00:35:32] Zero money down reality
[00:37:12] Skills and passion fit
[00:38:31] Passive income myth
[00:39:04] Favorite Flippa case studies
[00:41:53] Flippa’s top acquisition channels
[00:42:54] Acquisitions and category expansion
[00:43:45] Where to find Blake
[00:44:02] Closing thoughts and farewell

Blake's Stuff:

Website: https://flippa.com/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/blakehutchison

My Stuff:

Podcast: https://www.madeitpod.com/
Website: https://www.connortomkies.com/
X: https://twitter.com/ConnorTomkies
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connortomkies/