Mo Khalil, a multi-unit franchisee for Mathnasium Learning Centers, signed a strategic investment deal with Snapdragon Capital Partners to open 25 new locations over the next five years.
Mo Khalil grew his portfolio of Mathnasium Learning Centers to 55 locations in six states pretty much on his own. Now, with Snapdragon Capital Partners in his corner, Mathnasium’s top-earning franchisee sees no reason why he can’t add another 100 units in the next five years.
“We are targeting 20 new locations per year through acquisitions and new locations, and hopefully get to 150 Mathnasiums,” Khalil said about his company, Khalil Ventures. “With Snapdragon injecting money into our balance sheet, it will allow us to grow and scale a lot faster.”
The financial details of Snapdragon’s investment in Khalil Ventures weren’t disclosed. Snapdragon plans to open 25 Mathnasiums by 2029, but Snapdragon Managing Partner Mark Grabowski and Khalil both said the growth potential goes well beyond that number.
Snapdragon’s investment is the private equity firm’s first foray into the education space. Last year, the company invested $30 million in Spartan Fitness Holdings, an operator of 60 Club Pilates studios.
Since Grabowski founded Snapdragon in 2018, the company invested in Xponential Fitness, Corepower Yoga and First Watch Restaurant Group.
Snapdragon Capital Partners Founder and Managing Partner Mark Grabowski
“We’ve been focused on the growing interest in health and wellness, and over the last year we’ve spent a lot of time looking at child enrichment programs where we think there is similar long-term tailwinds,” Grabowski said. “We felt that Mathnasium was a brand that had a lot of staying power and has a strength and connection with consumers. It scored high on all those qualities.”
With more than 1,100 global locations and $322 million in systemwide sales, Mathnasium is No. 190 on the Franchise Times Top 400, an annual ranking of the largest United States-based franchise brands.
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Meanwhile, Khalil built his multi-unit Mathnasium empire primarily with his own money, plus support from a few outside investors. Since opening his first location in Orlando, Florida, in 2011, he’s opened four to six locations per year. He said he has 6,500 students enrolled in 55 centers in Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey and the Midwest.
Khalil acquired six Mathnasiums this year, and most of his growth has come from acquisitions, he said.
Khalil Ventures reached $22 million in annual revenue last year, according to Mathnasium.
The average unit volume of the top 50 percent of Mathnasiums, according to Item 19 of its franchise disclosure document, is $380,553, with the initial cost for opening a location ranging from $112,860 to $149,155.
Khalil said he is targeting growth in New York and New Jersey, along with his existing core markets.
“Mathnasium is an incredible brand and it’s been very exciting to be able to work with them and grow with them,” said Khalil, an immigrant from Egypt who arrived in the U.S. at the age of 11 without knowing English.
Prior to becoming a franchisee, Khalil said he sold office technology for Canon and then owned Verizon Wireless stores in Florida. But he grew tired of that and explored ways he could work for himself. He said he considered buying a kids gym concept before coming across a Franchise Business Review report on Mathnasium.
“Mathnasium received real high ratings from their franchisees on training and corporate support, and that really caught my attention,” Khalil said. “I also grew up loving math. It was the one class I was in that I understood and did well when I first arrived in the U.S.”
Grabowski said after he assessed Mathnasium franchisees, it was clear Khalil was the right one for his firm.
“What really stood out to us was Mo’s track record of performance and the infrastructure he built at his company,” Grabowski said. “He’s got a call center that very few franchisees have. That and the fact that his locations are some of the top-performing units in the entire Mathnasium system make him a great partner for us to work with.”