One River School is resuming its franchising efforts, looking to grow to 75 schools within the next three years.
After a five-year halt, One River School is resuming its franchise growth efforts.
For more than a decade, One River School has taught art education and a variety of art mediums to thousands of students. Advocating for younger artists is nothing new for founder Matt Ross, who served as an investor and founding CEO for music education program School of Rock. Ross left School of Rock in 2010 and founded New Jersey-based One River School in 2012 with the goal to “transform art education” in America.
One River School Founder Matt Ross
Ross served as One River School’s CEO until October, when Agnes Mauro stepped into the role. With the company since its founding, Mauro spent the last two years as chief operating officer. Ross will still have a heavy hand in the company as founder, responsible for guiding the leadership team, expanding its product menu and improving the company website.
“Besides being a guy who built his art school system, I’m a real advocate for contemporary artists and living artists, emerging artists,” Ross said. “We view ourselves as the voice of contemporary art in the communities that we serve.”
Franchise Times last spoke to Ross in early 2020, when the brand had 12 locations. It paused its franchise expansion efforts and kept them on the backburner because of the COVID-19 pandemic and “the state of the world at that time,” Ross said.
But come January, franchise growth will move to the forefront.
In a September company blog post, Ross predicted “significant expansion” nationwide over the next three years. He said that would mean growing to 75 schools within the timeframe—the brand now has 15 locations in six states—including the opening of 16 to 18 franchised schools each year.
“The best thing about us is that we’ve got 12 years of operating experience under our belt, so we feel that we know what to do and how to do it,” Ross said. “The combination of investments in infrastructure, talent and a basic franchise marketing model to find the right franchise partners will get us to those goals.”
This “combination of investments” included updating the school’s technology toolkit. Ross said the brand is building a franchise-specific website and will put resources into proper search engine marketing. The school is also doing more press and promotion to raise brand awareness, sharing stories from families who have benefited from its classes, camps and programs.
The school has taught art education and different mediums to thousands of students since 2012.
“Parents tell me we save their kid’s life,” Ross said. “We’ve given them a place that embraces them and stimulates their creative side, so we have to get that story out.”
Storytelling also serves as a tactical way to reach current and potential franchisees.
“We just want to get that in front of the right people in the target markets that we’re looking to grow in,” Ross said. “I think that we’ll be really good at helping people grow if we find the right people.”
Finding the right people means finding owner-operators instead of passive investors, Ross said. While franchisees do not need to have an art school background, One River School wants to support those with an appreciation for creative education and the leadership ability to build a strong team of creatives.
The initial investment range to own a One River School franchise is between $179,500 and $568,100, according to the company’s franchise disclosure document.
“We’ve got a successful business, but now we have the chance to spread to communities all over the country that will really embrace this,” Ross said.