During their journey to entrepreneurship, Sam Lewis and Andrew Nicoll first discovered Squeeze through a podcast — and the rest is history. 

Squeeze is a way better massage experience from the founders of Drybar. And while that is their tagline on the consumer side, it’s also clear that they provide a way better franchising experience for their current and future Operating Partners. From its inception, Squeeze was built with their Operating Partners in mind and has since created a launchpad of opportunities for individuals who are looking to start their own business, take their life into their own hands and provide a feel-good experience for both guests and team members in their community.

If taking home a slice of the $17B massage industry sounds exciting to you, you're not alone.

Squeeze’s very first Operating Partners, Sam Lewis and Andrew Nicoll were both in the finance world looking for a change before joining Squeeze. The business partners met when Nicoll interned for Lewis 10 years ago. After becoming friends, and eventually neighbors, the men recognized a shared dream of starting their own business. From there, together they explored a multitude of options to make that dream a reality. Having never started their own company, the duo was attracted to the established business model and support that comes along with franchising. During their search, Lewis and Nicoll heard Brittany Driscoll, Squeeze co-founder & CEO on an episode of the Franchise Euphoria podcast and her passion for creating a positive company culture really caught their attention.  

“Being in the corporate world, I have seen plenty of bad cultures, or cultures where people feel stuck and they don't enjoy their work,” said Lewis. “So no matter where we worked, we really wanted to work in an environment where employees felt like they were heard and where they were treated well. We first heard Brittany on a podcast and hearing how she spoke about the brand’s values and culture really intrigued us.” 

Lewis noted that from that moment, it was “love at first listen.” The franchisees signed for a location in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2021. 

The Squeeze Model Positioned the Franchisees for Success

With Lewis and Nicoll’s background in finance, the numbers were especially important. 

“We’ve never done sales, it’s just not our forte,” explained Lewis. “So knowing that this was a business that believed that excellent service and an excellent experience sells itself made the model attractive.”

From membership signups to scheduling appointments, and everything in between, the tech-forward massage franchise offers an individualized wellness experience like never before. Through its industry-leading technology (and first-of-its-kind in the retail service space), the business bridges the seamlessness of an on-demand mobile experience with beautiful, sophisticated brick-and-mortar destinations. Squeeze’s streamlined model allows guests to book, set personalized preferences, pay, tip, rate, and review all at their fingertips, allowing them to walk in and figuratively float out. Each massage is tailored to the guests’ liking including pressure, music, and lighting, with no added fees. This also means that the shop team doesn’t have the responsibility of upselling or pushing additional services on guests. Instead, they can focus on delivering a way better massage experience. 

“Once guests come into the shop, the business sells itself,” said Lewis. “The model very much allows for a better experience and we don't have to reach complicated sales quotas to maintain our numbers — it's an amazing experience that is above what you can get anywhere else.”

When it comes to the day-to-day operations, the Squeeze business model was designed with Operating Partners in mind. Along with their streamlined processes and contactless checkout, Squeeze even provides a centralized guest experience team as a first tier of support to Operating Partners and their teams, seven days a week. 

Squeeze’s Support Made All the Difference

Squeeze’s robust support across every major area of the business is something that Lewis says sets Squeeze apart. 

“I could not be happier about the support we receive at the corporate level,” he said. “My father in law is a franchise broker himself and he has told us many times how good we have it at Squeeze. We have weekly calls and they are always just a text away with any questions that we have. They’re all here to support us.” 

One example of this support is an entire real estate and construction team dedicated to the Operating Partners’ initial experience and finding their location. That team is well versed in site selection, deal terms, Squeeze demographics and lease execution—and in what is really going to make a site successful for the Operating Partner. 

There is also a dedicated Operations and Training team that walks new Operators through each step of the new shop opening process. This includes everything from setting up the business entity to how to do research in their local community and ingratiate themselves in the right ways.

Squeeze’s support infrastructure also includes access to a digital learning management system, in-person training at both the flagship location in Studio City and on-site at the owner’s newly constructed location, a 550-page operating manual, customized online booking and POS systems, digital, PR and marketing assistance, extensive direction from Squeeze's head of franchise development and much more. 

How Lewis and Nicoll Define Success Since Franchising with Squeeze

Since becoming an Operating Partner With Squeeze, Lewis says it’s the people that are really the most important thing to him and Nicoll. And this is something that is evident in the franchise’s people-first culture.

“I always had the philosophy, which Squeeze aligns with, that if you have happy team members, the team members will take care of everything else,” he said. “So that is very much what we operate by. I have always tried to take care of my team and make sure they feel heard, respected, and treated well. I want them to only have great things to say about Squeeze, and that’s what I deem as successful.” 

Looking ahead, the pair sees plenty of room for growth in the Phoenix/Scottsdale market and are hopeful to have announcements in the near future about further expansion. The Squeeze team aims to sign over 100 units by the end of 2023, with the long-term vision of growing to 300-500 units in the next five to seven years. Current target markets include Florida and Texas.

The investment ranges from $493,623 to $662,728 to open a Squeeze franchise, which includes working capital and initial franchise fees of $60,000. For more information on franchising with Squeeze, visit: https://www.squeezemassage.com/franchising

About Squeeze

From the founders of Drybar, meet Squeeze, a way better massage experience. After recognizing the gap in the massage industry, Alli Webb and Michael Landau dreamt up the concept for Squeeze. In 2017, Brittany Driscoll, who was vice president of marketing at Drybar at the time, was tapped to turn Squeeze into a reality. She stepped into the role of Co-Founder & CEO, spearheading the launch of the brand and the opening of its flagship location in Los Angeles. Squeeze’s revolutionary app-based booking platform allows guests to book, pay, tip, set personalized preferences, rate and review all at the touch of a button so guests can walk in and figuratively float out. Massages are tailored to guests’ preferences including pressure, aromatherapy, music and lighting with no additional fees. The company has established its headquarters in Nashville and is now franchising nationwide. For more information on Squeeze, please visit squeezemassage.com, follow @squeeze on Instagram and download the Squeeze app. The Squeeze app is free and available to download in the Apple App Store