Franchisee Grows Building Kidz to Three Virginia Schools

Hana and Sasi Yajamanyam opened their first Building Kidz preschool in Fairfax, Virginia, then moved fast. Within roughly a year they signed a second location in Arlington and started work on a third, turning a single-unit deal into a genuine multi-unit build-out inside a 50-plus-unit early education system.

A Fast Path to Multi-Unit Ownership

Sasi spent 25 years in technology, software, and consulting before franchising, while Hana left a corporate finance career to teach preschool. Building Kidz grows primarily by acquiring and rebranding existing schools rather than building from scratch, which let the couple take over an established Fairfax school with enrollment and staff already in place instead of starting cold and spending a year filling seats.

Corporate Support Filled the Knowledge Gap

The franchisor helped the Yajamanyams evaluate whether they were paying a fair acquisition price, walked them through state licensing, and coached Hana, an experienced preschool teacher, on running the school as a business rather than a classroom. That hands-on support during the transition is what gave the couple the confidence to sign a second territory in Arlington once the Fairfax school reached the point of running without their daily involvement.

Why It Matters for Operators

Building Kidz's acquisition-and-convert playbook lowers the ramp-up risk that usually slows early childhood education franchising, since operators inherit demand instead of building it from zero. For franchisors in education and other people-intensive service categories, the Yajamanyams' path is a reminder that a strong onboarding system, paired with an operator who already knows the trade, can turn a first-time buyer into a three-unit developer within about twelve months of signing their first agreement.