Degree Wellness vs The Joint Chiropractic

Degree Wellness is a non-starter. With only 2 franchised units and a total footprint of 6 locations, the total addressable market is microscopic. Even if you captured 100% of their franchisees, the deal volume wouldn’t cover the cost of a single outbound sequence. The AUV is fine, but irrelevant when there’s no scale to multiply against. The approved-supplier procurement model is a genuine terrain advantage—it means franchisees can buy independently without corporate gatekeeping—but that door leads to an empty room. You’d be selling into a concept that hasn’t proven it can replicate, and your pipeline dies after two conversations.

The Joint Chiropractic is the clear play, and it’s not close. You get 800 franchised units, 12% year-over-year unit growth, and a lower investment floor that keeps the franchisee pool wide open. That’s a real TAM with momentum. The AUV is slightly higher, so unit-level budget isn’t the objection. The tradeoff is terrain: franchisor-controlled procurement means you’ll likely have to sell through corporate or get on an approved vendor list, which adds friction and lengthens cycles. But that’s a solvable gatekeeping problem against a 935-unit backdrop. The overdue FDD filing is a yellow flag on corporate hygiene, not a dealbreaker for selling to individual operators who are already in the system and making money.

You take the brand with 800 paying, growing locations and navigate the procurement bottleneck. You don’t chase a 2-unit concept just because the buying process is open.

Verdict: The Joint Chiropractic wins on TAM and budget, and the controlled procurement is a manageable obstacle compared to Degree Wellness’s fatal lack of scale.