According to eweek, Eric Schmidt told reporters at a briefing at the Googleplex recently that Google buys a start-up once every few days, or around one a week. Usually, their business-buying strategy is to obtain either new technology or the engineers within the companies (rather than the companies themselves). Other times, it is to build out their portfolio. I have to wonder...is this unusual? Are their other companies that gobble up businesses every few days?
That has to be hands down the best strategy for getting around non-compete clauses that I have heard, ever. 🙂
Obviously they are serious about getting who they want in the company.
Guy who doesn’t want to work for Google: Gee, Google, I would, but, you know… I’m locked into this contract…
Google: Hey dude, no problem… we’ll just buy the whole company you work for.
Guy who doesn’t want to work for Google: Ha ha! Yeah… heh… wait, you’re serious??