3 ms·

The Startup Choice: Get Big or Get Bought

29 points by olivercameron 15y ago

ori_b 15y ago
Where did being sustainable go?
- dkasper 15y ago
  Definite false dichotomy. Get Big, Get Bought, or Get Profitable.
  - BerislavLopac 15y ago
    Or, ideally, all of the above. :)
- finnw 15y ago
  I guess the assumption (not actually stated in the article) is that if your company does not get big or get bought, it will have its market share stolen by one that does. (Also mentioned in one of PG's essays but I can't remember which one.)
- apike 15y ago
  Small but sustainable startups are not on the media's radar. Simply put, we're boring.
  - kylebragger 15y ago
    The good thing is, I don't wake up in a cold sweat not knowing if I'll get Techcrunch coverage today. I wake up knowing I've built a profitable business that can be big (probably not enormous) and more than provide for myself, my team, and our investors. The "lifestyle" business has somehow gotten a bad rap, but there's honestly nothing wrong with creating a sustainable company that makes everyone involved (users included) very happy.
    - brandnewlow 15y ago
      Kyle, honest question, and feel free to ping me off HN with thoughts, but you raised some money from a few investors if I recall. How do you square knowing your business will "probably not be enormous" with expectations from your investors? I wondered at this when I heard Forrst took investment. I'm a huge fan of niche online communities, but don't see how they could be deserving of investment due to growth limitations.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- AznHisoka 15y ago
  Most startups are funded by VC or angels. They gotta see their return somehow.. you can't just be sustainable for 100+ years (or however long you plan to live)... I mean, how else the investors gonna get their money back? Go big (IPO) or get acquired.
endeavor 15y ago
Interesting that they mention Gowalla pivoting and looking for a buyer. Then I see this a couple items down in my reader: Facebook buys Gowalla [http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/02/technology/gowalla_facebook/?source=cnn_bin http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/02/technology/gowalla_facebook/...]
fleitz 15y ago
Or find this strange and mysterious thing that even coffee shops have figured out called a "business model". Amazingly if you charge just a little bit more than what it costs to provide the service you can keep on going like this indefinitely. Apparently, there are businesses that have used this thing called profit to stay in business for hundreds of years. It sounds pretty mysterious to me, I better bet on the tried and true thing getting big or getting bought.

29 points by olivercameron 15y ago

ori_b 15y ago

Where did being sustainable go?

dkasper 15y ago
Definite false dichotomy. Get Big, Get Bought, or Get Profitable.
- BerislavLopac 15y ago
  Or, ideally, all of the above. :)
finnw 15y ago
I guess the assumption (not actually stated in the article) is that if your company does not get big or get bought, it will have its market share stolen by one that does. (Also mentioned in one of PG's essays but I can't remember which one.)
apike 15y ago
Small but sustainable startups are not on the media's radar. Simply put, we're boring.
- kylebragger 15y ago
  The good thing is, I don't wake up in a cold sweat not knowing if I'll get Techcrunch coverage today. I wake up knowing I've built a profitable business that can be big (probably not enormous) and more than provide for myself, my team, and our investors. The "lifestyle" business has somehow gotten a bad rap, but there's honestly nothing wrong with creating a sustainable company that makes everyone involved (users included) very happy.
  - brandnewlow 15y ago
    Kyle, honest question, and feel free to ping me off HN with thoughts, but you raised some money from a few investors if I recall. How do you square knowing your business will "probably not be enormous" with expectations from your investors? I wondered at this when I heard Forrst took investment. I'm a huge fan of niche online communities, but don't see how they could be deserving of investment due to growth limitations.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
AznHisoka 15y ago
Most startups are funded by VC or angels. They gotta see their return somehow.. you can't just be sustainable for 100+ years (or however long you plan to live)... I mean, how else the investors gonna get their money back? Go big (IPO) or get acquired.

endeavor 15y ago

Interesting that they mention Gowalla pivoting and looking for a buyer. Then I see this a couple items down in my reader: Facebook buys Gowalla [http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/02/technology/gowalla_facebook/?source=cnn_bin http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/02/technology/gowalla_facebook/...]

fleitz 15y ago

Or find this strange and mysterious thing that even coffee shops have figured out called a "business model". Amazingly if you charge just a little bit more than what it costs to provide the service you can keep on going like this indefinitely. Apparently, there are businesses that have used this thing called profit to stay in business for hundreds of years. It sounds pretty mysterious to me, I better bet on the tried and true thing getting big or getting bought.