TrustMRR

TrustMRR

TrustMRR FAQ

Everything founders and buyers ask before listing, verifying, or acquiring a startup.

Getting Started

Basics for listing, browsing, and verifying your startup.

What is TrustMRR and what can I do here?
TrustMRR is a verified startup revenue database and acquisition marketplace. You can list a startup to showcase verified revenue, browse the marketplace, or contact founders to discuss acquisitions.
Is TrustMRR free to use?
Yes. Listing your startup in the verified revenue database is free. Selling on the marketplace is also free, with optional paid boosts for extra visibility.
Do I need an account to browse TrustMRR?
No. You can browse startups, rankings, and marketplace listings without an account. To manage a listing or send offers, you’ll verify your email and access the dashboard.
How do I add my startup to TrustMRR?
Click Add startup and connect a supported payment provider with a read-only API key. We verify your revenue and create your startup profile, then you can complete details in the dashboard.
Which payment providers does TrustMRR support?
We currently support Stripe, LemonSqueezy, Polar, Paddle, DodoPayment, and RevenueCat (for mobile apps). You need a read-only API key from one of these providers to list your startup — there is no other way to add a startup to TrustMRR. We listen to feedback and suggestions for new providers, but there is no guarantee that any additional provider will be supported in the future.
Can I claim a startup that already exists on TrustMRR?
Yes. Open the startup page and use the claim/edit flow, or go to your dashboard and claim ownership there. You’ll verify ownership with your payment provider.
I lost my API key. Does that mean I can’t claim my startup?
No. You can still claim your startup. Just log into your dashboard, click + Add startup, and connect any restricted (read-only) API key associated with your payment provider account. It will claim ownership of the startup.
How do I edit my startup profile on TrustMRR?
Go to Dashboard → My Startups. You can update your name, description, website, logo, category, tech stack, country, and more.
Can I delete my startup listing?
Yes. In the dashboard, open your startup and use the delete option at the bottom left of the page.
What is the founder page and how does it work?
Every founder with a startup on TrustMRR gets a public profile at trustmrr.com/founder/xHandle. The page shows all startups where that X handle is set as the founder (or co-founder) directly on the startup profile — it's based on the startup's X handle field, not your TrustMRR account. To appear on a founder page, make sure the correct X handle is set on each of your startups in the dashboard.
How do I find a co-founder on TrustMRR?
Browse the co-founders page to see startups that are actively looking for a co-founder. You can reach out directly from a startup's profile — your message is AI-moderated and relayed to the founder by email.
How do I mark my startup as looking for a co-founder?
Open your startup in the dashboard and enable Looking for a co-founder. You can add a short message describing what you're looking for. Note: a startup can't be on sale and looking for a co-founder at the same time.

Verification, Privacy, and Security

How revenue verification works and what data we access.

What data does TrustMRR access from my payment provider?
Only aggregate revenue metrics (total revenue, MRR, last 30 days revenue, customer and subscription counts). We do not access customer PII.
Does TrustMRR see my customers or transactions?
No. We only store revenue-level aggregates. Personal customer data is never collected. See the details in our Terms of Service.
Are payment provider API keys read-only and secure?
Yes. The API keys you provide from Stripe, LemonSqueezy, Polar, etc. are read-only and stored securely. We cannot charge your customers or modify your payment account. These keys are managed in your startup dashboard and are only used for revenue verification.
How is revenue verified on TrustMRR?
Revenue is verified by syncing directly with your payment provider using a read-only API key. This keeps your numbers trustworthy and up to date.
How often is revenue data updated?
Revenue syncs run automatically on a regular schedule (typically hourly). If your API key expires, you can update it in the dashboard.
Why doesn't my revenue, MRR, or churn match what my payment provider shows?
Each payment provider uses its own internal formulas to compute metrics like MRR, churn, and revenue — and those formulas are not publicly documented. TrustMRR reconstructs these metrics as accurately as possible from raw transaction data via the API, but discrepancies of up to 30% can occur depending on the provider and how they handle things like refunds, trials, prorations, and currency conversions. The verified revenue on TrustMRR is still a reliable, independently computed signal — it just may not be a 1:1 match with your provider's dashboard.
Can I connect more than one payment provider?
Yes. You can link a secondary provider in the dashboard to combine revenue from multiple sources.
Can I change my payment provider after listing?
Your primary provider is fixed per listing, but you can update the API key or attach a secondary provider later.
What is Anonymous / Stealth Mode on TrustMRR?
Stealth mode hides your startup name, logo, website, and description. Only revenue and MRR metrics are shown publicly, so you can explore interest without revealing details.
How do I make an existing startup anonymous?
Go to your dashboard, open the startup, and edit the profile. Change the name and description to something generic and remove the website URL. Since revenue is tied to your payment provider and can't be faked, your metrics stay verified even with the details hidden.

