Teaching is ingrained in U.S. Olympian Ryan Murphy’s family. His mother is a college professor and his grandfather writes math textbooks. That why he joined forces with his mom, dad and grandfather to open a Goldfish Swim School franchise next year.
“I think the combination of the teaching background with my swimming background lends itself that this is really a perfect business for us,” Murphy said.
The group is opening a franchise next year in Jacksonville, Florida, where Murphy went to high school.
“It’s going to be an incredibly fun project and incredibly fun project with my family,” Murphy said.
Now 28 years old, Murphy has won four gold Olympic medals, plus one silver and one bronze. At the Rio De Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016, he won the 4×100-meter medley with Michael Phelps, Cody Miller and Nathan Adrian. Murphy’s 51.85-second leg of the race earned him a world record. In Tokyo in 2020, he was one of the U.S. team captains.
Murphy is currently training for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Once the games are finished next year, Murphy will take a more hands-on approach to operations. Until then, his family will take the reins, for the most part. “We’ll figure out what that process looks like with my parents, and kind of where I fit in, and gradually learn everything I can about the business,” he said.
Murphy’s swimming career thus far has given him the work ethic and ability to work under pressure—both of which will come in handy as he dives into franchising.
He’s most excited about connecting with the Jacksonville community, he said.
“I think it’s really cool to see how quickly you can make an impact on children,” Murphy said.
The investment required to open a Goldfish franchise ranges from $1.67 to $3.72 million. In 2022, revenue ranged from $477,363 to $4.49 million across 121 schools. The brand added 16 new franchised locations in 2022, for a total of 138 schools—all but one of which are franchised.
Murphy has met other Goldfish franchisees to get a feel for the operator experience. “Goldfish Swim School does an incredible job with their curriculum and they also do an incredible job with attracting really quality people,” he said.
Drowning prevention is a cause Murphy is passionate about, as drowning it the leading cause of death for kids age 1 to 4 years old.
“In Jacksonville, Florida, there’s water everywhere there,” he said. “It’s really imperative to have kids into swim lessons at a young age, getting comfortable in and around the water.”
While swimming lessons aren’t the only way to prevent drowning, the four-time gold medalist said the skill is essential. “We want every kid to go in there and have a great time with the parents and have an incredible experience,” he said. “But, at the end of the day, it is a really important skill for everyone to learn.”