It’s true…
And Sam Altman even predicted it would generate trillions of dollars in value for investors.
Yes, AI is the talk of the town in every boardroom meeting…
With big names like Altman mentioning outright that it is paving a path for trillions of dollars in investor returns…
He only failed to mention that the majority of that value would come from applying AI to already-existing businesses rather than just from creating AI companies.
The numbers tell a sobering story: AI startup valuations have surged 40-70% since 2023, while profit margins have moved in the opposite direction.
Founders are raising capital, hiring teams, and burning through runway at unprecedented rates… chasing growth without clear paths to profitability.
It’s a familiar pattern.
The dot-com bubble.
The crypto boom.
The NFT craze.
Every time capital floods into a new technology, most participants end up buying the proverbial shovels while a small minority strikes actual gold.
A third group, however, is rarely discussed: investors who are purchasing profitable e-commerce businesses at fair multiples and using artificial intelligence (AI) to automate, streamline, and scale them to seven figures without writing a single line of code or raising a single dollar of venture capital.
This approach—call it AI-powered business acquisition—is the quiet counterplay to the AI gold rush.
You’re buying a business that already generates consistent cashflow
Purchasing an established e-commerce business has the simple advantage of generating income right away.
Just 47% of conventional startups that were registered in 2020 lasted longer than three years, according to the Enterprise Research Centre.
Building a business from scratch—especially in AI—means months or years of customer acquisition costs, product development expenses, and market validation before you see a penny of profit.
“The failure rate for acquired businesses is dramatically lower,” notes Dolapo Adedayo, founder of Trend Hijacking, an e-commerce investment consultancy, specializing in business acquisition and post-acquisition optimization.
They help investors identify, acquire, and scale existing e-commerce businesses using AI-powered systems, automated processes, and optimized infrastructure.
“When you acquire an established business, you’re buying immediate cash flow, proven market demand, and historical data… which is exactly what modern AI systems need to automate operations, streamline workflows, and scale profitably.”
The strategy is similar to that of the franchise model, which, according to the British Franchise Association, has kept its failure rate below 5% for more than 20 years.
You’re buying a proven system rather than testing an unproven hypothesis.
But unlike franchises, this approach gives you full ownership and control.
No royalty fees.
No brand restrictions.
Simply an e-commerce business that you own entirely, with the added benefit of AI-powered automation and optimization tools that the majority of present owners haven’t yet implemented.
The numbers that make investors pay attention
One investor working with Trend Hijacking acquired a fashion e-commerce business.
The previous owner had been running Google Shopping ads manually, achieving roughly 2.5x return on ad spend.
Decent, but not exceptional.
The new owner’s team implemented AI-driven campaign optimization within weeks of closing.
The results were striking:
- Total ad spend: $80,000
- Total revenue generated: $400,000
- Overall ROAS: 5.0x (double the previous owner’s performance)
- Recent monthly performance: $4,800 spend generating $24,000 revenue
“When acquiring this business, my biggest concern was whether post-acquisition growth was realistic or just projections,” the investor says. “Having advisors who could both identify the opportunity and then execute the growth strategy using AI automation transformed what would have been a risky acquisition into one of my portfolio’s strongest performers.”
Another Trend Hijacking partner acquired an e-commerce brand doing $300,000 monthly and scaled it to over $2 million monthly within six months.
The business maintained 20% net profit margins throughout, generating over $700,000 in profit while scaling revenue nearly sevenfold.
These aren’t isolated success stories.
According to data from Trend Hijacking’s partner portfolio, e-commerce businesses that implement AI-powered systems and automation post-acquisition typically see:
- 25-40% improvement in advertising ROAS
- $100,000+ annual savings from AI-automated customer support systems
- 15% improvement in customer lifetime value through predictive analytics
The UK market has been particularly active.
In just 120 days, one partner increased ROAS from 1.6x to 3.1x by acquiring an underperforming e-commerce brand in a crowded market and establishing an AI-optimized email marketing revenue stream with little further investment.
What the acquisition process actually looks like
For investors unfamiliar with mergers and acquisitions, the process can seem daunting.
