Creative Kids Movement Network began almost by accident when President and Founder Kate DeBiase was a 20-year-old college student in 1998. She worked as a waitress and taught dance classes on the side. One day, a friend asked her to teach a dance class at a daycare, sparking her interest in turning teaching into a business. By Kelsi Trinidad
Creative Kids Movement Network began almost by accident when President and Founder Kate DeBiase was a 20-year-old college student in 1998. She worked as a waitress and taught dance classes on the side. One day, a friend asked her to teach a dance class at a daycare, sparking her interest in turning teaching into a business.
“If you know Kate, she’s always been very enterprising – certainly in all the years I’ve known her,” said her husband and Vice President of Business Development Alex DeBiase.
She loved teaching the children and saw how her classes benefited both the daycare and the parents seeking additional enrichment for their children. However, Kate wanted to finish her degree and find a stable career, so she ran her dance business on the side for 16 years. She worked in corporate sales for a commercial printing business, where she met her husband. They both eventually moved into medical device sales. Through it all, Kate kept her dance business going, eventually hiring a team of instructors.
In 2016, Alex noticed that Kate was unhappy and encouraged her to take her dance classes full-time. She decided to devote herself to Creative Kids Movement Network, growing her roster of students from 100 to 500 and earning enough money to replace her corporate paycheck. The brand then expanded across the Rochester, New York, area, bringing dance, yoga and fitness classes, called mini-movers, to daycares and schools in the community.
In 2024, after the 2020 pandemic pause, the DeBiases began exploring a franchise model. At the same time, Alex also grew tired of the corporate grind and joined the business full-time. The couple began expanding into different territories and hiring contractors, essentially managing the locations as though they were franchises. This hands-on approach helped them uncover gaps in the franchise model. On September 2, 2025, their franchise was approved, and by the end of the week, Creative Kids Movement Network had signed its first five franchisees.
Creative Kids Movement Network has built a family of franchisees with diverse work backgrounds including a 25-year-old franchisee who was a performance major in college with no corporate sales experience. She quickly found success in her first year of business and became the top revenue performer of the first five franchisees. Another franchisee, who is at the end of her corporate career, is bringing all of her sales experience into creating her successful business. According to Alex, this is proof that their franchise model works, but the key aspect to success is a love for the work.
“For anybody who wants to potentially purchase a franchise in our space, you really have to love working with kids,” he said.
For Alex, the best part of the Creative Kids Movement Network journey is helping others find their own freedom.
“I love having the opportunity to help people cut the corporate cord,” he said. “I just know how toxic it can be and how unfulfilling it is. It really can be passionless altogether, and Creative Kids Movement Network gives the right people an opportunity to start again and do something they truly love.”
Kelsi Trinidad