
"Come back with an idea that you can do quickly and that you can take public or get acquired within 12 to 18 months." - pashle
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/32/builttoflip.html
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pg
This is from 2000, Feb 2000 no less. I don't know of anyone saying this kind
of thing today.

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Readmore
There are people that have this mindset, although I don't think it means that
we are in a bubble. There are always people looking to get rich quick. The
fact that it's so easy to start a Web Venture today means that there will be
more of those kind of people in this space.
<http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/10/01/8387088/>

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pg
Investors are certainly looking for companies that can go public or get
acquired. Arguably only those, in fact. What's changed is that no one now
would expect that in 12-18 months. That was just Bubble craziness.

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Readmore
If that wasn't your goal, if you just wanted to start a business because you
wanted to run your own business, should you look for other types of funding?
Are you basically out of luck with most professional investors?

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pg
Yes, few professional investors would be interested. No matter what they claim
about wanting to build long-lasting companies, the structure of VC funds
requires them to have exits.

Interestingly, though, you'd also be out of luck with a lot of potential
employees. The more ambitious ones want options that might make them rich.
Without any prospect of an exit, you lose all the hotshots to competitors who
offer such a prospect. That's why big, private tech companies are so rare.

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sethjohn
'Build to flip' is a fine idea. Of course you still need to make a good
product, but I don't think 'build to last' is right for every company or every
idea. A world with 100 new HPs every year would be top-heavy.

The ecosystem needs a few big companies with billions of capital and global
reach, but there's nothing wrong with building up a good small idea and
selling it off after a year or two to be integrated into something larger.

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Readmore
I agree with that. There is nothing wrong with selling your company, but if
you start your company hoping to sell it for millions in a year, it seems like
you're just setting yourself up for trouble.

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sethjohn
Well, yes, the 12-month selloff strategy is probably uncommon for good reason.

I suppose most ideas require more than a few months to create real value.

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drop19
It seems like if you are building to flip you might get lucky, and at certain
times (like 7 years ago) that's easier than others. But "build to last"/"build
to work" are on the same side of the coin as "make something people want": the
odds of succeeding and making money are better if you are aiming to build
something great that's actually worth acquiring.

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Readmore
I read the first half of the article thinking that this was written today
instead of 7 years ago, it sounds very familiar

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pashle
The attitude to have a an exit strategy is pervasive here. It could be because
it's been advocated in Paul's many essays. But ask yourselves, do you just
want to start a web startup? Is it just about the web, or would you start any
kind of startup/company (tech or not)?

