Building a Better Company

Jason Caplain over at Southeast VC has a well-titled post Don't Build Your Company for the VCs.  He makes his point as follows:

Rather than building your company for the VCs, build your company for your customers and because YOU believe it can be a long term sustainable company.

I would add one additional point -- and it's one I tend to harp on, so I apologize.  But build a company to be a successful company, don't obsess about exit scenarios.  Good companies find the appropriate exit.  While you must not be afraid to sell or (if you're insane, given the current environment) IPO, you shouldn't build your business with that as your focus.

Sure, set up the right processes and procedures.  And get to know folks who could be potential acquirers, facillitators, or biz dev partners.  But never, ever lose sight of the need to build a strong, profitable business.