Perfect Startup: Topfranchise building a Profitable Marketplace

In 2013, Vasil Gazizulin and Victor Bolshakov registered the first Russian franchise marketplace topfranchise.ru. By 2016, the project not only reached investment payback and became profitable, but achieved strong market position enabling it to enter the global market.

At the foundation of the marketplace development concept lies the strategy of smart seo promotion. This approach has allowed to spend no more than 400 thousand Rubles during the startup’s first year. Placement was free for the first clients. Today, clients pay for the placement and moving of franchises to the top of the list in relevant sections.

The company’s monthly turnover with paid placement amounts to 30 000 USD. This does not require any increase in spending which is determined by investments into seo optimization, salaries, progressive motivation and improvement of services. Over 627 franchising companies advertise on the Topfranchise marketplace, and the traffic amounts to more than 5 thousand unique users a day, which is some 2 million a year. Topfranchise is the best franchise catalog in Russia and CIS market.

Major clients

Topfranchise clients include both Russian and foreign companies developing their brands within the franchise, such as Kawaii Factory, 33 Pingvina, Planeta Gostepriimstva (Sbarro, Yamki, Yelki-Palki, Vostochny Bazar brands), Subway, Papa Johns, Immaginarium, Dodo Pizza , 1C and other.

2016

We are actively developing cooperation with regional companies. They make up more than 60 percent of the Topfranchise customer base. The platform has proven effective for banks with their target audience of small and medium-sized businesses. For example, Module Bank was one of our first partners who offered its innovative products to the Topfranchise audience. Last year, the marketplace became a start-up platform for 20 companies which launched their own franchises in 2016 with consultation and support from the Topfranchise developers’ team.

Global market

In 2016, the company’s founders acquired the Topfranchise.com domain and entered the global marketplace. A unified internal system of the site and seo promotion will guarantee successful operation in a new market of the business model tested in Russia. At the moment, the whole Topfranchise.com project is valued at USD 5 million USD. The estimation is made based on the revenue and profit startup trends in Russia and prospects for the traffic and number of franchising companies in the major developed markets in Europe, Southeast Asia and North America.

“Victor and I have founded a project which creates a healthy and positive image for businessmen in this country, by brining them into the spotlight out of the basement of primitive economy and promoting new standards of behaviour, self-esteem and importance of one’s business. Our marketplace is the top opportunities market for strong and enterprising people,” says Vasil Gazizulin, founder and CEO, TopFranchise project.