Joint Venture Announcement
CleanStart and Just Like Family Launch CleanStart Franchising Inc. to Offer Social Franchise Opportunities Across Canada
Vancouver, BC – March 17, 2026 – CleanStart Property Services and Just Like Family Home Care Canada are announcing the formation of CleanStart Franchising Inc., a new joint venture designed to grow CleanStart’s high-standard, mission-led property services through a social franchising model that prioritizes people, community benefit, and operational excellence.
CleanStart Franchising will bring together Just Like Family’s national social franchise experience alongside CleanStart’s specialized on-the-ground expertise doing complex property work in commercial environments, healthcare, and social housing.
To learn more about social franchise opportunities or partnership inquiries, visit the CleanStart Franchising Inc. website.
CleanStart was founded in 2010 on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to provide stable, supportive, living wage jobs for people facing barriers to employment. The company’s focus on lifting up its staff and community members while taking on the toughest jobs was a novel mix, and helped CleanStart grow into one of Canada’s largest social enterprises.
“We’ve been growing our company, our customer base, and our impact for over 15 years now. The team we’ve built and the work we’ve done is incredible, and now we would like to see this model flourish across Canada,” said Dylan Goggs, CleanStart’s Founder. “Partnering with Just Like Family is how that gets done.”
This is a pairing that will redefine what it means to do business in Canada.
Social Franchising is a relatively new but fast-growing business structure, allowing business owners to grow a mission-driven service by replicating a proven model, so impact and revenue grow in concert. Since its inception, also in 2010, Just Like Family has taken leadership in this space nationwide. Since then, it has grown to over 50 franchises, making it the largest social franchising network in the country.
“Social franchising is about scaling impact without losing the heart,” said Carla Langhorst, CEO of Just Like Family. “We’ve learned that families and communities need services they can trust, delivered by teams who are supported, trained, and accountable. CleanStart Franchising is an opportunity to build a great business while keeping social and community benefits front and centre.”
CleanStart is known for its work in difficult, extreme cleaning environments and for collaborating with nurses and social workers to prepare spaces so people can return home from hospital stays safely and with dignity. Through the new franchising venture, CleanStart’s operating model will be codified into a structured program that includes standardized training and certification pathways for operators and supervisors, quality assurance and audit tools to maintain consistent service delivery, robust health and safety protocols, and branding, sales, and marketing support to help partners grow.
“CleanStart has always been built for the work that others avoid. We do jobs that require professionalism, compassion, and strong safety standards,” said Kurt Johnston, CEO of CleanStart in Vancouver. “This joint venture lets us take what we’ve proven in Vancouver and package it into a replicable system. We have training, quality assurance, and operational support so all franchise partners can deliver the same outcomes and support communities across Canada.”
This joint venture will be guided by a simple operating principle: Just Like Family leads the franchise engine (franchise development, and partner frameworks), and CleanStart leads the operational engine (service standards, training, quality assurance, and safety). Together, CleanStart Franchising, Inc. will support franchise partners with both the “why” and the “how,” ensuring that growth does not come at the expense of quality or mission.
The company will begin onboarding franchise partners immediately, focusing on teams ready to deliver cleaning services in commercial spaces, healthcare settings, and social housing. By combining proven social-franchise systems with rigorous operational standards, the joint venture aims to expand essential services, create more supportive jobs, and ensure communities across Canada receive the same consistent and compassionate outcomes that built CleanStart in Vancouver.
About Just Like Family Home Care
Just Like Family is a national home care organization and certified social enterprise that prioritizes people over profits, reinvesting the majority of profits into its social mission of care, community connection, education, and advocacy.
About CleanStart Property Services
CleanStart Property Services is a Vancouver-based social enterprise specializing in difficult jobs with professionalism, compassion, and discretion. CleanStart’s mission is to deliver professional services for the most difficult jobs while creating career opportunities for people facing barriers to traditional employment.
Frequently asked questions – General
What is a social franchise?
A social franchise is a business that operates like a traditional franchise, but with a built-in social mission. It aims to make a profit while also creating positive social impact, such as providing jobs to marginalized individuals or expanding access to business ownership.
What is the difference between a social franchise and a traditional franchise?
Traditional franchises focus primarily on profit. A social franchise focuses on both profit and purpose. This means the business is designed to succeed financially while also reinvesting in communities and expanding opportunities for people who are often left out of ownership or employment.
How successful is franchising as a business model?