Buying and Selling

A simple overview of how startup deals move from offer to close.

What does the TrustMRR buying and selling process look like?
Here’s the high-level flow you’ll see in the dashboard deal progress:
  1. Buyer makes an offer and both sides negotiate terms.
  2. Both sides sign an LOI (letter of intent) to align on the key terms.
  3. Buyer completes due diligence.
  4. Both sides sign the APA (asset purchase agreement).
  5. Escrow is funded and the asset transfer begins.
  6. Deal closes and the startup is marked as complete.
How does escrow work?
Escrow is handled through a third-party provider. The buyer funds escrow, and the funds are released once the agreed conditions are met and the transfer is completed. We surface escrow status in the dashboard so both sides can track progress.

Metrics, Insights, and Discovery

What data you’ll see on startup profiles and discovery pages.

What metrics are shown on a TrustMRR startup profile?
Profiles show verified total revenue, last 30 days revenue, MRR, customer counts, and active subscriptions. If available, we also show traffic, growth, and profit margin metrics.
How do I add traffic analytics to my startup?
Connect DataFast or Google Analytics from your dashboard. Once connected, traffic metrics (24h, 7d, 30d, 12mo) appear on your profile.
What is revenue per visitor and how is it calculated?
Revenue per visitor is your last 30 days revenue divided by last 30 days traffic. It’s a quick efficiency signal for monetization.
Do you show churn and advanced metrics?
Yes. Advanced metrics like churn are available after identity verification (KYC) and are currently optimized for Stripe data.
What are Startup Insights?
Startup Insights are AI-generated summaries (value proposition, target audience, pricing model, tags) based on your public website and verified data.
How do I update the AI-generated insights on my startup page?
Edit the website URL of your startup in the dashboard. Our AI will automatically re-crawl your website within 24 hours and refresh the insights (value proposition, target audience, pricing model, etc.) based on the new page. Note: this does not work for anonymous or stealth startups, since the AI needs a public website to generate insights.
Where can I browse categories, tech stack, and search?
Use the search, categories, and tech stack pages to explore startups by niche.
What is the Open Revenue feed on TrustMRR?
The Open Revenue feed shows verified revenue tweets from founders. To appear, you need at least one verified startup and a post that includes “I made” plus a $ figure. The feed updates every few hours.
What is the TrustMRR verified revenue badge?
You can embed a live badge on your website that updates automatically with your verified revenue. Use the Embed button on your startup page to copy the code.

Marketplace — Selling

Questions about listing, pricing, and selling a startup.

How do I list my startup for sale on TrustMRR?
Go to the marketplace and click Sell startup, or toggle On sale in your dashboard. You’ll set an asking price and profit margin to create the listing.
How much does it cost to list a startup for sale?
Three plans are available: Starter ($29) for a basic listing, Growth ($199) for 5x visibility, a custom card color, and newsletter feature, and Scale ($999) for 20x visibility, newsletter feature, pinned placement for 30 days, buyer matching, and a custom card color.
What are the listing tiers and what do they include?
Starter ($29) lists your startup on the marketplace. Growth ($199) provides a permanent 5x visibility boost, a custom card color, and newsletter exposure. Scale ($999) gives 20x visibility, a custom card color, newsletter exposure, buyer matching, and pins your startup at the top for 30 days.
What information is required to list for sale?
You need verified revenue (payment provider connection), an asking price, and profit margin for the last 30 days. You can also add a seller message and contact email.
Can I list my startup anonymously on the marketplace?
Yes. Enable Anonymous mode to hide your name, website, and description. Only revenue metrics appear publicly while buyers can still submit offers.
How do I update my asking price or seller message?
Open your startup in the dashboard and edit the listing section. Changes appear immediately on your marketplace card.
Can I pause or unlist my startup?
Yes. Toggle On sale off in your dashboard to remove the listing from the marketplace.
Do I need identity verification (KYC) to sell?
KYC isn’t required to list, but it unlocks advanced insights and builds buyer trust. It can also speed up escrow steps in active deals.

Selling faster

How to get more visibility and re-engage interested buyers.

How do I get more buyers to see my startup?
Two things you can do right now: first, upgrade your listing tier for a visibility boost (Growth gives 3x, Scale gives 10x). Second, drop your asking price by at least 10% — every buyer who saved your startup to their favorites will be notified automatically, which re-engages them without you lifting a finger.
What happens when I lower my asking price?
When you reduce your asking price by 10% or more, all buyers who previously saved your startup get an email notification about the price drop. It's one of the most effective ways to restart conversations and generate new offers.
Can I see who's interested in my startup?
Yes. Go to your dashboard and open the Interested tab on your startup. You'll see every buyer who saved your startup to their favorites, so you know exactly who's watching.
Can I reach out to interested buyers directly?
Yes. From the Interested tab in your dashboard, you can initiate a conversation with any buyer who saved your startup. You don't have to wait for them to make the first move.

