While most entrepreneurs make no secret of their preference for a lucrative IPO over an acquisition, which may net less profit and dilute the startup's brand, they usually at least pay lip service to the importance of being open to a range of exits. Indeed, the AlwaysOn summit featured a wide assortment of corporate development types from serial acquirers such as Cisco Systems Inc. [CSCO] and IBM Corp. [IBM], along with bankers loaded with statistics on how a rising level of VC investments in high-tech coupled with a tight IPO market was bound to equal more corporate acquisitions.

Those facts, however, are often lost on individual entrepreneurs who refuse to let go of a dream even when the proverbial writing is on the wall. What's instructive about Conway's remarks was not that so many startups fail, but that so many bring about their own failure by rejecting acquisitions.

To that end, Conway said he's troubled by the proliferation of social networking startups, noting that the market has become so saturated that being acquired is be the best option for many of them. "Most entrepreneurs still view M&A as a failure," he said. "I view it as part of the history of the company." - Andrea Orr

For more on the the venture summit see AlwaysOn feeds
See Dec. 7 post from BoomTown