This is great advice, but what I would want to know is this:

As a small startup, how do you get yourself noticed by the big fish?

If you're bootstrapped and have a decent amount of traction an early payout might be a great idea, but you can't exactly cold call Google and ask them to buy you out... Does this just happen automatically as a side-effect of traction (and press coverage?) or are there strategic things a startup can do to get to that point where BigCo flies them out and gives them fuckyou money?

"Does this just happen automatically as a side-effect of traction (and press coverage?)"

Yes. It's an old axiom: "Companies get bought-- they don't get sold". If you are putting yourself on the auction block, it hurts your negotiating power-- it's best if they approach you.

Press helps here. OBVIOUS traction is good too (tech blogs love to write about growth). And, finding ways to get in front of corp-dev guys at the at Goog/etc. is good too. This is why investors are handy.

Toward the end of the article, Greg argues that big companies should use early stage acquisitions as outsourced R&D.

In other markets this has proven fruitful. Specifically, in the pharmaceutical industry, the major players such as Pfizer have increasingly turned to the acquisition of startups to fill their drug pipeline, rather than their own internal research groups. That eliminates much of the Phase 1 and 2 risk, but also allows the market to assemble the best innovators rather than attempting to internalize it.

Cisco also comes to mind as example.

Cisco also does a good job of handling acquisitions well.

Large companies probably worry about the risk of people changing. Three people working in a startup might change once they are cashed out and part of a large company. Since buying a small startup is basically a purchase of people, this can make the deal less attractive.