# Rezi Teardown: $10.43M All-Time Verified Revenue (#13) — Why 15 Buyers Passed on Its $23M-to-$15M Sale

- **Case ID**: BID-014 (Rezi)
- **Category**: AI ATS Resume Platform · $10.43M All-Time (#13) · $23M -> $15M Ask Withdrawn
- **Published**: 2026-11-06
- **Author**: Jimmy (https://www.jimmydecodes.com/en/about/)
- **Canonical URL**: https://www.jimmydecodes.com/en/cases/rezi/

## The Short Answer (Verdict)

> Rezi beats structural job-seeker churn using a 23-point ATS score, a $149 Lifetime tier (2.57x a 2-month job hunt), and a 70% university rev-share ($986.9K paid out) — but an 18.3% pullback from April's peak, unedited `[insert AI framework]` template brackets on its enterprise pages, and a >5x ARR price tag explain why buyers walked.

Headquartered in Gangnam, Seoul after starting on Reddit in 2015, Rezi has banked $10,427,713 in verified all-time Stripe revenue and maintains 10,071 active subscriptions — yet after listing for sale at $23M, cutting to $15M, and fielding 15 offers across 48,657 views, it pulled the listing off the market.

## Key Numbers (Evidence-Graded)

| Metric | Figure | Evidence Level | Source & Basis |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| All-Time Verified Revenue | $10,427,713 (Ranked #13 on TrustMRR) | Verified | TrustMRR read-only Stripe sync (Oct 27, 2026) |
| LTM / Rolling 30-Day Cash | $2,961,679 / $212,716 (-2.8% MoM) | Verified | $7,466,034 earned prior to LTM window; chart header $209,289 (-3%) |
| Verified MRR & Subscriptions | $242,747 (-3.1% MoM) across 10,071 subs ($24.10 ARPU) | Verified | Blends $29/mo Pro (/pricing) & $19/mo quarterly tier (Intercom Help Center) |
| M&A Asking-Price History | $23M (Dec 2025) -> $15M (Feb 2026) -> Withdrawn (May 2026) | Verified | Frontend askingPriceHistory: 48,657 unique views, 15 offers, 0 closed |
| Self-Reported Margin & Team | 60.0% net margin / 13 team members / Seoul HQ | Self-reported | 60% in rezi.md; 13 staff on /about; 24.9% payroll ratio in Starter Story |
| Software Gross Margin & Fair Value | 80%–91% gross margin / $7.28M–$10.20M fair value | Our estimate | FE International $1M–$3M tier: 2.5x–3.5x ARR ($5.24M–$7.87M on SDE) |
| 12-Month Modeled Valuation | $5.05M – $18.69M | Our estimate | At +3% / 0% / -3% monthly compound growth (Bull crosses $3M up to 4.5x) |

## What It Sells: Monetizing the 88% 'Hidden Workers' ATS Anxiety

Harvard Business School's September 2021 Hidden Workers study (by Joseph B. Fuller et al., p. 19) found 88% of employers admit qualified high-skill candidates get filtered out by rigid automated screens, while Jobscan's 2025 report shows 97.8% of Fortune 500 companies (489 of 500) rely on Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Rezi turns that black-box anxiety into a 23-point real-time score, keyword gap highlighter, cover letter generator, and interview practice tool.

Founder Jacob Jacquet recounts on Rezi's official blog (`/posts/1000000-users`) starting on Reddit in May 2015 and launching the SaaS in Korea in September 2019; `/ai-llm-info` lists headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea and `/about` shows 13 staff (while TrustMRR lists Country: US and early VC backing). Consumer `/pricing` shows Free ($0), Pro ($29/mo including unlimited AI plus 1 human Rezi Resume Review/mo), and a $149 Lifetime deal with a 30-day 'if you are unsatisfied' refund policy, while Rezi's Intercom help center documents a $19/mo quarterly tier ($57/quarter). Rezi Enterprise charges institutions $99/mo per 200 users, while `/legal` Clause 2 bans commercial resume writing on personal accounts.

## The Ledger & Hidden M&A Arc: A Tight 11-Month Band and a Withdrawn $15M Ask

On the October 27, 2026 read-only Stripe sync, Rezi logs $242,747 MRR (-3.1%) across 10,071 active subscriptions ($24.10 ARPU), $2,961,679 LTM cash, and $10,427,713 all-time (#13 overall). Across all 11 completed months from Nov 2025 through Sep 2026, monthly receipts stayed in a narrow band: Nov $236.3K, Dec trough $217,472, Jan $253.3K, Apr peak $275,551, Jun $250.3K, Aug $247.3K, and Sep $225,184 (-18.3% below April's peak, plus $183.2K in the first 27 days of October).

