Absolutely, and I didn't say anything to contradict that. But there are limits to the availability of the value you have created with your business. Outside of paying yourself a salary equal to the entire profit of the company (or more, for a limited period of time), what do you do if you need a chunk of cash for some specific purpose at a point-in-time? The most obvious, straightforward and common means is to sell equity in the company to others, up to or including selling the entire company.

I, for one, am not advocating the idea of "build to flip" as a generally good thing. But still... the goals of the founders have to be kept in mind, and if selling the company is the best path for them to accomplish their goals, who are we to tell them otherwise?