--- title: "How U.S. National Champion Swimmer Chris DeJong Launched Big Blue Swim School and Created a Multi-Million Dollar Business Despite a Recession" url: https://burnaze.com/article/db4da7ff-2209-4e8a-8497-5b785fe971c9 source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/how-us-national-champion-swimmer-chris-dejong-launched-big-blue-swim-school-and-created-a-multi-million-dollar-business-despite-a-recession-2712004 category: "Swim" industry: "Education & Childcare" segment: "Swim" published: 2020-02-05T06:01:22.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T02:28:25.038Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/ce0c21d4de7ba0165e65f9d0ca6036385524.jpg --- # How U.S. National Champion Swimmer Chris DeJong Launched Big Blue Swim School and Created a Multi-Million Dollar Business Despite a Recession **TL;DR:** Chris DeJong, a five-time U.S. National Champion swimmer, launched Big Blue Swim School in 2009, which has grown into a multi-million dollar business despite the recession. Big Blue Swim School has expanded to five schools in the Chicago area and has signed 59 franchise locations across 12 states. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2020-02-05. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/how-us-national-champion-swimmer-chris-dejong-launched-big-blue-swim-school-and-created-a-multi-million-dollar-business-despite-a-recession-2712004).* ## Key facts - Big Blue Swim School has a recession-resistant business model - Swim lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88% - Big Blue has persisted through economic downturns with continued growth ## Story **When five-time U.S. National Champion swimmer Chris DeJong left his competitive swimming career in 2009 to start** **Big Blue Swim School****, the** **economy wasn’t exactly primed** **for starting a business. In the decade since,** **DeJong has led the learn to swim franchise to become an emerging leader in the lucrative swim school industry****. Big Blue now has five schools open in the Chicago area and has signed 59 franchise locations across 12 states.** **According to DeJong, this recession-resistant business model is a result of many factors, including a consistent need for quality swim lessons, the brand’s commitment to exceptional and innovative services, and LessonBuddy™—** **Big Blue Swim School’s** **proprietary enterprise software system.** **“Although I’m a competitive swimmer, I didn’t start out that way,” said DeJong. “In fact, as a child, I had a real fear of water so I understand what developing confidence in the water can do for kids. As a parent, I also know how important it is to ensure my own kids learn to swim, and are safe around water,” said DeJong.** **He started teaching swim lessons as a way to make ends meet and to share the gift of swimming with others.** **It didn’t take long for their concept to blossom into Big Blue Swim School**. ## Early business growth **In 2009, he began teaching swim lessons at a local pool. In April of 2012, he raised capital from the parents of the kids he was teaching to build a dedicated learn-to-swim facility in Wilmette, Illinois, where he and his team taught 1,500 lessons a week. It was during this time that DeJong realized, despite the recession, he had a concept that was ready to grow.** **“According to the CDC,** **swim lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88%,****” said DeJong. “No matter what the economy looks like, water safety is a need that all parents have. Young families are becoming increasingly more aware of this need and in their approach to promoting water safety. From day one, our state-of-the-art swim school has used both proprietary technology and an innovative curriculum that employs full-time swim associates to set children, and our schools, up for success.”** **By establishing the best-in-class swim lesson offering, Big Blue delivered a consistent experience that made it continually attractive to investors.** ## Expansion and investment **After opening two more locations in Illinois, Big Blue’s** **recession-resistant offering** **caught the eye of the multi-brand franchisee, and private equity group,** **Level 5 Capital Partners****. In January of 2017, Level 5 acquired a stake in the company to** **support the brand’s growth through franchising****.** **“As a business model, swim lessons fill a vital need for safety that cannot be outsourced or automated. And swim lessons are impervious to Amazon - unlike other franchises,” said DeJong. “Beyond that, Big Blue is able to lean into our** **proprietary enterprise system, LessonBuddy™****, which allows us to run a high-scale, high-margin model at a market price point.”** **DeJong also notes that during the challenging times, franchisees need to be hyper-aware of their expenses and that is when LessonBuddy™ differentiates Big Blue from the competition.** **“Our enterprise management technology system is built to provide the** **swim school** **owner with the ability to optimize resource allocation and meet the customers exactly where they are,” he said. “The actionable insights that we get from LessonBuddy™ allow us to program** **optimized capacity planning for our pools and cut excess staff costs for franchisees****.”** **“At Big Blue, our only experience with the recession has been continued growth,” said DeJong. “Whether it is our best-in-class offering, innovative curriculum, data-driven capacity planning or proprietary technology, Big Blue has persisted through economic downturns by focusing on a high-quality product for our customers and an** **attractive investment opportunity** **for our** **most profitable franchise** **partners.”** **Big Blue was recently ranked among the** **Top 100 Game Changers by** ***Franchise Dictionary*** ***Magazine*****. The annual Game Changer list is part of the magazine’s December issue. Franchises on the 2019 Game Changers list were evaluated on a variety of criteria including how they serve communities, if they create an opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to fulfill a niche, if they impact veterans, and how well they appeal to millennials.** ***Multi-unit*** ***franchise opportunities*** ***are available for qualified candidates looking for their next big opportunity, and veterans can receive a 10 percent discount on the $50,000 franchise fee. The total investment for one Big Blue Swim School ranges from $1,825,500 to $3,687,000 (refer to item 7 in FDD). To learn more or inquire about Big Blue Swim School, visit*** *** ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - franchise growth (topic) - Education & Childcare (sector) - Franchise Dictionary Magazine (publication) - Big Blue Swim School (company) - Chris DeJong (person) - Level 5 Capital Partners (investor) - swim lessons (topic) - Level 5 Capital Partners investment in Big Blue Swim School (deal) - recession-resistant business (topic) - private equity investment (topic) - multi-unit franchise opportunities (topic) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/how-us-national-champion-swimmer-chris-dejong-launched-big-blue-swim-school-and-created-a-multi-million-dollar-business-despite-a-recession-2712004). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/db4da7ff-2209-4e8a-8497-5b785fe971c9).