Inspecting frontend `askingPriceHistory` reveals that Rezi listed for sale on Dec 19, 2025 at $23M, slashed the ask by $8M to $15M on Feb 19, 2026, drew 48,657 unique pageviews and 15 offers, and withdrew the listing on May 8, 2026. Three mechanisms kept cash near $3M/yr despite job-seeker churn: (1) turning opaque ATS rules into a 23-point signal (Michael Spence's 1973 Job Market Signaling); (2) pricing the $149 Lifetime tier at 2.57x a typical 2-month job search ($58); and (3) paying university and career partners a 70% upgrade commission ($986,895.08 paid out) atop a Domain Rating of 72/100 seeded by 6,955 free Reddit lifetime accounts.

## Three Diligence Red Flags & The Unit-Economics Reality

Why did 15 buyers pass at $15M? First, gentle top-line erosion (-18.3% from April to September, -3% MoM) as ChatGPT, Claude, and LinkedIn bundle free resume rewrites. Second, the 30-day satisfaction refund policy plus 1 monthly human resume review on Pro squeeze margins if redemption spikes. Third, enterprise diligence red flags: Rezi's official `/ai-llm-info` page still displays unedited template brackets (`[insert AI framework / model]`, `[insert privacy compliance]`), and `/enterprise` lists 'ISO 27001 — Coming Soon' and 'GDPR — Coming Soon' right above copy claiming 'Your AI customer support platform is SOC 2 Type II certified and GDPR compliant.'

On $24.10 ARPU, Stripe fees (assuming 40%+ cross-border cards & FX plus 0.7% Billing) take $1.31–$1.67 (5.4%–6.9%), short-text LLM compute (even carrying 40 free users per paid sub) is just $0.10–$0.35/mo, human review redemption (10%–25% at $4–$8) adds $0.40–$2.00, and hosting is $0.35–$0.80 — totaling $2.16–$4.82 direct COGS (80%–91% software gross margin). Deducting 13 staff (~24.9% of expenses per Starter Story), 70% partner rev-share, and marketing aligns cleanly with the 60.0% self-reported net margin.

## What Is Rezi Actually Worth? FE International Multiples vs. Seller Expectations

Per FE International's August 2026 benchmark for $1M–$3M SaaS businesses, market multiples sit at 2.5x–3.5x ARR or 3.0x–4.5x SDE.

Applied to $2.913M annualized subscriptions, Rezi's fair market value is $7.28M–$10.20M on ARR, or $5.24M–$7.87M on SDE at 60% margin. Asking $23M (~7.9x) or $15M (5.15x) on a gently shrinking curve left a valuation gap no buyer would cross. Projecting 12 months at +3% ($4.15M, crossing into the $3M–$5M tier up to 4.5x), 0% ($2.91M), and -3% ($2.02M) yields a modeled range of $5.05M to $18.69M.

## Can You Build This? Lessons from BOSS Zhipin's 99.1% Employer Ledger

Look at Kanzhun / BOSS Zhipin's (02076.HK) March 18, 2026 HKEX annual filing: out of RMB 8.268B total 2025 revenue across 60.7M MAUs, 99.1% (RMB 8.193B) came from enterprise employers, while 'other' job-seeker revenue was just RMB 74.804M (0.9%, down 12.7% YoY) — and BOSS Zhipin gives away AI resume and interview tools for free.

Do not launch a generic $29/mo B2C resume subscription today. Instead, execute a 3-step B2B & high-ticket wedge: (1) sell $800–$2,500 Cross-Border Remote Engineer Career Positioning & Mock-Interview Packages (enforcing a strict zero-fabrication guardrail so candidates never fail HireRight/Checkr background checks); (2) license a white-label Candidate Submittal & ATS Workbench per seat to recruiting agencies, bootcamps, and university career centers; and (3) capture 12%–15% employer placement fees.

## Three questions to ask about businesses like this

1. Do users need the product for years, or cancel in 60 days once hired? — Job-hunting tools suffer structural churn, forcing Rezi to rely on a $149 Lifetime tier (2.57x a 2-month search) and 70% campus rev-share.
2. Is the seller pricing a gently declining cash cow like a hypergrowth rocket? — With September cash down 18.3% from April's peak, asking $15M–$23M against a $7.28M–$10.20M fair value band killed all 15 offers.
3. Has the dominant job board in your market already bundled this feature for free? — BOSS Zhipin earns 99.1% of its RMB 8.268B revenue from employers and bundles free AI seeker tools, proving B2B recruiter enablement is the real opportunity.

## FAQ

### Q: What is the answer to the opening quiz? What does Rezi's monthly revenue curve look like across the past 11 completed months?
A: Option B. Every single completed month from Nov 2025 through Sep 2026 stayed inside a tight $217,472 (Dec trough) to $275,551 (Apr peak) band, easing to $225,184 in September.

