Client perspectives
What clients have said about working with us
Honest accounts from owners and development leads who have used our readiness reviews, manual outlines and monthly advisory.
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In their words
Li Wei
Owner, Tanjong Pagar · April 2025
I had been going back and forth on whether to franchise my café concept for about a year. The readiness review gave me a clear picture of where I stood — the unit economics section in particular was more direct than I expected. There were a few things in the report I did not want to hear, but I needed to hear them. Worth the fee for that alone.
Franchise Readiness Review
Suresh Kumar
Franchise Development Lead · March 2025
We used the Sounding-Board arrangement while working through our first franchise agreement negotiation. Having someone outside the room who knew our file well — and who could review the term sheet before each call — made those conversations considerably easier to manage. We paused for six weeks mid-way through due to a staffing change, and resuming was straightforward.
Franchise Lead Sounding-Board
Priya Lim
Owner, Orchard Road · April 2025
The Operations Manual Outline was exactly what we needed. We had plenty of internal notes and checklists, but no structure to put them into. The outline gave us a clear framework — our team filled it in over about three months. The depth guidance for each chapter was particularly useful; it stopped us from writing too much in some areas and not enough in others.
Operations Manual Outline
Marcus Choo
Managing Director, Bugis · April 2025
I appreciated that the readiness review was not a sales document dressed up as an assessment. The consultant was honest that two areas of our model needed work before we could realistically present ourselves to franchisees. We addressed both over the following four months, and the report gave us a concrete list to work from.
Franchise Readiness Review
Amelia Hartono
Operations Manager · March 2025
The fixed fee and defined scope were what made us choose Slatebrook. We had spoken with two larger firms first and both wanted a three-month retainer before they would say anything concrete. Slatebrook told us upfront what the review would cover and what it would cost. The final document was delivered on time and without any additions to the invoice.
Franchise Readiness Review
Benjamin Tan
Founder, Novena · April 2025
We used the Sounding-Board for about five months while looking for our first franchisee. The written notes after each call were genuinely useful — I referred back to them regularly when preparing for meetings. The consultant was familiar with our situation from week one, which meant calls were productive rather than caught up in background context.
Franchise Lead Sounding-Board
Case studies
Engagements in more detail
F&B concept, single location — Tanjong Pagar
Franchise Readiness Review · Three weeks
Challenge
The owner had been running a profitable single-location café for four years and had received informal interest from two parties about franchising the concept. She had no clear view of whether her operations were documented well enough to transfer, or whether the unit economics would support a franchisee drawing a reasonable income while paying franchise fees.
Approach
The review covered her existing operational notes, supplier agreements, staff training materials and three years of trading data. The readiness assessment identified two substantive gaps — a lack of documented opening and closing procedures and a rent-to-revenue ratio at the existing site that would compress a franchisee's margins. Both were addressed in the written report with specific recommendations.
Outcome
The client used the report as a working document over the following six months, addressing the items on the readiness list one by one. She subsequently commissioned the Operations Manual Outline when she was ready to begin formal franchisee discussions. Both engagements were completed to agreed timelines and fees.
"I came in expecting a report that would tell me what I wanted to hear. That is not what I received, and that is why it was useful."
Retail services group — Central Business District
Franchise Lead Sounding-Board · Six months (with one pause)
Challenge
The franchise development lead was managing his first formal franchise agreement negotiation — with a prospective franchisee who had legal representation and was pushing on several term details the client had not anticipated. He needed a regular, structured space to think through developments with someone who understood franchise documentation and could review materials before each session.
Approach
Two calls per month over six months, with written notes after each. The consultant reviewed draft agreement amendments ahead of each call and provided a structured perspective on which points were worth holding and which were less material to the long-term relationship. The arrangement paused for six weeks when the client's CEO changed and resumed with no loss of continuity.
Outcome
The agreement was finalised and the first franchisee launched operations. The client noted that the written call notes were particularly useful for keeping the company's board informed of progress without requiring the development lead to prepare separate briefings after each session.
"Having someone who knew our file well meant calls were productive immediately, without ten minutes of catching up first."
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Phone
+65 6395 8462Address
50 Raffles Place, #17-03, Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623
Office hours
Monday – Friday: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm SGT
Track record
80+
Engagements completed
4.7
Average client rating
11
Years franchise experience
SFA
Singapore Franchise Association member
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