

Ask HN: Isn't planning exit b4 starting, ~ framing prenuptial divorce agreement? - gamebit07

I have a minimal upstart. I have approached to couple of angels, few have been kind. No matter whom I talk to, the question is inevitable - &quot;What is your exit strategy?&quot;<p>Isn&#x27;t this akin to framing a prenuptial divorce agreement, before getting married??
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tptacek
That's a question I thought a lot about when I was 22 and getting my first
round of funding, but today, at 36, I would just dodge. "I'm sorry, I'm really
not thinking about that. I'm just concentrating on how to make my business as
successful as possible. The bigger we get, the more options we'll have."

Maybe things have changed in the last 8 years, but I imagine that anyone you'd
want to take money from knows exactly what the exit strategy of a tech startup
is. Investors probably aren't screening you with the actual answer to the
question.

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incision
Do you think they strictly mean it that way? Sure, they ould literally mean
"How and when do you intend to flip this thing and pay me off?", but you don't
necessarily have to answer in those terms.

Personally, I'd take it as a general question about planning, expectations and
commitment. Is there are a point where you certainly want to cash-out? Do you
intend to make this your life's work? Have you thought about how this business
would function at double, 10x or 100x the current size?

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caw
The other "exit strategy" is when to cut your losses and quit. At that point,
what do you do? What criteria would you use to figure that out?

