Exit strategies: not related to trying to leave that post-conference party at 1.30am.
I won't go into the nano-workings of the venture capital business, but here's the highlights:
Michael Marquez of CBS is the guy behind the Last.fm acquisition. What does he think entrepreneurs need to think about when they are looking to be acquired?
"A lot of start-ups need to be open to how they play in the old media ecosystem, not just going to Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. Start-us just think of old media as 'big scary companies that will steal my ideas' but these companies can't move as quickly. They don't turn on a dime."
He said start-ups should be willing to meet to discuss their market and the way they approach their work, and that could well lead to a deal further down the line.
Last.fm was attractive, he said, because the company had clearly considered its relationship with the wider ecosystem - by working with music labels, for example, rather than supporting or encouraging piracy in some way.
"They had a more international user base, but also had an eye towards being media friendly. They didn't have a bad reputation to unwind - they had built a rapport with labels. You don't want to think about exit strategies from day one but if you're doing a distribution deal you should think about how you interact with the broader ecosystem."
Ev Williams, now of Twitter, was one of the team that set up Blogger. His tips for entrepreneurs looking to be bought: "Be patient, and run your business so you can be patient. It'll come looking for you when you're ready for it."
The best way to be acquire, it seems, is to not need to be acquired.
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