Marketplace — Buying

How to make offers, follow deals, and track listings.

How do I contact a seller or make an offer?
Open any marketplace listing and click Contact Seller. You’ll send a message and can include an offer amount.
Can I make an offer without creating an account?
Yes. You can start with just your name and email. We send a verification code to confirm your offer and then open your buyer dashboard.
Why do you ask for a detailed offer message?
Offers are reviewed by an AI to filter out low-quality requests. Detailed, realistic messages get delivered faster to sellers.
What happens after I send an offer?
The seller receives your offer and a chat thread opens in the dashboard so you can negotiate.
Can I save startups to review later?
Yes. Use the Save button on a listing and your saved startups will appear in your buyer dashboard.
Do you have buyer alerts for new listings?
Yes. You can create filter-based or AI alerts that notify you when new listings match your criteria. Alerts are available with the $199/year subscription in the dashboard.
What currencies are supported for acquisition offers and documents?
LOI and APA documents support USD, EUR, CAD, AUD, and GBP.
How is the acquisition multiple calculated?
The multiple is asking price divided by annualized revenue (last 30 days revenue × 12).

Account, Billing, and Support

Manage your profile, billing, and notifications.

Where do I manage my billing or subscriptions?
Go to your dashboard and open the Billing tab to manage listing tier payments or buyer alert subscriptions.
How do I cancel a sponsorship subscription or download invoices?
You can cancel subscriptions, update payment methods, and download invoices from the Stripe customer portal. Log in with the email you used on TrustMRR and you'll see all your purchases and active subscriptions.
How do notifications and digests work?
You can manage notifications, daily deal digest, and weekly best‑deals digest in Dashboard → Settings.
How do I unsubscribe from the daily digest emails?
Open Dashboard → Settings and toggle off Daily deal digest. You can also disable the weekly digest there.
Where can I update my profile or identity verification?
Head to Dashboard → My Profile to update your profile and complete identity verification.
Can I buy or sell without using my real name?
Yes. Buyers and sellers only see what you choose to show in My Profile. You can use a business name or alias early on, then share legal details later (for example, after signing documents).
What happens with KYC, and do you store my legal documents?
KYC is optional but recommended to build trust and unlock advanced features. We use Stripe Identity to verify you and store only your verification status. We do not store or display government ID document details on your profile.
How can I contact TrustMRR support?
Use the dashboard for support and deal assistance, or reply to any transactional email you receive during a deal.
Where can I read the Terms of Service?
You can always review our Terms of Service for details about data use, verification, and marketplace policies.

TrustMRR API (for developers)

How to access TrustMRR data programmatically. This is separate from the payment provider API keys used to verify your startup revenue.

What's the difference between a payment provider API key and a TrustMRR API key?
They are completely different things. Payment provider API keys (from Stripe, LemonSqueezy, Polar, etc.) are what you give TrustMRR so we can verify your revenue — you manage those in your startup dashboard. TrustMRR API keys (starting with tmrr_) are for developers who want to query TrustMRR data programmatically — you create those in the developer dashboard.
Does TrustMRR have a public API?
Yes. The TrustMRR API lets you query verified startup data programmatically — search and filter startups, or fetch details for a specific startup by slug. Full documentation is available on the API docs page.
How do I get a TrustMRR API key?
Sign in and go to the developer dashboard (separate from your regular dashboard). You can create an API key there in one click. Your key will start with tmrr_ and should be kept secret.
How many API keys can I have?
Each account can have one active API key at a time. If you need a new one, you can roll your existing key from the developer dashboard — this revokes the old key and generates a fresh one instantly.
What endpoints are available?
Two endpoints are available today:
  • List startups — search, filter by category, revenue, MRR, growth, sale status, and paginate results.
  • Get startup — fetch full details for a single startup by slug.
How does authentication work?
Pass your API key as a Bearer token in the Authorization header: Authorization: Bearer tmrr_.... Requests without a valid key return a 401 error.
What are the rate limits?
The standard plan allows 20 requests per minute. Rate limit details are returned in response headers (X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, X-RateLimit-Reset) so you can track usage in real time.
How do I revoke or rotate my API key?
Go to the developer dashboard and use Roll key to generate a new key (the old one stops working immediately), or Revoke to disable access entirely.

Still have questions?

Start by browsing the marketplace or listing your startup. Most answers appear right in your dashboard once you’re signed in.