FranchiseCircle.com Launches Social Networking Site for Franchising

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Monday, October 9, 2006; 03:44 AM

Selling a franchise business model presents a daunting task to franchisors, and buying a franchise an even bigger headache. Two entrepreneurs have solved this problem by creating the worlds' first social networking site for the global franchise industry, FranchiseCircle.com, offers a tempting prospect: free online lead generation to franchisors and industry suppliers, as well as a knowledge library and repository for the industry.

Co-Founder Carter Malloy, a veteran of the franchise industry after managing a division of Candy Bouquet International, his families franchise company, believes FranchiseCircle.com to be the best thing that ever hit the franchise industry. "I learned the franchise business at a young age, and became interested in social networking after attending college", says Malloy, an analyst with global investment bank Stephens. "I immediately saw how useful this technology could be for the franchise industry".

FranchiseCircle.com releases its social networking platform on November 1, 2006. The site is completely free for franchisors, franchisees, industry suppliers, and area developers to network with each other and potential franchise buyers. The first in the industry to tout Web 2.0 technology like an Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) interface, RSS feed readers, and video blogging, the company also proactively chose banking industry two-factor authentication to protect users' data, becoming the first social networking site to implement this measure. The founders' claim that the most revolutionary technology they plan on introducing is still in the works to be launched soon after, and they're not talking.

After raising seed money from several sources, including David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue Airways who recently purchased a Frappier Acceleration franchise, and Margaret McEntire, CEO of Candy Bouquet International, Malloy and Ames went to work looking for the most superior technology and what the industry lacked. "What I saw after working in this market was that it truly needed a place for the buyers" says Ames, who has 10 years of web experience working in Internet consulting. "There simply was no web presence in this vertical that is tailored to the buyer. With the Internet creating a buyers market, this was simply not acceptable" says Ames.

"During the 10 years of experience with Candy Bouquet I saw a lot of Internet lead generation companies weren't keeping things honest, especially with lead generation for franchisors", says Malloy. "I wanted to create a different legacy,one that was based on honesty and built on the fertile soil of interesting content with a vibrant community of buyers".

And they are putting their money where their mouth is. Learning from the online model of sites like Wikipedia, the founders plan on doing the unthinkable, keeping their books completely transparent, posting independent quarterly accounting reviews, and guaranteeing reinvestment of 70% of the sites sponsorship and advertising revenues, all to gain the trust and respect of the industry.

The franchise industry's impact on the U.S. economy exceeds $1.5 trillion, or nearly 10 percent of the nation's private-sector economy, providing jobs for more than 18 million Americans.

FranchiseCircle.com is a professional networking site for the franchise industry, a one stop shop for information, communication, and collaboration for franchisors, prospective franchise buyers, franchisees, industry suppliers, area developers, and industry trade groups.