I own and operate a niche foodtruck and food production company which has grown and scaled profitably in a 2 year lifecourse. I have been approached by a few potential investors (so they call themselves) that have shown interest in the company and I am considering meeting up with them and listen to their pitch, so basically i am in the position where someone wants to buy in the company and/or help make it grow further, sort of a reverse Sharktank. What questions should I ask them and what should I keep in mind and need I be wary of? The company is run at a high profit margin with no outstanding debt so I am not really seeking for investors…but the idea to have additional potential to grow further and faster tickles me, so I wonder how to approach that conversation. Thank you all!
Offer to sell it to them outright and stay on to assist the new operator for a year with a robust salary.
Otherwise you already said it. You don’t need them 🤷
Even if you can expand, if all they bring is money then they just profit from you doing now twice the work. Is the added profit for you doing that a lot more than it would be if you just kept doing your own thing? That’s the opportunity cost question to keep in mind.
I don’t know any small business that planned to stay small-ish who took outside funding and it resulted in being a net positive.
The first thing to consider is, what will you do with that money and will it give you a return.
The second is to sit down with an acquisitions/investment attorney so they can tell you some horror stories.
I wouldn’t even consider it for a single food truck business unless you plan to significantly expand or plan to turn it into some sort of franchise.