Well... they are investing to make money, not to hold shares in a company forever. If they wanted to do the later they'd buy index funds and sit on them. Most (

Well... they are investing to make money, not to hold shares in a company forever. If they wanted to do the later they'd buy index funds and sit on them. Most (I'd bet nearly all) capital sources for VCs do both actually. Also: 1) IPO is one of those exit strategies. Tons of startups are aiming to become long lived independent companies. 2) M&A makes sense for lots of businesses, as you get to take advantage of better economies of scale as part of a larger org. Saying it's your exit plan doesn't make you a scammer.