Up Closets

The question every serious franchise investor asks before committing capital is deceptively simple: does this brand solve a real problem for a growing number of consumers, and can I build a sustainable business around it? For the Up Closets franchise, founded in Nashville, Tennessee in 2022 by Thomas Scott under the parent company Home Run Franchises, the answer begins with a consumer reality that anyone who has ever stared into a chaotic, under-organized closet understands viscerally. Homeowners across the United States are sitting on record levels of home equity, working from home at unprecedented rates, and increasingly investing in the functionality of their living spaces rather than merely their aesthetics. Up Closets launched franchising in December 2022 with a single, high-conviction thesis: that the custom closet industry could be modernized by stripping away the expensive infrastructure — showrooms, local manufacturing facilities, large fixed payrolls — that legacy competitors relied upon, and replacing it with AI-driven design software capable of producing a finished custom design in minutes. Thomas Scott serves as CEO, with Kayla Ryan Tyrrell as Brand President and Brian Tyrrell as Director of Operations and Training, creating a leadership structure built for disciplined franchisee support during a rapid scaling phase. From 7 franchised units in its first year to 44 total units by 2025, all franchisee-owned with zero company-owned locations, Up Closets has built measurable early momentum. Recognition from Entrepreneur's 2025 Top 500 Franchise list and Franchise Gator's Top 100 Franchises in 2024 validates that the brand's growth trajectory has registered with the broader franchising industry. The company offers custom-designed walk-in closets, reach-in closets, pantries, garages, mudrooms, laundry rooms, and home offices, positioning itself across multiple high-demand home organization categories rather than limiting its revenue opportunity to a single product line. This is independent analysis written to help investors make informed decisions, not marketing copy designed to close a sale.

The industry context surrounding the Up Closets franchise opportunity is genuinely compelling and grounded in hard data. The global custom closets market was valued at approximately USD 31.43 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 54.82 billion by 2032, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 7.2% between 2025 and 2032. The United States alone accounts for roughly 33% of global demand in this category, with the domestic market projected to reach USD 8.63 billion by 2034 at a 7.0% CAGR. The broader home organization products market adds further context: projected to grow from USD 13.27 billion in 2025 to USD 20.21 billion by 2033, representing a 5.4% CAGR that reflects deeply embedded consumer behavioral trends rather than a passing fad. The residential remodelers market, within which custom closet installation sits, was valued at approximately USD 777.21 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 897.3 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 3.2%, with more than 65% of U.S. homeowners currently investing in home improvement projects that include customized storage solutions. Several macro forces are simultaneously pushing demand: the normalization of remote work arrangements is converting spare rooms and garages into functional home offices and organized storage spaces; the minimalism and decluttering movement, amplified by two decades of influential cultural content, has made custom closet investment feel aspirational rather than extravagant; and remodeling project volumes increased 18% between 2022 and 2024, creating a structural tailwind the Up Closets franchise is positioned to capture. Sustainability preferences are also shaping purchasing decisions, with over 40% of consumers now opting for recycled wood or low-VOC finishes in home improvement projects, a detail relevant to product sourcing and positioning. Smart closet systems integrating IoT features are expected to be adopted by over 20% of urban households by 2028, signaling that the product category is evolving toward higher average transaction values. Currently, approximately 71% of single-family homes in the United States feature some form of customized storage solution, which speaks to both the maturity of demand and the potential for upgrade and replacement cycles that drive repeat or referral business. The competitive landscape for custom closets remains relatively fragmented at the local and regional level, creating a meaningful opportunity for a franchise brand with a scalable, technology-driven model to establish dominant local market share before competitors can replicate the infrastructure.

The Up Closets franchise investment structure is deliberately designed to sit at the accessible end of the home services franchise spectrum, which is itself a competitive positioning decision worth examining carefully. The initial franchise fee is $39,000, and the total estimated initial investment ranges from $71,350 to $128,050 according to the most detailed available disclosures, representing a remarkably compressed range compared to brick-and-mortar home services concepts that require physical retail locations. To provide full transparency, some data sources reflect a slightly wider range of $67,250 to $169,800 for total initial investment, and investors should examine the current Franchise Disclosure Document directly to understand which cost scenarios drive the higher end of the range. The investment range covers all material startup expenses: training expenses of $1,500 to $4,000; equipment and tools at $4,000; a service vehicle between $2,500 and $8,000; initial inventory of $5,000 to $7,500; business licenses and permits ranging from $150 to $1,500; computer systems and software setup from $100 to $1,300; professional fees of $500 to $1,500; a startup marketing fee of $7,500; insurance between $500 and $2,500; software and recruitment advertising from $600 to $1,250; and operating expenses covering three months of working capital ranging from $10,000 to $50,000, which is the single largest driver of variability in the total investment range. The ongoing royalty structure is notably different from percentage-based royalty models common in larger franchise systems: Up Closets charges a flat monthly royalty fee ranging from $750 to $1,650, which creates a degree of unit economics predictability that becomes increasingly favorable as franchise revenue scales upward. An advertising and brand fund fee of 2.00% of revenue, or alternatively a $500 brand and technology fee, adds to the ongoing cost of ownership. Minimum liquid capital required to qualify is $40,000, with a recommended minimum net worth of $150,000, placing this franchise in an accessible category for a meaningful segment of prospective small business owners. SBA Express loan pre-approval is available for qualified candidates, with some structures potentially requiring as little as 10% down on two-territory purchases, which meaningfully reduces the capital barrier to entry for investors interested in building a multi-territory portfolio from the outset. The parent company, Home Run Franchises, provides institutional backing and operational infrastructure that single-brand franchise startups often lack at this stage of growth. A veteran discount is available, reflecting a broader industry recognition that military veterans bring discipline and systems-oriented thinking that translates well to franchise ownership.

