Read Time: 4 minutes
Tech Topics In This Article: Charlotte entrepreneurs, Franchise businesses
While scaling 2ULaundry, the venture-backed, on-demand laundry and dry cleaning startup out of Charlotte, co-founder Alex Smereczniak and his team saw an opportunity to expand from mobile services into franchise-based brick-and-mortar laundromats. And it was during that process that Smereczniak saw first-hand the inefficiencies that surrounded the franchising model.
Despite the franchise model’s popularity in the US — where over 790,000 franchise establishments contribute well over $800 billion annually to the economy — discovering the right franchising opportunities remains remarkably outdated. People often rely on Google searches, personal referrals, or business brokers to find their next franchising opportunity. Because of this outdated model, smaller and emerging brands have a hard time getting in front of potential franchise owners.
Talking to businesses and franchise owners alike, Smereczniak realized that there just wasn’t a solid software solution out there for people to discover, compare, and finance franchise businesses.
Franzy is Smereczniak’s and his co-founder Chris Wright’s answer to this gap in the market.
Inside The Franzy Platform
Franzy, which officially launched today, is designed to help hotels, restaurants, home services businesses, moving companies, gyms, and other franchise-based businesses connect with the right entrepreneurs who are looking to own a franchise. The platform does this without charging exorbitant brokerage fees that are standard in the industry today.
At its core, Franzy centralizes all the resources entrepreneurs need to build a franchising business, from exploring opportunities to financing. The startup brings all the data and resources under one roof that entrepreneurs need to build up their franchising business from the top of the funnel, making the franchise world more transparent and accessible.
The Franzy Fit Score is an interactive feature that helps users identify the franchise opportunities best suited to them. By completing a survey that assesses financial readiness, operational experience, risk tolerance, and personal goals, users receive curated recommendations for brands that align with their profile.
“What Zillow has done to real estate and what Expedia did to travel…we want to do that for the business buying process,” Smereczniak told Hypepotamus.
At its official launch, Franzy has 3,000 franchise profiles set up on its sites. 50 brands — including Stand Strong Fencing, Ivybrook Academy, Renovation Sells, Garage Kings, Soccer Stars, and HelloSugar — are actively engaging with prospective franchisees, according to a press release.
“As a brand focused on quality and growth, we value Franzy’s commitment to an aligned, transparent approach,” said Harvey Hillyer, CEO of Dermani Medspa. “This partnership empowers us to connect with serious candidates who are eager to grow within our brand, backed by the resources and support Franzy offers.”
Entrepreneurial Lessons
Co-founder Chris Wright, an entrepreneur and former Chief Product Officer at several companies based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team has brought on former Red Ventures people to work on the marketing and SEO side of the business.
Prior to Franzy, Alex Smereczniak used LaundoLab, 2ULaundry’s tech-forward laundromat brand, as a proving ground to uncover what potential franchise owners really needed. By speaking with over 100 brands and just as many entrepreneurs, he gained firsthand insight into franchising pain points that he wanted to address with his new venture.
Smereczniak says Franzy’s early success boils down to two core lessons: Hire expert team members faster and lean into strategic partnerships. Learning from 2ULaundry’s scrappy grassroots days, he’s now opting for high-impact collaborations that drive exponential growth. Partnerships with key players, he says, have opened doors that would have taken years to unlock through traditional outreach.
