The Scout Guide
The Scout Guide is a privately held, woman-founded national franchise operating 100+ independently owned city guides that sell annual print and digital advertising memberships to 6,000+ local small businesses across the United States, headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersCharlottesville, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Scout Guide does
The Scout Guide is a privately held, woman-founded national franchise that operates 100+ independently owned and operated city guides across the United States, headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. The company was founded in 2010 by Christy Ford and Susie Matheson with a mission to support local small businesses against competition from big-box stores and online retailers. Each city guide is owned by a local franchisee who sells annual advertising partnerships to independently owned businesses in categories such as dining, retail, home and interiors, wellness, and professional services. The company's value proposition rests on curated local discovery, professional photography, design-quality print publications, and community-building events.
The core product portfolio combines annual print city guides with persistent digital directories, editorial content, and the weekly "The Scouted Life" email newsletter. Technology is delivered through a WordPress-based web platform (thescoutguide.com) featuring city-by-city online directories, editorial sections, and franchise recruitment pages, alongside coordinated social channels on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Production is centralized at HQ through an in-house design and production team supported by a network of photographers and print vendors, enabling each franchisee to operate without a storefront, inventory, or commercial lease.
The business model is built on three revenue streams: one-time franchise fees of $50,000 per new market, recurring annual advertising memberships sold to local small businesses, and a smaller national advertising media kit offering multi-market reach. The network features 6,000+ local businesses annually and reports a 60% advertiser renewal rate year over year, providing a compounding recurring revenue base. HQ staff of roughly 20 supports the 100+ franchise network across sales, marketing, design, production, franchise success coaching, and enablement functions.
The Scout Guide firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Scout Guide
- Legal name
- The Scout Guide
- Website
- https://thescoutguide.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Scout Guide is a privately held, woman-founded national franchise operating 100+ independently owned city guides that sell annual print and digital advertising memberships to 6,000+ local small businesses across the United States, headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Scout Guide industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Local Advertising Media
- NAICS
- Indoor and Outdoor Display Advertising (54185)
- SIC
- Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Local Search & Business Directories (BPAMAAAE)
Keywords
Where The Scout Guide is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Charlottesville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Scout Guide business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Annual Advertising Partnerships: Revenue generated from local small businesses paying an annual fee to be featured in the city's Scout Guide. The feature includes a 12-month membership, professionally photographed styled print advertisement in the annual publication, plus visibility across digital channels and invitations to in-person networking events. The network averages a 60% advertiser renewal rate year over year.
- Franchise Fees: One-time franchise fee of $50,000 for new market ownership, providing brand rights, launch support, systems, and ongoing training.
- National Advertising: National advertiser opportunities with combined print and digital reach across all 100+ markets through media kit offerings.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Franchise fee for market ownership |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels10 records
The Scout Guide product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Scout Guide publishes and distributes annual print city guides and online directories that spotlight independently owned local businesses (boutiques, restaurants, interior designers, wellness studios, makers) in 100+ U.S. markets. Local small businesses pay an annual fee to be featured with a professionally photographed styled print advertisement, online directory listing, and invitations to community networking events. The company also licenses its brand through a $50,000 franchise program that enables entrepreneurs to own and operate their own city guide.
Product overview
The Scout Guide is a 100% woman-founded national franchise offering an elevated local advertising experience through a dual-platform approach: annual print city guides and online digital directories. The core product portfolio consists of print publications featuring high-quality photography and styled advertisements for local businesses, complemented by searchable online directories across 100+ U.S. markets. Additional offerings include the weekly 'The Scouted Life' newsletter, digital editorial content on owned channels, community-building events, and a franchise program enabling entrepreneurs to launch their own city guides. The company connects local consumers with exceptional small businesses through personalized print ad design, strategic distribution, social media marketing, online editorial, and B2B networking opportunities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Print City Guides Beautifully designed annual print publications distributed in 100+ U.S. markets, spotlighting locally owned businesses with high-quality photography, editorial content, and styled advertisements. Sold to local small businesses as part of an annual advertising membership.
