We should understand that this is really what companies are buying when they buy a product. There seems to be an impression that companies buy technology becaus

We should understand that this is really what companies are buying when they buy a product. There seems to be an impression that companies buy technology because it's cool. That's almost never true, because they could hire similar engineers and build it out themselves for much cheaper than they could buy a company. They buy the company because they want something that they can't easily replicate (which, again, is NOT the technology, because they can hire engineers and replicate your work product). Typically it's one of these things: a. they want your installed userbase. It's really hard to get people to use something new. If you have a lot of users, they will buy you even if your stuff is total crap so that they can get access to your users. b. they want your intellectual property, like a patent and/or trademark portfolio. Patents are a great way to make companies think about buying your company instead of just ripping it off and copying it internally. c. they want to retain the personal goodwill of someone they care about. For example, investors will often buy each others' portfolio companies, even when they're worthless, as a way to save face and ingratiate themselves one to another. It's important, as entrepreneurs, that we understand what really goes into a big exit, and how it's not tech (unless you have patents, in which case they're buying the patents), but installed base.