The Story of Our College Planning Franchise

Dedicated to Helping Families Save Money on College Tuition

Class 101 college planning franchise Founder Tom Pabin was at a crossroads in the late 1990s. He wanted to be an entrepreneur, and he wanted to help people. He was doing neither in his 9-to-5 career. It was Tom’s volunteer efforts that eventually led him to found Class 101. As a volunteer youth minister, he discovered that he really enjoyed working with, and helping guide, young people. Tom realized there was a critical need for professional college planning services. In Kentucky alone, there are 296 high schools.

Tom launched his college planning business out of his two-bedroom apartment and soon began networking within the Lexington community. He joined his local BNI business networking group, which is still a very integral part of Class 101 networking, and his client base soon grew large enough to move his workspace from his apartment to office space in Lexington.

Rapid Growth Illustrates the Need for College Planning

Word spread rapidly about Class 101 as more and more satisfied customers referred Tom to friends and family. In October 1998, Tom began working in the Louisville, Kentucky, area. The business grew, and Class 101’s second location was opened in Louisville in 1999.

In 2000, Class 101 expanded outside the Bluegrass State, working with students in Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia. Today, he and his staff work in their second Lexington office location after outgrowing the first home office. Class 101 continued its rapid expansion. After hitting the 1,000-student milestone, Tom began the franchising process in 2007. In 2008, the first official Class 101 college prep franchise office opened its doors in Louisville, and we’ve experienced rapid growth in the years since.