In this episode of Beers with Contractors, hosts Will and Terry discuss why contractors form partnerships and the different types—family, operational, financial, and strategic—emphasizing that partners should share a clear end goal and defined contributions. They stress setting an operating agreement before formation to establish equity splits, decision authority, deadlock resolution, salary/work expectations, distribution thresholds, buyout/exit triggers, and what happens if a partner dies. They warn against desperation-driven money partnerships and “three F’s” funding, advise vetting investors by checking prior partners, and highlight the importance of managing-member control and NDAs. The episode contrasts banks as capital partners with private investors and outlines entity/tax considerations (LLC, S corp, C corp, accredited investors, cap tables). They address employee equity via vesting stock options/phantom equity, and discuss private equity’s varied approaches, owner retention, platform rollups, and preparation via clean financials and professional advisors.

00:00 Introduction

01:21 Why Partnerships Come Up

03:57 Goals and Roles First

05:16 Family Partnerships Done Right

06:46 Operating Agreements and Deadlocks

13:11 Operational vs Financial Partners

15:31 Financial Partners and Structuring

21:27 Vetting Investors and Horror Story

24:50 Due Diligence and Reputation Risk

28:30 Exit Plans and Triggers

29:16 Partner Buyout Valuation

31:41 Assets Debts and Vehicles

33:01 Investor Classes and Entities

36:56 Employee Equity and Vesting

40:50 Private Equity Realities

48:30 Taxes and Long Term Strategy

50:16 Relationships and NDAs

53:09 Wrap Up and Disclaimers

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