<story><title>Why I Sold My Startup to Google</title><url>http://www.danshapiro.com/blog/2011/07/why-i-sold-my-startup-sparkbuy-to-google/</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>staunch</author><text>Some people might take away from this the idea that you can just build a cool little prototype and Google will come along and snatch you up.&lt;p&gt;I&apos;d bet this acquisition happened almost entirely due to relationships and salesmanship. Most hackers who don&apos;t already know the right people (e.g. former Googlers) would have no chance of pulling this kind of thing off.&lt;p&gt;Do not try this at home folks. The only real chance of an exit for most startups is one based on actual success in the marketplace.</text></comment>
<story><title>Why I Sold My Startup to Google</title><url>http://www.danshapiro.com/blog/2011/07/why-i-sold-my-startup-sparkbuy-to-google/</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>dschobel</author><text>&lt;i&gt;Most VCs don’t care how long your company takes to show a return – they don’t get to re-invest proceeds of their deals, so if you exit early, the money sits in a bank account earning interest for years instead of contributing to their returns.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Can anyone explain why this is the case?</text></comment>