Business View Magazine - Mar 2024

According to Drew, his wife “just had this calling that there had to be a better way to give children a better head start academically.” The journey began with a simple conversation on a honeymoon flight where Jennifer wrote down her vision on a napkin.That napkin became the blueprint for their first school, which they opened in Charlotte, NC back in 2007. For the next 10 years, Ivybrook Academy grew exponentially, evolving from a single napkin sketch to a second location in the Charlotte metro area. That decade of success in Charlotte helped the two founders realize two things. First, there was an increased demand for Ivybrook Academy education from the parents who had relocated away from Charlotte and, secondly, there were no schools like Ivybrook across the Country. Due to the alignment between the lack of competition in the market and the demand that it seemed only Ivybrook could supply, expansion became the right thing to move forward on. Driven by a desire to make a difference, the founders made the bold decision to franchise Ivybrook Academy, allowing them to expand their reach and impact even more children’s lives. Following that, the brand surged in visibility. In the past 7 years, it rose from 2 to 92 locations that are now either fully operational or approved and in development to open soon. KEY DISTINCTIONS: SETTING IVYBROOK APART Two main components set Ivybrook apart from its competitors: its half-day model and proprietary curriculum. Unlike traditional daycares, Ivybrook’s half-daymodel caters to stay-at-home and work-from-home parents, offering individualized curriculum and personalized attention to each child. With the rising increase in the work-from-home demographic since 2020, the last four years have 78 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 03