Background: Bending Spoons is an Italian technology company that specialises in acquiring struggling but well-known internet platforms and turning them into profitable businesses. Its portfolio includes brands such as Vimeo, WeTransfer, Eventbrite, Evernote, and even AOL.

What happened: The company's strategy is to buy established digital platforms at attractive prices, streamline operations and improve profitability.  And it seems to be paying off. Bending Spoons reported revenue of $1.31 billion in 2025, up 95% from the previous year. It also swung from a $112 million net loss to a profit of more than $27 million in the first quarter of this year.  

What else: Collectively, Bending Spoons' portfolio serves more than 500 million monthly active users and around 9 million paying subscribers. Now, the company is preparing to list on Nasdaq, targeting a valuation of approximately US$20 billion. Its message to investors is clear: buying, rebuilding, and monetising forgotten internet brands can be a far more profitable business than many people realise.  

What's the key learning?

💡 You don't need to build the next big thing. Sometimes you just need to buy the last big thing... and restructure the business. Bending Spoons has built its entire strategy around acquiring mature digital brands with existing customer bases, rather than spending years and billions of dollars creating new platforms from scratch.

💡 The company's focus is on efficiency, not growth at all costs. Instead of aggressively chasing new users, Bending Spoons centralises technology, streamlines operations and maximises cash flow from existing customers. That discipline is reflected in its marketing spend, which sits at just 6% of revenue.

💡 The challenge now is proving this buy-and-rebuild model can continue to scale as a publicly listed company.