Sam took the money, good for him. He likely has an earnout deal over a period of time (2-5 years) where he will say the right things and help the PE make money so he gets more of his. The key to the companies future is how much Sam got up front versus how much the earn out is. If he got the bulk of the money up front, he won't be motivated to do much but be a cheerleader and let the PE figure out if they want to hold it or wrap it up and sell it to someone else. The grassroot customers will likely bail on LAB, especially since Odyssey and TM are already copying their concepts. Why buy a $500 LAB from a PE when you can get close to the same thing from someplace else at half the price. Sam was smart to sell they were at max valuation with heavy competition headed their way. If Sam has a real passion, I'd expect he will go the same route as Toulon.