A couple of questions on Quora about whether there’s a “buyer wanted” listing service for startup owners who want to sell their businesses prompted me to write this post. To my knowledge, there isn’t one (yet), but the questions got me thinking. What can entrepreneurs do to increase the appeal of their startups for potential acquirers? People start businesses for lots of reasons: hopefully visions of a huge payout at exit aren’t the primary motivator to pursue entrepreneurship. But given that planning for an eventual startup exit is something founders should address from day one, and since most exits are through acquisitions, it makes sense to keep that possibility in mind and to avoid any screamingly obvious blunders that could close off one route to exit. How to think about startup acquisition 1. Pick the right market. Target one that has significant growth prospects in a field that has existing … Continue reading
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