Do nothing investors who enabled the company to reach this point? Employees who chose lower salaries in expectation of shares being worth something? Come on now.
Sure if you want to be negative about it and only look at the worst VCs. But the best VCs provide significant value outside capital and can be instrumental in a startups success or failure.
“Buying the startup” just means handing over megabucks to do-nothing investors. If Google isn’t buying any product or technology, why should investors get a talent fee?
