How to Sell Out to Google

Making money with your own company takes hard work, good marketing, business acumen, determination, and a lot of luck. Or you can sell to Google. Seattle's Jonathan Sposato announced last week that the king o' searching bought his online photo-editing company, Picnik.

Google didn't disclose the terms of the Picnik deal, but it's all part of the company's plan, announced last September, to purchase one small tech company a month, thanks to the cool $24.5 billion it has on hand. But how can you become Google's next acquisition? Here are five tips:

1. Give your company an adorable or funky name, preferably with some kind of alternative spelling. Picnik (aw...) is the second company Sposato has sold to Google. The first, which helped users get widgets on their Web pages, was called Phatbits. As we learned from Tupac ("You're in for a phat treat/Trip into a phat beat"), "Ph" indicates awesomeness.

2. Avoid standard capitalization. Five of the eight companies Google has bought since September don't capitalize their name in their logo. Play to the odds here.

3. Show Google some love first. Aardvark launched itself as an alternative to Twitter in March 2009. Instead of broadcasting "At Pike, want sushi, what 2 do? :P" to the entire Twitterverse, you'd use Aardvark to target Seattle sushi-eaters specifically. The founders made the service compatible with Google Talk. Less than a year after launching, Aardvark became part of the Gfamily.

4. Be cool. Michael Robertson, who founded the Gizmo Project (Skype for smart phones), has been listening to the hep British duo Zero 7, according to his Web site. Google bought him out in November.

And last but certainly not least:

5. Be hot. AppJet founder Aaron Iba (who sold to Google in December) is young and Australian! Rowr! On the other hand, Ben Huh, the CEO of the LOLcats empire, which is owned by a group of investors under the name Pet Holdings, wears dorky hats. Why do you think Google hasn't bought icanhascheezburger yet?