The vast majority of companies are little "lifestyle" businesses without any intention of ever getting acquired by anyone. Your local pizza shop doesn't expect to be a unicorn.
That said, even a mom & pop should be mindful of exit. What happens when the owner(s) wants to retire? Or has a serious health issue? Or has a family member with a health issue? Etc.?
You don't have to be a unicorn to build something that someone else wants to acquire.
Editorial: And this is why I dislike words like solopreneur, mompreneur, and so on. Sure you can have a one person business with a steady revenue stream. But that's not a 'preneur. If you are the business and the business is you, you're ability to exit is highly limited. That's not a 'preneur. If you get hit by a bus and your customers are screwed and the business tanks. That's not a 'preneur. You're much closer to a m&p TBH.
I realize that's counter to conventional wisdom on social media, but such snake oil ideas deserve to be called out already.
Sorry, but it absolutely is. Entrepreneurship is just starting a business and taking on the majority of the risks and rewards. There is nothing in the definition that says you have to sell the business or exit in any way.
I'd argue that taking on VC money is actually less entrepreneurial than going it alone - you're offloading a big chunk of the risk to your investors.
> What happens when the owner(s) wants to retire?
Maybe they just close down the shop.
> Or has a serious health issue?
And purchase disability insurance.
Being a mom & pop is not the same as being an entrepreneur. They are two separate mindsets. One use exit as a North Star the other just retires and closes up shop.
It's bizarre that we live in a time where we can't even fathom a business that is fundamentally very profitable, we just envision growing the company until it's attractive enough for someone else to take on the unsustainable cost of running the business: either get acquired by a large company or hoist your debt onto the public market.
Investment really did used to be about more than a complex "greater fool" game.
You might not like the definition, but that doesn't mean it's wrong.
There's nothing wrong with the mom & pop mindset. But it's not the same mindset as being an entrepreneur and focusing on value; with exit being a clear and ideal way to see the value.
