I paid Trend Hijacking to help me buy an e-commerce business exactly one year ago today.

Everyone said I was crazy. My dad thought I was having a midlife crisis. My wife was skeptical. My best friend literally said, “Dude, that sounds too good.”

Fair concerns, honestly. I was about to work with a company I’d found through an ad to help me buy a business for $340,000. A business that sold kitchen gadgets on the internet. Run by someone I’d never met in person.

But I did it anyway.

This is what actually happened over the next 365 days working with Trend Hijacking. What they did well. Where they fell short. The real numbers. The actual stress. And whether I’d recommend them to someone else.

No BS. No affiliate links. Just the truth.

Before We Started: The 14-Day Trial

Let me back up to how this even began.

I’d been researching e-commerce acquisitions for about five months. I’m 44, work in corporate finance, make decent money, and had about $400K in savings I wanted to deploy somewhere other than the stock market.

I found Trend Hijacking through a podcast interview with their founder, Dolapo. What caught my attention was how un-salesy it was. No income screenshots. No Lamborghinis. Just someone explaining the actual process.

I booked a call. Dolapo was straightforward. They’d help me find a business from their private network, handle due diligence, negotiate the price, close the deal, and set up operations afterward.

The fee structure was transparent, 14-day trial to see if it was legit, then a flat program fee if I moved forward. No equity stake in my business. No ongoing retainers.

“What happens in the 14-day trial?” I asked.

“We show you actual deals in our pipeline, walk you through our due diligence process, and help you figure out what type of business fits your goals,” Dolapo explained. “If it’s not a fit, no hard feelings. If it is, we move forward together.”

I started the trial mostly to prove it was BS so I could move on.

It wasn’t BS.

They showed me five actual businesses within the first week. Real financials. Real revenue. They walked me through their vetting process, showing me what they look for and what red flags to avoid.

“Okay, this is legitimate,” I remember telling my wife after day 10. “They actually have access to real deals.”

I paid the program fee and we got to work.

Day 1-30: The Acquisition Process

What Trend Hijacking Did: Found and vetted the business, negotiated price, managed closing

Over the next three weeks, Trend Hijacking presented me with seven potential acquisitions that matched my criteria.

My criteria were: $300-400K price range, proven profitability for at least 2 years, not dependent on a single product, manageable inventory, and in a stable market category.

Most didn’t make the cut. Too risky. Too niche. One had accounting irregularities that their due diligence team caught.

Then they showed me a kitchen organization products business doing $85K monthly revenue with 22% net margins. The owner had built it over four years and wanted to exit to focus on another venture.

Asking price: $385K at a 3.5x multiple.

Here’s where Trend Hijacking actually earned their fee.

Their due diligence team spent two weeks going through everything. And I mean everything. They audited three years of financials, verified supplier relationships, analyzed traffic sources, checked customer retention metrics, reviewed all contracts, and even called the top three customers to verify legitimacy.

They found issues the seller hadn’t disclosed: one supplier was flaky with shipping times, email marketing was basically non-existent (missed revenue opportunity), and ad account had one policy warning (potential future risk).

“These aren’t deal-breakers,” their analyst told me. “But they impact valuation. We can use these to negotiate.”

Trend Hijacking’s negotiation team used these findings to make a case for a lower price. They were respectful but firm with the seller.

Two weeks of back-and-forth later, we closed at $240k

They saved me $145K off asking price.

“That negotiation basically paid for your program fee,” Dolapo mentioned during the closing call.

He wasn’t wrong.

Trend Hijacking also coordinated all the closing logistics: connected me with an acquisition attorney, managed the escrow process, structured the deal terms, and handled the asset transfer.

Within 35 days from “I want this business” to “I own this business,” the deal was done.

What I wish they’d done differently: Set more realistic expectations about what happens AFTER you own it. They were great at the acquisition part. Less great at preparing me for the “oh shit, now I actually have to run this thing” part.

Day 31-60: Post-Acquisition Support (Or Lack Of)

Revenue: $82K | Profit: $14,200 | Trend Hijacking’s involvement: below Moderate

The wire cleared. I owned the business. Now what?

Trend Hijacking had set up a customer service person for me through their operations network, which was helpful. They’d also connected me with a bookkeeper and given me access to their “playbook” for running the business.

But here’s where things got fuzzy.

The previous owner was supposed to do a two-week transition. He basically disappeared after three days due to a family emergency. Trend Hijacking tried to help bridge that gap, but they weren’t experts in my specific business either.

I was kind of on my own figuring out the daily operations.

Then our main supplier missed a shipment. Just… didn’t ship it. No warning. We went out of stock on our second-best seller for eleven days.

I called Dolapo in a panic. “What do I do?”

He connected me with someone on their team who’d dealt with supplier issues before. They helped me find backup suppliers and set up better inventory monitoring.

Crisis averted, but barely.

Revenue dropped to $$57k that month. Profit took a bigger hit because I had to air freight the next shipment, which destroyed margins.

