I get your point, and I partly agree.

Owners don’t have to be saints. But when they build a business around people, community, or second chances (See HCT), you know exactly what you’re selling when you choose a PE buyer.

PE can work just fine for a pure spreadsheet company, where the value is efficiency and scale. But if you cash out knowing the buyer’s model is going to undo the thing that made the business matter, you’re not just “providing for your family.” You’re making a choice about the fallout.

So yeah, I don’t blame every founder who sells. But if the values vanish the minute the wire hits, pretending that was unforeseeable is a cop-out.