MailchimpIntuit
Mandatoryfee increase will be communicated to you 30 days before the effective date of the fee increase. 13 Newsletter Software Fee. You will pay this fee directly to the approved supplier Mailchimp, an indepe
From the filings
+13.636% units YoYHQ-led decisions
Starting Strength
FitnessSoftware purchasing at Starting Strength is controlled at the headquarters level by a tight executive team led by CEO Nicholas Delgadillo and CTO Benjamin Gillenwater. The franchise currently mandates bookkeeping, CRM, marketing, and payroll software across its 25 franchised units, with no company-owned locations on file. For vendors, this is a small but growing target—unit count rose 13.6% year-over-year—with a single-operator footprint concentrated in Texas, Florida, and Oklahoma.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
25
25 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+13.636%
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
8%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$40K
per unit
Investment range
$237K–$713K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
Claims
from the filing
Ongoing fee load
What the operator pays every month
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
10%of gross sales (FY2025)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
2 of these are mandated in the franchise agreement. Each is named in Item 11 of the filing, the incumbents a challenger must displace or integrate with.
Pike13Pike13
Mandatoryyour Franchise Agreement. 12 Technology Fees. We will make available to you for a fee the following software programs that you are required to use in the operation of the Gym: (1) Pike13: $179/month f
FacebookMeta
ate content. We reserve the right to "occupy" any social media websites/pages and be the sole provider of information regarding the Gym on such websites/pages (e.g., a system-wide Facebook page). At o
TrueCoachTrueCoach
e Hosting: $20/month; (5) Customer Acquisition App: $40/month; (6) TV Display App: $20/month; (7) OpenPhone App: $25/month; (8) Zapier: $5/month; (9) Geo Targetly: $15/month, (10) TrueCoach: $30/month
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
24 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 5 explicit no's; 5 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
the software programs and/or POS system that Franchisor specifies or otherwise approves.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor will have independent access, at all times, to information Franchisee generates and stores on the Computer System, including, but not limited to, sales, reports, records, and other accounting information, and software used in the operation of the Gym.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
These suppliers may include, and may be limited to, us or an affiliate of ours.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor reserves the right to revoke its approval of a previously authorized supplier, product, class or service when Franchisor determines in its discretion that such supplier, product, class or service is not meeting the specifications and standards established by Franchisor.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
131550Item 8
In our fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, our revenues from required purchases and leases of products and services by franchisees, including purchases of software programs (i.e., Technology Fees), architecture and design fees, recruiter fees, and fees for online coaching leads from us, were $131,550, or 14% of our…
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor and its affiliates reserve the right to receive rebates, incentive amounts, discounts and other economic benefits from any supplier and have the right to realize a profit on the sales of products and/or services to Franchisee.
Item 8 gives this proportion in one of two shapes: separate percentages for establishing the business and for operating it, or one figure covering "establishing and operating" together. Where they are separate, answer with the operating percentage; where the passage gives only the combined figure, answer with that. What percentage of the franchisee's purchases must come from designated or approved suppliers?
0.05Item 8
We estimate that your required purchases, purchases from Approved Suppliers, and purchases that must meet our specifications, in total will be about 78% - 83% of your total purchases to establish the Gym and about .05% of your purchases to continue the operation of the Gym.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
We may require you to pre-pay any reasonable charges connected with our review and evaluation of any proposal.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
You can request the approval of an item, product, service or supplier by notifying us in writing and submitting such information and/or materials we may request.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 17
assign your telephone and facsimile numbers, electronic mail and internet addresses to us
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee is required to maintain the security of cardholder data and adhere to the then-current credit card security standards which can be found at www.pcisecuritystandards.org for the protection of cardholder data throughout the Term of this Agreement.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor reserves the right to supervise, determine and approve the standards of appearance, quality and service pertinent to the Gym including, without limitation, the right at any reasonable time and without prior notice to Franchisee to: (1) inspect and examine the business premises, weight-lifting equipment…
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee acknowledges that Franchisor may from time to time revise its Franchise Program as well as the contents of the Manual, and Franchisee agrees to comply with each new or changed standard and specification upon notice from Franchisor.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must obtain the approval of Franchisor for the proposed Gym location.
Marketing
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee agrees to spend a minimum of $2,500 on advertising, marketing and promotion to support the Grand Opening of the Gym.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee agrees to spend each month no less than three percent (3%) of its Gross Sales for the month on local advertising and promotion of the Gym.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase or lease all gym equipment, furniture, fixtures, finishes, signage, merchandise, and gym supplies for the establishment of your Gym from suppliers designated and approved by us (“Approved Suppliers”)
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase or lease all gym equipment, furniture, fixtures, finishes, signage, merchandise, and gym supplies for the establishment of your Gym from suppliers designated and approved by us (“Approved Suppliers”)
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
Unless we specify otherwise, you must pay any and all fees owed to us, by pre-authorized electronic debit to our bank or other financial institution account.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 11
You must participate in the Gift Card Program by offering Starting Strength Gym gift cards to your customers and honoring those gift cards sold at your Gym when presented to you as payment for products and services at the Gym.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
You must have at least one coach employed at the Gym with a valid Starting Strength Coach Certification.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must acquire a Computer System as designated by Franchisor for use in the operation of the Gym.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor will have independent access, at all times, to information Franchisee generates and stores on the Computer System, including, but not limited to, sales, reports, records, and other accounting information, and software used in the operation of the Gym.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 6
From time to time, we may offer system-wide ongoing or refresher training to the Starting Strength Franchisees for a fee ranging from $500 to $1,000 per day, such training may include online and offline courses, meetings, seminars and conventions.
