By: Lak Ananth, Vice President of Corporate Development for HP and Managing Director of Hewlett Packard Ventures

Tech startups have created a wealth of innovation thanks to growing R&D budgets and a robust venture capital ecosystem in Silicon Valley and beyond. Large tech companies see the advantage of having this innovation at their fingertips, and more and more frequently are turning to acquisitions to drive growth. Acquisitions are an important innovation strategy for large companies to fill gaps in the portfolio, scale quickly, accelerate time-to-market and add expertise to their leadership team. As a result, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists now see acquisitions as a more likely exit than going public.

Looking ahead, the pace of acquisitions will continue to accelerate as the next generation of large technology companies joins the cadre of well-established acquirers. Today’s successful entrepreneurs are well informed on how to bootstrap a company, raise money, hire a stellar team and grow rapidly – but now more than ever need to know how to face potential suitors.

This week on HPE Matter, Hewlett Packard Ventures Managing Director Lak Ananth shares his advice for startup CEOs to be better prepared for an acquisition and be able to maximize value of their company if the opportunity arises. Check out the full article here.