"Come back with an idea that you can do quickly and that you can take public or get acquired within 12 to 18 months."

Re:"Come back with an idea that you can do quickly and that ... by pg on Thursday March 15, 2007 @04:11PM (#4452)

Investors are certainly looking for companies that can go public or get acquired. Arguably only those, in fact. What's changed is that no one now would expect that in 12-18 months. That was just Bubble craziness.

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Re:"Come back with an idea that you can do quickly and that ... by Readmore on Thursday March 15, 2007 @05:03PM (#4464)

If that wasn't your goal, if you just wanted to start a business because you wanted to run your own business, should you look for other types of funding? Are you basically out of luck with most professional investors?

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Re:"Come back with an idea that you can do quickly and that ... by pg on Friday March 16, 2007 @02:06AM (#4527)

Yes, few professional investors would be interested. No matter what they claim about wanting to build long-lasting companies, the structure of VC funds requires them to have exits.

Interestingly, though, you'd also be out of luck with a lot of potential employees. The more ambitious ones want options that might make them rich. Without any prospect of an exit, you lose all the hotshots to competitors who offer such a prospect. That's why big, private tech companies are so rare.

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Re:"Come back with an idea that you can do quickly and that ... by danielha on Thursday March 15, 2007 @05:27PM (#4467)

That'd be the time to look into a loan.

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