3 ms·

This is not what "almost getting acquired" looks like. At a stretch it might be what almost getting hired looks like, but even that would be pushing it I think

This is not what "almost getting acquired" looks like. At a stretch it might be what almost getting hired looks like, but even that would be pushing it I think. Of course it would be nice if people would just tell you when they're not interested, but generally nobody does that. Adjust your filters accordingly - if someone doesn't seem excited, they're probably not interested at all.

Alex3917 16y ago
Exactly. Startups get acquired because the executives at the big company like the founders and have been friends with them for a long time, not because they've solved some semantic problem. The poster doesn't really seem to understand how these things work.
- zackattack 16y ago
  Um, please elaborate on this
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
- abstractbill 16y ago
  Startups get acquired because the executives at the big company like the founders and have been friends with them for a long time... Maybe it happens, but this has not been my experience, or the experience of several of my friends who have had their startups acquired.
  - Alex3917 16y ago
    If you have enough power to purchase another company, you're probably making at least 500k year. If the company you acquire does great, then you'll probably get a small bonus. And if they tank, you'll get fired. Thus the individuals within the company doing the acquiring have a strong incentive to be extremely conservative. (Unless there are unusual circumstances, like a stock market bubble, some new technology, or a competitor buying a rival startup.) So basically to get acquired, you need to look like you're not going to embarrass the person doing the acquiring. The best way to do this is to have a longterm relationship with that person and their colleagues. This makes you feel like much more of a known entity in the eyes of the acquirer. Because at the end of the day, regardless of what the book say you never really know what you're getting when you buy a company. Everything piece of the company could be independently audited, but that's not going to stop a critical 5M dollar machine from breaking in half the day after you buy the business. Anyway I'm not an expert, this is just what I've heard from other people who have been acquired.
    - alain94040 16y ago
      If you have enough power to purchase another company, you're probably making at least 500k year. If the company you acquire does great, then you'll probably get a small bonus. And if they tank, you'll get fired I wish (speaking from my own experience). It may be true for very large companies acquiring really small ones, but there is an entire world out there of acquisitions of small players by slightly larger companies. Neither the 500K salary nor the small bonus apply. Such acquisitions almost look like mergers: they can make or kill the entire company. We are not talking about a small bonus here, it's the livehood of the entire startup. It matters a lot.

Alex3917 16y ago

Exactly. Startups get acquired because the executives at the big company like the founders and have been friends with them for a long time, not because they've solved some semantic problem. The poster doesn't really seem to understand how these things work.

zackattack 16y ago
Um, please elaborate on this
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
abstractbill 16y ago
Startups get acquired because the executives at the big company like the founders and have been friends with them for a long time... Maybe it happens, but this has not been my experience, or the experience of several of my friends who have had their startups acquired.
- Alex3917 16y ago
  If you have enough power to purchase another company, you're probably making at least 500k year. If the company you acquire does great, then you'll probably get a small bonus. And if they tank, you'll get fired. Thus the individuals within the company doing the acquiring have a strong incentive to be extremely conservative. (Unless there are unusual circumstances, like a stock market bubble, some new technology, or a competitor buying a rival startup.) So basically to get acquired, you need to look like you're not going to embarrass the person doing the acquiring. The best way to do this is to have a longterm relationship with that person and their colleagues. This makes you feel like much more of a known entity in the eyes of the acquirer. Because at the end of the day, regardless of what the book say you never really know what you're getting when you buy a company. Everything piece of the company could be independently audited, but that's not going to stop a critical 5M dollar machine from breaking in half the day after you buy the business. Anyway I'm not an expert, this is just what I've heard from other people who have been acquired.
  - alain94040 16y ago
    If you have enough power to purchase another company, you're probably making at least 500k year. If the company you acquire does great, then you'll probably get a small bonus. And if they tank, you'll get fired I wish (speaking from my own experience). It may be true for very large companies acquiring really small ones, but there is an entire world out there of acquisitions of small players by slightly larger companies. Neither the 500K salary nor the small bonus apply. Such acquisitions almost look like mergers: they can make or kill the entire company. We are not talking about a small bonus here, it's the livehood of the entire startup. It matters a lot.