From unemployment to graduate franchising: how this couple constructed a R$2.5 million enterprise

Eliane Thyssen and Sérgio Luz had to live in different cities until they were able to relocate and today they own Telos Educacional, focused on nursing

It’s been 15 years since the unemployment forced the ex-banker Sérgio Luz51 years old, and the nurse Eliane Thyssen, 46, to live separately. They were already married and had two children (there are three today), but the need for a higher income took Thyssen from Minas Gerais to São Paulo, while Luz stayed with the children. Today, the two own the Telos Educationalone Nursing school in the region of Campinas (interior of São Paulo), which had a turnover of R$ 2.5 million in 2021, and is now starting to expand deductibles.

When Luz lost her job at a bank in 2007, all the household bills were handled by Thyssen, who worked as a nursing technician at a hospital. The two lived in Uberlândia (MG), and the wage it did not cover the family expenses.

They needed to look for a new source of income. While Luz looked for another job, Thyssen paid public tenders in your area. “I passed 11 of the 12 I tried, but only Campinas called me for the vacancy, and I had to go alone”, she says. Thus, the former bank clerk began to look for vacancies in the financial area in São Paulo, while he stayed with the couple’s two children in Uberlândia.

A few months later, Luz got a job at the São Paulo State Finance Department. So, she was able to move with her family to Campinas. He made the commute from the capital to the countryside every day, but at least they were all together now.

With the family together, Thyssen, who was already a graduate student, wanted to go back to school to improve her knowledge in the area. However, at the time, the closest place was in Araras, more than 70 km from Campinas. It was then that, in 2008, she realized that she could have an opportunity to undertake in the field of education for health in the region.

Thyssen already had experience in the area: in Minas Gerais, she worked as a coordinator of educational institutions in the health area. That’s how she decided to create Telos Educacional, initially with three postgraduate courses in the health area. “I looked for information about the procedures for opening a business like this. It is necessary to look at the MEC legislation and many others. We did our homework and created the embryo”, says the entrepreneur. Today, Telos is registered with the MEC for classroom and distance classes.

The first class, recalls Thyssen, had just three students. To increase the quorum, she decided to call colleagues for experimental classes. Of the 12 people invited, 11 closed enrollment. “Initially, we worked and shared time with the company. We sell a car and take out a loan to put it on our feet”, explains Luz. They themselves did the leafleting and dissemination in hospitals and health centers.

At the end of the first year, there were already 250 graduate students. In 2014, they moved to a larger building, with laboratories and other tools to improve teaching. It was in that year that Luz decided to leave her job in São Paulo to dedicate herself to the financial area of ​​Telos.

In the pandemic, the company still won the modality of courses EAD. What according to the entrepreneurs was an old plan, today is the flagship of the house. “A great advantage of our business is that as it is a niche, we had practically no evasion. The students continued studying, we gave them flexibility”, says Luz.

Last year, the company earned BRL 2.5 million, with an average ticket of BRL 300 per student. The couple realized that the standardized methodology could be replicated in franchises and, after talking to some experts in the field, decided to format the company. The goal is to open more than 50 units by the end of next year.

There are four business formats, which vary according to the number of courses offered (there are options such as Ultrasonography, Urgency and Emergency and Surgical Center, for example). They are: Basic, with an initial investment from R$ 271 thousand; Standard, which costs over R$ 389 thousand; Master, from R$ 501 thousand; and Master Estética (which also offers courses in aesthetics), for R$ 666 thousand. The franchise fee of R$ 50 thousand is charged separately.

Source: PEGN Magazine