Trend Hijacking was Responsive when I had problems. Dolapo personally jumped on calls even though the deal was closed.

But there wasn’t a clear post-acquisition support structure. I was kind of figuring out who to call for what. It felt reactive rather than proactive.

“You guys should have, like, a 90-day intensive support program after closing,” I told Dolapo during one of our calls.

“Yeah, we’re working on that,” he admitted. “We’re better at acquisitions than ongoing operations support. That’s honest feedback.”

I appreciated the honesty, at least.

Day 61-120: The Growth Strategy (Where They Actually Helped)

Average monthly revenue: $94K | Average monthly profit: $22,100 | Trend Hijacking’s value: High

Months three and four were where Trend Hijacking really showed their value again.

Once I’d stabilized basic operations, they brought in their growth team to audit everything: ad campaigns, email marketing, website conversion rate, product pricing, and customer lifetime value.

They found a ton of low-hanging fruit.

The previous owner had been running Facebook ads but with terrible targeting and no testing structure. Email marketing was basically non-existent beyond order confirmations. The website checkout flow had friction points causing cart abandonment.

Trend Hijacking’s team built a growth plan: restructure Facebook campaigns with proper audience testing, implement abandoned cart email flows, set up Google Shopping ads (we weren’t even on Google), and optimize the checkout process.

“We’re not going to do this for you,” their growth specialist explained. “But we’ll tell you exactly what to do and introduce you to people who can execute it.”

They connected me with a media buyer from their network who specialized in e-commerce brands. They introduced me to an email marketing specialist. They gave me specific recommendations on what to test.

Over the next two months, we implemented most of their suggestions.

Results were mixed, honestly. Some stuff worked great. Facebook campaigns improved and CPA dropped by 20%. Email flows added about $3K monthly in recovered revenue. Google Shopping took a while to dial in but eventually became our second-best traffic source.

Some stuff flopped. We tried TikTok ads based on their recommendation. Total waste of $1,800. Tried influencer marketing. Another waste of $2,500.

“Not everything works,” Dolapo said when I complained about the failed tests. “That’s why you test small. The wins need to outweigh the losses.”

Fair point.

By month four, revenue had climbed to $96K monthly. Margins improved to 24%. I was making about $23K profit per month.

Their growth strategy was solid and based on actual data. They had good specialists in their network. They recommended some tactics that felt trendy rather than proven for my specific business. Would’ve appreciated more customization.

Day 121-210: The Algorithm Change (When Support Really Mattered)

Average monthly revenue: $76K | Average monthly profit: $15,200 | Trend Hijacking’s response: Actually good

Months five through seven were rough.

Facebook changed something with their algorithm or ad platform. Nobody really knows what happened, but suddenly all our campaigns that had been working just stopped working.

Cost per acquisition doubled almost overnight. We went from paying $18 to acquire a customer to paying $37. The math didn’t work anymore.

Revenue dropped hard. From $96K down to $81K in month five. Then $74K in month six. Then $73K in month seven.

I was freaking out. Constantly checking metrics. Barely sleeping. My wife asked if we should just sell the business and cut our losses.

I called Dolapo. “Is this normal? What the hell is happening?”

“Unfortunately, yeah, it’s normal,” he said. “Platform dependency is the biggest risk in e-commerce. Facebook changes the rules and you’re screwed unless you’ve diversified.”

He connected me with their team immediately. They did an emergency audit of everything.

Their diagnosis: we were way too dependent on Facebook. We needed to diversify traffic sources fast and double down on retention marketing to existing customers instead of just acquisition.

Over the next six weeks, Trend Hijacking’s team helped me: shift budget heavily to Google Shopping, launch Pinterest ads (surprisingly effective for kitchen products), build out email nurture sequences for existing customers, and test some direct mail campaigns to our best customers.

It was intense. I was working 35-40 hours a week on the business trying to fix this.

But it worked. Slowly. By month seven we’d stabilized around $76K monthly and found our footing with the new traffic mix.

They jumped in immediately when shit hit the fan. Didn’t charge extra for the emergency support. Actually helped solve the problem.

This frustrated me, it should’ve been built into the strategy from day one. We shouldn’t have been that dependent on one platform. That’s on them for not being more cautious early.

I told Dolapo this directly.

“You’re right,” he admitted. “We should’ve pushed harder on diversification from the start. Lesson learned on our end too.”

Again, I appreciated the honesty.

Day 211-365: The Current Reality

Current monthly revenue: $89K | Current monthly profit: $21,300 | Overall working relationship: Stable

It’s been exactly one year now. Here’s where I actually am.

The business currently does around $89K monthly in revenue. Profit margins are about 24%, so I’m making roughly $21K per month.

Over the full twelve months, I’ve made approximately $227,000 in total profit from the business.

My initial investment was $240K. If I sold today at a conservative 3x multiple of annual profit, the business would be worth around $765K based on current performance.

On paper, I’ve built about $525K in equity, plus taken out $227K in cash profit.

