Franchise Headlines

Spotlight: Code Wiz Acquired By Tutor Doctor

This story is important for two reasons:

1). The founder, Ruth Agbaji, is a Nigerian immigrant who grew up without electricity and running water. After teaching herself to code by spending hours in an internet cafe, she earned a scholarship for Computer Science at Tuft’s, which she then parlayed into a job at Microsoft. If that wasn’t enough, she decided the corporate life wasn’t for her so she started Code Wiz in 2017.

“We’re not investing in Code Wiz. We’re investing in you”, Tutor Doctor said to Abigail upon the acquisition.

What an amazing success story!

2) This story also highlights the growing trend of boutique education concepts being scooped up by private equity. Code Wiz joins Snapology, Engineering for Kids, Sylvan Learning, and Code Ninja’s as the latest brand to be acquired.

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More News

Sweetgreen Files To Go Public
The salad chain is reporting an AUV of $2.5M

The Crumbl Cookie Craze
A Crumbl franchisee is off to a HOT start in the northeast*

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop Owner To Start Acquiring Other Brands
The Private Equity Hold Co. Playbook is being rolled out once again**

Popeyes is Heading to Romania 
The fried-chicken giant has committed to 90 restaurants over the next 10 years

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Franchise Breakdown:

LaundroLab

Fast Facts

Background

• Founded in 2018, franchising since 2020
• Based in Charlotte, North Carolina; 1 unit open, 17 in development
• Each laundromat comes with cash or credit card payment options, free Wi-Fi, ample folding space, TVs, a kid’s area, games, vending machines, and a loyalty reward program

Fees + Investment

• Royalty: 6% of gross revenue
• Brand Fund: Up to 2% of gross revenue, currently set at 1%
• Franchise Fee: $49,500
• Initial Investment: $321,330 – $482,650

Financial Performance

• The following table illustrates historical data from the affiliate owned business. The affiliate did not pay royalties or make advertising contributions, but those costs were imputed to reflect that of a franchisee.

The Wolf’s Take  🍟

EBITDA of $230K in year two off of a $483k investment? Sign me up!

I am legitimately PISSED that I don’t have the cash available right now for one of these. If you follow @Codie_Sanchez on Twitter then you already have read the Gospel of Cash Flowing Laundromats and know how amazing these businesses can be.

I love what LaundroLab is doing because they:

A) use modern technology for everything and don’t require you to use spare change, and B) they’ve turned the typical laundromat (which is usually old, dirty & depressing) into a modern DESTINATION by adding free wifi and a few TVs, vending machines, arcade games, etc.

They’ve done this without driving up the costs to where the unit economics don’t make sense. The only drawback (or benefit depending on your risk tolerance) is that it’s super early in their growth – they literally only have 1 unit open and operating – so there is little proof of concept at the moment.

But remember, you aren’t subscribed to this newsletter to find out about big brands AFTER they blow up – keep an eye on them or go to their website and start due diligence now. 1 unit open means there’s nothing but open territory waiting to be pounced on. Happy hunting! 

Recent Press

• The LaundroLab Franchise is Growing