Part of the mythology of Silicon Valley is the committed founder driving the company to a blockbuster IPO. In reality, startups are 16 times more likely to get acquired.
It’s not an outcome that’s frequently discussed, either.
“It’s one of these things that a lot of people don’t really talk about. In Silicon Valley, we always talk about IPOs,” said Naveen Rao, VP of AI at Databricks and two-time founder, onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 on Thursday.
That silence can make the arduous process even more challenging for founders. “I’m so glad that this is being talked about as a topic on a panel, as a real path and a real outcome for founders, rather than the hallowed, inside secrets of investment bankers who strike a deal,” said Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan, head of data clean rooms at Snowflake and a two-time founder.
“Acquisitions statistically are more likely than IPOs — arguably more successful in many scenarios than IPOs — and certainly something that founders have to kind of mentally and physically prepare for. It’s an endurance journey,” she said.
Both founders said they didn’t start their companies with the intention of selling them, but when the right deal with the right company came along, it made sense.