How do you find businesses for sale?
How do you know you’re not overpaying?
What happens after you acquire it?
Trend Hijacking has systematized business acquisition into a four-phase framework called the Smart Acquisition Program.
Phase one focuses on clarity: understanding your budget, goals, risk tolerance, and desired level of involvement.
Are you looking for an e-commerce business you can run part-time?
Do you want to break into the health, sports, or beauty niche?
What’s your acquisition budget?
This planning prevents expensive mistakes.
“Most failed acquisitions fail in the planning stage,” says Adedayo. “Investors buy businesses that don’t match their capabilities or goals.”
Phase two is deal discovery and vetting… arguably the most valuable part of the process.
The team at Trend Hijacking connects with over 54 brokers and looks through over 2,000 private seller businesses to find opportunities.
But access is only half the equation.
Forensic due diligence, which includes thorough financial statement audits, operations evaluations, trend verification, and seller motivation research, is what really adds value.
From hundreds of potential deals, they typically shortlist 20-30, then filter down to just 3-7 acquisition-ready opportunities.
“Due diligence is everything,” emphasizes Clare Marsh, director of accounting firm Her Business Counts, who works with business acquirers. “You need to understand what you’re actually buying—not just what the seller is telling you.”
Phase three involves negotiation and closing.
This is where experienced M&A advisors add significant value: Trend Hijacking’s team has negotiated deals 15-50% below listed prices for their clients.
“That negotiation margin alone often covers the entire advisory fee,” notes one investor who acquired through the program. “You’re essentially getting the expertise for free while capturing immediate equity value.”
Phase four focuses on post-acquisition integration: building lean operations teams, implementing AI-powered automation systems, and executing the growth roadmap. This is where the real wealth creation happens.
One client implemented AI-driven TikTok advertising systems post-acquisition, achieving $0.50 CAD cost-per-click versus the industry average of $1.20+ while scaling ad spend to $240,000 CAD with consistent returns.
“Their AI optimization program transformed TikTok from an experimental channel into our primary acquisition source,” the investor noted. “The automated systems made scaling predictable on a notoriously unpredictable platform.”
The costs you need to know about
AI-powered business acquisition isn’t cheap… though it’s typically less expensive than building from scratch.
Acquisition prices vary wildly based on business size, industry, and profitability. Smaller e-commerce businesses might sell for $100,000-$300,000, while more established ones can command several million.
Most follow a multiple of annual profit (typically 2-4x for e-commerce businesses, higher for SaaS).
Also, the firm offers a 14-day trial period with no financial obligation, allowing investors to evaluate deal quality and advisory expertise before committing.
After the trial period, the program operates on a flat fee structure with no equity stakes or retainers.
Investors retain 100% ownership of acquired businesses.
There are ongoing operational costs too.
Some investors pay monthly management fees for continued advisory support.
You’ll also need to budget for team salaries (though remote teams can keep monthly payroll surprisingly low).
Integration specialists and system implementation can add to initial costs, though these investments typically pay for themselves quickly through improved efficiency and automation.
The total outlay to acquire and optimize an e-commerce business might range from $150,000 to $500,000+ depending on the opportunity, but you’re buying revenue-generating assets, not funding speculative development.
When business acquisitions don’t work out
To imply that every acquisition is successful would be deceptive.
The most common failure points are overpaying for businesses, hidden operational issues, and seller misrepresentation.
After working with a different advisory firm, one investor found out that the seller had included returns that were later reversed in order to inflate revenue figures.
“Due diligence caught it before closing, but barely,” the investor says. “If we’d rushed the process, we’d have overpaid by six figures.”
Poor execution after acquisition is another risk.
Implementing AI systems without strategy can quickly drain your capital.
One e-commerce acquirer had burnt through $30,000 in automated ad spend in two weeks with minimal returns.
AI-powered systems aren’t magic…
If you don’t understand the fundamentals of the e-commerce business you’re buying, no amount of automation can save you.
There are also market risks.
One investor acquired an e-commerce business in a declining niche, assuming AI optimization could compensate for weak demand.
It couldn’t.
The business was sold at a loss 18 months later.
