`docs/FORSALE-OUTREACH.md`

77 lines
# sublease.com — Competitive-Process Outreach Pack (PREP-ONLY)

**Status:** DRAFT for Steve to send from his own inbox. **Nothing has been sent. No contact has been made.**
**Approach (Scenario C, approved 2026-07-30):** run a quiet, invitation-only competitive process among the strategics below, floor at/above **$200k**, before any open-market listing.
> ⚠️ **The $200k floor is a PROVISIONAL placeholder — run the NameBio comp check (`FORSALE-SALE-PACKET.md` §1) before any live conversation.** Don't anchor a Tier-1 call to an un-validated number. Frame every note as *"you're on a short shortlist"* — scarcity + competition is what produces a multiple over a single quote.
**Drafts are individualized 1:1** — each body is written to that firm in a distinct voice (different opening, different value angle, varied close-window phrasing) so a note that gets forwarded internally reads as a genuine founder-to-exec message, not a mass blast.
**Companion docs:** **send-day tick sheet → `FORSALE-SEND-WORKSHEET.md`** (one page: order + exec + subject); named recipients → `FORSALE-OUTREACH-CONTACTS.md`; buyer teaser + mutual NDA → `FORSALE-NDA-AND-TEASER.md`; valuation + listing copy + the domain-transfer checklist → `FORSALE-SALE-PACKET.md`; scenarios/timeline → `FORSALE-SCENARIOS.md`.

## How to use this
1. For each firm, source the **named person** in the listed function (LinkedIn / corporate site — I've named the *role*, not invented an email).
2. Personalize the bracketed bits, send from your inbox (keeps it founder-to-exec, not a mass blast).
3. **Append the REQUIRED FOOTER below to every send** (physical address + opt-out) — a draft body is not compliant to send without it.
4. Log each touch on **`/forsale`** — flip the prospect from `target` → `contacted`, and record who/when in the notes.
5. Keep them slightly aware of each other ("short process," "before open market") without naming competitors — that's the pressure.

## Compliance quick-check (B2B cold email)
These are individualized B2B business solicitations (not bulk marketing), so CAN-SPAM's core asks still apply: truthful subject/from, a real physical mailing address in the footer, and honor any opt-out. Keep them 1:1 and personal. *(If you'd rather I route them through a compliant sender with an unsubscribe + address block, say so — but 1:1 from your inbox is cleanest here.)*

> ✓ **Compliance re-verified 2026-08-14 (read-only):** the required footer (physical address + opt-out + §7704(a)(5)(A) basis) is present and mandated for every send, so the **1:1-from-Steve's-inbox path is compliant at draft level.** Separately confirmed: the pr-intelligence `buildMime` engine (`src/pr/services/email-providers.js`) still emits no `List-Unsubscribe` header / address block — a real gap that is **irrelevant to this 1:1 path** but must be fixed before that engine is ever used for a BULK/programmatic send (tracked; do not route these through it without that fix).

### REQUIRED FOOTER — paste under the sign-off of EVERY draft before sending
> —
> RENTV.com · 5757 W. Century Blvd, Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045 · (310) 213-6409
> You're receiving this because I believe sublease.com is directly relevant to your firm. If you'd prefer not to hear from me about it, reply "no thanks" and I won't follow up.

*(Each draft body below ends at the "— Steven Bloom, Founder & CEO, RENTV" sign-off; the footer above goes immediately after it. This satisfies CAN-SPAM §7704(a)(5)(A) physical-address + opt-out for a 1:1 send. Do NOT send a draft without it.)*

---

## Tier 1 — highest strategic value

### CoStar Group  · contact: **Corporate Development / M&A**
Angle: category-defining; owns LoopNet; the most acquisitive buyer. sublease.com is a defensive + offensive category asset.
> **Subject:** sublease.com — a short list before it's public
> Hi [Name] — I'm the founder of RENTV; we've covered Western-US commercial real estate since 1998, and along the way we ended up owning **sublease.com**. Before I take it to the open market I'm quietly showing it to a handful of firms that would actually build on it, and CoStar is squarely one of them. You own the category with LoopNet, so the exact-match name is both an offensive channel and a defensive one. I can share the traffic and deal-flow context under NDA. If there's interest, reply with a range and I'll bring you into the process; I'd like to wrap it inside [6] weeks. — Steven Bloom, Founder & CEO, RENTV

### Yardi (CommercialEdge / CommercialCafe) · contact: **CommercialEdge brand lead or Corp Dev**
Angle: building a listings brand to rival LoopNet; sublease.com is a clean vertical front door.
> **Subject:** sublease.com — as you scale CommercialEdge
> Hi [Name] — I run RENTV (Western-US CRE news since 1998) and we own **sublease.com**. I'm running a brief, invitation-only look before it goes public and wanted CommercialEdge in it: as you build a listings brand against LoopNet, owning the exact category name is a ready-made front door and lead channel, cheaper than earning that search position over several years. Happy to walk you through the numbers under NDA. I'm aiming to close within [6] weeks. — Steven Bloom, Founder & CEO, RENTV

