[tmcdos]

The person who you should expect (or look for) to buy your startup for $50M will reasonably expect to meet someone else in the future who will then buy the "startup" (probably at that time an established company) for $100M or maybe $200M - otherwise why would he want to buy your startup? People rarely buy startups just to extend their collection of statups ... If you build a staryup with the mindset of selling it to someone bigger - you will never grow to be the next BIG among the Big Guys. And if you are not looking to be one of the Big Guys (which implies you do not plan to sell your startup) - you can live happily on the plateau with 20 employees and a satisfying income.