Concept · Governance & Ownership
Drag-Along Rights
Origin: VC term
The Biological Bridge
This business construct is human-invented, but the outcome it's trying to achieve has deep biological roots.
Surface Construct
Majority shareholders can force minority shareholders to join in a sale
↓
Underlying Outcome
Ensure collective action when a critical threshold is reached - no individual can block beneficial group decisions
↓
Biological Mechanism
Quorum sensing in bacteria. When autoinducer concentration hits threshold, ALL cells commit to biofilm formation, virulence, or bioluminescence. Individual bacteria cannot opt out once quorum is reached - the chemical signal triggers gene expression changes across the entire population.
Key Insight: Both systems solve the holdout problem: when enough members commit, stragglers must follow or the collective benefit is lost.
The Full Picture
Quorum sensing in bacteria. When autoinducer concentration hits threshold, ALL cells commit to biofilm formation, virulence, or bioluminescence. Individual bacteria cannot opt out once quorum is reached - the chemical signal triggers gene expression changes across the entire population. Both systems solve the holdout problem: when enough members commit, stragglers must follow or the collective benefit is lost.