Why shouldn’t you buy a franchise?^[1]

Before you jump into buying a franchise and boxing yourself into the franchise’s rules for how to run your business, consider whether you have a business idea that you can grow yourself.

Ruth Agbaji is the founder and CEO of Code Wiz, an education franchise that runs classes about coding and robotics for people between the ages of 7 to 17. Ruth was born in Nigeria and she recalls that when she was growing up, it was common to have to walk for miles for water and there was no reliable electricity. Conflict between Boko Haram and the Nigerian army created an environment of dangerous violence. While she attended college in Nigeria, she taught herself how to code with the help of a mentor in India. She developed an app for her department which would allow teachers to give tests online. Since each teacher typically had up to a thousand students, her solution would save teachers’ time and improve their efficiency.

Ruth emigrated to the United States to attend Tufts University and earned a Masters in Computer Science. She worked for large tech companies such as Microsoft and Kronos. Because of her entrepreneurial spirit, she wanted to inspire kids to be excited about technology. Ruth visited a Small Business Development Center in Massachusetts to get advice about purchasing a STEM education franchise business that focused on coding. The business counselor that she met with considered Ruth’s background and skills and asked, “But Ruth, why exactly do you need to buy this franchise? Why can’t you just do this on your own?”

Ruth started Code Wiz working with lenders she found through the Small Business Administration and also received mentoring through the Small Business Development Center. Ruth’s goal was to empower kids to connect with technology in meaningful ways that have a lifelong positive impact. She started her business in 2017 and grew her business to a point where Code Wiz was acquired by Toronto-based Tutor Doctor 2021. As of July 2023, there are 32 Code Wiz locations across the U.S.

Ruth’s experiences have led her to believe that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. It’s that entrepreneurial mindset that continues to motivate her today.