That 1 Painter is one of the fastest-growing painting franchises in the United States. Ranked #1 in Painting and #230 overall in Entrepreneur’s 2026 Franchise 500, it has grown from zero franchised territories in 2021 to over 265 by the end of 2024, with another 117 signed agreements in the pipeline. The brand operates under ResiBrands LLC and positions itself as a full-service residential and commercial painting platform built around a home-office operating model.

This analysis digs into the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document to give prospective buyers a clear, balanced picture of what the investment actually looks like, what franchisees are earning, and where the risks sit.

Quick Answer

That 1 Painter is a young, aggressively scaling painting franchise with a single-territory startup cost between $113,000 and $189,000 depending on the operating model. The FDD’s Item 19 shows top-third franchisees averaging $1.09M in gross revenue with a 53.86% gross profit margin, but bottom-third operators average just $320K. Ongoing fees are meaningful: 6% royalty, 2% brand fund, mandatory local ad spend, technology fees, and an appointment center fee. The brand has strong momentum and centralized support, but it is still a young system with a wide performance spread between top and bottom operators.

The Growth Timeline

That 1 Painter’s trajectory from startup to national brand happened fast. Here are the key milestones:

November 2020: That 1 Painter Franchising LLC formed in Texas by CEO and Founder Steven Montgomery along with Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer Allan Alarcon.
May 2021: Began offering franchises. The system went from zero to 28 franchised territories in its first full calendar year of franchising (2022).
2023: Grew to 62 franchised territories. ResiBrands LLC emerged as the parent company, also housing Garage Up Franchising, Action Exteriors Franchising, and other related brands.
2024: Explosive growth. The system added 203 franchised territories in a single year, ending 2024 with 94 franchisees operating 265 territories. Another 117 franchise agreements were signed but not yet opened.
2025-2026: The brand added in-person training days for location managers, which the company says improved close rates by roughly five percentage points. Entrepreneur reported the brand jumped from #443 to #230 in the Franchise 500 after adding 179 units in a single year. The official site now claims 400+ territories across 34 states.

That growth rate is impressive, but the FDD itself flags “short operating history” as one of its special risk factors. Fast growth and system maturity are two different things.

What Does a That 1 Painter Franchise Cost?

That 1 Painter offers two operating models: a subcontractor model and an employee model. The employee model costs more upfront because of additional hiring and insurance expenses. Both models are designed to run from a home office, which keeps overhead lower than a brick-and-mortar franchise.

Single-Territory Investment (2025 FDD)

Operating Model	Low Estimate	High Estimate
Subcontractor model	$113,000	$142,000
Employee model	$139,750	$189,000

Multi-Territory Investment

Development Setup	Low Estimate	High Estimate
2-4 territories, subcontractor	$162,000	$269,000
2-4 territories, employee	$188,750	$316,000
5 territories, subcontractor only	$512,750	$693,500

Key Upfront Fees

Fee	Amount
Initial Franchise Fee	$59,000
Initial Training Fee	$1,500 per attendee
Marketing Development Fee	$5,000
Master Class	$5,000 (first 2 seats)
Grand Opening Advertising	$10,000 - $15,000 per territory

The brand offers a 10% discount on the first territory for veterans, first responders, clergy, realtors, and entrepreneurs age 29 and under.

Ongoing Fees and Royalties

This is where the full picture gets important. That 1 Painter’s ongoing fee stack is more layered than many home-service franchises:

Royalty Fee: 6% of gross revenue, subject to a minimum royalty of $461 per territory per week regardless of sales.
Brand Fund Contribution: 2% of weekly gross revenue (can increase to 3%).
Local Advertising Spend: $3,000/month in year one, then the greater of $3,000/month or 4% of gross revenue.
Local Advertising Management Fee: Approximately $650 to $1,300/month.
Technology Fee: Approximately $650 to $1,000/month.
Appointment Center Fee: 1% of gross revenue.
National Accounts / Corporate Sales Fee: 5% of gross revenue on corporate-sourced work.

Other Notable Fees

Fee	Amount
Transfer Fee	20% of current initial franchise fee + applicable costs
Successor Agreement Fee	10% of current initial franchise fee
Non-Compliance Fee	$500 per documented incident
Interest on Late Payments	1.5% per month

The upside of this fee structure is that the franchisor is handling lead generation, call center operations, and marketing management. The tradeoff is that franchisees are paying for a lot of centralized control over their growth engine. A buyer needs to weigh whether that bundled support justifies the total cost.

How Much Do That 1 Painter Franchisees Make?

The 2025 FDD includes an Item 19 Financial Performance Representation based on 36 franchisees operating 88 territories as of December 31, 2024. This is not a full-system average. It excludes 58 franchisees (177 territories) that opened during 2024 and had not completed a full year of operations.