The filing answers no to 5 questions
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
- Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?Item 11
- Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?Franchise agreement
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 6
- Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?Item 6
Who buys here
The buyer at this brand
The decision-maker a vendor sells to at this scale, and the gaps they’re paid to close, derived from our data by segment and unit count, not a guess.
The franchisor's owner/CEO decides; an ops or franchise-development lead may evaluate.
VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
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The vendor opportunity at Starting Strength
Starting Strength operates 25 franchised gyms, all run by single-unit operators, with no company-owned locations disclosed in the 2025 FDD. The brand added units at a 13.6% clip year-over-year, signaling modest but real expansion. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is those 25 locations—small by chain standards, but concentrated enough to make a direct HQ sale efficient. The top states are Texas with 7 units, Florida with 3, and Oklahoma with 3, followed by Ohio and Colorado with 2 each. No multi-unit operators appear in the operator footprint, meaning every location decision runs through the same central buyer.
Who controls software purchasing
Purchasing authority sits at headquarters. The 2025 FDD lists five executives: Founder and Managing Member Lawrence “Ray” Gillenwater, CEO and President Nicholas “Nick” Delgadillo, Chief Strength Officer Charles “Mark” Rippetoe, CTO Benjamin “Ben” Gillenwater, and Director of Membership Sales and Retention John Haun. For a software pitch, the most direct path is through CTO Benjamin Gillenwater, who owns the technology stack, and CEO Nicholas Delgadillo, who signs off on operational tools. John Haun’s membership-sales role may also make him a stakeholder for CRM or marketing platforms. There is no parent company on file; the brand appears independently owned, so no external corporate IT layer complicates the sale.
Mandated and current tech stack
The FDD mandates four categories of software: bookkeeping software, customer relationship management software, marketing software, and payroll software. Specific vendors are not named in the disclosure, which means the current stack could be a mix of off-the-shelf or custom tools. For a vendor, this is both a gap and an opening—if you can identify what they use today, you can position against it or integrate with it. The absence of a named POS or operational platform in the mandates suggests either flexibility at the unit level or a deliberate omission. Either way, any pitch should address how your tool fits into a gym environment running mandated CRM, marketing, and payroll alongside whatever membership management system is in place.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD provides no extract on procurement, so there is no public signal about designated suppliers, approved-vendor lists, or purchasing co-ops. That leaves the procurement model undefined in the disclosure. Renewal terms, however, are explicit: each franchise agreement runs 10 years, and franchisees must give notice of renewal between 90 and 180 days before expiration. They must also sign the then-current form of agreement, which may contain materially different terms. For a software vendor, this means two things. First, new-unit openings—driven by that 13.6% growth rate—create immediate greenfield opportunities where HQ can mandate or recommend tools from day one. Second, as legacy agreements approach their 10-year mark, franchisees must bring their gyms into compliance with current standards, which can trigger system upgrades or replacements. With 25 units and staggered opening dates, there is likely a rolling window of renewal-driven tech evaluations.
How to read the Starting Strength FDD
The full 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. It contains the legal and operational detail behind every claim on this page—executive names, unit counts, royalty rates, renewal conditions, and mandated technology categories. For software vendors, the most relevant sections are Item 1 (the franchisor and its officers), Item 11 (franchisor’s obligations, where tech mandates live), Item 8 (restrictions on sources of products and services), and Item 17 (renewal, termination, and transfer). Reading these sections will tell you exactly what the franchisor requires, who enforces it, and when contracts turn over. If you need a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, FranCloud can build one from this same FDD-level data.
Questions vendors ask
Starting Strength, answered from the filing
The CTO, Benjamin Gillenwater, and CEO Nicholas Delgadillo are the likely buying-center leads. Founder Lawrence Gillenwater and Chief Strength Officer Mark Rippetoe may also influence major operational tool decisions.
The 2025 FDD mandates bookkeeping software, customer relationship management software, marketing software, and payroll software. Specific POS or operational platform vendors are not disclosed.
There are 25 franchised units, all operated by single-unit franchisees. No company-owned locations are reported. Top states are Texas (7), Florida (3), and Oklahoma (3).
The FDD does not extract a designated or approved supplier list in Item 8. Without that signal, the procurement model is not publicly specified, leaving vendor approval requirements unclear.
Renewal terms run 10 years with notice required 90–180 days before expiration. Given recent 13.6% unit growth, new-location onboarding and staggered legacy renewals create rolling opportunities.
The 2025 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can review it directly in the embedded PDF viewer below on this page.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Starting Strength files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
31 operators run 31 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit31
Top states by locations
| TX | 7 |
|---|---|
| FL | 3 |
| OK | 3 |
| OH | 2 |
| CO | 2 |
Related Fitness brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.