Another little concern I have, and not touched on in the essay... will M&A activity keep up with the increase in the number of startups? The trend toward acqui-

Another little concern I have, and not touched on in the essay... will M&A activity keep up with the increase in the number of startups? The trend toward acqui-hires is distressing. The practical definition is buying out a startup for their staff, not their product. IPO is not the primary outlet for software startups. Most successful exits are from acquisition by larger companies. So while pg clearly illustrates a situation in which founders are gaining power over investors, I think we're looking at another, worrisome situation where potential buyers have more power over startups. Competition will be up, and prices will be down. Worse, handing more power to the relatively slow, cautious big corporations will encourage their already bad habits of dithering.