Average Gross Revenue by Performance Tier

Performance Tier	Territories	Average Revenue	Median Revenue	High	Low
Top Third	44	$1,089,347	$1,092,665	$1,561,432	$850,500
Middle Third	22	$588,693	$555,678	$850,000	$488,731
Bottom Third	22	$320,120	$325,880	$487,855	$175,000

Gross Profit Margins by Tier

Performance Tier	Territories	Average Margin	Median Margin	High	Low
Top Third	28	53.86%	54.31%	59.00%	50.10%
Middle Third	28	47.54%	48.00%	50.00%	45.00%
Bottom Third	32	40.23%	42.00%	44.00%	27.00%

Average Job Size by Tier

Performance Tier	Average Job Size	Median
Top Third	$5,416	$5,500
Middle Third	$4,422	$4,500
Bottom Third	$3,542	$3,700

Close Rate by Tier

Performance Tier	Average Close Rate	Median
Top Third	42.20%	42.44%
Middle Third	32.93%	33.00%
Bottom Third	24.73%	25.00%

The company-owned business, operating in 6 territories, produced $4,075,729 in gross revenue in 2024.

What the Numbers Actually Tell You

A few things jump out:

Top-third operators are doing real volume. Over $1M in average revenue with a 54% gross margin is a strong result for a home-office painting franchise.
The spread between top and bottom is massive. Bottom-third operators are averaging $320K, which is a fundamentally different business from the $1.09M top-third average.
Close rate and job size are the biggest differentiators. Top-third franchisees close at 42% with $5,400 average jobs. Bottom-third close at 25% with $3,500 average jobs. That gap compounds fast.
This is a mature-operator subset. Nearly two-thirds of franchisees in the system were excluded because they hadn’t completed a full year. A new buyer’s first-year experience will likely look very different from these numbers.

The Business Model: How It Works Day to Day

That 1 Painter operates as a home-office franchise. There is no storefront. Franchisees manage crews (either subcontractors or employees depending on the model) and focus on sales, estimating, and local market development.

Services Offered

The brand positions itself as more than a basic interior/exterior paint company. The current service menu includes:

Interior and exterior painting
Cabinet and brick painting
Carpentry and drywall repair
Deck and fence staining
Limewash
Pressure washing
Popcorn ceiling removal
Stucco repair
Odor removal
Sell-ready services (preparing homes for sale)

Territory Structure

Each territory is defined by contiguous ZIP codes targeting a population of approximately 200,000 people. Territories are not exclusive, though franchisees can service work outside their territory under certain conditions (word-of-mouth, referrals, prior clients). The franchisor reserves alternate channels of distribution and broader commercial account rights.

Minimum Performance Standards

The franchise agreement includes escalating revenue minimums per territory:

Period	Minimum Revenue Required
Year 1	None
Year 2	$500,000
Years 3-5	$600,000
Years 6-7	$750,000
Years 8-10+	$1,000,000

Falling short can result in territory reduction, mandatory additional training at the franchisee’s expense, or termination.

Training and Support

The operations manual runs approximately 785 pages plus videos, covering everything from CRM setup (Housecall Pro) to commercial painting processes to a cold-calling playbook. Topic areas include “Drillbit AI” (the brand’s internal AI tool), Painting School, and manuals available in both English and Spanish.

The franchisor runs an appointment center that handles inbound calls, charges 1% of gross revenue for the service, and manages much of the local advertising through a required management fee. The official site also advertises 24/7 estimate availability and a 3-year warranty on paint work.

The Franchise Term and Legal Structure

Initial Term: 10 years
Renewal: One successor agreement option for another 10 years, subject to a 10% fee on the then-current franchise fee
Post-Term Noncompete: 24 months within 25 miles of former territory or any other That 1 Painter office
Franchisor Data Ownership: The FDD states the franchisor owns all client data stored in the franchisee’s computer system
Dispute Resolution: Texas only

Who Is Behind That 1 Painter?

The franchisor is That 1 Painter Franchising LLC, based in Austin, Texas. Key leadership includes CEO Steven Montgomery and Chief Growth Officer Allan Alarcon.

The brand sits under ResiBrands LLC, which also houses Garage Up Franchising, Monty’s Franchising, Action Exteriors Franchising, Pink’s Franchising, and ResiCreative LLC (the required advertising vendor).

One detail worth noting: Codie Sanchez, the entrepreneur and Contrarian Thinking founder, holds an indirect ownership interest in ResiBrands through Contrarian Thinking LLC and sits on the parent company’s board. The FDD discloses her involvement in brand development, expansion, consulting, and franchise promotion, with compensation tied to Brand Fund contributions and royalty fees. That connection brings internet-era visibility and “boring business” cultural cachet to the brand’s franchise development marketing.

