Any normal human would sell

By 20VC

Categories: VC, Startup

Summary

A VC argues that taking acquisition offers of $50M-$1B+ is the rational choice for most founders, framing it as an 'intensity test' to separate those truly committed to building from those uncertain—directly contradicting typical VC advice to hold out for unicorn status.

Key Takeaways

  1. Most founders should accept acquisition offers at $50M, $200M, or $1B rather than chase indefinite growth, as declining validates your commitment but uncertainty suggests you may not succeed anyway.
  2. Use acquisition offers as a founder intensity filter: if you confidently say 'no, a billion is not enough,' you have conviction; if you're unsure, take the deal and build your next thing.
  3. The window for low-intensity startup work (35 hours/week) existed briefly in late 2020-early 2021 but is gone; building a scaled company now requires exponential effort commitment.
  4. Taking an early exit ($50M+) allows founders to enjoy the fruits of their labor rather than endlessly optimizing for growth metrics; this is a valid life strategy not a failure.
  5. VC incentives diverge from founder incentives—VCs push to hold and swing for unicorns while founders should evaluate personal risk tolerance and life goals independently.

Topics

Transcript Excerpt

Any normal human will sell for 50 million after a year or 200 million or a billion. Any normal human will sell. It is idiotic to not sell. You don't want to do Cerebus, you want to do Grok as we talked about. There was a brief period where you could do it 35 hours a week in late 2020 and early 2021, but it's gone now, right? That's why I tell all founders to take the offer. I tell all founders to take it. The opposite of VCs, take it. It is an intensity test, and if they push back and say no, a billion is not enough, great, then go for it. But if they're not sure, you may not make it anyway. Take the billion or the 50 million or the 200 million or more of what you raised, and go and enjoy your life, man.…