socialization events and retail products

The Organization Redefining Dog Training Celebrates Quadruple-Unit Growth Since 2020.

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. — Zoom Room, the venture-backed, revolutionary indoor dog training gym, announces today the signing of their 100^th location. Closing out 2022 having quadrupled unit size in a short two-year timeframe, the company skyrockets into the new year with the continued mission of transforming the dog training landscape.

With the pet industry projected to reach $277 billion by 2030, Zoom Room is trailblazing the path forward through its model of positive training and socialization. Boasting more 5-star ratings than any other dog training business in America, the organization has seen a massive 70% growth in same store sales since 2019. For the nearly 5 million consumers that also became new pet owners in that same timeframe, Zoom Room provides a space like no other with a diverse offering of training services and events that place an emphasis on owners as much as their dogs.

In addition to its unit growth, Zoom Room is increasingly diversifying its geographic footprint, tripling its presence across the US from 8 states in 2020 to 27 states at the close of 2022. Looking ahead, the company aims to maintain a rapid growth trajectory, with a particular focus on expansion across all major metropolitan areas. Franchise openings in 2023 will include Chelsea, NY, San Diego, CA and Houston, TX. “Our long-term aspiration is to firmly establish Zoom Room as the premier destination for dog training,” said Mark Van Wye, CEO of Zoom Room. “As we continue to expand across major cities, we’re eager to enhance our reputation as a dependable resource for dog owners in the US and worldwide.”

To support the growing needs of the business, Zoom Room also recently welcomed several new hires across operations to support the infrastructure beneath executive strategic leads, Stephanie Knepp and Liz Claflin.

“Pet franchises present exceptional investment opportunities due to the recession-resistant spending, increased demand, and unique price elasticity,” said Anthony Polazzi, President of AP Franchised Concepts, the Venture Capital firm backing Zoom Room. “With an average EBITDA margin above 30%, Zoom Room’s tremendous profitability and growth show no signs of slowing down.”

Not only did 2022 reflect record sales for new Zoom Room franchisees, but the incredible success of the business inspired a significant number of the brand’s single-unit franchisees to sign up to become multi-unit franchise owners. As the company welcomes new signees through 2023, it will continue its best-in-class practices for onboarding. Zoom Room extends genuine 360^° support to its franchisees, beginning with a dedicated real estate team to identify a site with optimal demographics and assistance in navigating business formation and financing.

“Zoom Room has given me the opportunity to build a business that I love,” said Brad Weaner of Zoom Room’s Centerville, OH franchise. “We are thankful for our community’s tremendous support and their excitement to embark on a new journey with us. Together, we will fill the world with happy, tired dogs.”

“I love that by owning two Zoom Room locations in the greater Seattle/Bellevue area I am able to meet so many wonderful dogs and their owners,” said multi-unit franchisee John Jansen. “This is such a fantastic community, and the support we’ve received has been above and beyond what I could have imagined. I am very much looking forward to expanding into more neighborhoods in the near future.”

For more information about Zoom Room, visit https://zoomroom.com/. For those interested in learning about franchise opportunities: https://zoomroom.com/franchise/.

Experienced Executives Appointed to Strengthen Operations of Revolutionary Dog Training Organization.

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. — Zoom Room, the venture-backed, revolutionary indoor dog training gym, announced the promotion and hiring of two experienced executives in leadership roles that will help to strengthen and support the brand as the organization continues to expand nationwide. As the pet industry continues to experience unprecedented growth, Liz Claflin has been promoted to the franchisor’s newly developed position of Vice President of Strategic Projects, while Stephanie Knepp has been appointed as the Vice President of Operations. In their new roles, Claflin and Knepp will be responsible for project management and operational business support for Zoom Room.

With years of service in law enforcement, Claflin was ready for a change when she learned of Zoom Room’s unique business model. Claflin’s next act became a reality in 2013 when she opened a Zoom Room location in Walnut Creek, California. After operating the dog training gym and realizing the potential of the brand, Claflin joined Zoom Room as a company executive to make a more substantial impact in helping grow the system. Having served as the Vice President of Operations for Zoom Room from 2017 to 2022, Claflin has now moved into the role of Vice President of Strategic Projects where she will oversee projects requiring substantial institutional knowledge of the system, helping to benefit current and prospective franchisees. Claflin will be closely working with CEO Mark Van Wye and other members of the executive team.

“After ten years with Zoom Room, I’m excited to step into this new role and create enhancements to Zoom Room’s unique system that will immediately impact our mature and new franchisees in positive ways while creating a more efficient and nimble operational process for our internal team,” said Liz Claflin, VP of Strategic Projects. “My most immediate goal in this position is to create an advanced knowledge base platform to provide franchisees instant access to best practices as well as to assist in the creation of an engaging, asynchronous learning system that will provide education to franchisees and their staff on topics from dog training to product knowledge and merchandizing.”

Knepp has been brought on as Vice President of Operations of Zoom Room. With her home base in Arizona, Knepp brings years of experience in operational services having started her career in lifestyle amenity management as well as additional operational experience in spa and beauty services. In her new role, Knepp will be overseeing the operational support of all Zoom Room locations as the leading member of the operational team. Knepp will assist in general operations of open locations, the development and launch of new locations, on-boarding and training of additional support team members, assisting with the franchise sales process, and implementation of system-wide enhancements.

