Friday, 14 February 2003 8:30 am
Gabor Garai, a partner in the Boston office of national law firm Epstein Becker & Green, wrote an article in Business Week online on February 11 titled "What VCs Want to Hear". In that article he made the point that entrepreneurs seeking venture capital funding need to focus their business plan on turning their startup into an interesting acquisition for another company, as opposed to focusing on an IPO.

I'm sure he is right. As a matter of fact, I predicted this evolution in venture capital funded startups in my 2001 book "The Slingshot Syndrome". As Garai's article attests, the evolution is now starting to happen. In my book, I also covered what entrepreneurs and acquiring companies need to do to overcome the very real problems that Garai mentions, thereby making the acquisitions successful and happy events for all involved.