Fetchnotes shuts down

Posted by Ken
Feb 8, 2016 at 01:36 AM

Andy Brice wrote:
> It does make me wonder how many folks set out with this end goal in
>mind
> >Almost none. I know lots of people who started software product
>companies. They usually divide into:
> >‘startup’ - Take VC and try to grow really fast. Want to be the next
>Google/Facebook. Dream of making millions from an exit.
>‘bootstrapper’ - Grow slowly from their own profits. Want to create a
>profitable business they can sustain long term.
> >Neither wants to be ‘acqui-hired’. Although that is generally still
>preferable to going bust.

I am sure that a decent majority of folks have good intentions, and I know that this forum has seen and supported its share of bootstrappers and startups, but I still wonder about that dream of making millions from an exit, and truly wonder how different that is from an acqui-hire. I can sympathize with not wanting to go bust, but I suspect that any “exit” strategy will involve some end of life for the company’s product, so why not be honest, or at least not put up the pablum that has been so duly noted in the linked website. And if VC funds did not exist, I think that startups might have to rely on a different model of growth that might be a bit more customer-friendly, although acquiring talent and sitting on it (if only to deny your competition access to it) has been a time-honored tradition of the corporate world for many years. IIRC, IBM and Xerox among others were known to scoop up talent in years past.

—Ken