I must agree with the author, but exit plans must should not be pipe dreams. I have worked for a ton of startups, some of which I founded. I remember one fateful meeting where the harvard graduates who had just successfully taken on a 5m round (these were the first bubble kids) asked... And the answer.... IPO! Yes they actually believed that IPO was the exit, I was the only sane alien at the table and I said "Acquisition". Of course I was the party pooper throwing wet blankets on their fun. On the other hand though, many publishers have tons of passion and love for what they are doing so saying "think about how that might end" is well not a mental choice. I have seen more than one ex-CEO travel Europe for six months come back to the Bay Area and fail miserably at reconstructing the essence for the only job they ever really loved. Thinking about the exit in realistic terms can be a heathful exercise, expecting that you should exit coul be the biggest mistake of your life.