Cornerstone Franchise Partners
Cornerstone Franchise Partners is a privately held, Ogden, Utah-based franchise development and investment firm that helps owners of successful construction-services businesses franchise and scale their brands nationally via Advise-Invest-Buy engagement models.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersOgden, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Cornerstone Franchise Partners does
Cornerstone Franchise Partners is a privately held, Ogden, Utah-based franchise development and investment firm that partners with owners of successful service businesses — primarily in the $1.6 trillion construction and construction services industry — to convert them into scalable franchise systems. Co-founded and managed by Ryan Combe and Ryan Hicks, the firm operates a three-tier engagement model (Advise, Invest, Buy) that lets it serve portfolio brands as an advisory partner, a minority equity investor, or an acquirer depending on the brand's growth and exit objectives. Its stated proposition is to compress typical 10-year franchise growth timelines into roughly 3-year plans, claiming the ability to grow system-wide sales by 2x to 3x in the first year of partnership.
The company's current portfolio comprises three named franchise brands: CPR Construction Cleaning (post-construction cleaning), Appell Striping (parking lot striping for large national retailers), and ClearSite Construction Services (a service franchise in active national expansion). Cornerstone's platform is relationship-driven rather than technology-led: its core assets are the founders' combined franchising experience (Combe has advised on billions in PE transactions and launched dozens of brands; Hicks is a Certified Franchise Executive and host of the Modrn Business Podcast, with 400+ episodes since January 2018) and a vertical-specific network in construction services.
The business model blends professional-services revenue (advisory fees and strategic guidance), managed-services economics (equity appreciation as portfolio brands scale, plus success-based compensation), and potential acquisition/exit returns. Go-to-market is direct, enterprise-style field sales combined with content-led demand generation via podcast, social media, and IFA committee participation; pricing is bespoke and not publicly disclosed. In March 2026 the firm added governance and capability depth through a strategic partnership with Tarrybrook Partners (with principals appointed to Cornerstone's Board) and an exclusive human capital partnership with The Elliot Group, both intended to accelerate portfolio-brand growth and broaden deal sourcing.
Cornerstone Franchise Partners firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cornerstone Franchise Partners
- Legal name
- Cornerstone Franchise Partners
- Website
- https://cornerstonefranchisepartners.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Cornerstone Franchise Partners is a privately held, Ogden, Utah-based franchise development and investment firm that helps owners of successful construction-services businesses franchise and scale their brands nationally via Advise-Invest-Buy engagement models.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cornerstone Franchise Partners industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Franchise Development and Investment Services
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Management of Companies and Enterprises (55), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Platform Buy-and-Build / Roll-Up Buyout (FSANABAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Industry-Specialist Buyout (Sector-Focused) (FSANABAE), Strategic Partnerships, Alliances & JVs Advisory (BPAHADAI)
Keywords
Where Cornerstone Franchise Partners is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ogden
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cornerstone Franchise Partners business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Franchise Development and Advisory Services: Cornerstone generates revenue by partnering with franchisors to help them grow faster, smarter, and better than they may have thought possible. Revenue likely comes from a combination of advisory fees, equity stakes, and success-based compensation tied to franchise growth outcomes.
- Franchise Investment Returns: As an investor in franchise concepts, Cornerstone earns returns through equity appreciation as portfolio brands grow and expand nationally. They invest their own capital alongside taking active board roles.
- Franchise Brand Acquisition: Potential revenue from buying and scaling franchise brands, then either growing them internally or exiting through sale to larger operators or private equity.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Cornerstone Franchise Partners product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cornerstone Franchise Partners works with franchisors of construction and construction-services businesses to franchise their concepts and accelerate system-wide growth. The firm operates a three-tier engagement model—Advise (exit-path guidance and franchise-readiness consulting), Invest (equity capital deployment alongside active board involvement), and Buy (acquisition and scale-up of service brands). Target outcomes include turning a 10-year franchising roadmap into a 3-year plan and growing system-wide sales by 2x to 3x in the first year of partnership.
