Sarah Namani, owner of the Mathnasium of Dallas Lakewood, was awarded the 2026 Franchisee Excellence Award and recognized for her explosive growth and insightful leadership.
Since purchasing the center in 2018, Sarah has led an extraordinary turnaround, achieving 117% growth in the first year and earning the 2019 Top 5 Resale Turnaround Award. This momentum continued year after year, resulting in an impressive average annualized revenue growth of 37% through 2025, elevating the center from the bottom 10% of the system to the top 1%.
Beyond financial performance, Sarah has made impactful contributions to the Mathnasium community, winning the coveted Artichoke Award in 2025, a recognition given to the franchisee whose exemplary work uplifts and strengthens the entire Mathnasium network.
She is a true visionary, someone who not only sets clear monthly and quarterly goals but also consistently executes them with precision. Her ability to articulate her business plan, communicate effectively with staff, parents, and students, and inspire those around her is a defining strength.
Sarah’s personal and professional journey is a remarkable example of determination, resilience, and leadership. A first-generation immigrant from Lebanon, she has built her success through hard work, passion, and an unwavering commitment to serving her community.
Read Our Q&A With Sarah Namani, Franchise Owner at Mathnasium of Dallas Lakewood
When did you start your business?
I’ve owned the Mathnasium of Dallas Lakewood location in Texas since 2018.
During your research, what made your franchise brand stand out?
I came to Mathnasium in 2017 as a Center Director. I fell in love with the method, and I started connecting on a deeper level with the community we supported.
I dedicated my time as an educator to the center for 12 hours a day. We had 30 students at the time I started. We built a strong relationship with the schools and community, and with word of mouth, our center started to grow.
Within 4 months, we had a total of 75 kids working with us. This is how the second chapter in my life began – when I offered to buy the center I was directing and become the owner in 2018.
How did your franchisor help you to prepare for and launch your business?
Our home office team was amazing. From our discovery day, when I traveled to LA to meet with our home office team, to the day my training started, I got full support from everyone.
My meeting with Larry Martinek, the founder of Mathnasium, was particularly inspirational, especially hearing the strategies that he uses to apply any math concept and his view on kids’ success.
He said, “Children don’t hate math. What they hate is being confused, intimidated, and embarrassed by math. With understanding comes passion, and with passion comes growth. A treasure is unlocked.”
What advice would you give potential franchisees considering your brand?
If you’re considering becoming a Mathnasium franchisee, you should have a passion for education. You’re not just buying a tutoring center — you’re buying a recognized education brand that has a proven instructional system.
You will have full corporate and marketing support, with an impeccable operational system. Be heavily involved in your business. From my personal experience, Mathnasium thrives when the owner is actively engaged in the community, networking, and school partnerships.
What specific things set YOUR franchise apart?
We have 321 Mathnasium students now. I know the name of every kid and parent in our center. We do a weekly review on all our students, assigned in alphabetical order to my assistants and lead instructors. We analyze how they are doing and set a new goal for each. I hire and train employees who have the desire to impact children’s confidence and to show the love of teaching when they are working with each student.
What specific things contributed to your success?
I fully implement the Mathnasium Method™. Our curriculum is customized and we prescribe a learning plan after a diagnostic assessment. This assessment is ongoing. We give a progress check and we reassess regularly. We maintain a consistent instructional quality and we focus on each student’s mastery of the concept before we move to the next step.
It is important to follow the system and how it aligns with each kid’s learning, and by doing that, we ensure positive student outcomes. I believe that positive outcomes drive retention and referrals. I took my franchisor training seriously and treated it as a foundation. Using that training as my foundation, I was able to build on my own success by relying on their proven system.
What unique strengths and skills do YOU bring to your franchise?
I bring a combination of leadership, instructional expertise, and community-driven passion that strengthens our franchise in meaningful ways. My background is in education. I have a double major in Math and French. My master’s degree is in Curriculum and Instruction.
As a kid, I struggled in math because I did not have the right support system. After my high school graduation, I moved to the U.S. from Beirut, Lebanon, and started searching for the best field of study. I came across an amazing coach, advisor, and math professor at the university where I had applied. He recommended math as a major. I was scared at the beginning, but when I accepted the challenge and with a great support system, I started thriving in my math studies and fell in love with math.
This is how my journey started. I made a promise to myself after graduation to become a teacher and to help every kid, no matter what the circumstances are. I believe that everyone can learn. I was a teacher for 25 years in public schools before I came across Mathnasium. When I met Larry and learned the method, I told myself this is exactly what I needed when I was a kid.
What is something that might surprise people about franchise ownership?
You have many responsibilities. You are operating under the franchisor’s system. The brand matters a lot, and it is a big responsibility to follow the guidelines and, most importantly, to trust it.
When you manage your center well, success will come. And remember that you are an entrepreneur who represents both your business and the entire brand. It is very important to stay connected with the brand and the policies. Creativity is a key to success, and our franchisor welcomes it all the time — just within boundaries.
The Mathnasium Franchise Opportunity:
Mathnasium Learning Centers is the #1 math-only education franchise in North America. With over 1,200 locations operating worldwide across 12 countries, they provide specialized math tutoring for students from pre-K through 12th grade using the proprietary Mathnasium Method™.
Each year, Mathnasium uses the Franchise Business Review franchisee satisfaction survey to gain unbiased insights into their franchisees, and they have ranked highly on our unbiased awards lists for many years, including:
- Top 200 Franchises
- Most Innovative Franchises
- Top Franchises For Women
- Top Recession-Resistant Franchises
- Top Franchises For Culture
Interested in Becoming a Mathnasium Franchise Owner?
The franchise provides comprehensive support, including customized websites, proprietary curriculum and assessments, exclusive territories, extensive training programs, dedicated Field Support Specialists and Franchise Business Consultants, national marketing campaigns, and a collaborative franchisee community.
With 90% of students reporting better math grades after enrollment and 91% of franchisees enjoying their operations, Mathnasium addresses growing demand driven by declining national math scores (14 points lower than a decade ago) and projected global private tutoring market growth to $279 billion by 2030.
