Robert Scoble and Don Dodge follow up on Dare Obasanjo’s post about what it takes to sell a startup to the likes of Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft. They each touch on the reality of such an M&A–it’s unlikely.
But they also are missing another key reality: Companies don’t acquire other businesses in a vacuum. It’s not that clinical. Quite often there’s the unsettling gusts of competitor’s breathing down their neck that inspire M&A moves rather than duplicating development internally.
Like many things in business there’s no formula to success in the M&A world. The lucky charm of market timing and the relative positioning within a landscape of competitors are things that no startup can control. However, many do try to nudge the whims of the mighty, by communicating directly or indirectly their popularity, uniqueness and value as well as championing the view that time is compressing and competitors are well on their way–though not too far on the way–just enough that they can be caught and surpassed by making one more acquisition.