Franchisor Financial Health

The FDD’s audited financial statements show a company scaling revenue fast but with some financial details worth understanding:

Year	Total Revenue	Net Income (Loss)
2022	$2,017,068	$(44,361)
2023	$6,532,279	$3,795,447
2024	$10,423,114	$278,407

Revenue grew 5x from 2022 to 2024. But net income dropped sharply from $3.8M in 2023 to $278K in 2024, and year-end cash fell from $1.47M to just $160K. Operating cash flow was negative $1.47M in 2024.

The 2024 balance sheet also shows $4.65M in related-party receivables, which is large relative to the $160K cash balance. The unaudited January-February 2025 snapshot showed a net loss of $441K on $949K in revenue.

The FDD’s own special-risks section states that the franchisor’s financial condition “calls into question” its ability to provide services and support. The audited statements carry a clean opinion and equity is positive, so this is not an insolvency situation. But the low cash position, large related-party receivables, and negative operating cash flow are worth understanding as part of the full picture.

Market Positioning and Competitive Landscape

The residential painting market in the United States is large and fragmented. Most painting companies are small local operators, which creates opportunity for a franchised brand with centralized marketing and operational systems.

That 1 Painter vs. Other Painting Franchises

Metric	That 1 Painter	Five Star Painting	CertaPro Painters	360 Painting
Parent Company	ResiBrands LLC	Neighborly	FirstService Brands	Premium Service Brands
Initial Investment	$113K - $189K	$80K - $170K	$165K - $230K	$110K - $165K
Initial Franchise Fee	$59,000	$62,500	$57,500	$55,000
Royalty Fee	6% + minimums	6%	Varies by revenue	6%
Territories (approx.)	265+	200+	400+	200+
Key Differentiator	Fast growth, centralized marketing/call center, multi-service menu, Codie Sanchez visibility	Neighborly ecosystem, cross-brand referrals	Largest established brand, long track record	Lower entry cost, Premium Service Brands support

That 1 Painter’s competitive position rests on its growth velocity and centralized support infrastructure. The mandatory appointment center, managed advertising, and technology stack mean franchisees get a more turnkey marketing operation than many competitors offer. The tradeoff is a higher total ongoing fee burden and less individual operator autonomy.

CertaPro Painters has the longest track record and largest footprint. Five Star Painting benefits from the Neighborly ecosystem’s cross-brand referral network. 360 Painting offers a slightly lower entry point. That 1 Painter’s angle is speed, scale, and a more systematized growth engine for operators willing to buy into the full platform.

Final Verdict: Is That 1 Painter a Good Investment?

That 1 Painter is a real franchise with real revenue numbers. The top-third economics are attractive, and the brand’s growth rate is undeniable. But this is still a young system, the performance spread is wide, and the ongoing fee stack is meaningful.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths: Fast growth trajectory, strong centralized marketing and call center support, home-office model keeps overhead low, broad service menu beyond basic painting, compelling Item 19 top-third numbers.
Weaknesses: Young franchise system (began franchising in 2021), non-exclusive territories, high ongoing fee burden, wide performance gap between top and bottom operators, franchisor financial condition flagged as a risk in the FDD.
Opportunities: Large and fragmented painting market, multi-territory expansion path, growing brand recognition, 117 signed-but-unopened territories suggest continued momentum.
Threats: Operator quality varies significantly by market, escalating minimum revenue requirements, franchisor cash position and related-party receivables warrant monitoring, heavy dependence on franchisor-managed marketing systems.

Recommendations for Prospective Investors

Read the full FDD carefully. Pay special attention to Items 7 (estimated initial investment), 19 (financial performance), 20 (outlet history), and 21 (financial statements). The numbers in this article are drawn from the 2025 FDD, but your decision should be based on the most current document available.
Talk to existing franchisees across the performance spectrum. Do not only call the top performers the franchisor recommends. Reach out to middle-tier and newer operators to understand what year one actually looks like.
Model the full fee stack. Add up the royalty, brand fund, local ad spend, ad management fee, technology fee, and appointment center fee against realistic revenue projections. The headline investment range does not tell the full ongoing cost story.
Understand the territory economics. Territories are not exclusive and the minimum performance standards escalate. Make sure you are comfortable with the revenue targets and what happens if you fall short.
Evaluate the franchisor’s financial trajectory. The revenue growth is real, but the cash position and profitability trend deserve attention. Ask the franchisor directly about their capitalization plans and how they intend to support a network that has more than tripled in size.

For an operator who is comfortable with a young, fast-moving system and willing to invest in the full platform, That 1 Painter offers a path into a large market with strong centralized support. Just go in with your eyes open about the fee structure, performance variability, and the fact that this brand is still in its early chapters.

Disclaimer: The information presented in this analysis is based on research conducted from publicly available sources and the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document as of March 2026. While we strive for accuracy, LeadTruffle does not guarantee the completeness or correctness of the data. This article is for informational purposes only, and potential franchisees should conduct their own thorough due diligence, including a detailed review of the most current Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), before making any investment decisions.

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