Start a Lightbridge Academy Franchise in 2025

2025 Franchise 500 Rank: #179 Ranked #210 last year

Initial investment: $1.1M - $4.9M

Units as of 2024: 78 47.2% over 3 years

Lightbridge Academy, which was founded in 1997 and began franchising in 2011, is an educational child care center. There are dozens of franchised and company-owned locations throughout the U.S. The brand tries to create genuine, caring relationships with every family member as they ensure the education and well-being of each child.

You may not need experience with children and childcare to run a Lightbridge Academy franchise. The brand generally helps you hire a team equipped to care for the kids. The perfect candidate for a Lightbridge Academy franchisee possesses integrity and shares Lightbridge Academy's core values.

Why You May Want to Start a Lightbridge Academy Franchise

Lightbridge Academy built its philosophy and culture on family values. These values are applied to the children, parents, teachers, and franchisees who are a part of the company. When you join Lightbridge Academy as a franchisee, you will most likely become part of a family who cares, supports, and encourages each other.

If you love the idea of helping educate and mold children, then a Lightbridge Academy franchise might be for you. The brand looks to positively impact the lives of thousands of children and parents daily. They may have the vision to transform the lives of families by treating them as one of their own.

Lightbridge Academy offers many added features to their facilities such as increased health and safety, extended evening hours, nutritious snacks and meal plans, extracurricular activities, and even occasional evening babysitting. With these services, your franchise might be able to ease the stresses of busy, working parents.

What Might Make a Lightbridge Academy Franchise a Good Choice?

To be part of the Lightbridge Academy team, you should make sure you're financially ready for an initial investment made up of a franchise fee and other startup costs. In addition, you should prepare yourself for ongoing fees that will include advertising, royalty, and potential renewal fees. Franchisees will also need to meet the company's set net worth and liquid capital requirements.

To showcase their excellence, Lightbridge Academy has been ranked in Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 for multiple years in the past few years. This 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.

Lightbridge Academy has developed industry-leading programs, including ParentView® internet monitoring and an e-Communication app. The e-Communication app provides a real-time and ongoing connection between the parent and child throughout the day. This exemplary and unique experience typically earns the trust of parents.

How Do You Open a Lightbridge Academy Franchise?

If you are interested in opening a Lightbridge Academy franchise, you may need to submit a franchise request form. A franchise development team member may reach out to you through an introductory call so they can get to know you and see how you align with the brand.

From there, you may receive an initial franchise packet to provide you with information on the brand, the franchise cost, and more. If you are chosen to continue the franchising process, you will usually attend a Lightbridge Academy discovery day in Iselin, New Jersey to meet the franchise development team and current franchisees.

Company Overview

About Lightbridge Academy

Industry	Children's Businesses
Related Categories	Childcare, Tutoring, Miscellaneous Children's Businesses, Children's Education/Enrichment
Founded	1997
Parent Company	Lightbridge Franchise Co. LLC
Leadership	Gigi Schweikert Schweikert, CEO
Corporate Address	116 Grand St., 2nd Fl. Iselin, NJ 08830
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube

Business Overview

Franchising Since	2011 (14 years)
# of employees at HQ	52
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises throughout the US.
# of Units	78 (as of 2024)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Lightbridge Academy 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.	$40,000
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.	$1,067,233 - $4,885,000
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.	$750,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$250,000
Veteran Incentives Definition: A discount or other incentive offered to military veterans who buy a franchise with this company.	10% off franchise fee
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.	4%-7%
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	Lightbridge Academy has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: franchise fee, 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	90 hours
Classroom Training	87 hours
Ongoing Support	Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Toll-Free Line 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 Loyalty Program/App

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	32
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.	No