I don't think that IPO exits are necessarily harder because barriers of entry are coming down. I think two things: 1. It's a hard economy in general, which is

I don't think that IPO exits are necessarily harder because barriers of entry are coming down. I think two things: 1. It's a hard economy in general, which is suppressing IPOs overall. 2. The IPOs that the tech community are "used" to were during artificially high periods, setting the watermark at levels that realistically, not many companies can touch. Addressing your point about copycatting, I think that there will always be competition abroad and it will be successful, but not nearly as successful as the original idea. There are countless Groupon clones out there, but only 1 has earned a $1.2b valuation. Further, I think that an integral part of the nebulous equation that makes a successful startup is the founder/team. Getting the right people behind the right idea is absolutely crucial, and if you don't have the right people, it will almost always fail. I think that Super Angels are offering startups a metaphorical stepping stone where previously, financing was tough. As the niche grows, however, I think that the stepping stone will start looking more like its own plateau.