[petercooper]

I'm not an expert in this area so take this question as genuine and not an attempt at playing devil's advocate :-)

Couldn't a company take significant investment, remain private, and maintain its founders indefinitely? For example, the founders may not ever wish to leave but are OK to dilate the shares through investments. Investors can then make a return through either dividends over time or by selling their shares to other investors who place a higher value on the company. This assumes investors aren't just in it for a quick buck, of course, but are buying into what they think will be a profit making machine within a reasonable timescale.