Advice

I’m currently a VP at a small private equity firm and things have been going well overall. I recently came across a personal investment opportunity in an industry I worked in prior to joining my current firm.

After spending time with the Owner, he has offered me a CFO role, believing I could bring long-term value to the business. The company was founded in 2023 and generated $1MM of EBITDA in 2024. The Owner projects $3MM of EBITDA in 2025, with Q1 2025 up 120% year-over-year.

He’s offered me the opportunity to purchase 5% equity in the business, and if I decide to join full time, I plan to negotiate for an additional 2–3% equity. I’m 29 and the Owner is around 33 so we are both young and the Owner wants to grow the business to 10MM of EBITDA and sell.

Would love to hear others’ thoughts on this situation. If I take the role I’ll likely make less cash comp starting out which I’m okay with. I’m trying to understand if this would offer higher upside than my current PE role or not. I do enjoy the industry and do think I’ll be helping this Company do something unique.

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