Jan Spaticchia
“Paradoxically, the crowdfunding campaign is not about raising money,” says Spaticchia. In fact, énergie’s round was sparked by its board’s decision to issue share options for headoffice staff. Realising that this would leave franchisees and their employees out of the loop, Spaticchia instead decided to put a percentage of the company on Crowdcube, allowing all stakeholders, including customers, a chance to buy into the company. The campaign has gone on to smash its target with a full week to spare, something Spaticchia puts down to the way crowdfunding engages stakeholders. “If I make money, they make money, so we’re all in it together,” he says. “There’s something magical about that.” There is certainly a great sense of camaraderie between Spaticchia and his franchisees. “I still spend a lot of time speaking to my franchisees on a one-toone basis,” he says. “In that way, I’m very hands-on.” As well as attending as many of the fitness club openings as he can get to, Spaticchia also makes a point of teaching the first session of the franchise management course himself, something he takes great pride in. “Even when I’ve handed over the reins to somebody else, I’ll still come in to teach that course,” he says. “I like meeting every single franchisee that comes through the process.” And this dedication cuts both ways. “The network has always been like a family,” Spaticchia says. When his stepdaughter Robyn died of cancer in 2011, the network rallied around Spaticchia and his wife, helping to raise around £60,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust in Robyn’s name. Spaticchia feels this demonstrates just how tight-knit the network has become. “When Robyn died, we didn’t quite understand how 500 people ended up at her funeral,” he says. “But when we looked around we suddenly realised that half of our franchisees had come.” Thanks to the way the network pulls together, énergie now has over 110,000 members and turns over £26m a year. “We are the third largest fitness group in the UK and Ireland,” says Spaticchia. “Our aim is to become number one.” And this is definitely within reach: énergie is currently opening three to four sites a month, with an eye to having 225 open by 2018 and 500 by 2023. It is also aiming to reach a million members in the same timescale. But it isn’t all about the numbers for Spaticchia. “I want to sit back when I’m old, point at énergie and say: ‘I’m proud to say I worked there once’,” he concludes. “If I can do that, I’ll be happy.”
We’re all in it together; there’s something magical about that 24
elitefranchise | June 2016
Cover Story - Jan Spaticchia.indd 5
01/06/2016 12:06