Franchise business simulator
Run an established franchise at its real size — 1.4 million guests on day one — year by year for eight years, before you bet the real one.
Outlets, royalties and a brand that has to mean the same everywhere. This one opens as Stack Burger Co.: A fast-food franchise selling through outlets across the country's cities. Rename it, reprice it, or describe your own franchise and let Nova rewrite it to fit.
What a steady franchise ends up with
Played steadily for all eight years — quality first, then growth, a fair share of the bank spent each year — a steady franchise here ends its last year on $657m of revenue and $32.9m of profit, with 2.6 million guests and 11% of the market (#4 of 8).
It opens as it stands today: 1.4 million guests, 470 staff and $30m in the bank.
People who play it well do better, and a bad plan runs out of money.
Revenue in the last year: $657m
Profit in the last year: $32.9m
Guests at the end: 2.6 million
Share of the market: From nothing to 11%
Where it finishes: #4 of 8
Years and decisions: 8 years, yearly
What you'll decide each year
Each year you set prices, brand and sales spend city by city, decide capacity and headcount, choose where to expand next, and how much to borrow or pay back.
Each decision shows on a forecast before you file it, and every period resolves against the rivals and the economy.
Who your guests are
At this size the market barely grows, so every point of share is taken from somebody, city by city — and the leader fights back.
20 million guests in all, across your home city, the capital, the second city, a university city and a coastal city.
Value shoppers: Millions of them, loyal to the price and nothing else. About 10 million of them, worth $154 a year each.
Mainstream households: They buy the brand they trust and switch when it lets them down. About 6.4 million of them, worth $242 a year each.
Premium buyers: They pay for the best and expect it to feel that way. About 2.4 million of them, worth $528 a year each.
Business accounts: Contracts, volume discounts and a procurement team. About 1.2 million of them, worth $880 a year each.
Who you're up against
You start as one of the big names, with three rivals around you and every one of them after your guests. They play to win: they cut prices, spend on marketing and answer what you do.
The global burger chain: The biggest, and slow to change — it has stopped listening to its smaller customers. Holds about 30% of the market.
The value chain: Wins on price and little else; its customers leave the moment somebody is better. Holds about 22% of the market.
The local independents: Hasn't changed in years and is living off the customers it already has. Holds about 14% of the market.
How it works
Free until you start: building and previewing cost nothing, and starting is $10, once.
Build it — free: Press build and you get your own copy of this market: four kinds of guest, three rivals and five cities.
Make it yours: Change any number, describe your franchise in a sentence or two and let Nova fill it in, or upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history to fit it to your real figures.
Preview — free: See what a steady franchise ends up with, and every warning worth reading, before you pay anything.
Start — $10: Pay once to start, your seat included. Then run it year by year for eight years.
Also for
franchisee · chain · outlets · quick service
How much does the franchise business simulator cost?
Building and previewing are free: make your own copy of this franchise market, change anything in it and see what a steady franchise ends up with without paying. Starting the simulation is $10, once, and your own seat is included.
Can I make it match my own franchise?
Yes. Every number can be changed — the guests and what they pay, the rivals, the cities, the costs and the starting cash. Or describe your franchise in a sentence or two and Nova, SparkTower's AI, fills every section in for one Nova action. If you already trade, upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history and the simulation is fitted to your real numbers.
Are the numbers realistic for a franchise?
The template is checked against what real ones do: played steadily, a believable one finishes year eight turning over between $150m and $850m, with between 600,000 and 4 million guests. This one's preview comes to about $657m and 2.6 million. Your own prices, costs and figures change that, which is the point of trying it here first.
Can I use it to test a franchise business plan?
That is what it is for. Put your plan's prices, costs and starting cash in, play it forward year by year, and see whether the money lasts, how many guests you would need and what a rival's price cut does to you — before you put real money in.
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