Acquihire

Also called Acqui-Hire

An acquisition made mainly to hire the target's team rather than for its product or revenue. A common soft landing for startups that built a strong team but not a big business.

Why it matters

An acquihire can be a graceful exit that rewards the team and repays some investors when a company has not found its market. It is worth knowing as a realistic outcome, neither a triumph nor a disaster, in the range of endings.

For example

A big company buys a struggling startup mainly for its five talented engineers, an acquihire that gives the team a soft landing and repays some investors.

Related terms

Merger and Acquisition Exit 10x Engineer

Go deeper

See how founders actually handle this on Founder life, part of the Starting Up hub.

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