Why do 7 in 10 candidates decide not to buy?
Because the goal is fit, not a transaction. When someone comes in expecting to be sold, the roughly 30% figure surprises them. It should not. A consultant whose only incentive is to close a deal would push the other 70% into something. The reason most candidates walk away is that, once they see the real shape of ownership against the life they actually want, a lot of options fall away on their own. The job is to make that clarity happen sooner, not to talk anyone into the widget.
What does screening 250+ brands actually tell you?
It means the comparison set is wide enough that the recommendation is not anchored to whatever a single franchisor is promoting this quarter. Breadth matters less as a number and more as a filter: across that set, the concepts that survive a candidate's due diligence tend to share structural traits rather than a category label. Recurring service relationships, a manageable employee model, and an investment range the buyer can carry without stretching predict more about an owner's week than the industry name does.
What the 35-state spread says about how people buy now
Franchise matching is no longer a local, drive-to-an-office activity. Candidates research conversationally, compare on their own time, and expect an advisor who can work across markets. The practical takeaway for a buyer: where you live rarely limits which models fit you. Your goals, your available capital, and how involved you want to be day to day matter far more than your zip code.
The pattern under all of it: characteristics first, widget last
The single most repeated lesson across these placements is that people who end up happy chose a set of business characteristics, not a product. How many employees you want to manage, how hands-on you want to be, how the revenue is structured, what a normal week looks like. Decide those first. The specific brand is the last decision, not the first. People who start with the logo and work backward are the ones who most often discover the fit was never there.
How to read these numbers (and how not to)
These are Waypoint's own figures as of 2026, drawn from our matching practice. They describe how candidates and concepts behave during selection and due diligence. They are not, and cannot be, a statement about how any business performs financially. Every prospective owner should verify financial performance directly with current franchisees during their own due diligence. Nothing here is a projection of results.