“I am thrilled to join the Zoom Room team and support the brand’s overall growth of the support system as Zoom Room expands nationwide. In this new role, a top priority is to get locations that are currently in site development to business launch – offering our modern approach to dog training, making it a lifestyle, to communities across the country,” said Stephanie Knepp, VP of Operations. “I will bring a fresh perspective to the table and provide our franchisees with the advice and guidance they need to succeed.”

“The pet sector has always fared well, even during the most economically-challenged times; the recent boom in dog ownership is unprecedented, and we are expanding our Zoom Room executive team to keep up with this demand. The Vice President of Strategic Projects role was created to oversee high-impact projects that will ensure that Zoom Room provides the best experience it can for its clients and be the best business to own and operate for our franchisees. No one is better suited than Liz to fill these new shoes,” said Mark Van Wye, CEO of Zoom Room. “As our newest hire, Stephanie will be taking up the reins to helm Zoom Room’s core business operations and to oversee the operational support of all Zoom Room franchises. I am confident that with her depth of experience in operations, Stephanie will excel in this role.”

For more information about Zoom Room, visit https://zoomroom.com/. For those interested in learning about franchise opportunities: https://zoomroom.com/franchise/.

Revolutionary Dog Training Organization Exhibits Impressive Expansion Nationwide.

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. — Zoom Room, the venture-backed, revolutionary indoor dog training gym, announced its strong growth since the beginning of the pandemic, including the signings of 30 new franchise agreements, quadrupling its footprint within the year. Zoom Room entered 2020 with nine locations in four states and now has 41 units open or in development across 14 states (15 operational and 26 in the process of opening). By January 2022, Zoom Room expects to have 20 units open and 30 in development for a total of 50 locations.

“The pandemic has accelerated the trend of retail flight while increasing the number of entrepreneurs looking to start a new venture. The pet sector has always fared well even during the most economically-challenged times; the recent boom in dog ownership is no exception. We credit our extreme growth curve to astute investors responding well to Zoom Room’s ability to serve the needs of dog owners with a demonstrably profitable business model, thus meriting our brick-and-mortar place in communities across the country,” said Mark Van Wye, CEO of Zoom Room.

PetPoint, a software program utilized by some 1,200 shelters nationwide, shared that within the past year, pet adoption rates have increased 700%, and Americans are expected to spend a record $100B on their pets this year. Despite the economic uncertainty during the global pandemic, Zoom Room was well-positioned and prepared with their safety protocols in place as the demand for dog training remained high. Zoom Room built a sense of community and transformed dog training into an infinitely repeatable affair with its mission of positive reinforcement methods, emphasizing socialization while focusing on the relationship between dog and owner.

“Zoom Room has seen a tremendous growth in sales with an increase of 99% in same-store sales compared to the prior year,” said Anthony Polazzi, President of AP Franchised Concepts, the Venture Capital firm backing Zoom Room. “We’re excited to support Zoom Room in expanding into multiple markets where the pet industry is booming. Zoom Room has one of the strongest and healthiest profit margins and is truly a company to watch within the franchise industry.”

Zoom Room offers genuine 360° support to its franchisees, beginning with a dedicated real estate team to identify a site with optimal demographics and assistance navigating business formation and financing. Offering retail zoning and requiring only 2,700 sq. ft., Zoom Room is replicable, scalable, and feasible for any city or suburb. With an unusually low startup cost in the pet space, the franchise brand includes easy build-out and low payroll costs with staffing needs limited to only two people at a given time. The company also provides meticulous training as well as state-of-the-art marketing support for its franchisees.

This unparalleled framework and support the Zoom Room franchise system provides won over five-unit franchise developers, Ken and Cindy Mizell, who own and operate locations in North Dallas. “We fell in love with Zoom Room’s unique concept, whose sole purpose is to build and foster the bond between pet parent and dog through classes that emphasize socialization, positive reinforcement, and education. We immediately recognized the profitable business model that could be attained through Zoom Room’s small retail footprint requirements, low payroll costs, and economies of scale that being part of a franchise system offers.”

With impressive profitability and growth trajectory, Zoom Room, a true industry disruptor, attracts those who recognize that the pet industry is the best-kept secret for investors, even though absolutely no prior experience in pet care is needed. The model’s six-figure profitability is driven by passionate loyalty. Clients are retained for years with lifetime spending almost 50x the cost to acquire. Zoom Room boasts more 5-star ratings than any other dog training business in America, plus a willingness-to-recommend score comparable to the level of Apple or Amazon.

James Gies, franchise owner of a Zoom Room near Orlando, made the decision to invest in his own Zoom Room training center after years of experience in overseeing a chain of boutique dog services. “The thriving pet industry provides a substantial opportunity to build a profitable and sustainable business getting to do what brings joy to my life while making an impact in the community. As new dog ownership continues to rise and pet adoptions continue to soar, I plan to capitalize on the success of my Winter Park location and expand with two additional Zoom Room locations.”

After reading about the meteoric rise in the pet food industry and the projected correlated growth of the whole pet industry over the next ten years, corporate marketers, Mark and Kate Scholz, decided to match their family’s commitment to the community and their love for dogs with the potential for immediate profitability. “We knew Zoom Room was the right franchising choice for us and signed up for three units, and are already thinking about adding two more. Our locations are in Austin, Texas and we just love our dogs here! At Zoom Room, we can add to the community by providing a safe and authentic space for dogs and their owners to socialize, learn and be active.”

For more information about Zoom Room, visit https://zoomroom.com/. For those interested in learning about franchise opportunities: https://zoomroom.com/franchise/.