UCMAS Mental Math franchisee Puneet Ralhan embraces an education franchise offering a new twist on classic techniques
By Suzanne Bowness
Quick, what’s two plus four? If you knew that the answer was six without reaching for your calculator, then you’re familiar with mental math. But what about bigger numbers or more complex math? For parents who want to give their children a boost in one of school’s often challenging subjects, you may be interested to know there’s a franchise for that: UCMAS Mental Math.
For Puneet Ralhan, a UCMAS Mental Math franchisee in Burlington, Ontario, the proof of concept was in seeing the skill in action. As she rounds out her first year in business, she’s all the more enthusiastic about its possibilities.
Now with 6,000 centres in 80 countries, UCMAS was founded in 1993 in Malaysia and arrived in North America in 2004. The franchise serves children ages five to 13 and features two-hour lessons whereby students begin with an abacus (an ancient device with beads that helps them to physically see arithmetic) before moving on to visualize the math in their heads as they advance to more complex problems. UCMAS explains on its website that “the crucial concept of visualization or thinking in pictures leverages the right brain and leads to dramatically higher levels of speed, efficiency and accuracy.”
Learning to run an educational business
Ralhan, who knew she was interested in an education-based franchise, had already heard of UCMAS from her home country of India. When she began to explore her options in Burlington, she realized that unlike the average tutoring operation, this franchise complemented rather than repeated the Ontario school curriculum, giving students an added skill set. “We were fascinated by the demonstration. We got into conversation with head office in 2024, started the business in September 2025,” she says.
As a new franchisee, the first challenge was finding the right location, something Ralhan says is key for a business that focuses on students. They were looking for an area with many young families from different backgrounds that was also close to her own home. She found it at the corner of Highway 407 and Appleby Line, situated on the second floor but with a good street presence via signage.
The next step was to start a massive outreach campaign in the weeks leading up to opening. They tried formats from flyers to Google ads to collaborations with other kid-focused businesses like swim and dance schools. Ralhan says the most successful techniques were social media ads, particularly creating Facebook and Instagram pages. “We did our personal ads on Instagram, then went and added groups in the area,” she says. From the leads off of the ads, she invited parents to information sessions where she offered the same demonstration that had first impressed her. Signups followed.
Training took the form of in-person classes at the UCMAS head office in Mississauga over several consecutive weekends. The brand’s approach is for its instructors to stay just ahead of the students, so Ralhan was able to train for the first four months of lessons, get started right away, and then return for more training later. She sends her hired instructors for the same training. In terms of business skills, the franchisor also trains each franchise owner in sales, talking to parents, and billing and financials. Franchisees interact in a WhatsApp group and meet monthly to share tips with one another. While Ralhan came to the business with an education background, she says the most important element is to enjoy working with children, as the franchise helps new owners learn the rest.
Complementary offerings
UCMAS Mental Math students do homework and progress through the program level by level in four-month increments. Alongside the abacus method and other tools such as flashcards, they also work on speed and use oral exercises to practice doing the math mentally. If a child starts the program at age five, they go into a junior level stretched out into three increments over a year. A child who is eight or over does the same program over four months. Classes are on continuous renewal so there are no signup scrambles. Students can complete the entire program in about three years. The franchise also offers summer camps, which Ralhan says are very popular.
In addition to UCMAS Mental Math, Ralhan also offers two other programs that are owned by the same franchise, i-Maths and Obotz. I-Maths is an early childhood education program for younger children ages three to seven. They focus on the same concepts but include more visuals and interactivity, with the goal to help children develop observation, logical thinking, and reasoning. Obotz is a robotics and coding program for children ages six to sixteen, in which they progress though more than 70 interactive projects to master various skills.
Building her business with all these offerings, Ralhan says she’s glad she chose the franchise route because of the name recognition and support from head office. “The best thing about being a franchisee is they teach you everything from scratch, you have someone you can reach out to, and your name is already known in the community,” she says. Operating in the after-school hours on weekdays from Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday mornings means that Ralhan also has time for her own family.
A personal touch
For her part, Ralhan has integrated herself into every aspect of the business, working hands-on with parents and students to develop that personal touch. She keeps class sizes smaller so there is more one-on-one interaction and still teaches even though she’s hired additional instructors. She often visits classes to participate in a lesson or ask questions.
“I wanted to be closely involved so that I am there when teachers are there,” she says. “I go into the class, ask random questions, so I’m able to see which kid is struggling, give feedback to parents, and provide a head’s up about what they will target in class.” She also asks children and their parents about what is being covered in their regular curriculum so she can look for ways to complement that learning.
While the first year contained challenges such as finding a good location and then attracting clients, Ralhan notes that she and her team have put in the effort to overcome these feats, and her belief in the UCMAS program means that she’s eager to share it. “This is not like a school, this is something different,” she says, adding that while tutoring can be most useful for people struggling with the curriculum, her offerings also serve families who are looking for an extra boost. “Every kid who comes to my centre, if they are taught in a proper plan they can do better in school.”
Learn more about franchising with UCMAS Mental Math
