Start a Goldfish Swim School Franchise in 2025

2025 Franchise 500 Rank: #75 Ranked #74 last year

Initial investment: $2.6M - $6M

Units as of 2025: 188 41.4% over 3 years

Are you ready to help your kids dive into one of the most well-known swim schools around? Goldfish Swim School offers swimming lessons to kids from the age of 4 months to 12 years. They may equip swimmers with life-saving and life-changing skills.

Goldfish Swim School was founded by Jenny and Chris McCuiston in 2006. The swimming business started franchising in 2008 following a rise in demand for swimming lessons. Since then, the Goldfish Swim School franchise has expanded to many locations in both the United States and Canada.

Why You May Want to Start a Goldfish Swim School Franchise

The Goldfish Swim School brand may be known for the vibrant and bright colors that attract young children to learn in their pools. They're also popular for their proprietary curriculum, the Science of SwimPlay, and their use of warm, clean water. Goldfish Swim School has skilled instructors, each one handling only a few children at a time. Becoming a Goldfish Swim School franchisee may be a fun adventure, especially if you have a passion for changing kids’ lives and giving them confidence.

With the demand for swimming lessons, Goldfish Swim School may offer some of the most well-known curriculums around. You could be part of a growing franchise that had more than 175 locations in the United States and Canada.

What Might Make a Goldfish Swim School Franchise a Good Choice?

Multiple times in recent years, Goldfish Swim School has been ranked in Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500. This ranking is based on an evaluation of more than 150 data points in the areas of costs and fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability.

Families may be constantly looking for prestigious places to take their infants and children for high-quality swim lessons. This company's franchisees meet these demands while building their own investment.

To become part of the Goldfish Swim School team, you should ensure that you are financially sound enough for an initial investment that will consist of a franchise fee and other startup costs. You’ll also want to make sure you have enough capital available to cover ongoing fees that will include advertising and royalty fees.

As a franchisee, you may get on-the-job training and classroom instruction to give you the experience and skills needed to run your Goldfish Swim School. Its team may also help you choose a location for your franchise before assisting you in designing and constructing the facility. They should also provide guidance in creating a franchise website, advertising material, and marketing platforms.

How to Open a Goldfish Swim School Franchise

To get started with the process of opening a Goldfish Swim School franchise, ask yourself one question: do you like to play? This franchise values "play" as an essential part of their learning method. If you're on board with their approach, it might be time to take the plunge.

As part of the process, a Goldfish Swim School representative will usually contact you and introduce you to the team. They'll assess your potential as a franchisee. Once you're approved, you will attend training workshops and classes for dozens of hours. Corporate will also likely give you a tour of an established Goldfish Swim School to familiarize yourself with the franchise activities.

Before you know it, you'll be opening the doors to your own Goldfish Swim School. And as they say in swimming—if you have a lane, you have a chance.

Company Overview

About Goldfish Swim School

Industry	Children's Businesses
Related Categories	Swimming Lessons, Children's Fitness Programs, Miscellaneous Recreation Businesses, Children's Education/Enrichment, Sports
Founded	2006
Parent Company	Goldfish Swim School Franchising LLC
Leadership	Chris McCuiston, CEO
Corporate Address	2701 Industrial Row Dr. Troy, MI 48084
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok

Business Overview

Franchising Since	2008 (17 years)
# of employees at HQ	54
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises throughout the US. This company is offering new franchises in the following international regions: Canada
# of Units	188 (as of 2025)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Goldfish Swim School franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$50,000
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$2,600,000 - $6,000,000
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$2,000,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$1,000,000
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	6%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	2%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	15 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	Goldfish Swim School has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	34 hours
Classroom Training	58 hours
Ongoing Support	Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Lease Negotiation Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social Media SEO Website Development Email Marketing

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
# of employees required to run	45
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	Yes