Today is a good day. We are finally rolling out Tolstoy statistics for the public. Click on the link to play with some exciting data :) https://statistics.wearetolstoy.com

For now it’s a module focused on sales — but as we go along, we will be adding more functionality and granularity to it, including costs.

Why are we doing that?

First and foremost, because one of our core values is transparency. We want to build a truly transparent business. And when we say transparent, we mean it. Our customers, partners and suppliers should know that we are honest and upfront about everything we do.

Transparency is also the absolute key to what we are trying to achieve. In the next few years we want to become the biggest plant-based franchise in Europe.

To do that we need to build a community of young and ambitious entrepreneurs – our future franchisees. Community of people, who believe in Tolstoy and who trust us.

Imagine you are an aspiring European entrepreneur, thinking of taking a franchise from one of the established restaurant players. If you check the information available out there, you will not find much. Notwithstanding the stated transparency, the information available online is anything but transparent.

“What is a lump sum fee I have to pay? What is a royalty? How much would it cost me to open a restaurant? What is a profit margin?” – these are very basic questions, which any franchisee would ask. But most franchisors do not provide answers.

Instead, they expect YOU to answer lots of detailed questions first. Including your marital status, whether you are paying any alimony for your kids and what grades you had in high school :)

Only after that interrogation they agree to talk to you. It’s like an online dating, where the counterpart knows everything about you – but you cannot even see a picture before the actual date.

With Tolstoy we are doing the opposite of that. When a potential franchisee comes across Tolstoy, we want him or her to feel welcome. We want this person to shout: “Wow, these guys are having a great adventure and I want to be a part of it!”.

We want to inspire people and we want them to join us.

That’s what Tolstoy is all about.