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Comment by terrellm | Hacker News Reader

I've owned the same company for 10 years where I've sold software to cattle ranchers and horse owners in almost 60 countries.

My company started out as lifestyle business. Then after I got my MBA I was ready to build it to sell so I could become a serial entrepreneur. After my wife and I had our son 2 years ago, I realized having a moderately passive income stream that gave us more time for family was what we were looking for all along.

It reminds me of the old story "The MBA and the Mexican Fisherman" and I was both... well sort of... an MBA and a Texas Rancher. http://www.keepingitrural.com/mba-mexican-fisherman

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I agree 100%! I'm currently in an MBA program, and the focus is always on getting external funding and growing a business for the sake of growing.

You have inspired me today. I'd love to run a business like yours where I could spend more time skiing, hiking, and enjoying the outdoors rather than slaving away for some VCs to make their 500% exit.

Edit: I checked out the site listed in your profile. You have done an incredible job solving problems for a niche market!

Glad to hear and feel free to contact me if you ever want to visit.

As you probably know, being an entrepreneur in an MBA program can be trying as the corporate-minded students and professors look down on your "little business" while your non-MBA friends worry you will become the stereotypical MBA. Having been out several years now, I can say that it was well worth the investment.

Did you do your MBA at A&M? I probably need to contact you sometime in the (semi-) near future; my in-laws have a ranch, and are probably good candidates for your product.

Yes, I graduated in '03 from the MBA program and '99 in INFO. Drop me an email with your contact info (my email is in my profile). If you are around Aggieland, come out and visit us sometime.

The risk is, at some point someone will come along and compete and in effect destroy his business. He's relying on the future income stream where as the IPO route ends up with money in your pocket, that can't be taken away.

For example, someone runs the local pub that everyone drinks at despite the expensive beer, because it's the only one in town. Then wetherspoons turns up with it's cheap beer and aggressive promotions and original local pub struggles to make a profit anymore.

Life is never without risks. If he IPO's and takes the "money in his pocket", he could still get wiped out by a bad investment. IMHO that might even be more likely since since most entrepreneurs/small business owners already knows their current line of business quite well, knows the players, the competitive landscape, etc. At the same time, most of these same entrepreneurs/small business owners often know jack shit about investing, so I would think they'd be a lot more likely to make expensive mistakes in investing than they would be on their "home turf".

Your assuming he would reinvest the money rather than just keep it a savings account (or several).

The point being that there is always risk, and if you currently have the end result, there isn't much reason to give that up so that you can make a bunch of money and get back to where you started.

This is somewhat related to one of the best comments in the FU money thread. If you were happy before the money you will be happy after the money. If you were miserable before the money you will likely be miserable after the money.

BTW, that IPO isn't a sure thing either. I would guess that a successful IPO is less likely than a big competitor ruining your business.

There's definitely a risk of losing the modest revenue stream that I've had for the last 10 years and hope continues for another 10. It's something that I'm aware and try to prepare for in both my business (branding, continue to innovate, etc) as well as personally (diversified revenue streams).

There's also a risk in losing a business by pushing so hard for a buyout/IPO at the expense of ROI & profit, only to not get that IPO or buyout and be left with nothing. I went down that road several years ago and was fortunately able to get my business back on track before losing it.

You bring up some good points and I think it's helpful for HN'ers to see the interesting discussion on lifestyle vs IPO/buyout businesses.

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