"What's your plan for selling this business? What's your exit plan?"

Ah, the popular refrain from investors, employees, advisors and just about anyone else that's banking on our stock to make them a few dollars. We all know that there's a possibility of selling our company, but how much planning can we really do to make that happen?

Does it matter if I don't "prepare to sell?"

While it's possible to consider specific acquisition targets, that's really only a small part of the plan.

The real plan simply maps back to the execution of our idea. Knowing that we might be a good fit for a big company is great, but unless our product has incredible value (that came through execution) then "preparing to sell" doesn't mean much.

What if I don't wa...