When interviewing folks for new startup projects, I frequently get asked “are you planning to go public?”

I find this question very annoying, but I’m not exactly sure why.  I think it has to do with goals:  an IPO is a more of a milestone than a goal.  Asking this question feels like asking a soldier about to go off to war, “are you planning on winning a medal?”

The real goal (if you’ve got investors) is to build a valuable company.  If you do that well, all of the right options (acquisition, IPO, etc.) will follow.