Ask HN: an exit strategy of "quit after 2 years"?

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Mistake 17: Lacking an exit strategy. "Have an exit plan, and create your business to satisfy that plan. For instance, I am thinking I might run my new business for two years and then get out of it. I think it's an opportunity to make a tremendous amount of money for two years, but I'm not sure [whether] it's proprietary enough to stop the competition from getting in. So I'm in with an exit strategy of doing it for two years and then winding down.

I had thought that an "exit strategy" was a trade sale or IPO; and the no-exit alternative was a sustainable business (e.g. life-style business). But the above makes sense, for a great opportunity that looks hard to defend.

I don't like the idea of quitting after two years. It seems dodgey somehow. I'd rather create a sustainable, living business.

But my start-up idea is a software library, and they are infamously easy to reverse-engineer (e.g. open source). So an exit strategy could be to make money for a limited time, then make it free. I'm really lacking clarity on this... and would appreciate your new perspectives.

The above quote is from John Osher (serial entrepreneur): http://www.cpd.ogi.edu/mst/capstone/17Mistakes.htm

Previously on HN: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=221750

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