Understanding daily operations is essential to evaluating the Up Closets franchise opportunity against your personal financial and lifestyle goals, because this brand's operational model is structurally different from most home services franchises in ways that affect both startup costs and ongoing profitability. The business is entirely home-based, eliminating the recurring overhead of retail storefronts, showrooms, or warehouse leases that burden legacy custom closet competitors and reduce franchisee margins. Instead, franchisees operate a mobile showroom model, meeting clients in their homes or at community events, using the company's proprietary AI-driven design software to generate a finished, visually appealing custom closet design during the consultation itself — a capability that compresses a process that traditionally required multiple appointments and manual drafting into a single client interaction. Custom closet orders are placed with manufacturing partners after the design consultation, with finished product typically shipping within four to six weeks, and a two-person installation crew completes the physical installation in a single day, typically between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The labor model is intentionally lean: franchisees operate with an average of two employees, typically the owner plus one to three commissioned salespeople and one to two contract installers, all compensated per job or on commission rather than as salaried fixed overhead, which structurally limits the exposure to the fixed payroll risk that kills many small service businesses. Training is comprehensive and structured: 14 hours of on-the-job training, 91.5 hours of classroom training, and four days of in-person training form the foundation, covering the AI design software, sales and marketing mastery including digital marketing and local SEO, operational systems including scheduling and inventory management, and team efficiency frameworks. Ongoing support includes a dedicated support team available from day one, a passive recruiting system to help franchisees find commissioned salespeople and contract installers, and direct mentorship from founder Thomas Scott. The company's marketing systems are engineered for lead generation at scale, with some markets generating eight to ten qualified leads per day at what the company describes as an affordable ongoing cost, a figure investors should attempt to verify through franchisee validation calls during the due diligence process. Semi-absentee ownership is explicitly supported within the Up Closets model, expanding the potential investor profile beyond owner-operators to include professionals seeking a manageable side investment with scalable growth potential.

Item 19 financial performance data is not disclosed in the current Franchise Disclosure Document, which is a meaningful data gap that prospective Up Closets franchisees must account for in their due diligence process. The absence of Item 19 disclosure does not indicate financial underperformance, as many emerging franchise systems decline to provide it during early growth phases, but it does place a greater burden on the investor to conduct direct franchisee validation calls, analyze publicly available benchmarks, and stress-test unit economics independently. One publicly available data point indicates an average unit volume of approximately $503,000 in annual revenue for Up Closets franchises, which is a relevant benchmark when evaluated against the brand's total initial investment range of $71,350 to $128,050. If that average revenue figure is accurate and representative, the implied revenue-to-investment ratio is meaningfully favorable compared to many franchise categories, particularly those requiring heavy build-out or equipment investment. However, investors must be disciplined in distinguishing revenue from profit: gross revenue of $503,000 does not account for the cost of goods sold on custom closet components, contractor and installer commissions, marketing spend, royalty fees, vehicle expenses, and insurance — all of which reduce the net income figure that ultimately determines whether the investment creates wealth. Industry benchmarks for home organization and custom closet businesses suggest that well-run operations with controlled labor and materials costs can achieve EBITDA margins in the range of 15% to 25% of revenue, though individual franchise performance will vary based on market density, lead generation effectiveness, and owner engagement. The flat royalty structure, which tops out at $1,650 per month, creates a specific unit economics advantage at higher revenue levels compared to percentage-based royalty models: a franchise generating $503,000 in annual revenue paying $1,650 per month in royalties is effectively paying a royalty rate of approximately 3.9% of revenue, which is below the 5% to 8% royalty range common in many service franchise categories. Investors should use the due diligence period to request audited financial statements from existing franchisees and to model multiple revenue scenarios, including a conservative case in which revenue is 30% to 40% below the reported average, to assess whether the business still services debt and supports owner compensation under adverse conditions.

