---
title: "Under 6 months of history: too short to judge"
url: https://firstpassmemo.com/flags/under-6-months-of-history/
updated: 2026-10-07
publisher: FirstPass Memo (hello@firstpassmemo.com)
---

Red flag explained · Verification, age and operations

# Under 6 months of history: too short to judge

Short answer: With less than six months of history, there is not enough to show whether revenue lasts. Early months are often driven by a launch spike or the founder's own network. Ask for every month of revenue since launch and where the first customers came from, and price it as a young business.

Updated 7 October 2026 · Checker rule TOO_YOUNG

## When the checker raises it

Raised as high severity when the business is under 6 months old.

## Why it matters

A short history cannot show seasonality, churn over a year, or how the business does once launch attention fades.

Very young businesses are common in some categories, especially small software. That makes them easy to find, not safer to buy.

## How often we see it

In our October 2026 benchmark data (https://firstpassmemo.com/data/), 9 of the 31 listings with a stated age were under 6 months old. That data covers 36 listings priced $10k–150k from the WebsitesForSaleOnline public API, Empire Flippers excluded, using the figures each listing states.

## A worked example

Composite example, not a real listing

AI headshot SaaS for job seekers Asking price: $30,000 MRR: $1,500 Average monthly profit: $1,200 Churn: 4% monthly Revenue verified via Stripe Business age: 4 months Owner hours: 5 hours per week

Traffic or revenue sources typed in: Organic search 10%, Direct 40%, Referral 50%.

What the red-flag checker (https://firstpassmemo.com/checker/) returns: payback of 25 months on average monthly profit, and this flag:

High Only about 4 months of history

Too short to show whether revenue lasts. Early months are often driven by a launch spike or the founder's own network.

Ask: Can you show every month of revenue since launch, and where the first customers came from?

The same example also raises: Concentration not disclosed (https://firstpassmemo.com/flags/concentration-not-disclosed/).

## What to check

- Ask for every month of revenue since launch, with the source of new customers each month.

- Ask how much of the revenue came from the founder's network or launch posts.

- Pay on what the business has shown, not on a projection.

## Questions to send the seller

- Can you show every month of revenue since launch, and where the first customers came from?

- When did the business first make revenue, and can you show every month since?

- Where did the first customers or visitors come from, and does that source still work today?

- Was there a launch, a feature on a large site, or a promotion that drove the early months?

## Related flags

- Under 12 months old (https://firstpassmemo.com/flags/under-12-months-of-history/)

- Business age not stated (https://firstpassmemo.com/flags/business-age-not-stated/)

- Churn above 5% a month (https://firstpassmemo.com/flags/monthly-churn-above-5-percent/)

- All red flags explained (https://firstpassmemo.com/flags/)

## Useful next

- Buying a micro-SaaS (https://firstpassmemo.com/buy/micro-saas/)

- Listing benchmarks, October 2026 (https://firstpassmemo.com/data/)

- Free red-flag checker (https://firstpassmemo.com/checker/): paste a listing and see which flags it raises.

The checker is a set of plain rules, not an AI model, and its flags are prompts for questions, not verdicts. Composite examples are invented. Informational screening only, not investment, legal or tax advice.

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FirstPass Memo is informational screening, not investment, legal, tax, accounting or valuation advice, and not an audit. Seller figures are not independently verified. HTML version: https://firstpassmemo.com/flags/under-6-months-of-history/