SMB Will Form a New Board of Directors With Representation From Both Firms
- Navigator Partners, a private equity firm, has invested in the franchise development service SMB Franchise Advisors. The two businesses have had a collaborative relationship for more than 10 years.
- SMB leaders will stay on; two managing partners of Navigator – both of them franchising veterans – will serve on SMB’s board.
- SMB’s clientele are small and medium-size franchisors, both emerging brands and older ones seeking a boost. The franchise development firm’s main goal – one shared by Navigator – is helping franchisors vigorously support their owners to ensure long-term brand sustainability.
The private equity firm Navigator Partners has invested in SMB Franchise Advisors, a franchisor consulting firm. SMB Franchise Advisors leadership stated that the “significant minority investment” by Navigator Partners will help SMB’s franchisor clients prepare, launch and grow their brands, according to an SMB news release posted on Yahoo Finance and PRNewswire.com.
Steve Beagelman, CEO and founder of SMB, said his firm had worked closely with Navigator for 10-plus years in selecting the franchise brands it serves. “In that time, we’ve built a partnership grounded in common values and mutual respect,” he said in the news release. “With this investment, we will continue to do what we’ve always done – provide the best possible service to help our clients grow through franchising – now with the capital and expertise to scale and broaden our offerings while serving a growing pipeline of emerging and maturing brands.”
Franchises have scaled strongly in recent years. Franchisors – many of them assisted by franchise development firms such as SMB – are expected to grow their U.S. unit numbers from 832,521 to 845,000 units this year, the International Franchise Association reported.
History of Navigator and SMB Collaboration
Navigator Partners and SMB initially teamed up in 2016 when SMB brought Navigator aboard as an investor that assisted the scaling of K9 Resorts, a high-end pet hotel franchise.
Since then, Navigator Partners and Stadium Ventures have co-invested in other SMB client brands, including Almera Tech Services, a specialist in home tech systems; Pure Sweat Studios, which has infrared saunas and offers float and cold-plunge therapies; and Story Time Chess, a mobile children’s chess educational franchise. Beagelman and Brian Luciani, chief growth officer at SMB, operate Stadium Ventures, an investment division of SMB.
A complementary relationship developed between the firms. SMB forges strong relationships with the founders of emerging franchises, the news release said, and Navigator Partners provides growth capital as well as operating expertise to assist franchisors with national scaling.
New Board of Directors
SMB Franchise Advisors will retain its leadership team but has formed a new board of directors: Beagelman and Luciani along with Navigator managing partners Bernard Markey and William Stewart. The board is tasked with identifying and then pursuing new avenues of growth for SMB, the news release said.
Markey, who also is Navigator’s co-founder, praised SMB in the news release. “We’ve seen what SMB’s team is capable of, and we’ve always shared values and believed in the mission behind their work. Bill [Stewart] and I are thrilled to join the board, giving us an opportunity to contribute what we’ve learned building franchise systems together and serve founders for years to come.”
Stewart said SMB and Navigator are aligned in a mission of ensuring that franchisors strongly support their franchisees so the brands will thrive. “We are glad that this investment will be used to build great franchisee support infrastructure to responsibly drive franchise system growth,” he said in the news release.
About SMB Franchise Advisors
Founded in 2009, SMB Franchise Advisors helps small and medium-size business owners as they prepare to become franchises and then launch and grow. The franchise development firm also helps to energize more-established brands by evaluating and improving their operations. It counsels all clients on the development, marketing, operations and finances needed for a flourishing franchise system.
The Doylestown, Pa.-based firm has worked with more than 600 companies spanning a wide range of industries, according to the news release. It is accepting new clients. To learn more, visit SMB Franchise Advisors.
The franchise development firm is an active member of the International Franchise Association. SMB leaders serve on the IFA’s Membership Committee, Supplier Forum Advisory Board and Women’s Franchise Committee. SMB also is a member at large of the IFA Foundation.
About Navigator Partners
Headquartered in Summit, N.J., Navigator Partners LLC has for 20-plus years focused its investments on emerging franchisors in the early stages of development. Its goal is to achieve sustainability via franchisee support.
Navigator principals Markey and Stewart co-founded the FirstLight Home Care senior care franchise in late 2009. FirstLight has grown to more than 170 franchisees who operate about 320 territories; system revenues are roughly $375 million.
Markey and Stewart also have invested in several franchisors including the aforementioned Almera Tech Services, K9 Resorts, Pure Sweat Studios and Story Time Chess. Their other franchise investments are Another Nine, an indoor golf simulator; Picklr, an indoor pickleball franchise; Scenthound dog grooming; and the SURV handyman service. The men serve on the boards of directors of Almera, FirstLight HomeCare, K9 Resorts and SURV, and they are members of the advisory board for Story Time Chess.
