Life Style Companies . . .

are companies that operate for the purpose of sustaining their owners’ life style but without sustainable strategies to achieve the rapid growth or provide the short-term exit strategy necessary to attract venture capital investors. They are often contrasted with emerging growth companies. While most business owners will tell you their intent is to eventually sell their business at a good price, life style company operators are not operated on the premise of rapid and sustained growth that defines emerging growth companies. Instead, life style companies are operated to generate steady streams of income for their operators. Businesses often operate as life style companies because they are not in industries that will support the type of growth needed to become an emerging growth company. While there is nothing wrong with operating a life style company, venture capital investors are generally not interested in investing in them. See: Emerging Growth Companies.