Leading dance fitness studio, Choreography, wedding and event planners of India, “Thump” is on aggressive expansion mode. Franchise Mart had an exclusive talk with Mr. Ankur ;Sethi, CEO, Thump and shared his views on further franchise expansion.

FM: When and how ‘THUMP’ came into existence?

AS: Thump came into existence in year 2006 when we found a lot of gap in the industry of local extra curricular activities. We started literally very local by hiring a community centre since then we became a ‘global’ dance classes.

FM: What is the USP of ‘THUMP’ and how is it different from other Choreography classes?

AS: We are different in lot of ways. We are a Dance Class but we are not exactly a Dance Class. The best part about our style is that we have developed our own technique to use different dance styles like Jazz, Hip-Hop, Salsa, Belly, Rock’n’Roll, and converted them into a fitness cum fun based activity. The program for kids that we conduct is inclined towards dancing talent while for Adults the sessions are more inclined towards the fitness part of the regime. We have received a tremendous response from adults since these classes keep them fit give them a lot of confidence in social gatherings where they are now more open to stand up DANCE.

FM: What is the scope you see in the Entertainment industry in India and Global?

AS: This organization has a scope of growing to 1500 centers in India itself. To be precise we are a bank of fitness we are going to be a need for everybody who wants to stay fit. Kids starting from the age group of 3.5 yrs to people of 48 yrs are already our clients a similar range of clients is expected to enroll.

Globally, the market is again very huge we plan to cover major countries after we are thorough with our franchising plan in India.

FM: ;How do you see the competition in this industry?

AS: The competition in the industry is huge today as in other industries. The local upcoming are high, the local development of a brand is high which makes us difficult to break the market in certain geographies. The basic idea of thump as a brand is to be a local professional brand like ‘mother dairy’ or ‘cafe coffee day.’

FM: How many franchises and company outlets are there of ‘THUMP’?

AS: ;We started with one centre 15-16 months back are already present in 4 states will be in 2 more in next one to two months

FM: Tell us about the franchising module of ‘THUMP’.

AS: Thump is now looking at franchising this business in all over India. The business model is quite conventional uncomplicated. It’s also a low cost investment business setup. We train the choreographer; we train the staff to ensure the functions are similar at all our centers. The model also stands different for different cities, as in depends on tier-I, tier – ii, tier – iii, the plans for each tier is different.

FM: Is ‘THUMP’ franchise for women entrepreneurs also?

AS: Well, not needed to say, THUMP is a company founded by a female so we are desperate to have more women entrepreneurs working with us.

FM: What support system do you provide to the franchisees?

AS: We are dedicated towards creating a successful franchise channel and understand our role of being a franchisor.

-;;Training of the franchise partner, trainer and the staff for effective performance

-;;Hands on Support form head office when dealing with corporate client.

-;;Day to day operations, technical and administrative advices

-;;Sharing marketing plan and materials for local or regional marketing

-;;National as well as regional advertising and promotion planning

-;;Advise on local marketing strategies to generate numbers

– ;Centralized brand building through all media – Printing, outdoor and online promotion

-;;Frequent official visits for business audits

FM: Tell us about your further expansion plans.

AS: We are precisely looking at growing in all over India through our franchising model. After the success ratio of our centers we are really keen on finding some

FM: What message would you like to give to future entrepreneurs?

AS: Be sure about what you are doing what you wish to do. Lot of entrepreneurs start an enterprise because their friends are doing good or because they want to leave the job n do something of their own. Look for doing something that you just love purely love. Meeting some experience entrepreneurs is also important. If possible, try look out for a relevant mentor.