Product overview
Cornerstone Franchise Partners is a franchise development and growth platform focused on the $1.6 trillion construction and construction services industry. The company provides investment, strategic advisory, and operational support to franchisors to help them grow faster and more efficiently. Cornerstone partners with service brands that are dominating their category in marketing, sales, and operations, then helps franchise the concept for exponential growth. The platform manages a portfolio of franchise brands including CPR Construction Cleaning (post-construction cleaning), Appell Striping (parking lot striping services), and ClearSite Construction Services, targeting 2x to 3x system-wide sales growth in the first year of partnership.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CPR Construction Cleaning: Industry leader in post construction cleaning with over 30 years of experience, offering advanced training methods and technology.
- Appell Striping
- ClearSite Construction Services
Products and services
- Franchise Development Advisory (Advise) Advisory engagement helping successful service-business owners prepare to franchise, build franchise infrastructure, and execute rapid national growth strategies; offered without hourly fees. Designed for construction-services business owners and existing franchisors.
- Franchise Investment (Invest) Equity investment offering in which Cornerstone invests its own capital in promising franchise concepts and takes active board roles to support growth. Aimed at passionate entrepreneurs with innovative franchise ideas and existing franchisors needing growth capital.
- Franchise Brand Acquisition (Buy) Acquisition offering in which Cornerstone buys franchise brands and then scales them internally or exits via sale to larger operators or private equity. For service-brand owners seeking full liquidity or a clean exit.
- CPR Construction Cleaning Franchise System Portfolio franchise brand in post-construction cleaning with over 30 years of operating experience; uses advanced training methods and technology to help franchisee locations dominate their territories. Available to construction-services buyers seeking franchise ownership.
- Appell Striping Franchise System Portfolio franchise brand in parking-lot and pavement striping; its franchisees serve some of the largest retailers in the world and launch with training and industry connections to grow quickly. Offered to construction-services buyers seeking franchise ownership.
- ClearSite Construction Services Franchise System Portfolio service franchise brand in the construction-services industry, actively supported by Cornerstone for national expansion in partnership with Tarrybrook Partners. Offered to construction-services buyers seeking franchise ownership.
Quantifiable outcome
- System-wide sales can grow by 2x to 3x in first year of partnership
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Cornerstone Franchise Partners
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Cornerstone Franchise Partners technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Cornerstone Franchise Partners partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Tarrybrook Partners, LLCcoreStrategic partnership with Tarrybrook Partners, LLC to support Cornerstone's franchise expansion initiatives. Tarrybrook's principals Barry Herbst and Brian Schwartz have been appointed to Cornerstone's Board of Directors. The partnership aims to support ClearSite Construction Services' national expansion and help identify additional service-based franchise opportunities. This represents a significant governance-level partnership bringing experienced operators into the company's leadership structure.
- The Elliot GroupcoreThe Elliot Group has been named as the exclusive human capital partner for Cornerstone's franchise network. This partnership provides specialized recruiting, staffing, and human resources expertise to support the growth and success of Cornerstone's portfolio franchise brands.
- ClearSite Construction ServicescoreClearSite Construction Services is a portfolio brand that Cornerstone is actively supporting for national expansion through the Tarrybrook Partners partnership. This represents Cornerstone's core business model of identifying and scaling successful service franchise concepts.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Cornerstone Franchise Partners competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Neighborly: Neighborly is a large multi-brand franchise platform focused on home services. It shares Cornerstone's services-vertical orientation and construction/home-services adjacency (e.g., post-construction cleaning overlaps with Neighborly's service categories), but operates at vastly greater scale and as an incumbent consolidator.
- Authority Brands: Authority Brands is a PE-backed multi-brand franchise platform owning and operating home and commercial service franchises. It represents the scaled version of what Cornerstone aspires to build — a platform consolidator in services — and serves as the most likely exit acquirer for Cornerstone's portfolio brands.
