November 20, 2025
SMB Spotlights the Story Time Chess Franchise
Earlier this month, the team at SMB sat down with Jon Sieber, Story Time Chess co-founder and franchise president of this emerging brand. We learned more about this exciting children’s enrichment and chess education franchise where local owners are focused on making the process of learning chess fun, accessible and educational for young learners.
SMB Franchise Advisors: Jon, in a few sentences, please share with our readers what your franchise concept offers – what is the Story Time Chess brand is all about?
Jon Sieber, Founder: We make chess more accessible to a younger generation of students, ages 3–7-year-olds. By using silly stories to teach the game of chess, we use characters that teach kids how the pieces move, chess strategy, sportsmanship, self-regulation, all through silly stories.
SMB: What makes this education concept unique in today’s market?
Jon: From a chess perspective, the game has often been reserved for math-inclined boys or older children. We’re changing that by widening the aperture and getting everyone involved at a younger age. Today, about half of our students are girls and half are boys. It doesn’t matter if a child loves math, sports, Disney princesses, or fairy tales, chess can be for everyone. We bring the benefits of chess, critical thinking, executive function, and academic development to a wider range of children, all without screens. We’re a completely screen-free company. Our curriculum and resources are provided directly to teachers, and everything is taught face-to-face on an analog chessboard, which is something we’re very proud to share.
SMB: How do you maintain curriculum consistency across locations?
Jon: This is a great question. We have a curriculum team, and we regularly update our curriculum to find best practices of teaching chess and of educating kids. We make sure that everything is done with three things in mind.
- We teach through storytelling, so every lesson needs a story using a character that we have designed and approved.
- Everything has little miniature games attached to it. We learn through playing chess and playing mini-games, and so our curriculum is full of exercises and short games that everyone has to participate in.
- Then, the last thing that’s very important to our curriculum is we use parent engagement tools. So, we are sending emails about our curriculum, about the lessons, to parents on a regular basis, to make sure to extend the classroom to the kitchen table and ensure that parents are being involved in the learning journey.
SMB: How do you balance in-person and virtual learning options – is this still applicable, today?
Jon: This question isn’t directly applicable to our franchise business since our franchises don’t offer virtual learning. However, in our company-owned locations, we do provide virtual learning when necessary. We strongly prefer in-person instruction because face-to-face interaction with an instructor and having two students of the same age sit across from each other at a chessboard creates the best learning environment. That said, in today’s world, with travel and occasional outbreaks, virtual learning can be a great option when needed. While it can be challenging for very young children, chess actually works surprisingly well online. With our stories, mini-games, and a physical chessboard, we’re able to make virtual lessons fun and engaging.
SMB: What inspired you to franchise your business?
Jon: I attended several education conferences, and at the time, we were licensing our curriculum to franchise systems like The Goddard School and Kiddie Academy. We kept running into a company called Soccer Shots and became close with one of their founders. Many of the challenges we faced, such as expanding into new markets and maintaining brand standards, seemed to be solved through franchising. After discussions with the Soccer Shots team, they convinced us that franchising was the best way to find strong local partners who are passionate about our brand and share our vision of educating as many children as possible.
SMB: Why did you partner with SMB Franchise Advisors?
Jon: We did our research and reached out to several franchise advisors and others in the industry. Ultimately, we chose to work with SMB Franchise Advisors, not only because we really liked Steve, but because we were incredibly impressed with his team. Everyone we interacted with was experienced, thoughtful, and genuinely helpful. We were very impressed with both Steve and the entire SMB team.
SMB: How many clubs and territories or cities served did you have before SMB? How many have you grown to since partnering with SMB?
Jon: When I think about our territories, we currently operate in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Before partnering with SMB, those were all company-owned and operated locations. Since working with Steve and his team, we’ve transitioned Singapore into a franchise country and have sold six additional territories in Florida making a total of seven new franchise territories.
