Rich vs. King in the Real World: Why I sold my company
In this 2025 acquisition retrospective, @punnerud reflects on the journey of bootstrapping and successfully selling their business.
Core Principles for Independent Builders:
Unsolicited buyer inquiries versus running a deliberate auction process require very different negotiation leverage.
Bootstrapping for years without external capital provides extreme freedom, but exits are often triggered by energy depletion as much as financial gain.
Retaining ownership of code and operations creates pride, but transitioning to an acquirer requires letting go of absolute autonomy.
Community Debate Themes:
Hacker News peers debated transaction structures (cash vs earnout), founder tax strategies, and life after liquidating a long-term indie asset.
CATEGORY Startup Exits →
HISTORICAL ERA Post-ZIRP & AI (2023–2026)
COMMUNITY SCORE ★ 7 points
TOTAL DISCUSSIONS 1 comments
I also started my company to get rich. I just wanted lots of profits.
I started in 2009, and am still at it in 2025. I have had many offers to sell it for more money than I will ever need, and have had more money than I will ever need for the last decade. Why haven't I sold?
Somewhere along the way, I became personally invested in my employees, clients, and the business itself. Almost anyone I sell to would break the promises I made to the first two groups, and would damage the core of the business.
The business was bootstrapped and I had no cofounders or investors, so I never had to do what someone else forced me to do. It has been profitable the entire way, which gives me this freedom to stay the course.