### Q: Why is Rezi's average revenue per active subscription $24.10 when `/pricing` lists Pro at $29/month?
A: While `/pricing` displays Free ($0), Pro ($29/mo), and Lifetime ($149 one-time, counted in monthly cash rather than MRR), Rezi's official Intercom Help Center documents a $19/month quarterly subscription ($57 billed every 3 months), pulling blended ARPU to $24.10.

### Q: How can a boutique recruiting agency or career coach launch a white-label Candidate-Packet & Mock-Interview service without coding?
A: Use our 7-column Tally + Make + Google Sheets + Claude Sonnet 5.5 workbench ($42–$70/mo Lean Validation Stack) in Section 7 of the operator report, complete with zero-fabrication STAR rewrite and background-check audit prompts.

## Sources

1. Verified Stripe revenue ($10,427,713 #13), 10,071 subs, 11 completed months & askingPriceHistory ($23M -> $15M -> Withdrawn, synced Oct 27, 2026): TrustMRR Rezi: https://trustmrr.com/startup/rezi
2. TrustMRR machine-readable data feed (MRR $242,747, 30d $212,716, LTM $2,961,679, DR 72.0, self-reported 60.0% margin, Country US, VC-backed): https://trustmrr.com/startup/rezi.md
3. Metric reconstruction up to 30% variance, one-time LTD accounting & AI enrichment notes: TrustMRR FAQ: https://trustmrr.com/faq
4. Founder Jacob Jacquet on starting on Reddit in May 2015 & launching the commercial SaaS in Korea in Sep 2019: Rezi 1M Users Blog: https://www.rezi.ai/posts/1000000-users
5. Founded 2015, SaaS launch 2019, Gangnam Seoul HQ & unedited `[insert AI framework / model]` template brackets: Rezi AI/LLM Info: https://www.rezi.ai/ai-llm-info
6. 13 named team members & sitewide footer user count (4,773,704+ job seekers): Rezi About page: https://www.rezi.ai/about
7. Consumer 3-tier pricing (Free $0 / Pro $29/mo with 1 human review & 23 metrics / Lifetime $149) & 30-day refund policy: Rezi Pricing: https://www.rezi.ai/pricing
8. Quarterly $19/month ($57 billed quarterly) subscription tier documentation: Rezi Intercom Help Center: https://intercom.help/rezi/en/
9. Rezi Enterprise pricing ($99/mo per 200 users), 70% partner commission, $986,895.08 paid out & GDPR Coming Soon copy contradiction: Rezi Enterprise: https://www.rezi.ai/enterprise
10. Clause 2 (Use License) prohibiting commercial resume writing, recruiting, or coaching on personal Pro/Lifetime accounts: Rezi Legal Terms: https://www.rezi.ai/legal
11. 4,005,400 users by year-end 2025, 3.7M resumes created, 6,955 Reddit free lifetime upgrades ($1,036,295 value by May 2025; 93,000+ total by Sep): Rezi 2025 Year in Review: https://www.rezi.ai/posts/rezi-year-in-review-2025
12. Founder Jacob Jacquet early interview disclosing employee payroll at 24.90% of total expenses: Starter Story: https://www.starterstory.com/stories/rezi
13. 88% of employers admit qualified high-skills candidates are filtered out by rigid ATS criteria (Sep 2021, p. 19): Harvard Business School Hidden Workers Report: https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/research/Pages/hidden-workers.aspx
14. 97.8% (489 of 500) of Fortune 500 companies use Applicant Tracking Systems: Jobscan 2025 ATS Report: https://www.jobscan.co/blog/fortune-500-use-applicant-tracking-systems/
15. Job market signaling under asymmetric information: A. Michael Spence, 'Job Market Signaling', Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 87, No. 3 (1973): https://doi.org/10.2307/1882010
16. Stripe official card processing (2.9% + $0.30), Billing (+0.7%), international cards (+1.5%) & currency conversion (+1%): Stripe Pricing: https://stripe.com/pricing
17. Private SaaS $1M–$3M tier (2.5x–3.5x ARR / 3.0x–4.5x SDE) & $3M–$5M tier (3.0x–4.5x ARR) valuation multiples (Aug 25, 2026): FE International: https://www.feinternational.com/blog/saas-valuation-multiples
18. Kanzhun / BOSS Zhipin (02076.HK) 2025 annual results (RMB 8.268B revenue, 60.7M MAU, free AI job seeker tools, 99.1% = RMB 8.193B from employers, RMB 74.804M = 0.9% other revenue, Mar 18, 2026): HKEX Filing: https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2026/0318/2026031801424.pdf

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*Citation note: When citing figures from this teardown, please credit "Jimmy Decodes (https://www.jimmydecodes.com/en/cases/rezi/)" and include the stated evidence label (Verified / Self-reported / Third-party / Our estimate).*