Nashville, which is also a single territory that I run personally, as a franchisee. We define territories as cities, and within each territory, there can be multiple units. For example, Orlando is one territory with two units, while Nashville is a single-territory, single-unit location.
SMB: What are your long-term goals for your franchise? How many locations do you hope to grow to?
Jon: Our long-term goal is to reach one million children worldwide, helping them experience the benefits of playing chess through our curriculum. We believe franchising is the best way to achieve that vision. We hope to grow to 500 locations across the globe, with most based in the United States, and continued international expansion through our clubs and territories in Singapore, Southeast Asia, Canada, and Europe.
SMB: What qualities do you look for in successful franchisee candidates?
Jon: Reliability and initiative are two of the biggest things we look for. You can always tell when a candidate has done their homework and taken the time to research our market before speaking with us. Equally important is the willingness to be outgoing and even a little silly. Working with children requires passion, playfulness, and the ability to connect at their level. We always say that everyone in our company should be able to sit on the floor, eye-to-eye with a child. That sense of fun, humility, and genuine care is what makes someone a great fit for our team.
SMB: What makes your franchisee training program unique?
Jon: That’s a great question. What I can say is that we’re incredibly hands-on. We make sure our franchisees are fully immersed in our curriculum and teaching methods, getting real experience in the classroom and working directly with children. We pride ourselves on being present, supportive, and actively involved throughout their training and development.
SMB: How do you help franchisees stay current with educational trends?
Jon: We have an Education Advisory Board made up of three experts with PhDs in fields including child development, child psychology, and the toy and game industry. By leveraging their networks, attending conferences, gathering feedback from customers, and regularly checking in with teachers and directors, we stay closely connected to what’s happening in the education world. It’s an industry that changes quickly, so we make a strong effort to stay on top of emerging trends and, most importantly, to understand what’s best for the children we serve.
SMB: How do you support franchisees with parent engagement?
Jon: Our online platform has parent engagement built right into it. As I mentioned earlier, it’s part of our company’s three core pillars, which are: learn, play, and engage. We believe drawing parents into the educational experience helps extend the classroom to the kitchen table, tying together the full picture of a child’s development. We send regular emails and provide franchisees with talking points to help them communicate with parents. Since many parents may not know how to play chess, we encourage our franchisees to teach them alongside their children. This helps families learn, play, and enjoy the game together.
SMB: What advice do you have for business owners looking to franchise?
Jon: I think people often get excited when they see the numbers in Item 19 and start dreaming about what their franchise could become. But at the end of the day, franchising means owning and running your own business—and that’s hard work. It will challenge you, stretch you, and push you in ways you might not expect, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. Whenever I talk to someone thinking about starting a business, I always come back to a simple equation: consistency over time equals success. You’re not going to build a multi-million-dollar business overnight. But if you set realistic, achievable daily goals—and hit them consistently—you can accomplish anything. That might mean making three sales calls a day, sending three cold emails, or knocking on three doors. If you stay consistent with those efforts over one, two, or three years, you’ll find the success you’re aiming for.
SMB: Is there anything else you would like us to share about your brand?
Jon: First and foremost, we believe children are capable of learning big things, building confidence, and achieving more than many people expect. Don’t underestimate their potential. Give them opportunities to shine, trust that they will, and you’ll be amazed at what they can do. At its core, our brand is about empowering children to develop critical thinking, self-regulation, and emotional intelligence all through fun and engaging learning experiences. That’s what we’re all about. And honestly, if you’re not having fun, you’re missing the point. Life’s too short, so have fun with it!
Visit the franchise online to learn more about Story Time Chess ownership opportunities: https://franchising.storytimechess.com/
Visit to learn about classes and to find a local club: https://storytimechess.com/
Author Kayla Mowery, SMB Franchise Advisors Operations Specialist + Technical Writer
Reviewed by Dawn Abbamondi, Chief Marketing Officer, SMB Franchise Advisors
