&gt;<i>I think it is a little unfair to expect that PG should have acted 17 years ago in a way that he might do today. Today he has 17 years worth of extra experience to call upon.</i><p>But t&#x27;s not just &quot;today&quot; -- he&#x27;s been advocating that for over a decade -- so the change was much less than 17 years ago.<p>&gt;<i>Besides, there are more reasons for selling your company than simply maximising the financial return. Maybe his partners wanted to sell, maybe he was exhausted, maybe he lost his passion for the project, maybe he valued never having to work again by selling for a certain payoff now.</i><p>Sure. So why do PG (and others alike) piss on that model that worked for him?