As used in this chapter:
"Business opportunity" means an investment that:
(1)involves the sale or lease or offer to sell or lease any goods or
services to an investor that are to be used by the investor in
beginning or operating a business;
(2)involves an initial payment by the investor of more than five
hundred dollars ($500) and an initial cash payment of less than
fifty thousand dollars ($50,000); and
(3)involves a solicitation of investors in which the seller
represents that:
(A)the investor may or will earn an amount in excess of the
initial payment as a result of the investment;
(B)a market exists for any goods to be made or services to be
rendered by the investor;
(C)the seller may buy from the investor any goods to be made
or services to be rendered by the investor;
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
As used in this chapter:
"Business opportunity" means an investment that:
(1) involves the sale or lease or offer to sell or lease any goods or
services to an investor that are to be used by the investor in
beginning or operating a business;
(2) involves an initial payment by the investor of more than five
hundred dollars ($500) and an initial cash payment of less than
fifty thousand dollars ($50,000); and
(3) involves a solicitation of investors in which the seller
represents that:
(A) the investor may or will earn an amount in excess of the
initial payment as a result of the investment;
(B) a market exists for any goods to be made or services to be
rendered by the investor;
(C) the seller may buy from the investor any goods to be made
or services to be rendered by the investor;
(D) the seller or a person referred by the seller to the investor
may or will sell, lease, or distribute the goods made or services
rendered by the investor; or
(E) the seller may or will pay to the investor the difference
between the initial payment and the investor's earnings from the
investment.
"Business opportunity" does not include an investment that
involves:
(1) the sale of a franchise as defined by IC 23-2-2.5-1 or IC 23-2-2.7-5;
(2) the sale of any assets (other than inventory) of an ongoing
business by the owner of the business;
(3) the not-for-profit sale of sales demonstration equipment,
materials, or samples for a total price of five hundred dollars
($500) or less; or
(4) the sale of all or substantially all of the assets of an ongoing
business.
"Contract" means any agreement relating to a business opportunity.
"Goods" means any merchandise, equipment, product, supply, or
material.
"Initial cash payment" means that portion of the initial payment that
the investor is obligated to pay to the seller before or at the time of
delivery of goods or services. The term does not include any amount
financed by the seller, any amount for which financing is to be obtained
by the seller, any amount that the seller assists in financing, or any
amount required by the seller to be deposited as security for the
performance by an investor of the operation of the business or that
secures an extension of credit.
"Initial payment" means the total amount an investor is obligated to
pay under the terms of the contract before or at the time of delivery of
the goods or services to the investor or within six (6) months of the date
that the investor commences operation of the business. If the contract
states a total price for the business opportunity and provides that the
total price is to be paid partially as an initial cash payment and the
remainder in specific monthly payments, the term means the total price.
The term does not include any amount required by the seller to be
deposited as security for the performance by an investor of the
operation of the business or that secures an extension of credit.
"Investor" means a person who is solicited to become obligated or
does become obligated on a contract.
"Offer" includes every attempt to dispose of a business opportunity
or an interest in a business opportunity for value.
"Person" means a human being, corporation, limited liability
company, partnership, unincorporated association, trust, or
governmental entity.
"Sale" includes every contract to sell or dispose of a business
opportunity or an interest in a business opportunity for value.
"Seller" means a person, or his agent, who sells or leases or offers
to sell or lease a business opportunity.
"Service" means any assistance, guidance, direction, work, labor, or
such other act as may be provided by the seller in the initiation or
maintenance of a business.
"Substantial seller" means a seller who has a net worth on a
consolidated basis, according to current financial statements certified
by an independent certified public accountant, of:
(1) at least five million dollars ($5,000,000); or
(2) at least one million dollars ($1,000,000) if the seller is at least
eighty percent (80%) owned by a corporation that has a net worth
on a consolidated basis, according to current financial statements
certified by an independent certified public accountant, of at least
five million dollars ($5,000,000).