- Online Directories
Quantifiable outcome
- 60% advertiser renewal rate year over year
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use The Scout Guide
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Scout Guide technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
The Scout Guide partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Photographers NetworkcoreThe Scout Guide works with a network of photographers for professionally photographed, styled print advertisements. Production is managed through established vendor and print network.
- Print Vendor NetworkcoreEstablished vendor network for guide production, enabling franchise owners to focus on relationships rather than logistics.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Scout Guide competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Localeur: Localeur is a curated local-guide platform connecting travelers and locals to independent neighborhood businesses, monetized through SMB partnerships and storytelling — closely parallel to The Scout Guide's curated local-discovery model.
- Modern Luxury: Modern Luxury operates a network of regional luxury lifestyle magazines monetized via premium local SMB advertising — a near-direct analog to The Scout Guide's city-by-city franchise model and advertiser economics.
- Garden & Gun: Garden & Gun is a curated regional lifestyle brand that pairs high-quality editorial and photography with local-business features and partnerships — the same content + curated-discovery formula as The Scout Guide.
- Eater: Eater is a curated local restaurant-discovery brand with city-by-city editorial that drives SMB visibility and advertising partnerships — overlapping with The Scout Guide's category-verticalized local advertising motion.
- Patch.com: Patch is a network of hyperlocal community news and business-directory sites covering thousands of U.S. neighborhoods — comparable to The Scout Guide as a city-level curated local information and SMB distribution platform.
Broad incumbents
- Yelp: Yelp is the largest U.S. local business directory and SMB advertising platform. It overlaps broadly with The Scout Guide's directory + SMB advertising model but operates at much larger scale and a broader, less-curated positioning.
- Tripadvisor: Tripadvisor is a global consumer-discovery platform for local businesses, restaurants, and travel experiences with SMB advertising products — overlapping with The Scout Guide's traveler + local-discovery audience and advertiser monetization.
- Apartment Therapy: Apartment Therapy is a home and lifestyle media brand featuring local stores, designers, and makers with a curated editorial voice — addressing the same SMB 'shop-local' pain points as The Scout Guide, particularly in home and interiors.
Emerging players
- AFAR Media: AFAR is a traveler-focused media brand that curates local independent businesses across cities. It overlaps with The Scout Guide's traveler-segment use case and SMB advertising model, but at smaller scale and with narrower focus.
Others
- Houzz: Houzz is a home-focused marketplace and directory featuring local designers, makers, and retailers. It intersects with The Scout Guide's home & interiors advertiser category as an adjacent digital-discovery platform for SMBs.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Scout Guide social profiles
Digital presenceThe Scout Guide financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Scout Guide leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
The Scout Guide funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Scout Guide M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Scout Guide
What does The Scout Guide do?
The Scout Guide publishes and distributes annual print city guides and online directories that spotlight independently owned local businesses (boutiques, restaurants, interior designers, wellness studios, makers) in 100+ U.S. markets. Local small businesses pay an annual fee to be featured with a professionally photographed styled print advertisement, online directory listing, and invitations to community networking events. The company also licenses its brand through a $50,000 franchise program that enables entrepreneurs to own and operate their own city guide.
Is The Scout Guide a public or private company?
The Scout Guide is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Scout Guide founded?
The Scout Guide was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Scout Guide based?
The Scout Guide is headquartered in Charlottesville, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Scout Guide make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Annual Advertising Partnerships are the primary driver. The others are franchise Fees and national Advertising.
Who are The Scout Guide's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Localeur, Modern Luxury, Garden & Gun, Eater and Patch.com. Broad incumbents are Yelp, Tripadvisor and Apartment Therapy. AFAR Media is listed as an emerging player. Houzz is listed as an others.
Does The Scout Guide have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Scout Guide.
What industry is The Scout Guide in?
The Scout Guide's product category is Local Advertising Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAAAE, Local Search & Business Directories. Its NAICS code is 54185 and its SIC code is 7330.