truLOCAL Secures $100,000 Investment on Dragon’s Den and Goes on to Sell Company for $16.8 million
“Marc Lefleur started truLOCAL in 2016 and eventually sold his business in 2020,” shares Sam Thompson a Minneapolis business broker and the president of M&A firm Transitions In Business. “His company was a subscription business selling locally raised meats. After pitching their company on Dragon’s Den, a Canadian version of Shark Tank, the business took off. This podcast shares how to avoid selling to the wrong buyer.”
In 2016, Marc Lafleur started truLOCAL, a subscription business allowing people to buy locally-raised meats online.
To ignite sales, Lafleur and his co-founder pitched the company on the popular Canadian TV show Dragon’s Den (similar to Shark Tank). The presentation was a hit as they received an investment of $100,000 from Dragon’s, Michele Romanow, and Joe Mimran for 10% of the business.
As a result of their new partners and the free marketing that came from the show, revenues soared.
By 2020 truLOCAL had reached sales of eight figures when Lafleur began receiving interest from acquirers. A few months later, the company was acquired by EMERGE in a deal valued at $16.8 million. In this episode, you’ll learn how to:
- Raise money without giving up all your equity.
- Find creative marketing avenues for your business.
- Utilize influencer marketing to accelerate your company’s growth.
- Avoid selling to the wrong acquirer.