Woven
By Woven Brands, LLC
Woven Brands, LLC is an Indianapolis-based technology firm that has established itself as a leader in the multi-unit operations space. Founded by a former franchise consultant and multi-unit owner, the company focuses on the 'deskless' workforce—the millions of employees in retail, fitness, and hospitality who do not work behind a computer. Woven’s mission is to provide these frontline teams with the same level of technological sophistication typically reserved for office workers. The company has experienced rapid growth since 2017, maintaining a remarkable 99% customer retention rate. It primarily serves the franchise sector, where complex organizational structures require tools that can manage the needs of both the parent franchisor and the individual franchisee owner. Woven's market position is defined by its deep vertical expertise and its role as a consolidator of fragmented software tools.
Woven was founded in 2017 by Matt Goebel, a 15-year veteran of the franchise industry who has served in roles as a franchisor, franchisee, and supplier. The idea for Woven originated when Goebel's wife, Cristina, became a multi-unit franchisee with Massage Heights. Observing the immense administrative burden and the chaos of using separate tools for scheduling, audits, and maintenance, Matt Goebel initially developed an internal solution for their own business. After realizing that other franchisees were facing identical struggles with unit economics and operational scaling, he transitioned the tool into a standalone product. This 'built by operators, for operators' origin story remains central to the company’s identity and its user-centric design philosophy.
For its first five years, Woven was a successfully bootstrapped business, achieving seven-figure revenues and massive expansion purely through word-of-mouth. In November 2022, the company announced its first external funding—a $1.5 million Seed round. Uniquely, this round was led not by a traditional venture capital firm, but by one of its largest customers, Glow Brands (an operator of over 240 locations across brands like Planet Fitness and Buff City Soap). This strategic investment from a customer validated Woven’s high ROI and provided the capital needed to expand the sales and marketing teams and accelerate product development of its integrated Learning Management System (LMS).
Woven’s product suite is divided into three primary functional areas: People, Operations, and Facilities. The People module includes employee management, automated background checks, and an integrated LMS that allows franchises to build custom training retreats. The Operations module focuses on 'ensuring execution' through digital audits, automated task workflows, and incident reporting. The Facilities module is a powerful CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) that tracks assets, manages parts inventory, and handles vendor work orders. These offerings are designed to work cohesively as an 'operating system' for the entire franchise brand, ensuring that high standards are maintained at every location regardless of geographical distance.
While headquartered in Indianapolis, Woven’s footprint has expanded globally through its partnerships with international franchise brands. The platform currently supports over 2,500 active users across 100+ brands and thousands of locations. Key industries for expansion include the fitness and wellness sector (Planet Fitness, Crunch, Orangetheory), specialized retail (Pet Supplies Plus), and automotive services (ZIPS Car Wash). The company has recently focused on geographic expansion within the North American market while also supporting the international growth of its enterprise clients. Their recent executive hires, including a Vice President of Sales, indicate a push toward even larger enterprise-scale multi-brand operators.
In the last 18 months, Woven has significantly enhanced its Learning Management System (LMS) capabilities, allowing for more dynamic, interactive training content like video-based quizzes and practice modules. They also launched a deep integration with Crimcheck for automated employment screening, streamlining the hiring process for high-volume franchises. Other recent updates include the release of 'Woven – My Work 2.0,' a major update to their mobile application that improves the UI/UX for deskless workers on both iOS and Android. Enhanced Business Intelligence dashboards have also been introduced to give CFOs better visibility into the correlation between task compliance and unit profitability.
Woven describes itself as a 'relationship company' rather than just a software vendor. This culture is rooted in empathy for the 'exhausted manager' and the 'frontline worker.' The internal team is comprised of industry experts who have lived the franchise experience, fostering a culture of practical problem-solving. They emphasize a human-centric approach to technology, which is reflected in their 'Unlimited Training' promise and their responsive customer success model. The work environment is collaborative and focused on long-term partnerships, as evidenced by their high direct-referral rate and the fact that their primary investor is also a long-term customer.
Woven is heavily involved in the broader franchising community, maintaining active memberships in organizations like the International Franchise Association (IFA). They frequently host and attend industry conferences (such as the Scenthound annual conference) to share best practices on multi-unit operations. The company fosters a 'user-expert' community where customers regularly provide feedback that directly informs the product roadmap. Their website features an extensive library of case studies and educational resources for gym and spa management, positioning Woven as a thought leader in the multi-location enterprise space.
