I'd love to see companies whose charters legally make them impossible to acquire. No idea how this would work in practice or if you could actually make it enforceable under US law.
But I'm so sick of startups just being R&D for corporations and screwing over their userbase once they get acquired. Or even worse is companies that only get off of the ground because of user support via kickstarter or similar fund raising platforms and then get acquired.
Of course it would be much harder for those companies to raise funds but there's always bootstrapping. It'd be a big win for the consumers of the product and if marketed correctly (something like "Non-Acquirable LLC"), it could become a good way for a startup to show that they put their users first.
I'm guessing a limit on possible exits would be a red flag for investors who are looking for a return.
Having clauses with each investor that let you purchase back your shares from them at predetermined times and rates (returns would need to be healthy for them)
limits their upside, but lets you buy back control whenever. - assuming you can afford it
for public companies in the US, also see "Poison pill":
I was involved in setting one up at university (http://www.srcf.ucam.org/) and it's still running long past the time I had anything to do with it. I believe it's a good model for "community" internet services, by definition run in the interests of the users.
It's not impossible for one to sell out, but it requires the members (customers) to vote for it. In the case of the UK building societies, by bribing them with the capital reserves that were turned out to be essential to keeping the mortgage system running.
A worker-owned cooperative would be seemingly impossible to "acquire" since it is wholly owned, and operated, by those working in the organization. If the corporate charter does not allow outside shareholders, that would prevent the most common forms of acquisition.
But I'm so sick of startups just being R&D for corporations and screwing over their userbase once they get acquired. Or even worse is companies that only get off of the ground because of user support via kickstarter or similar fund raising platforms and then get acquired.
Of course it would be much harder for those companies to raise funds but there's always bootstrapping. It'd be a big win for the consumers of the product and if marketed correctly (something like "Non-Acquirable LLC"), it could become a good way for a startup to show that they put their users first.