When you are starting up or as you form strategies and plans to grow your startup, you need to think about an exit strategy. Will you establish a lifestyle business that generates income without plans of selling it in the future, or will you build equity in a business that you will convert into cash? Depending on your goal, the business you choose and the way you decide to grow it should be aligned with the end-game objectives. The common exit strategies are; sale, mergers, IPO, buyout or liquidation of assets.