--- title: Exit Strategy Is An Oxymoron description: In early meetings with a If a VC ever asks you what your exit strategy is, you should run, not walk to your nearest…um…exit. image: https://www.onstartups.com/hs-fs/file-490655565-jpg/images/exit.jpg --- # Exit Strategy Is An Oxymoron Written By: [Dharmesh Shah](https://www.onstartups.com/author/dharmesh-shah) January 29, 2014 - [strategy](https://www.onstartups.com/topic/strategy) Exit Strategy Is An Oxymoron Written by [Dharmesh Shah](https://www.onstartups.com/author/dharmesh-shah) on January 29, 2014 - - - - In early meetings, if a VC ever asks you what your exit strategy is, you should run, not walk to your nearest…um…exit. You want your investors to be more curious about how you're going to *enter* a market than how they're going to *exit* their investment. Thankfully, I hear much less talk about exit “strategies” in the startup world than I used to.  Back in the day, no business plan was complete without a discussion of exit strategies.  And, they almost invariably came down to the same two options: Here are the list of companies that might buy us…and we could go public! ![exit icon](https://www.onstartups.com/hs-fs/file-490655565-jpg/images/exit.jpg) Today, most tech entrepreneurs don't even *write* business plans (which is good, because nobody reads them), let alone have a detailed discussion on potential exit strategies. Here's why I think an exit strategy is an oxymoron. The purpose of a business is to build something of value for customers — which in turn creates value for stakeholders.  When you're walking out onto the field, you should be asking yourself “how do I best play this game?” not “Hey, once the game is over, how do I exit the arena?” Planning your exit is a good thing when entering airplanes, theaters and bar brawls (of which I have no clue, I've just been watching too much Banshee) — not when entering a market. My advice:  Spend your calories crafting strategies for how you will build value, how you will connect to potential customers — and how you will differentiate yourself from everyone else.  Leave the exit planning for when you actually need to figure out an exit. By the way, I have no problems with startups exiting.  Happens all the time, and is part of the circle of life in the startup world.  I've been on both sides of the table (sold a startup, acquired some startups).  My problem is when entrepreneurs are forced to unnaturally focus on the exit -- and mistakenly calling such things a "strategy".   ## Related Posts [Avoiding Undue Diligence: My Strange Approach To Angel Investing February 4, 2013 In a few weeks, I'm going to write a $25,000 check to invest in a company that currently does not exist. There is no company. There's no team. And I have no idea what the company will… Read Post ** ](https://www.onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/94928/Avoiding-Undue-Diligence-My-Strange-Approach-To-Angel-Investing.aspx) [9 Ways To Disrupt And "Hipmunk" An Industry startups February 28, 2011 hipmunk [hip-muhnk], 1. verb: To bring sexiness and simplicity into an existing industry with a fresh approach that delights people. Example: The real estate mortgage industry really… Read Post ** ](https://www.onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/41534/9-Ways-To-Disrupt-And-Hipmunk-An-Industry.aspx) Subscribe ### Get OnStartup News and Updates in your Inbox. ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Dharmesh Shah", "url" : "https://www.onstartups.com/author/dharmesh-shah" }, "datePublished" : "2014-01-29T18:09:00.000Z", "headline" : "Exit Strategy Is An Oxymoron", "image" : [ "https://www.onstartups.com/hs-fs/file-490655565-jpg/images/exit.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/104820/Exit-Strategy-Is-An-Oxymoron.aspx", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.onstartups.com/hubfs/mjtw-assets/logos/onstartups-logo@2x.png" }, "name" : "OnStartups" } } ```