That’s a 313.33% return on investment in one year.

Not bad, right?

What Trend Hijacking Actually Did (The Full Breakdown)

Let me be specific about what I paid for and what I got.

What they did extremely well:

9679. Deal sourcing: Access to private deals I would never have found on my own
9680. Due diligence: Caught issues that would’ve cost me way more than their fee
9681. Negotiation: Saved me $145K off asking price
9682. Closing logistics: Made the acquisition process smooth and professional
9683. Crisis response: When I had problems, they actually helped

What they did okay:

9679. Post-acquisition operations setup: Helpful but not comprehensive
9680. Growth strategy: Good overall direction, but some recommendations were misses
9681. Network connections: Some specialists they introduced were great, others were just okay

What they could improve:

9679. Setting realistic expectations upfront about how hard this actually is
9680. Post-acquisition support structure (it exists but feels ad-hoc)
9681. Being more conservative with growth recommendations (not everything needs to be tested)
9682. More customization for specific business types rather than generic playbooks

What they didn’t do (and were honest about):

9679. They don’t guarantee results
9680. They can’t protect you from market forces or platform changes

The Honest ROI Analysis

I paid them a flat fee for the Smart Acquisition Program (they asked me not to disclose the exact amount publicly, but it’s significant).

Value delivered:

9679. Saved $145K in negotiation
9680. Probably avoided $50-100K in mistakes I would’ve made buying the wrong business
9681. Connected me with specialists who improved the business performance
9682. Provided support during critical moments that prevented bigger losses

Did they “pay for themselves”? Yeah, probably.

Would I have been better off doing this alone? Absolutely not. I would’ve either never found a deal, bought the wrong business, or overpaid significantly.

Are they worth it for everyone? No. If you have deep e-commerce experience and industry connections, you might not need them. But if you’re coming in cold like I was, the education and infrastructure alone are valuable.

What I Wish Someone Had Told Me

About Trend Hijacking specifically:

They’re legitimate. They do what they say. But they’re better at acquisitions than ongoing operations. If you work with them, understand you’re buying expertise in finding and closing deals, but i’d say they could do better running the business afterward. This could also be because of the program i signed up for, I understand they have one where they could manage it all end-to-end.

They’re responsive when you need help, but it’s on you to ask. They won’t proactively check in every week to see how you’re doing.

The 14-day trial is legit. Use it to actually evaluate if this is right for you. Don’t rush in.

About e-commerce acquisitions in general:

This is not passive income. Anyone who tells you it is either lying or got extremely lucky.

You need more capital than the acquisition price if your goal is to grow and scale. You need reserves for inventory, ad testing, unexpected problems, and life.

Platform dependency is real and scary. Don’t put all your eggs in the Facebook/Google basket.

Growth is not guaranteed. My business has grown maybe 5% over the year. That’s fine, but it’s not the explosive growth story you see everywhere.

Would I Do It Again?

Yes, but with adjusted expectations.

I went in thinking this would be semi-passive income that would replace my day job salary within a year. That was naive.

What I actually got was a wealth-building asset that generates solid cash flow and equity growth, but requires real work and carries real risk.

I’m making about $21K monthly profit right now. That’s $252K annually if it holds. Combined with my day job, my household income basically doubled.

The business is worth roughly $765K versus the $240K I paid. That’s real wealth creation in twelve months.

But I’m working 25-30 hours per week on it, dealing with constant problems, and taking real risk.

Is that worth it? For me, yes. For everyone? Definitely not.

The Bottom Line on Trend Hijacking

They’re a legitimate consultancy that helps people buy e-commerce businesses. They’re good at what they do, within the scope of what they actually do.

You should work with them if:

9679. You have capital ($150K+) and want to deploy it into a real business
9680. You’re willing to work hard and learn a complex industry
9681. You want expert help navigating the acquisition process
9682. You understand this is not easy money

You should NOT work with them if:

9679. You can’t handle risk and volatility
9680. You don’t have time to actually operate a business(well they have the acquisition program, where they run everything for you but i choose the smart acquisition)

My rating: 7/10

They helped me acquire a profitable business, negotiate a good price, avoid major mistakes, and provided support when I needed it. That’s exactly what they promised.

They could be better at setting expectations, post-acquisition support, and customization. But they were honest when they fell short, which I respect.

Would I recommend them to a friend? Yes, with caveats. If my friend was realistic about the work involved and had the capital and time to commit, absolutely.

If my friend was looking for easy money or passive income, hell no.

That’s the most honest review I can give you.

About Trend Hijacking

Trend Hijacking is an e-commerce acquisition consultancy that helps investors and professionals buy and scale online businesses through their Smart Acquisition Program.

They handle deal sourcing, forensic due diligence, price negotiation, closing logistics, and post-acquisition support.

14-day trial available to evaluate fit before making any financial commitment.

Media Contact:
 Trend Hijacking
 [email protected]
 +1 213 632 3209 (US)
 +44 20 3287 7320 (UK)