The Trigger
A couple years ago, Andre and Paula Cardoso were living in Rio do Janeiro, Brazil with their two young daughters. Andre was a partner in a hedge fund, and the family had owned the largest shoe store in Brazil.
Despite the success they were having in Brazil, the couple decided to move to the United States and seek a new life with a new opportunity to control their future. This led them to Miami – and to franchising.
The Smart Solution
The Cardosos are a physically active couple. She frequents the gym for fitness workouts and is a runner. He is interested in many different sports and does Ironmans for fun.
I knew the Cardosos needed to feel passionate about any franchise they ran. So we naturally looked at fitness franchise concepts. Because the couple had the shoe store – which gave them experience with products – they were ready to try something different and focus on services. In the exploration of franchise concepts, I sometimes critiqued choices and decisions – and that, I believe, helped to make the decisions stronger.
The Cardosos did their homework. Andre ran financial models on a number of businesses and Paula travelled to NYC to learn more. In addition to a fitness service company, we needed one that would deliver revenue immediately.
When we got to the final concept – an I Love Kickboxing franchise – Andre remarked, “is this too good to be true?” The concept checked all the boxes that the Cardosos requested. It was a solid match.
Life Today
The Cardosos purchased three licenses for I Love Kickboxing, which now has more than 200 locations in the U.S.
Their locations will all be in the city of Miami. They’ve just completed some demolition on one of the properties and will be opening soon.
