>you will be acquired.

You say this as if it's a coercive given, when you could just as easily say.. Nope, and continue to see how you compete with some agility. It might fail, but most of the big tech companies currently acquiring smaller companies themselves started small with acquisition offers being rejected along the way. Sure, there's selection bias at work there, but there are also many cases of smaller to mid-size companies that also said no to acquisition and still managed to find their successful niche.

Being acquired is not a given and neither is failure if you do compete in some way with the megacorps.

I see nothing about the current tech landscape that at all distinguishes it from previous landscapes in which smaller companies succeeded AND rejected acquisition.

> You say this as if it's a coercive given, when you could just as easily say.. Nope, and continue to see how you compete with some agility.

It’s the same framing as calling offering someone a higher salary as “poaching” like we’re property being stolen by one lord from another.

Looking at you Steve Jobs and your anti poaching agreement

I wish more people said no. However, the reality is it appears to be a given. If you're offered millions and millions of dollars, most people do not say no. The world is worse for it, but it's the truth.