How Koala Insulation’s Commitment to Growth Helped Lead to an Exciting Partnership with Franchise FastLane

Franchise sales organization Franchise FastLane doesn’t partner with just any emerging brand. Emerging franchises need to go through a thorough evaluation process, as Franchise FastLane does not want to partner with a brand that isn’t ready for the kind of accelerated growth they can help provide. 

For this reason, it is all the more notable that Franchise FastLane gave a relatively quick “yes” to emerging brand Koala Insulation toward the end of 2019. The insulation installation brand was founded in 2018 by CEO Scott Marr, who wanted to create something new in wake of the success he found with the previous franchise company he founded, Fleet Clean USA. Marr successfully exited the company and was ready to put his time and energy into building another brand, and after he began doing so, he was in the market for a partner to aid in its growth.

Partnership discussions between Koala Insulation and Franchise FastLane started in the third quarter of 2019 after Marr first heard about the franchise growth company through his industry network.

“We saw what FastLane was doing with the other brands they represented and we knew that we wanted them on the Koala team,” Marr said. He reached out to Franchise FastLane and spoke with president Carey Gille in the fall. She was immediately impressed. 

“I probably spoke with over 300 brands in 2019 and Franchise FastLane only brought on four or five brands as partners,” Gille said. “When I had my first call with Scott, I had the Koala Insulation website on one monitor and Scott’s LinkedIn page on another monitor. I was immediately impressed by the brand positioning. As our discussion continued and upon visiting his headquarters, I could also tell he was experienced in franchising and prepared for expedited growth.”

When evaluating emerging franchise brands, Franchise FastLane prioritizes company founders who understand what they need to do in order to have longevity. Franchise FastLane also looks for a strong Item 19, a six-digit ROI, happy franchise owners and the financial strength to handle the expedited growth that Franchise FastLane can bring. Brands also need to have a unique selling proposition and plenty of open territories. Of course, there must also be a meeting of the minds between the two leadership teams. 

"Koala Insulation was a plus in all of these categories,” Gille said. “Scott already successfully built a system and he brought all that experience and enthusiasm to Koala Insulation. He impressed us right out of the gate.” 

As part of her research, the FastLane team also called Koala Insulation franchisees to make sure they love what they’re doing. 

“At Franchise FastLane, our favorite question to ask is ‘If you had the chance, would you do it again?’ and the answer was a resounding ‘Yes,’” Gille said. “That is just such an honest reflection on what it’s like to work with Scott and his team. His franchisees love what they are doing. The validation was just through-the-roof strong and an excellent indicator of the brand’s future.” 

As part of the formal partnership process, Marr invited Gille out to the brand’s headquarters in Melbourne, Florida, an experience that further sealed the deal for the Franchise FastLane team. 

“Emerging brands usually don’t have a headquarters,” Gille said. “Not only did I meet a team of 15-plus people, but I also walked through a fully staffed call center. On top of that, the training center has a mock home with pre-fabricated walls. I was so impressed because it’s everything a system would have if it had more than 100 open franchises. I knew that if Franchise FastLane went ahead and hit this hard, the Koala team would be ready for the quick growth we can bring.” 

Everything went so well, in fact, that the Franchise FastLane team accelerated processes in time to have Marr attend franchise conferences starting in January 2020. The relationship between Franchise FastLane and Koala Insulation is still in the early stages, but it’s already off to a great start. One of the first things Franchise FastLane did was collaborate around Koala Insulation’s franchise disclosure document (FDD). FastLane also started to build out the discovery process for prospective Koala Insulation franchisees. 

Gille and the rest of the Franchise FastLane team are excited for 2020 and what the year will bring for Koala Insulation. 

“Scott is not going to let down his consultant partners or his franchisees,” Gille said. “He has an appetite for growth and is even offering a deal that offers a free territory with the purchase of three. He also has such a drive to help others, and that impressed me as well. He chose to create Koala Insulation because of a passion for the environment. Franchise FastLane is thrilled to partner with someone who wants to do well in business and also has a real passion for doing good.” 

Marr is also thrilled with the way things have begun.

“The entire FastLane team is very process-driven, as are we,” Marr said. “As a result, we had a very smooth kickoff and implementation process. We are very excited to see the relationship evolve over the coming months as we bring candidates through the discovery process and ultimately get new franchisees placed.”

To learn more about how Franchise FastLane can help grow your brand, visit https://www.franchisefastlane.com/.