The numbers
As stated by the listing on September 14, 2026.
- Asking price
- $2,000,000
- SDE
- $1,574,958
- Gross revenue
- $3,680,679
- Multiple
- 1.27x
- Established
- 2023
Why we like it
Nobody needs a permit to write a role-playing game, but almost nobody who does gets paid without borrowing the rules first. Most third-party tabletop publishers build on Open Gaming License or ORC-style frameworks that let them sell adventures and supplements compatible with the game everyone already owns, rather than trying to build a player base from nothing. The other structural quirk of the trade is that books get sold before they are printed: a campaign on Kickstarter or Backerkit collects the money up front, and the print run only exists because the pledges already covered it. This Tampa publisher runs its catalog through direct ecommerce alongside crowdfunding, and at three years old it has already booked revenue that would take most small publishers a decade to reach, which is itself a signal to read carefully rather than take at face value. Start with the split between digital and print sales, and between campaign revenue and steady storefront revenue, because a crowdfunding hit does not repeat itself on schedule the way a subscription does. The real growth engine in this kind of business is the backlist: once a book exists as a PDF it keeps selling with no reprint cost, so the question worth answering is how much of the catalog still generates orders on its own versus how much of the number rode in on one or two campaigns.
No personal licence needed
Publishing and selling tabletop RPG books and PDFs does not require the buyer to hold a professional or trade license. The one thing worth confirming is whether any of the catalog is published under a third-party license (an OGL, ORC, or a licensed IP deal) that has its own transfer or royalty terms, since that is a contract issue rather than a personal credential.
What worries us
- Crowdfunding revenue does not repeat on a scheduleIf a meaningful share of the stated $3,680,679 in revenue came from one or more Kickstarter or Backerkit launches, that money reflects the size of a campaign, not a recurring customer base, and next year's launch may not land the same way.
- Creative and community dependence on the sellerTabletop RPG buyers follow designers and brands as much as products, so if the seller is the public face of the company, sales momentum and backer trust may not transfer cleanly to a new owner on day one.
- Print and fulfillment obligations can hide on the balance sheetCrowdfunded publishers often collect pledge money well before books ship, so a buyer needs to know whether any pledged rewards are still owed and what completing them will cost in cash, freight, and time.
The callSuits a buyer who can run a creative, community-driven brand and manage lumpy campaign cycles, not someone wanting a steady, hands-off operation.
Our calculations
Our standard SBA 7(a) acquisition structure applied to the asking price. Assumptions below.
Sources
| SBA 7(a) loan | $1,899,840 |
| Seller standby note | $105,546 |
| Buyer cash at close | $105,547 |
| Total sources | $2,110,933 |
Uses
| Purchase price | $2,000,000 |
| Closing costs (est.) | $60,000 |
| SBA guaranty fee | $50,933 |
| Total project | $2,110,933 |
- Monthly payment
- $24,324
- Annual debt service
- $291,890
- DSCR
- 4.94xSTRONG
- Injection check
- Meets 10% ($211,093 against $211,093 required)
- Closing costs estimated at 3% of asking price
- Owner salary of $120,000, loaded
- Rate of Prime + 2.25% = 9.25%
- 10-year term, fully amortizing
- Injection split half cash, half seller standby note
How we would go about buying it
The order matters. Every step below is free until the last one, and each is a chance to walk away before it costs you anything.
- 1
Call the broker, not the bank
The listing is brokered, so the broker is the gate. Ask for the CIM and the last three years of tax returns, and expect to sign an NDA first. Do this before you talk to a lender: no lender will size a loan without the numbers, and the broker will not release them to a lender you have not engaged.
Open the listing - 2
Ask these before you spend anything
Specific to this business, from our read of the listing. The answers decide whether the numbers above survive contact.
- How much of the $3,680,679 in revenue came from crowdfunding campaigns (Kickstarter, Backerkit) versus recurring direct ecommerce sales, and how many distinct product launches make up that total?
- Is there an unfulfilled backlog of pledged books or stretch goals still owed to backers, and what would it cost in cash and time to complete those obligations after close?
- Who actually owns the intellectual property and artwork in the catalog outright versus what is licensed in from freelance writers, artists, or other publishers, and do those agreements transfer to a new owner?
- What share of revenue is digital (PDF/VTT) versus physical print, and who currently manages printing and fulfillment, in house or through a third-party manufacturer?
- How much of the SDE and revenue is tied to the seller's own name, social following, or creative voice, and what happens to preorders and community engagement once the seller is gone?
- 3
Take it to lenders who do this size
Talk to more than one. Rate is the least of it: the lender who has done fifty of these in Florida will close, and the one who has done two will waste your quarter. Below are the lenders whose typical deal size actually fits this one.
- 4
Structure the offer around the coverage
Our structure clears the floor at 4.94x, and a lender will run its own version with its own add-backs. If the earnings come back lower than stated, the price has to come down or the seller note has to grow. Model both before you make an offer.
Model it yourself
Who we would call
Active Florida acquisition lenders whose typical deal size fits this one.
- Live Oak Banking Company
111 loans in FLmedian $898,500median rate 9.00%~20 days to first disbursement
- First Internet Bank of Indiana
81 loans in FLmedian $990,000median rate 10.00%~23 days to first disbursement
- Beacon Bank and Trust
31 loans in FLmedian $1,091,000median rate 9.50%~25 days to first disbursement
Loan counts and medians are that lender’s change-of-ownership loans in Florida, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3. Funding speed is the lender’s national median from approval to first disbursement. Names link to our data profile for each lender.
The fine print
The statements this write-up makes about the trade and its rules, as opposed to the figures, were checked against public sources on September 10, 2026. 4 claims were checked.
Run your own numbers
The deal analyzer models price, seller note, equity injection, and DSCR under current SBA terms, with every assumption adjustable.
Open the deal analyzerListing facts as stated by the listing on September 14, 2026, not independently verified. Structure, payment, DSCR, and injection figures are our own computation under the assumptions above, using the Prime rate as of September 28, 2026. Lender shortlist from the SBA 7(a) FOIA file, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3, as of June 30, 2026. Methodology. See an error? Email us and we will correct it.