The Exercise Coach

The vendor opportunity at The Exercise Coach

The Exercise Coach operates 221 total units, 217 of which are franchised. The system is entirely single-unit: 35 mapped operators run roughly 35 located units, with no operator holding two or more locations. That structure means a software vendor must sell into 217 individual franchisee businesses—there is no multi-unit owner who can make a single decision across a portfolio. The top states by unit count are Illinois (6), Texas (5), California (4), Georgia (3), and Florida (2). Average unit volume sits at $304,317, and the royalty rate is 6.0% on a 10-year initial term. Year-over-year unit growth is modest at 2.844%, so the installed base is relatively stable rather than rapidly expanding.

Who controls software purchasing

The 2026 FDD lists three HQ executives in Item 1: Brian R. Cygan (Chief Executive Officer/Manager), Brad Bundy (Chief Operating Officer), and Gerianne M. Cygan (Wellness Director). No separate CIO, CTO, or VP of Technology is named. For a vendor, the buying center likely starts with the CEO and COO, who appear to control the mandated technology stack. Because the franchise mandates specific systems, any vendor selling a replacement for HubSpot, QuickBooks Online, FlexBI, or the proprietary TEC Apps must convince these two executives to change a system-wide requirement. Selling a complementary tool that sits alongside the mandated stack may be an easier path, but still requires HQ awareness, since franchisees operate under a tight technology mandate.

Mandated and current tech stack

The Exercise Coach mandates five technology components, according to the 2026 FDD: a CRM and Phone System (not further specified by vendor), FlexBI, HubSpot by HubSpot, Inc., QuickBooks Online by Intuit Inc., and TEC Apps. HubSpot serves as the named CRM, QuickBooks Online handles accounting, and FlexBI provides business intelligence. TEC Apps is a proprietary system. No traditional point-of-sale system is listed. For a software vendor, this stack leaves gaps in areas like scheduling, member management, or payroll—but any tool that overlaps with HubSpot or QuickBooks Online faces a mandated incumbent.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

The 2026 FDD does not include an Item 8 extract, so the procurement model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open—is not disclosed in the most recent filing. Renewal terms, however, are clear. Franchisees can renew for an additional 5 years, provided they are not in default, give timely notice, sign the then-current franchise agreement, sign a general release, pay a renewal fee, remodel the Studio and upgrade furniture, fixtures, and equipment to current standards, and extend the lease for the renewal term. HQ may prohibit renewal if a franchisee fails to pay amounts owed when due on two or more occasions in any one-year period, or if the franchisor discontinues the offer and sale of franchises in that market. These remodel-and-upgrade triggers create natural moments when franchisees must evaluate new equipment and possibly adjacent software, making renewal cycles a practical window for vendor outreach.

How to read the The Exercise Coach FDD

The 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is the authoritative source for the numbers and mandates cited here. It is filed with state franchise regulators and available in the embedded viewer below. For software vendors, the most actionable sections are Item 1 (executives), Item 11 (mandated systems), and Item 17 (renewal conditions). Because the system is entirely single-unit, the FDD also reveals the operator footprint that defines your total addressable market: 217 franchised locations, no multi-unit shortcuts. Use the viewer to verify the current tech mandates and executive names before building your pitch list. For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, FranCloud can help.