- Driven Brands: Driven Brands is a public franchise platform company that consolidates and grows franchise brands across automotive services. While automotive-focused, it is a relevant comparable for the broader franchise platform/consolidator model that Cornerstone's Buy prong ultimately targets.
Direct peers
- Fransmart: Fransmart is a franchise development and consulting firm that helps emerging restaurant and service brands launch franchise systems. It is the closest direct peer to Cornerstone's advisory-led franchise development business, sharing the same core value proposition of converting successful concepts into scalable franchise systems.
- PJS Partners: PJS Partners is a franchise consulting firm that helps emerging brands build franchise systems, raise capital, and execute growth strategies. It overlaps with Cornerstone's Advise prong and shares a similar target market of founders seeking to franchise their existing service businesses.
- Premium Service Brands: Premium Service Brands is a multi-brand franchisor platform that builds and acquires home and commercial service franchise concepts. It is comparable to Cornerstone's portfolio approach, though it operates brands directly rather than purely advising/investing — making it a like-for-like roll-up benchmark.
- 1859 Franchise: 1859 Franchise is a franchise consulting and advisory firm working with emerging brands on franchise development, marketing, and growth strategy. It overlaps with Cornerstone on Advise services and target franchisor clientele, though with a broader industry focus than Cornerstone's construction-services niche.
- Franchise Creator: Franchise Creator is a franchise consulting firm that guides service-based business owners through franchising their concepts. It mirrors Cornerstone's target customer (owner-operators of thriving service businesses) and core service offering (turning a single-location concept into a franchise system).
- Roaring Fork Capital: Roaring Fork Capital is a private equity firm that invests in franchised and consumer-facing businesses. It is comparable to Cornerstone's Invest/Buy prong — applying capital and operating expertise to franchise concepts — though typically at larger check sizes than Cornerstone's advisory-led model.
Emerging players
- FranPac: FranPac is a franchise-focused advisory and capital firm that works with emerging franchise brands on development, capital raising, and M&A. It is comparable to Cornerstone on the intersection of franchise advisory and capital deployment, though it operates across multiple verticals rather than Cornerstone's construction-services niche.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Cornerstone Franchise Partners social profiles
Digital presenceCornerstone Franchise Partners financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cornerstone Franchise Partners leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Cornerstone Franchise Partners funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cornerstone Franchise Partners 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 Cornerstone Franchise Partners
What does Cornerstone Franchise Partners do?
Cornerstone Franchise Partners works with franchisors of construction and construction-services businesses to franchise their concepts and accelerate system-wide growth. The firm operates a three-tier engagement model—Advise (exit-path guidance and franchise-readiness consulting), Invest (equity capital deployment alongside active board involvement), and Buy (acquisition and scale-up of service brands). Target outcomes include turning a 10-year franchising roadmap into a 3-year plan and growing system-wide sales by 2x to 3x in the first year of partnership.
Is Cornerstone Franchise Partners a public or private company?
Cornerstone Franchise Partners is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Cornerstone Franchise Partners founded?
Cornerstone Franchise Partners was founded in 2007. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Cornerstone Franchise Partners based?
Cornerstone Franchise Partners is headquartered in Ogden, United States, in the North America region.
How does Cornerstone Franchise Partners make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Franchise Development and Advisory Services are the primary driver. The others are franchise Investment Returns and franchise Brand Acquisition.
Who are Cornerstone Franchise Partners's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Neighborly, Authority Brands and Driven Brands. Direct peers are Fransmart, PJS Partners, Premium Service Brands, 1859 Franchise, Franchise Creator and Roaring Fork Capital. FranPac is listed as an emerging player.
Does Cornerstone Franchise Partners have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cornerstone Franchise Partners.
What industry is Cornerstone Franchise Partners in?
Cornerstone Franchise Partners's product category is Franchise Development and Investment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANABAI, Platform Buy-and-Build / Roll-Up Buyout, with a secondary code of FSANABAE, Industry-Specialist Buyout (Sector-Focused). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 8742.