Nothing kills a student’s love for learning like a bubble sheet test. Brooklyn Robot Foundry founder and CEO Jenny Young would know, she used to work for a company that made those sheets.
“I had this eye-opening experience where I was like, what is gonna make children not want to learn is filling in Scantron sheets. So boring,” said Young, who has a background in mechanical engineering.
She founded Brooklyn Robot Foundry about 13 years ago to give kids the chance to build robots in a hands-on, creative environment. The company started franchising in 2022 and has one corporate location and another five franchised territories.
BRF got its start at New York City’s Maker Faire, which is, as Young put it, “this huge, multi-weekend event of really dorky, geeky people building stuff together.” Turns out the geeks of New York City loved Young’s classes, which sold out every weekend. “People want this,” she recalls thinking.
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All of BRF’s territories are in the northeastern United States, but Young has plans to eventually spread nationwide. Each franchisee is a single-unit operator, save for one in Philadelphia who has two. Territories are split up by zip codes, so each owner has a handful of zip codes they can operate in. BRF doesn’t have brick-and-mortar stores, but instead a we-come-to-you business model.
“You’re pushing into other people’s spaces, which is really nice,” Young said. Once franchisees get more clients, they can hire more teachers. “The more teachers you have, the more kids that you can serve as a mobile business.”
Classes are geared toward 2-year-olds up to eighth grade. BRF’s customers, though, are typically schools, businesses, libraries and organizations who contract to host workshops. The franchise offers summer sessions when kids are off from school, Young said.
BRF does its own curriculum development. Over the course of 13 years, the company designed more than 2,000 robots, Young said.
The initial investment range is $91,000 to $118,000, which includes the $30,000 franchise fee. Recurring fees include a 5 percent royalty and 3 percent marketing fee, according to BRF’s website.
The kid-focused franchise sector is booming, as parents look for ways to keep their kids busy and allow them to learn new skills.
There’s Sky Zone, a trampoline park franchise, which garnered $426 million with 177 units in 2022. Those sales, up 44.4 percent year over year, earned the company the No. 169 spot on the Franchise Times 400.
Goldfish Swim School is one of many kid-centric swimming lesson franchisors. The company had 138 units in 2022, which earned $261.9 million systemwide. Aqua-Tots Swim Schools is similarly sized, with 130 units in 2022, and $138 million in sales.
There are plenty of education-focused franchises, too, such as The Learning Experience. The 340-unit brand earned $573.9 million in 2022. Sylvan Learning did $180 million in sales in 2022. Seidler Equity-backed Unleashed Brands acquired the tutoring franchise earlier this year. Unleashed has a bunch of kid-focused franchises: Urban Air Adventure Park, Premier Martial Arts, Snapology and more.
Brooklyn Robot Foundry doesn’t require its franchisees to have a background in education or engineering, Young said.
“If we can teach a 5-year-old to build a robot, we can really teach anybody,” she said.
Sales ability is an important trait for BRF franchisees. “A person who is a connector, who really understands the art of being a service-based industry,” Young said.
If franchisees “really hit the ground running” their business could be open in up to six weeks, because the training process fairly quick, Young said.
Fun is the core value of BRF, she said.
“Those are the kind of people who we’re looking for: someone who likes to have fun,” Young said. “It can be somebody who believe in the process and are excited to bring it to more kids.”