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Erdos Ventures
Techstars '21Ottawa, CA · Founded 2020 · 1 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
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Erdos buys profitable businesses from founders and operates them long-term while the original founders retain a share of profits. The company acquires established companies across various sectors, targeting businesses with clear metrics and sustainable operations.
Also known as Erdos · Erdos Ventures
Investors · 1
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Sep 2026Erdos Ventures, operating as Erdos, buys small e-commerce businesses from their founders and continues to operate them, positioning itself as a fast and low-friction alternative to a private equity sale or a venture round. Its stated target is e-commerce businesses generating at least $50,000 in yearly profit across a small number of SKUs, with the company noting that lower-profit businesses need to be concentrated in fewer SKUs to qualify. Sellers are promised an offer within two weeks and cash within five weeks.
The acquisition process has four stated steps: pricing the business from its current metrics, checking that Erdos' operators can run it well, making an offer at 3-5x profit within two weeks, and keeping the relationship open for a future offer if the seller declines. Third-party profiles describe Erdos as a technology- or AI-enabled venture studio that evaluates, acquires, manages and scales a portfolio of niche e-commerce brands, classifying it under retail and e-commerce, retail technology and software development.
The company was co-founded by Michael Liu, who covers supply chain and logistics and previously founded Studio Honto, a firm providing product sourcing services from China for global e-commerce brands, and Mike Gill, who covers growth and product and was previously head of growth at Setter (acquired by Thumbtack), where he led teams and built paid acquisition channels. Michael Liu is listed elsewhere as founder and CEO.
Founding story
According to the company, the founders started Erdos after struggling to get liquidity out of their own business when moving on to a new venture, a process that took months of negotiation and significant legal fees to find a buyer. They built Erdos to offer the process they say they wished they had had: fast, fair and founder-friendly.
Business model
Erdos acquires small, profitable e-commerce businesses outright and operates them for the long term rather than reselling them. Sellers are offered a price equal to 3-5x annual profit, which can be taken as a mix of upfront cash and an ongoing share of profits as the business grows under Erdos' ownership; after the sale, founders have no continuing obligations. The company contrasts this with private equity sales (which it describes as requiring $2M+ ARR, a 3-12 month process and founder milestone commitments) and with raising venture capital (no cash out, a 4-8 month process and multi-year founder lock-in).
Revenue derives from owning and operating the acquired e-commerce brands, with acquisitions priced at 3-5x profit and consideration structured as cash, ongoing profit share to the seller, or a combination of the two.
Traction
Company databases list Erdos as pre-seed with 5 employees as of February 2024 and a headcount range of 1-10. It participated in the Techstars Los Angeles 2021 accelerator, receiving the program's standard $20,000 investment for 6% equity, and maintains open job postings via the Techstars job board.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Erdos operates in the small-business e-commerce aggregator and acquisition segment, focused on businesses below the size threshold typically served by private equity buyers. Third-party listings place it at the pre-seed stage with a small team and name comparable companies including VOIDS, Six10 Ventures, Dragonfly, OneDeal, Acquco, Recontour, unybrands, Boosst, Foundation and OpenStore.
Erdos emphasizes speed and seller optionality: an offer within two weeks versus multi-month diligence processes, cash within five weeks, no post-sale founder obligations, and the ability for sellers to choose a combination of cash and ongoing profit share. It states it can move quickly because it has a narrow, explicit definition of the businesses it wants and intends to operate them long term, and it keeps offers open to founders who shop around and return later. The founders describe themselves as operators rather than bankers.
Technology
Third-party profiles describe Erdos as using technology and AI to evaluate, acquire, manage and scale niche e-commerce brands at scale, and to streamline the evaluation and acquisition process. The company's own materials describe generating a price from a seller's current metrics.
Go-to-market
Erdos markets directly to e-commerce founders through its website, inviting them to request an offer and committing to respond by email within two weeks even when it cannot make an offer. Exposure has also come through the Techstars network and accelerator press coverage.
Founders and owners of small e-commerce businesses with at least $50,000 in annual profit concentrated across a small number of SKUs who want a fast exit.
Geography
Headquartered in Canada, with an address listed at 213 Manning Ave., Toronto, Ontario. Company databases list the headquarters as Toronto, Ontario, and associated locations include North York and Toronto, Ontario and Ottawa, Ontario. Its accelerator participation was with Techstars Los Angeles, and one executive profile lists a San Francisco location.
History
The company is dated to 2020 in company databases and accelerator listings, while its own site states "Est. 2021." In July 2021 it was selected for the Techstars Los Angeles 2021 accelerator cohort, a three-month in-person program in Culver City run by managing director Matt Kozlov, alongside 11 other startups. It is listed on the Techstars job board with a pre-seed stage designation and 1-10 employees, and had 5 employees as of early 2024.
Compiled by commissioned research from 5 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 1
launches, deals, and filingsErdos Ventures was named as one of 12 companies in the Techstars Los Angeles 2021 accelerator class, a three-month mentorship and training program. Per Techstars' standard accelerator agreement, each company received $20,000 in exchange for 6% equity.
$20K source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 5
primary sources listed
- Erdos Ventureserdosventures.com · web
5 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Erdos Ventures do?
- Erdos buys small profitable e-commerce businesses within weeks and operates them long term, with sellers able to retain profit share.
- Who are Erdos Ventures's investors?
- Erdos Ventures's investors include Techstars.
- Where is Erdos Ventures headquartered?
- Erdos Ventures is headquartered in Ottawa, CA.