Copiloted Franchise

Local investors who want to start small businesses find it hard to get started. To start a business from scratch, they need to learn an extensive array of skills from branding, HR, marketing, and taxation.

An alternative is franchising but for many of them, they will be assisted to get started and be ready, but once they are operational, they basically have a printed guide then they are on their own.

We want to build a franchise model that helps franchisees succeed by supporting them in their day-to-day operations, something that is only possible through intelligent automation. 

We are building copiloted franchise brands that local investors can easily start and operate. (Copiloted = semi-automated through data and AI)

We combined the franchise model and copilot software automation. The franchise model will help the local operator to get started by providing a proven brand and operating model, then the copilot will help the operator with the daily operating tasks such as customer retargeting, reservations optimization, and financial reporting.

Our focus is recurring service businesses such as salons, barbershops, and full-service laundromats that are typically operated by a single owner/investor and are highly reliant on customer remarketing, demand forecasting, and minimizing administrative tasks.

We serve small business investors in the community who have the capital to start businesses that serve a small city or municipality. These investors typically rely on franchise brands as a form of investment. 

Every month, hundreds of small franchise licenses are sold in the Philippines, these cost between 5,000-20,000 USD franchise fee + 5-10% revenue share in exchange for brand name use and printed operating manual but limited daily operating support. We believe there is a better way for them. 

Copiloted Franchise increase the success of the business through automation but at the same time supplement the capacity and ability of a sole business owner to execute the multitude of tasks required for a business owner.  

We are small business investors ourselves, we discovered this problem out of our own frustration when we are looking for franchise brands that we can bring to our community. 

We know the struggle of starting and operating a small business when we started Nails by Ann brand and our recently closed food brand. These multitudes of tasks are overwhelming, and we have proven that is hard to do it on our own and be competitive at the same time. 

All of us have been part of the local business scene for decades, and Mark even became a local government consultant on small business innovations to address and support these challenges. 

We now have a successful and profitable pilot. 

The copiloted brand -- "Nails by Ann" now has 2 branches and 2 signed franchise investments. 

The copiloted brand is operating on our v3 system that can do remarketing automation, reservation/booking recommendations, and tax preparations. 

We also started the R&D to apply the same technology for a copiloted "Laundry Service" brand. 

We started with solving small business problems within our small town (Balanga City) and have successfully done so.

We aim to expand it to more cities and tell the story of how we can support small businesses. It is our way of sharing that AI and automation can create more jobs by supporting small businesses.

To expand and grow the business, personalized support and the Solve MIT network can greatly help us.

Our innovations is the combination of the traditional franchising model that helps businesses to get started and the new copilot technologies that helps them with their day-to-day operations. 

This innovative combination will enable local businesses to operate efficiently and provide higher success by minimizing operational limitations.

We are increasing the chance of success of small businesses through our copilot solution that helps them with their day-to-day operational needs. This includes copilot recommendations & automation in the field of accounting/compliance, marketing/remarketing, and resource optimizations (such as booking optimization). 

This solution enables the small business owners to focus on their core business practice while reducing their operational fatigue on some of the administrative and operational work.

The goal of our solution is to make it easy for local investors to start and operate businesses in the community. 

We are measuring our progress through: 

1. Performance of our franchise models which are measured by: 

- Capital-to-Sales Ratio

- Revenue

- Owner Satisfaction

2. Potential expansion to other cities and communities

- Number of repeat customers

- Customer Satisfaction 

This measure ensures we have a working franchise model the people love.

Our solution has two main layers:

1. Transactional layer - these systems interact directly with the business owners/customers and collects important business data in the process. (Examples: Booking & Reservation, Chat Systems)

2. Copilot Recommendation Layer - these systems analyze the data collected from the transactional layer and create actionable recommendations for accounting/taxation, and resource optimizations (such as booking reservation optimization, marketing/remarketing, and customer engagements. 

Within the Copilot Recommendation Layer, there are three core components that we are using: 

- Basic Data Analytics - this computational process calculates different metrics based on business data collected in the transactional layer.

- AI Model (Azure) - predictive and translation models to produce with recommended action of the copilot solution. The AI model uses both calculated metrics and raw data. 

- API Orchestration - this ensures that the approved copilot recommendations will be translated to action. This is a collection of APIs from Facebook Ads/Messaging, SMS & Email Services, Accounting/Sheets Systems, and Google Ads services. 

8 - Full-time Staffs (including 2 co-founders)
2 - Contractors
1 - Part-time (co-founder)

18 months

Founders all came from the business community we serve composed of 2 women and 1 man. 

Founders have diverse backgrounds in engineering, management, and healthcare. 

In the franchise brands we started, we are 90% women in the organization many of them we trained without prior knowledge in the practice and operations of the Nail Salon Brand (our first franchise pilot). 

We ensure that we give opportunities equally, as long as they are willing to learn and have a good attitude regardless of their educational and work experience background.

Our business model is to create, test, and offer co-piloted franchise models.

This will have revenue models:

- One-time Franchise Fee

- Royalty Fee (3-4%)

- Optional upgrades to advance copilot solution such as direct tax filing. 

By offering the solution as a franchise, we can position this solution as an alternative to the traditional non-digital franchise options.

So far, franchise prices in the markets are sustainable and competitive. Our first two copiloted branches are profitable and performing above market numbers.