According to the Canadian Franchise Association, franchise businesses have a significantly higher success rate than independent small businesses. Franchising is one of the largest sectors in Canada and provides structured support systems that increase the likelihood of long-term success.
Is this primarily about profit or social impact?
It is both. The social franchise model is designed to be financially sustainable while also creating measurable social impact. It operates as a for-profit business with a clear social mandate.
Why focus on ownership?
Ownership builds long-term wealth. In Canada, approximately 62% of franchise businesses are owned by men. Expanding access to ownership helps close economic gaps and build generational wealth in underrepresented communities.
Who owns businesses matters because ownership shapes how profits are reinvested and how communities grow.
How does this support women entrepreneurs specifically?
Women are underrepresented in franchise ownership. This initiative lowers structural barriers and actively encourages women, newcomers, and racialized entrepreneurs to pursue ownership in a proven, supported business model.
What does this signal about the future of business in Canada?
It signals a shift toward inclusive ownership. As conversations about equity evolve, the focus is moving beyond hiring to asset-building and ownership. Social franchising offers a scalable way to build a more inclusive economy.
How will you measure social impact?
Impact will be measured through:
• Number of franchise owners from underrepresented groups
• Employment created for marginalized individuals
• Community partnerships formed
• Economic reinvestment in local markets
How can someone become a CleanStart franchise owner?
Interested individuals, charities, or nonprofits can visit the website to learn more about social franchise opportunities and submit an inquiry.
Why commercial cleaning?
Commercial cleaning is a stable, essential service that exists in every community. It offers:
• Recurring revenue
• Lower startup barriers compared to many industries
• Flexible hiring opportunities
• Strong potential for growth
It also complements home care services, especially in situations where deep cleaning or hoarding remediation is needed before home care can begin.
How is this different from a regular cleaning company?
This is not just a cleaning business. It is a commercial cleaning franchise built with a social mission. It is designed to create:
• Ownership opportunities
• Stable employment pathways
• Community reinvestment
• Coordinated service support alongside home care
Is this model financially sustainable?
Yes. Commercial cleaning is a stable, contract-based business with recurring revenue and predictable cash flow. Combined with a structured franchise system and experienced leadership, the model is designed for long-term financial sustainability.
All entities involved are for-profit corporations operating with clear revenue and growth objectives.
What role do health authorities play?
CleanStart currently works with health authorities on programs that help people safely return home through deep cleaning and hoarding remediation. These relationships create opportunities for coordinated service support with home care providers.
Frequently asked questions – For journalists
What is a social franchise?
A social franchise is a business that operates like a traditional franchise, but with a built-in social mission. It aims to make a profit while also creating positive social impact, such as providing jobs to marginalized individuals or expanding access to business ownership.
What is the difference between a social franchise and a traditional franchise?
Traditional franchises focus primarily on profit. A social franchise focuses on both profit and purpose. This means the business is designed to succeed financially while also reinvesting in communities and expanding opportunities for people who are often left out of ownership or employment.
How successful is franchising as a business model?
According to the Canadian Franchise Association, franchise businesses have a significantly higher success rate than independent small businesses. Franchising is one of the largest sectors in Canada and provides structured support systems that increase the likelihood of long-term success.
Is this primarily about profit or social impact?
It is both. The social franchise model is designed to be financially sustainable while also creating measurable social impact. It operates as a for-profit business with a clear social mandate.
Why focus on ownership?
Ownership builds long-term wealth. In Canada, approximately 62% of franchise businesses are owned by men. Expanding access to ownership helps close economic gaps and build generational wealth in underrepresented communities.
Who owns businesses matters because ownership shapes how profits are reinvested and how communities grow.
How does this support women entrepreneurs specifically?
Women are underrepresented in franchise ownership. This initiative lowers structural barriers and actively encourages women, newcomers, and racialized entrepreneurs to pursue ownership in a proven, supported business model.
What does this signal about the future of business in Canada?
It signals a shift toward inclusive ownership. As conversations about equity evolve, the focus is moving beyond hiring to asset-building and ownership. Social franchising offers a scalable way to build a more inclusive economy.
How will you measure social impact?
Impact will be measured through:
• Number of franchise owners from underrepresented groups
• Employment created for marginalized individuals
• Community partnerships formed
• Economic reinvestment in local markets
How can someone become a CleanStart franchise owner?
Interested individuals, charities, or nonprofits can visit the website to learn more about social franchise opportunities and submit an inquiry.