I think maybe you're reading a bit too much into the "acquired " label. Frankly, being "acquired" doesn't mean a whole lot.
For example we once bought a company (2 employees, around 30 customers) for a tiny amount of money. We wanted the two people, and since they were in our space we converted about half the customers to our product offerings.
We paid less than 1 month's salary (for the two emps). Given that the business was trading with not-much revenue (never mind "profit") any PE multiple would be outrageous.
Technically they could describe a successful acquisition, at a huge PE on LinkedIn. But in real money terms it was peanuts.
So all I'm saying is that "acquired" can be a whole range of outcomes. Don't get bogged down by other people's stories. Rather work on your own story.
As others have said, figure out your goals, and work towards those. Don't worry too much about the journeys of others.
For example we once bought a company (2 employees, around 30 customers) for a tiny amount of money. We wanted the two people, and since they were in our space we converted about half the customers to our product offerings.
We paid less than 1 month's salary (for the two emps). Given that the business was trading with not-much revenue (never mind "profit") any PE multiple would be outrageous.
Technically they could describe a successful acquisition, at a huge PE on LinkedIn. But in real money terms it was peanuts.
So all I'm saying is that "acquired" can be a whole range of outcomes. Don't get bogged down by other people's stories. Rather work on your own story.
As others have said, figure out your goals, and work towards those. Don't worry too much about the journeys of others.