About ScaleHouse

Why we exist

Franchise development consulting in New Zealand often jumps straight to legal templates. Founders then discover that the second owner cannot recreate the warmth of the first store, or that royalties leave no room for a living wage roster. ScaleHouse Franchise Consulting exists to slow that leap: we test the model against real shifts, real leases, and real regional catchments before anyone pays a franchise fee.

How we work

We sit with operators in Christchurch and on site across the country. Sessions look like whiteboard reviews of supplier lists, quiet-hour walkthroughs, and frank conversations with managers who know where the brand actually breaks. Recommendations are written in plain language so directors, accountants, and franchise lawyers can act without translating jargon.

People

Elise Vaughan — Principal consultant

Elise spent a decade supporting multi-site retail rollouts before focusing on franchise readiness. She leads assessments and system design, with particular attention to labour models and brand standards that survive a new owner’s first winter.

Nathan Cole — Operations analyst

Nathan builds the unit economics stress tests and territory sequencing maps. His background is in hospitality group finance across the South Island, which keeps models honest about quiet Tuesdays and school-holiday spikes.

Values we hold in practice

• Protect the original site. Growth that weakens your flagship is not growth.
• Write what can be taught. If a task only lives in the founder’s head, it is not ready to franchise.
• Stay independent of recruitment commissions. Advice should not depend on selling territories.
• Respect NZ context. Population density, lease norms, and regional travel differ from larger markets — our plans reflect that.

Community

We mentor emerging operators through Christchurch business networks and contribute field notes for founders weighing company-owned expansion versus franchising. When franchising is the wrong tool, we say so early.