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There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Microsoft executive Mark Wolfram told a breakfast table full of VCs this week that no startup is too small to acquire if its founders are "smart technical leaders" and it has "key intellectual property," according to Beyond Binary. If there's a sweet spot, Wolfram said, it's a company with 50 to 100 employees worth around $50 million.

VC Henry Wong, who helped herd AdECN over to the startup slaughterhouse earlier this year, put the process it appropriately frightening terms. "Once they make a decision, it's like a stampede," he said. Wolfram agreed. "We can be very, very agile," he said. We've seen Pamplona, buddy.