Big Blue Swim School

The vendor opportunity at Big Blue Swim School

Big Blue Swim School operates a compact network of 18 total units, with 11 company-owned and 7 franchised locations. The average unit volume sits at $1,788,604, and the royalty rate is 6%. For software vendors, this is a small but concentrated target: a single headquarters controls purchasing for the entire system, and the franchisor already mandates one key operational platform. The initial franchise term is 10 years, and the most recent FDD was issued in 2023. Year-over-year unit growth data is not disclosed in the FDD.

Who controls software purchasing

The buying center at Big Blue Swim School is lean and centralized. The 2023 FDD lists Chris DeJong as Co-Founder and President, and Scott Sanders as Chief Executive Officer. Additional named executives include Chris Kenny, Chairman of the Board for the holding company, Tyson Fraser, Executive Vice President of Real Estate, and Dennis Campbell, Vice President of Franchise Development. With no parent company on file and a small executive team, software purchasing decisions likely rest with DeJong and Sanders. Vendors should direct pitches to this HQ-level leadership, as the franchisee base consists entirely of single-unit operators with no multi-unit owners, meaning no franchisee-level buying power exists.

Mandated and current tech stack

The only mandated technology disclosed in the 2023 FDD is LESSONBuddy, an operational system presumably used for class scheduling and management. No other POS, CRM, or back-office systems are named as mandated or recommended in the FDD. This creates a clear integration point for vendors offering complementary solutions in areas like payment processing, customer relationship management, or staff scheduling. Because the system is mandated, any vendor seeking to replace or integrate with LESSONBuddy must win over HQ decision-makers.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 of the 2023 FDD does not contain a procurement signal, so the franchisor's supplier designation model—whether designated, approved, or open—is unknown. The renewal terms in Item 17 offer a potential timing trigger: franchisees in good standing may acquire a successor franchise for 10 years on then-current terms, provided they notify the franchisor at least three months before the term ends, pass a business review, remodel or upgrade the school, and pay a $5,000 successor fee. This renewal cycle, combined with any new unit openings, represents the most likely windows for software evaluation. However, with no disclosed unit growth rate and a small current footprint, these windows may be infrequent.

How to read the Big Blue Swim School FDD

The 2023 FDD provides the foundational data for any vendor evaluating this franchise as a sales target. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (executive team), Item 11 (mandated systems), Item 8 (procurement restrictions), and Item 17 (renewal and term conditions). The embedded PDF viewer below contains the full filing. For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, talk to FranCloud.