FranDev Players: Jesse Curry, Vice President of Franchise Development for Eat the Frog Fitness

Jesse Curry is the vice president franchise development at Eat the Frog Fitness, an emerging fitness training concept co-founded by Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bryan Clay and entrepreneur Joe Culver. Since 2017, Eat the Frog Fitness has opened 26 units throughout the U.S. and Canada, with many more coming soon. Spearheading that growth is Jesse Curry, a franchise industry veteran with over 40 years of experience in the fitness and wellness industry.

Curry spoke with 1851 to tell us more about his story, share advice for up-and-coming entrepreneurs in the franchise industry and discuss how COVID-19 has impacted businesses.

1851 Franchise: Tell me about your company.

Jesse Curry: Eat The Frog Fitness is based out of Issaquah, Washington. The Founders are Joe Culver (15-year franchisor executive) and Bryan Clay, U.S. Olympic gold medal decathlete (gold in 2008, silver in 2004). Eat The Frog Fitness is the only personalized group training program that combines athletic-inspired training and the science of your body to achieve incredible results. We customize each member’s fitness program (just as a personal trainer would do) based on their individual needs, objectives and nutritional goals. Using a proprietary algorithm during a fit assessment, we set a custom max heart rate and create an eight-week training plan designed to get results.

1851: How did you get into franchising?

Curry: My entire 40-year career has been in the fitness and wellness industry. In 2005, I was asked by Massage Envy founder John Leonesio — who I previously worked for in Texas — to come onboard with the brand. John was a business partner with Q The Sports Clubs, and we offered massage therapy as an ancillary service to our members. Once we sold the Q The Sports Clubs concept to 24 Hour Fitness, John came up with the idea of Massage Envy and eventually it grew into a franchise business. From 2005 to 2013, we grew from a couple hundred units to over 900 clinics. 

Since then, I’ve purchased, developed and sold the development rights to The Joint Chiropractic Place and RedLine Athletics (both Leonesio involvement), as well as grown my consulting practice, MJC & Associates. Eat The Frog Fitness was one of my consulting clients.

1851: Are there any keys to consistent franchise growth? 

Curry: Definitely — first and foremost is the makeup of the franchisor’s leadership team. You have to have A-plus players on the bus, not just friends and family (unless they are qualified).  The systems, processes and procedures of the brand need to scale, be succinct and cohesive for the franchise community. 

Leadership doesn’t end with the franchisor — it dovetails directly into the franchisees. If a franchisor doesn’t define the right qualifications (money is not the sole qualifying link) required by a franchisee, that could spell trouble. Usually, that ends with severe losses for all parties.  

The term “growth ready” was introduced into my vocabulary several years ago and it is applicable to both the franchisor and franchisee. The advantages of expanding a brand or becoming a multi-unit franchisee can be compelling, but no one should force growth. Be steady and be ready for when the time is right in regards to all aspects for future development. 

1851: What are the biggest hurdles to successful franchise growth right now? 

Curry: That’s a great question! Right now, the main hurdles are politics, COVID-19, a lack of leadership in our government officials, a lack of funding and fake media. I’d say it’s a combination of all of these things. Hopefully, the new decade will bring about changes that positively reflect the goodness in mankind. There’s always hope!  

1851: How did the COVID crisis affect franchise growth opportunities? 

Curry: For most brands and prospects thinking about franchising, it has been a wait-and-see attitude. Deals are taking longer as prospects ponder what their future will look like. What will the new decade bring us when it comes to franchise expansion, advertising, lead generation, furloughed and laid off employees, securing funding, going out of business or otherwise? You name it; it has been affected! There has never been an event worldwide that has affected every human being on the planet like this and the franchising industry is no exception.

1851: Are there any common mistakes you see franchisors making when trying to grow? 

Curry: Certainly. In addition to a lack of leadership or not being growth ready, not having the proper training procedures in place that scale for the franchise community is also a common mistake. Sometimes it can be a new program, food item or service that hasn’t been documented through KPIs (key performance indicators). 

1851: What are your biggest goals/plans for 2021?

Curry: In 2021, we are going to keep focused on what we are calling the “brick-and-mortar strategy.” Connected fitness allows for unprecedented benefits when dealing with the unknown. While live-coaching and in-studio experiences aren’t going away anytime soon, the need for more flexibility is a must. Delivering the Eat The Frog Fitness experience through on-demand channels, like our On-The-Go product and more personalized accountability programs like our FrogFit membership — which offers one-on-one coaching — are going to be keys to success next year.