The Up Closets franchise growth trajectory since December 2022 is one of the most compelling data points in its favor for investors evaluating early-stage franchise brands. Growing from 7 franchised units in its founding year to 44 total units by 2025 represents a compound annual unit growth rate that places Up Closets among the fastest-growing home services franchise concepts of the post-pandemic period. All 44 units are franchisee-owned, with zero company-owned locations, which indicates that the brand's growth has been funded by franchisee capital rather than corporate balance sheet investment, a structural characteristic that aligns corporate incentives tightly with franchisee success. The brand's recognition on Entrepreneur's 2025 Top 500 Franchise list and Franchise Gator's Top 100 Franchises in 2024 provides external validation of the growth trajectory from sources with established credibility in franchise evaluation. A January 2023 announcement confirming the expansion of the Nashville franchise area with an additional company-owned location signaled early corporate confidence in the model's local market replicability. A recent franchise grand opening in Douglas County, Colorado, operated by Yvette Torrise and Kristin Frankin, who expanded their existing home organization business to include custom closets under the Up Closets brand, illustrates the type of adjacent professional who sees strategic synergy in adding the franchise to an existing business platform. The competitive moat the brand is constructing rests on three pillars: proprietary AI design software that creates a differentiated, rapid, in-home consultation experience that legacy competitors cannot easily replicate; an outsourced manufacturing model that eliminates local production overhead without sacrificing product quality or customization; and a systematized lead generation infrastructure that reduces the most challenging aspect of running a local service business — finding qualified customers consistently. The franchise currently operates within the United States across most states, with the exception of Maryland and Washington, and there are no international or Canadian franchise opportunities at this stage, meaning the domestic growth runway remains largely untapped at 44 units relative to the brand's stated addressable market. Digital transformation is embedded in the business model from inception rather than retrofitted onto an analog legacy operation, which positions Up Closets favorably as consumer expectations for instant design visualization and digital project management continue to rise.

The ideal Up Closets franchise candidate combines entrepreneurial drive with strong interpersonal and sales skills, and critically, the model does not require previous construction or design experience because the 91.5 hours of classroom training plus 14 hours of on-the-job instruction are specifically designed to bring franchisees without technical backgrounds to operational competency. The brand explicitly identifies home designers, home organizers, Realtors, mortgage brokers, home stagers, home flippers, and contractors as natural fits for the franchise opportunity, because these professionals already possess warm networks of homeowners at key moments in the home improvement decision cycle — during buying, selling, staging, or renovating. The average franchise operates with two employees, making this an approachable owner-operator model for first-time franchise investors who want direct operational control without the complexity of managing large teams. Multi-territory ownership is supported and structurally encouraged through the SBA Express pre-approval pathway, which can reduce the capital requirement to approximately 10% down on two-territory acquisitions and allows ambitious investors to establish geographic density from the outset. Available territories span most U.S. states, with Maryland and Washington currently excluded, and investors in suburban growth markets — where the concentration of single-family homeowners with disposable income for home improvement converges with high remodeling activity — represent the demographic sweet spot the brand targets. The semi-absentee ownership model is a meaningful differentiator for professionals who cannot commit to full-time owner-operator engagement during the early phase of franchise ownership, expanding the eligible investor pool considerably. Veterans qualify for a discount, recognizing the alignment between military discipline and the systematized, process-driven nature of successful franchise operations.

For investors conducting serious due diligence on the home services and residential remodeling sector, the Up Closets franchise opportunity warrants careful and systematic evaluation against both the financial commitment required and the structural advantages built into the business model. The combination of a $39,000 franchise fee, a total initial investment range with a floor below $130,000, flat monthly royalties that become economically favorable as revenue scales, an AI-powered differentiation strategy, and a home-based operating model with no storefront overhead creates a unit economics structure that is genuinely distinctive within the home organization franchise category. The brand is operating in a custom closets market growing at 7.2% CAGR toward a projected USD 54.82 billion global value by 2032, with the U.S. market alone expected to reach USD 8.63 billion by 2034, and consumer demand is being sustained by durable secular trends including remote work normalization, rising home equity, and an 18% increase in remodeling activity between 2022 and 2024. The absence of Item 19 disclosure requires investors to conduct rigorous direct franchisee interviews and conservative financial modeling, and the brand's 44-unit scale, while demonstrating impressive early momentum, means that prospective franchisees are participating in a system still building the operational density and brand recognition that larger franchise systems have accumulated over decades. PeerSense provides exclusive due diligence data including SBA lending history, FPI score, location maps with Google ratings, FDD financial data, and side-by-side comparison tools to help investors evaluate Up Closets against every competing franchise opportunity in the home services and residential remodeling category with the same rigorous, data-driven framework. Explore the complete Up Closets franchise profile on PeerSense to access the full suite of independent franchise intelligence data.