### Crexi · contact: **Growth / Marketing lead (or founders)**
Angle: growth marketplace that spends on category SEO; one-word vertical domain is on-brand and cheaper than years of SEO.
> **Subject:** sublease.com — thought of Crexi first
> Hi [Name] — founder of RENTV here. We own **sublease.com** and I'm floating it quietly to a few growth-stage marketplaces before open market. For Crexi it's straightforward: the one-word category name is instant type-in traffic and search equity you'd otherwise spend years buying. I can show you the audience and deal-flow context under NDA. If it's interesting, send a range and I'll fold you in. I'm targeting a close in about [6] weeks. — Steven Bloom, Founder & CEO, RENTV

## Tier 2 — brokerages (buy the name for their sublease/tenant-rep practice; also ad buyers)

### CBRE · contact: **Digital/Brand marketing, or the Sublease/Tenant-Rep practice lead**
> **Subject:** sublease.com — CBRE on the short list
> Hi [Name] — I'm the founder of RENTV. We own **sublease.com**, and before it goes to open market I'm showing it to a few firms with a real sublease/tenant-rep practice. For CBRE it's both a marketing asset and a defensive one: the category name pointed wherever your advisory team wants it. I can share the context under NDA. Hoping to close inside [6] weeks. — Steven Bloom, Founder & CEO, RENTV

### JLL · contact: **Digital marketing / Corporate Development**
> **Subject:** sublease.com — quiet look for JLL
> Hi [Name] — founder of RENTV. We own **sublease.com** and I'm running a short invitation-only process before open market. Given the size of JLL's sublease and tenant-rep book, and that the marketplaces courting the same leasing eyeballs are also on this shortlist, the exact category name is both a brand asset and a defensive block against them. For a P&L your size it's a small, clean acquisition. Glad to take you through the details under NDA. I'd like to close within [6] weeks. — Steven Bloom, Founder & CEO, RENTV

### Cushman & Wakefield · contact: **a former colleague — Steven is C&W alumni** ⭐ WARM
Angle: **Steven Bloom came up through Cushman & Wakefield (and Cresa).** This is not a cold email — it's a founder reaching back to his old shop. Route through a real former colleague / current contact, not the brand inbox. Highest-conversion thread in the list.
> **Subject:** sublease.com — reaching back to my C&W roots
> Hi [Name] — good to reconnect. I came up through Cushman & Wakefield before building RENTV, and we now own **sublease.com**. I'm running a quiet, invitation-only process before it goes public, and I wanted to reach out to you before it goes wider. With C&W's national sublease inventory it's a natural home for the category name. Happy to walk you through it under NDA. I'm aiming to wrap in about [6] weeks. — Steven Bloom, Founder & CEO, RENTV (ex-C&W)

### Colliers · contact: **Corporate Development (acquisitive) / Brand**
> **Subject:** sublease.com — before it's on the open market
> Hi [Name] — I'm the founder of RENTV; we own **sublease.com**. I'm quietly shortlisting a few acquisitive firms before open market, and Colliers came to mind. You've built the platform by buying good brands, and the exact category name is a clean bolt-on. Happy to share the context under NDA. Targeting a close within [6] weeks. — Steven Bloom, Founder & CEO, RENTV

## Tier 1 (flex operator) — sequence with the marketplaces, not last

### IWG / Regus · contact: **Brand / Marketing or M&A**
Angle: flex operators are the natural home for short-term sublease demand, and at ~$200k the name is *material* to a flex operator in a way it isn't to a $30B brokerage — so IWG is a best-fit, Tier-1-priority buyer (harmonized with the likelihood ranking in `FORSALE-OUTREACH-CONTACTS.md`; listed here at the end only for reading order).
> **Subject:** sublease.com — flex + sublease
> Hi [Name] — founder of RENTV here. We own **sublease.com** and I'm showing it to a small number of firms before open market. Flex is where a lot of short-term sublease demand actually lands, so the exact category name is squarely on-target for IWG. I can share the audience and deal-flow context under NDA. I'd like to close inside [6] weeks. — Steven Bloom, Founder & CEO, RENTV

---

## Sequencing tip
Send Tier 1 first — the marketplaces (CoStar/CommercialEdge/Crexi) **plus IWG (flex)**, per the likelihood ranking in `FORSALE-OUTREACH-CONTACTS.md`; they set the ceiling. Tier 2 = the brokerages (brand/defensive, longer sale). Once one bites, you can honestly tell the others "there's active interest," which is the competitive pressure that lifts the number. Track it all on `/forsale`.