A creative, passionate, and driven professional who has a keen eye for detail and relishes a challenge, Erin Arnold has enjoyed building multiple businesses and teams from the ground up. She is currently the Co-Founder and COO of Launch Franchising.

After graduating from the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science with a specialization in Fitness and Wellness, Erin spent a decade coaching gymnastics and track and field at the juvenile and high school levels and launched several successful businesses in the retail and fitness sectors. Erin has always loved to merge her passions and when her children were little, she found a way to incorporate family with her entrepreneurial spirit by founding Fit Families, a southern New England based fitness and wellness group for parents and their children.

Erin had the concept for Launch while on vacation with her husband and two small children at Disney World in 2011. She shares, “It rained a few days into our trip and rather than braving the parks in the torrential downpours, we decided to find an indoor activity that would be fun to do together. I discovered a local trampoline park, something I had never heard of before, and I booked our tickets. We were there less than 10 minutes before I looked at my husband and said, ‘we need to open something like this!’”

The absolute delight of the experience, and the possibility to share it with her entire family, encouraged her to take the jump and design her own model to give to her community.

Initially, the pair considered becoming franchisees of one of the existing brands that were gaining popularity, but after conducting research and getting to know the industry leaders, they realized that they didn’t fit into any of the other models. Erin and her husband saw that each model appeared to fall short of what they wanted to give, whether it was the significance of safety, innovative and exciting attractions, a fantastic guest experience, or the culture they wanted to create. They refused to compromise and knew the only way they could offer what they wanted to offer was to create their own brand.

Launch Franchising

Launch Franchising is unlike any other brand currently being franchised. It is made up of several branches that collaborate to build an efficient, streamlined, cost-effective offering that is both sustainable and scalable. The Launch enterprise is made up of Manufacturing, Franchise Support, Marketing, Testing and Innovation, and Business Development. These five branches form Launch’s backbone, and they are what make the organization so powerful and successful.

Launch Manufacturing is the company’s engineering and construction division. “We make exciting new attractions for our locations, assist in layout and design of your park, and even project manage the buildout for new franchisees. Because we do this in-house, we are able to manage the production of the equipment and don’t have to wait for ships overseas to arrive in port,” says Erin. She further shares, “We also know that our products and attractions exceed all ASTM safety standards and provide a team that is familiar with the installation so it goes quickly and smoothly.”

Erin and her team are also able to develop faster than others since they are not constrained by the need to rely on another firm. The organization has a “make it happen” culture, and when the team comes up with a brilliant new idea or concept, the engineering and design team implement it.

The Franchise Offering

As Erin states, franchise support is one of Launch’s main divisions. It has staff members on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to assist with any problems that may develop at any of its parks. It also provides all of its franchisees with a call center staffed by experienced and courteous sales employees who book birthday parties and group events, answer inquiries, and reply to reviews and discussions. This year, the franchise is expanding its capabilities to include outbound sales calls in order to provide even more value to our franchisee partners.

At the start, the franchise offers all marketing services to its franchisees at no extra cost. It is one of the most significant advantages of being a member of its franchise structure, and, to Erin’s knowledge, no one else in the business is doing it. She shares, “In the early years, we were partnering with outside marketing agencies that were taking approximately 46% of our marketing dollars and allocating that as their fee to manage our accounts. That means only 64% of our funds were actually spent on marketing impressions. Once we took this in house, we were able to allocate 100% of any funds spent on marketing to impressions! This is a huge savings to our franchisees, and they are able to get more bang for their buck, which is a huge win.”

Because safety and innovation are so essential to Launch, and because the team wants to be able to help its franchisees as much as possible, the company has many corporate parks that serve as testing grounds for new attractions, procedures, products, and ideas. These facilities are deliberately positioned in diverse demographics and communities around the country so that the Launch team may learn what works and what doesn’t in various geographies. “We are an open book,” shares Erin. “One of our core values is transparency. We want to learn from each other’s achievements and failures and then share this knowledge with the rest of the owners in the system so everyone benefits.”

Launch continues to place a strong emphasis on business development. Erin hopes to expand her brand as much as possible over the next several years so that Launch can maintain the strongest system available. The franchisor is now working on creating additional corporate sites, acquiring new franchisees that bring value to its system, purchasing other franchise organizations in the entertainment business, and even transforming existing rivals into Launch Entertainment Parks. Erin and her team understand that they can provide a lot of value by converting one-off trampoline parks into franchisees, and they are identifying certain areas and parks to target.

Responsibilities for being in the Forefront

As the Founder and COO of Launch, Erin wears several hats, but her primary obligation is to the people that make up the organization. This includes every franchisee, every Launch employee, and every visitor that steps through the doors. Erin is in charge of overall park performance and brand growth, in addition to franchisee, employee, and visitor safety and experience. It’s a big responsibility, and it’s easy to lose sight of why she started this business in the first place. She shares, “The happiest part of my day is when I put down my phone and step away from my computer to walk into one of the parks, because that is when I see the impact of everything we are doing.”

Erin values a strong work ethic, a positive, “make it happen” attitude, and the ability to be a team player over being expertly skilled in any one area of your job. She says, “We are constantly looking for people that have those qualities to join our team, whether they have entertainment industry experience or not. We know we can teach you everything and anything about our industry and our brand, but if you don’t have those attributes, you won’t be a good fit at Launch.”

Every day, Erin sees children happy and playing; she sees families creating moments that they will remember for the rest of their lives; she sees the 16-year-old cashier working her first job and the 21-year-old supervisor guiding and coaching her. All of this motivates her because she sees great morals and ideas being ingrained in the next generation.

Have Faith in Your Vision

According to Erin, the best piece of advice she can give someone entering a leadership role in the franchise industry is to be open-minded but never lose sight of what you stand for. She asserts, “I have learned so much from our franchisees and from others I’ve worked with because I have humility and can put my ego aside.” She also adds, “I’m eager to hear their ideas and for them to share their experiences.”

Erin understands that the total of all thoughts will always be greater than one. That being said, there will always be skeptics or those who are resistant to change. “Don’t forget that you know your brand better than anyone and ultimately have a vision and see the bigger picture.”

The Success Image

Erin attributes her success to a combination of hard work, determination, a sense of humor, and commitment to the people she works with every day. According to her, one of the most remarkable things she has witnessed during the past ten years of creating Launch has been the growth of the people around her.

Some of Erin’s corporate workers started off as cashiers in the first park 10 years ago. According to Erin, these people are the heart and soul of Launch. She asserts, “No one is more dedicated or works harder than them”. To be able to offer them a significant path for growth drives Erin every day to continue to build her brand.

More Innovation and Enhancements in Future

Launch is a fast-paced, ever-changing company. We are always coming up with new attractions, concepts, and methods to thrill and engage our guests. The one constant in our industry is change, and we are always on the lookout for the next big thing.

As Erin says, “Launch has big things ahead.” In the next 5 years, the team is looking to open 25 more corporate parks and 100 new franchise locations across the world.

Website: www.launchtrampolinepark.com