Lightbridge Academy Named A Top Franchise Opportunity on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 List

Lightbridge Academy, the early education and child care franchise with more than 100 centers open or in development across the U.S., has won another prestigious award in the franchising world, this time jumping 91 points ahead of its 2020 position and coming in at No. 143 of Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500®.

“We were very focused on our franchisees during 2020 to make sure they had every resource needed to overcome obstacles and continue serving communities, families and their children during this challenging school year,” Lightbridge Academy’s founder and CEO Guy Falzarano said in response to the award. “Being recognized on Entrepreneur’s sought-after Franchise 500® list is welcomed validation that we made a major difference in people’s lives at a time they needed us most and in doing so remained a solid business opportunity during unprecedented times.”

Lightbridge Academy has positioned itself as an emerging player in the $40 billion childcare market, which includes 14.4 million U.S. children in childcare. The brand projects 9.2% annual growth, down only slightly from the 10% growth it’s experienced every year since 1999.

Falzarano attributes the brand’s success to its Circle of Care philosophy, which defines the brands every interaction and helps build Lightbridge Academy’s world class level of loyalty and culture of trust. Combined with the brand’s gold-standard for health and safety protocols, known as The Lightbridge Promise, Lightbridge Academy has earned the trust of thousands of families and enjoyed double-digit growth for decades.

Entrepreneur scoured the wide world of franchising to find the absolute best 500 business opportunities using a ranking system that’s been constantly evolving for 42 years.

The key factors that go into the evaluation include costs and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength and financial strength and stability. Each franchise is given a cumulative score based on an analysis of more than 150 data points, and the 500 franchises with the highest cumulative scores become the Franchise 500® in ranking order.

Lightbridge Academy’s Franchise 500® ranking joins a long list of other honors the brand has received since its inception in 1997. The brand made the Franchise Times’ Top 200+ franchise brands of 2020 and was recently recognized by the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ) and COMMERCE Magazine as one of its Companies That Care. On January 19, Newsweek named Lightbridge as One of America’s Best Customer Service Companies in 2021.

Lightbridge Academy is currently expanding its presence across the Mid-Atlantic and South. To find out if Lightbridge Academy has territories available in your area, visit their website.

In response to COVID-19, Lightbridge Academy rolled out The Lightbridge Promise as the gold standard in child care health protocols prioritizing the safety of everyone in the company's Circle of Care. In 2020, the company was featured on the Inc. 5000 ranking, Franchise Times Top 200+ awards, and Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500.

Lightbridge Academy was also recognized on Newsweek’s 2021 list of America’s Best Customer Service in addition to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500.