PUMP IT UP - Inflatable Party Franchise `Leaps' to New Heights

With millions of U.S. families celebrating birthdays daily, the nation’s only Franchise to offer interactive inflatable play structures for private parties is “filling” demand faster than a 4-year-old can bound down one of its brightly-colored inflatable slides – “pumping up” its franchise system with new locations opening every weekend across the country.

Following the remarkable success of its first location in Pleasanton Calif. in 2000, PUMP IT UP began expanding nationally in April 2003 and now boasts 29 facilities in operation, with an additional 175 agreements signed for new franchise locations in 30 states and a future location in Canada .  With new units opening every weekend, PUMP IT UP projects to have more than 100 locations operating by year’s end, and 300 by the end of 2005. International expansion will begin in 2006.

PUMP IT UP’s phenomenal success is due in large part to its ageless appeal.  From toddlers bouncing up and down, to older children and teens climbing and sliding through challenging inflatable obstacle courses, to grandparents jousting on a mushroom-like platform, PUMP IT UP offers engaging experiences for every party-attendee. Most important, parents appreciate the safety and ease of holding a true “dream party” for their children at PUMP IT UP, with supervision, set-up and clean-up completed by trained facility staff.

“It’s hard to tell who enjoys the PUMP IT UP party experience more – the grownups or the children,” said Brenda Dronkers, PUMP IT UP president and founder.  “PUMP IT UP is different from any other party facility in the country in terms of our privacy policy, so that parents and kids feel like they own the facility for the entire duration of their party. We were the first to take advantage of the incredible Business Opportunity in taking inflatables out of the backyard and putting them into a private, indoor party zone, and we continue to do it better than anyone else.”

An idea was born …
Dronkers, a mother of three who freelanced as a marketing consultant, experienced her business epiphany one autumn afternoon at an annual church function, where she noticed all three of her children simultaneously having the times of their life on two simple inflatables – a rare occasion for siblings separated by as much as seven years in age. At that moment, Dronkers recognized the base for a business.

Just 10 weeks after creating the concept, her first PUMP IT UP location was up and running, and booked solid for the next six weeks. She grew out of that first facility in less than a year, and soon began Franchising in response to interested friends and family members.   

“For as long as children will have birthdays, our concept will continue to thrive,” Dronkers said.  “Our goal is to make each party the most memorable day for the host and their family. With family the No. 1 priority in people’s lives, we fulfill an eternal need. We help parents create lasting memories with their children every day, and we make it easy for them.”

The PUMP IT UP Culture
While the PUMP IT UP Franchise Opportunity is suited for a wide range of candidates, including moms with young children to high-powered executives who are weary of the corporate lifestyle, Dronkers is adamant about selecting franchisees that are passionate about the concept and about children -- not just the bottom line. PUMP IT UP’s universal appeal in suburbs, cities and in rural areas is linked directly to its franchisees’ community involvement with charities, schools, churches, etc.

“I founded this business on a warm and giving culture,” she said. “The culture we foster changes our franchisees’ lives completely. It transforms them into people who truly enjoy life, because of how they impact children, the community and a renewed sense of how they relate to their own children.”

Climbing Partners
To support the fast-growing franchise system, PUMP IT UP has boosted its corporate staff from five employees to 43 employees within the past year, moving to larger corporate offices four times in two years to accommodate the growth. Dronkers and her partner, CEO Terry Dillenburg, provide franchisees and staff with an ideal example of a positive team-based relationship.

“PUMP IT UP would not be what is today without Terry’s design skills and branding vision,” said Dronkers, noting that Dillenburg operated her own interior design business before joining PUMP IT UP.

Franchisees receive customized support and a turnkey operating system, including market analysis, site selection, lease negotiation, facility layout and design, equipment, employee hiring and training and grand opening scheduling.  Before opening, PUMP IT UP sends a site review team and an employee training team to new facilities and continues to provide updated marketing materials, new equipment, education and training. PUMP IT UP recently formed an alliance with a commercial brokerage firm that helps place franchisees in ideal facilities in a minimal amount of time.

PUMP IT UP franchisees can purchase either a single arena, which serves two parties at a time for $160,000 to $257,000, or a double arena, serving four parties at a time for $233,000 to $502,000.  When there are multiple parties, all are carefully timed so that they are never in the same room simultaneously.

“We do everything imaginable to set our franchisees up to succeed,” Dronkers said. “Without them, PUMP IT UP would not exist.  I had a dream, and the franchisees are the ones who are fulfilling it.”

About PUMP IT UP
PUMP IT UP was founded in 2000 by Brenda Dronkers, a life-long dreamer, entrepreneur and mother who formed the company’s warm and giving culture based on her strong Christian beliefs. PUMP IT UP’s inflatable party zone was created as a fun, safe and unstructured place for children and adults to enjoy.  As a private party facility, PUMP IT UP is not open to the public.  Private parties are available to everyone from toddlers to adults and must be reserved in advance. PUMP IT UP is headquartered in Pleasanton , CA and currently has 29 locations in 22 states, and an additional 100 facilities set to open by the end of 2004.