2 ms·

It's the VC that pushes to go public. And if going public is your goal then it's logical to get into bed with VC's because they have the institutional connectio

It's the VC that pushes to go public. And if going public is your goal then it's logical to get into bed with VC's because they have the institutional connections. When chatting about liquidity events, most founders I know talk about getting bought these days before IPO. I've sold a company myself and it's incredibly easy. No roadshow, no creating investor hype, no complex SEC filings. Having said all that, I think it's bad karma and bad strategy to start a company with the goal of selling out. I should also mention that doing neither (ipo or buyout) is also an option - simply build a very profitable business.

cperciva 19y ago
"I think it's bad karma and bad strategy to start a company with the goal of selling out." Why? The set of people who are good at building a business is almost disjoint from the set of people who are good at running an established business. Techs vs. Suits, so to speak. I don't think there's anything wrong with starting a business saying "I'm going to sell this at the inevitable point where someone else can run it better than I can."
- mmaunder 19y ago
  I think it's a bad idea because your target market becomes your acquirer instead of your customer. Your business starts morphing into whatever the hot-new-thing is of the day rather than trying to solve a problem for your customer. If your business is successful, the opportunities will come - opportunities to get funded, get bought, IPO, etc. So your only focus should be to build a successful business and keep your customer happy. Hey, I'm not saying that late at night sitting around a fire you shouldn't dream of riches. Just don't build it into your strategy because you'll end up being a me-too business.
  - cperciva 19y ago
    Fair enough -- I think we agree here, we're just stating things slightly differently. The goal should not be to sell out, but there's nothing wrong with aiming to build a successful business and knowing that being bought is likely to end up happening in the end.
- mmaunder 19y ago
  btw, who runs your company and whether or not to sell your company are mutually exclusive issues. There are many examples of founders who have employed professional CEO's and taken a seat on the board as chairman. Pierre Omidyar is one of them. There are also examples of companies that were sold and kept the same management team.
pg 19y ago
The biggest technology startups inevitably go public, if only because they've given stock to so many people that they have to. So what I'm saying is: no startups seem to get really big without taking VC money.

cperciva 19y ago

"I think it's bad karma and bad strategy to start a company with the goal of selling out." Why? The set of people who are good at building a business is almost disjoint from the set of people who are good at running an established business. Techs vs. Suits, so to speak. I don't think there's anything wrong with starting a business saying "I'm going to sell this at the inevitable point where someone else can run it better than I can."

mmaunder 19y ago
I think it's a bad idea because your target market becomes your acquirer instead of your customer. Your business starts morphing into whatever the hot-new-thing is of the day rather than trying to solve a problem for your customer. If your business is successful, the opportunities will come - opportunities to get funded, get bought, IPO, etc. So your only focus should be to build a successful business and keep your customer happy. Hey, I'm not saying that late at night sitting around a fire you shouldn't dream of riches. Just don't build it into your strategy because you'll end up being a me-too business.
- cperciva 19y ago
  Fair enough -- I think we agree here, we're just stating things slightly differently. The goal should not be to sell out, but there's nothing wrong with aiming to build a successful business and knowing that being bought is likely to end up happening in the end.
mmaunder 19y ago
btw, who runs your company and whether or not to sell your company are mutually exclusive issues. There are many examples of founders who have employed professional CEO's and taken a seat on the board as chairman. Pierre Omidyar is one of them. There are also examples of companies that were sold and kept the same management team.

pg 19y ago

The biggest technology startups inevitably go public, if only because they've given stock to so many people that they have to. So what I'm saying is: no startups seem to get really big without taking VC money.