
Ask HN: How do you go about building a company to be acquired? - tobeaqc
Long time reader, using a throwaway for anonymity.<p>I am software engineer who has worked successfully for some of the biggest software companies for a few years and went through a lot of the popular hyped wantapreneur literature (lean startup. zero to one, etc).<p>I have decided that next year I will quit my job and pursue my dream of building a company with the goal of being acquired. I understand that this is a very unpopular approach and that “this is what’s wrong about everything”. My question is, for those who have been in my position, or similar, what’s the best strategy to succeed in this. What’s a good way to go about studying and choosing a market, building a team, picking technologies, choosing buzzwords, assessing ideas and raising funds in order to maximise my chances of being acquired but not necessarily building a big sustainable business? Feel free to point me to material by people who have followed a similar approach.
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mindcrime
_lot of the popular hyped wantapreneur literature (lean startup. zero to one,
etc)._

Not that it's really related to your question, but why do you classify either
of those as "wantapreneur" literature? I'd say both books are full of useful
advice to serious entrepreneurs.

As to the rest... think about it from the perspective of the would-be
acquirer. What would they be looking for in an acquisition? Could be several
different things: they could be looking to acquire people/talent (eg, an
acquihire), or technology, or customers, or just brand goodwill.

