Multi-Unit Franchise Partners Chris Burden and Penelope Clark are Bringing Big Blue Swim School to the Garden State

Chris Burden and Penelope Clark first met while attending Cornell University, and share a love of swimming. Burden practiced law and helped found an independent multi-strategy investment firm with a focus on managing and building private equity businesses. Clark became an established nutrition communications counselor with successful marketing, public relations and leadership skills. Both driven by a strong entrepreneurial foundation, they recently conducted a search of their next business, but this time, as a team.

“When we started looking for a business to build together, our initial goal was to find something we would both enjoy doing,” said Burden. “As fitness junkies with a passion for swimming, we were immediately drawn to the Big Blue Swim School concept. We love that it’s mission-driven with a recession-resistant business model, but more importantly, we knew immediately that we will have fun providing this important service to our community.”

Big blue swim school

In September, the couple signed a three-unit deal to bring Big Blue Swim School to northern New Jersey, joining a most profitable franchise that is uniquely positioned to be a leader of the underserved, $3 billion a year, swim school industry.

Since its founding in 2009 by competitive swimmer and near-Olympics-qualifier, Chris DeJong, Big Blue Swim School has come off the block with a laser focus. With differentiators like Big Blue's dual-pool facility layout, a strong brand, use of proprietary technology, leadership support, and best in class offerings, the school is quickly expanding across the country. In 2017, private equity firm Level 5 Capital Partners acquired a stake in the company to support the brand’s growth through franchising to 150 locations by 2021.

When researching the franchise, Burden and Clark were particularly impressed with Big Blue’s scalability and strong unit economics. But what elevated their interest even further was how the Big Blue team supports fitness franchise **partners with critical services such as site selection, construction, technology, and marketing. “This was a huge selling point for us because with early needs and services provided by the Big Blue team, we are able to do what we love and focus entirely on creating a positive and memorable customer experience.

It also means we can expect to operate on day one like it is year five,” said Burden.

Proprietary technology

Another key differentiator for Big Blue is it’s proprietary enterprise system, LessonBuddy™****. The cloud-based ERP is designed so franchise partners can operate successful pools without needing a daily presence. It also helps education franchise partners to run a high-scale, high-margin model at a market price point.

But LessonBuddy is more than a tool for franchisees to maximize pool capacity. It also allows parents to conveniently schedule their children’s classes online. LessonBuddy™ makes it easy for parents to fit swim lessons into their lives, not the other way around, because they can schedule and reschedule classes at any time, and multi-kid families can all swim during the same 30-45 minute window.

“As parents, we understand the challenges of scheduling family activities. Learning about Big Blue’s technology and dual-pool model, we knew the offering was laps ahead of the competition,” said Burden. “As franchisees, we also appreciate Big Blue’s turnkey approach that allows us to become operational quickly and achieve a faster ROI.”

Market and growth

Scott Thompson, Big Blue’s Chief Development Officer, believes Burden and Clark will be a strong addition to the Big Blue system. “Chris and Penelope have impressive backgrounds and their skill sets really complement each other, ensuring a strong and successful children's franchise partnership,” said Thompson. “We are thrilled to welcome them to the Big Blue team and are grateful for their commitment to expanding our presence along the east coast.”

According to Burden, the northern New Jersey market is underserved in this category, making it a prime time for Big Blue to dive in. “The region has a high population of young families living in communities near or within commuting distance of New York City,” said Burden. Burden and Clark are working with Big Blue’s development team to use market knowledge and data-driven real estate assessment to identify prime real estate in the area. They plan to open their first location in 2021 in one of their three New Jersey territories, which include Paramus, Clifton and Union.

“We are very excited about this investment,” said Burden. “We are both swimmers and know how much joy, enrichment, and confidence this essential life skill brings to a child. The Big Blue executive team has been great to work with and their approach to swim instruction is designed to teach skills, but also to empower kids in all they do by building confidence in the water.”

“Through a combination of Big Blue’s franchisee support team and the couple’s experience in building, managing, and growing businesses, Chris and Penelope are positioned for explosive success throughout the New Jersey area and beyond,” said Thompson.

Big Blue’s business model is recession-resistant, cannot be automated or outsourced, and is tailored to meet the needs of multi-child families. With best-in-class consumer offerings, a strong brand, leadership support, proprietary technology, and an aggressive growth plan, the time has never been better to take the plunge and invest in a Big Blue Swim School.

Multi-unit franchise opportunities are available for qualified candidates looking for their next big opportunity, and veterans receive a 10 percent discount on the $75,000 franchise fee. The total investment necessary to begin operation of a new Big Blue Swim School is $1,825,500 to $3,687,000, (refer to item 7 in FDD).To learn more or inquire about Big Blue Swim School best franchises to buy, visit ***