My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Most companies are sold, not bought - contrary to the popular wisdom that 'great companies are bought not sold'
The Reasoning
The 'great companies are bought not sold' advice comes from unicorn founders who had inbound interest, but most entrepreneurs don't have that level of traction and need to actively run sales processes
What Needs to Be True
- You don't have overwhelming product-market fit
- You're not the hot company everyone wants
- You need to create your own acquisition opportunities
Counterargument
Some companies do get acquired without trying when they have exceptional traction or strategic assets
What Would Change This View
Data showing most acquisitions under $100M were purely inbound without any outbound effort
Implications for Builders
Don't wait for buyers to come to you
Learn sales skills even as a technical founder
Build relationships with potential acquirers early
Example Application
“A mobile gaming studio with moderate traction actively reaches out to larger gaming companies rather than waiting for acquisition interest, ultimately selling for 3x what they might have gotten in a distressed situation.”
Related Knowledge
Four Buyer Categories Framework
A systematic way to categorize potential acquirers into four distinct types based on their acquisition motivations and strategic needs.
DENNIS System for M&A
A systematic 6-step approach to selling your company, adapted from the comedy show Always Sunny in Philadelphia's 'DENNIS System' for dating.
Startup Sale Readiness Assessment
A four-question framework to assess whether you should sell your startup by comparing your current beliefs against your founding assumptions.
Gather comprehensive intelligence on potential acquirers to position your company optimally
Having detailed insights into buyer priorities, pain points, decision makers, and internal dynamics before your first pi
Create comprehensive materials that remove all friction from the buying decision
Buyers can easily understand your value proposition, team, technology, and strategic fit without additional meetings or
Manage multiple potential buyers simultaneously to create leverage and maximize valuation
Multiple term sheets arriving within the same week, allowing you to negotiate better terms by creating competitive tensi