An awful lot of entrepreneurs these days are jonesing to be acquired, rather than going public. They don't want to build the next Apple or Google. They want to build next Meebo.
A new Tumblr is making the rounds this week. It's called "" and it consists entirely of the announcements start-ups post when they get bought.
"People don't really see [going public] as a badge of honor anymore," Jai Shekhawat told us recently. "It's a hassle."
The hassle of going public includes lots of paperwork and compliance issues. And, more importantly, it can make a company beholden to investors who demand high profits right now, sometimes at the expense of long-term growth.
But the CEO of Zillow, Spencer Rascoff says really ambitious entrepreneurs are going to go public at some point — even if they say they aren't interested.
"It's the guy that ... says, 'Oh, I never wanna get married,' even though he intends to and wants to and eventually does," Rascoff says.
Still, if Facebook shows up one day and offers $1 billion for your photo-sharing company, it's tough to say no, no matter how ambitious you are.
For More: Listen to Episode 382: The Cool Kids Don't Want To Go Public
Hat tip: The Atlantic
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