“No amount of AI-powered optimization can fix a fundamentally broken business model,” Adedayo says. “The tools are a multiplier—if you’re multiplying something that’s already struggling, you’re just accelerating the decline.”
Clare Marsh sees similar challenges with her clients. “Success is very tied to the quality of the acquisition,” she says.
“Sometimes the constraints and challenges aren’t properly understood in the excitement of securing the deal. You need to go in with eyes wide open.”
This is why experienced advisors emphasize thorough vetting.
Trend Hijacking’s approach filters out over 90% of potential deals before presenting opportunities to investors.
“We’d rather show you three great businesses than thirty mediocre ones,” Adedayo explains. “Our reputation depends on your success.”
The edge that’s hiding in plain sight
While news reports highlight AI startups that are raising millions at stratospheric valuations,
Another group of investors is accumulating wealth by purchasing profitable e-commerce businesses at fair multiples and leveraging AI to automate operations, streamline processes, and scale what is already working.
The method calls for a different way of thinking. You’re not swinging for unicorn exits or viral growth. You’re using leverage, compounding returns, and purchasing vetted assets.
“At the moment, everyone is investing in AI. Raising. Hiring. Burning cash,” Adedayo notes. “Valuations are up 40-70%. Margins? Going the other way. We’ve seen this movie before—during the dot-com era, crypto, the NFT craze. Every time capital chases the next big thing.”
His contrarian thesis is simple: you don’t need to build AI companies to profit from the AI boom.
You can buy already-profitable e-commerce businesses and integrate AI-powered systems to automate customer service, optimize advertising, streamline fulfillment, and accelerate growth.
The practical applications are straightforward:
- Automate customer support → save $100,000 annually
- Implement AI-driven ad optimization → increase ROAS 25-40%
- Use predictive analytics → improve lifetime value by 15%
- Streamline inventory management → reduce carrying costs and stockouts
- Optimize email marketing → increase conversion rates automatically
“That’s not ‘AI hype,'” he notes. “That’s applied leverage. Real automation. Real cash flow. Real compounding. Real wealth.”
For one investor who acquired an e-commerce business through the program, the approach has delivered exactly what he hoped for: financial returns without the startup grind.
“My business is running. Revenue is growing. I check in a few times a week,” he says. “This is what I actually wanted when I got into investing—freedom and cash flow, not another 80-hour work week building something from scratch.”
He pauses, then adds: “Everyone’s chasing the AI gold rush. I just bought the profitable e-commerce brand that was already there and upgraded it with AI automation. Turns out that works pretty well too.”
About Trend Hijacking
Trend Hijacking is an e-commerce investment consultancy that specializes in helping busy investors acquire and scale profitable businesses.
Founded by Dolapo Adedayo, the firm has developed a systematic approach to business acquisition that removes the guesswork and heavy lifting traditionally associated with M&A deals.
The company’s Smart Acquisition Program guides investors through the entire acquisition journey, from initial deal discovery and forensic due diligence to negotiation, closing, and post-acquisition scaling.
By searching through over 2,000 private seller businesses and connecting with 54+ brokers, Trend Hijacking provides clients access to acquisition opportunities they wouldn’t find on their own.
What sets Trend Hijacking apart is its focus on post-acquisition success. The firm doesn’t just help clients buy businesses… they help them scale those businesses through lean team building, systematic optimization, and ongoing strategic advisory.
Their clients have scaled acquired businesses from $300,000 to over $2 million in monthly revenue while maintaining healthy profit margins.
The firm operates on a flat-fee structure with no equity stakes, allowing investors to retain 100% ownership of their acquired businesses. A 14-day free trial allows potential clients to experience the full acquisition process, preview current deal opportunities, and develop a strategic plan before making any financial commitment.
For investors looking to build wealth through business ownership rather than startup risk, Trend Hijacking offers a proven pathway from acquisition to seven-figure scale.
Trend Hijacking’s Smart Acquisition Program offers a 14-day free trial for investors interested in exploring business acquisition. The trial includes full process walkthrough, current deal previews, and strategic planning with no financial obligation.
