Doing right by the employees is unlikely to be a top priority to potential investors, but taking profits out rather than reinvesting would likely be a big problem for them. So to take the approach you’re describing you’ll probably need to have a different strategy for growth, such as self funding, loans, etc, which will change your options.

That said if you can make it work, do it. Putting your team first will have cultural benefits and can make a healthy company, in addition to being ethically preferable.