Apex Leadership Co. Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Apex Leadership Co. is a school-fundraising franchise that runs fitness- and leadership-themed events, like fun runs, to raise money for elementary schools. Franchisees run a mostly mobile program organizing school fundraisers and teaching leadership, hiring event staff.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Apex Leadership Co. franchise requires a total initial investment of $94K – $143K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $917K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 23.1% charge-off rate across 26 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $94K – $143K
- 32nd pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $917K
- 26th pct Education
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 37th pct Education
- Units
- 131
- 67th pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- 23.1%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Education avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $94K – $143K including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $917K/year (median $773K). Note: this is gross profit, not take-home income.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 46/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 23.1% across 26 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Apex Leadership Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Heritage Acquisition, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Heritage Operating Partners, LLC
- Predecessor
- Apex Fun Run, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- CEO
- Jamie Krasnov
- CEO experience
- 2007 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 1244 N. Post Oak Road, Suite 100, Houston, TX 77055
- Auditor
- Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.1M
- vs $476K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jamie Krasnov
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 27
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 82% below the typical education franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Initial Training Feenot refundable | $10K | $10K | |
| Vehicle | $0 | $3K | |
| Trailer | $4K | $9K | |
| Computer system | $0 | $1K | |
| Other equipment | $8K | $17K | |
| Storage | $0 | $500 | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $10K | $10K | |
| Insurance premiums | $500 | $5K | |
| Professional services fees | $0 | $3K | |
| Travel and living expenses during training | $2K | $5K | |
| Amply Platform | $0 | $500 | |
| Rental Team | $0 | $5K | |
| Additional funds (for 3 months) | $11K | $25K | |
| Total initial investment | $94K | $143K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $94K – $143K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $11K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- tiered · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Training fee | $10K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 15% above the education norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$133K
14.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
98%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
12 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Apex Leadership Co. unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
98%
Above the 30–60% band. Verify revenue is per-unit average
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Apex Leadership Co. units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.4M
on $6.9M purchase
Total debt
$5.5M
SBA $3.4M + senior + seller note
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $917K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $773K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross revenue
- Sample size
- 27 franchisees
- vs category median 17
- Range (low → high)
- $51K→$2.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $240K→$1.8M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 204 Education brands
Revenue is 7.7x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $917K/year in gross sales. Median is $773K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 7.7x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% (near the Education average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 14.4% CAGR over 3 years across 131 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
Only 1% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Education averages
How Apex Leadership Co. Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 131
- Opened
- 19
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 2.5%
- Company-owned
- 12
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 91%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +14.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +14.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 19
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 3
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 6
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 5
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 4.6%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 3.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 24 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 26
- Loan volume
- $5.6M
- Median loan
- $216K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 23.1%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 10
- Defaults
- 6
Vintage analysis
Apex Leadership Co. charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Apex Leadership Co. franchisees
Showing 3 of 10 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Apex Leadership Co.'s SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 17 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
Instant access. No subscription.
A 23.1% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 4 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 23.1% — 44% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Moderate-to-elevated risk profile driven by historical regulatory violation, absence of Item 19 financial validation, modest unit growth, and cost structure pressures that require comprehensive verification through current franchisee interviews.
Litigation (Item 3)
One predecessor action: Washington DFI consent order (2015) regarding failure to register and provide proper FDD before franchise sale; predecessor paid $1,000.
Largest disclosed settlement: $1,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOR2015 regulatory violation by predecessor entity for failing to present disclosure documents timely and selling franchise while registration pending—indicates compliance or governance issues in corporate history
- 02MINORNo Item 19 Financial Performance Representation (going_concern: False)—inability to validate the $197,384 average net income claim independently; significant gap between gross revenue ($916,578) and net income ($197,384) suggests 78.5% cost structure requiring scrutiny
- 03MINORModest unit growth of 10.2% YoY against 131 total units suggests slower expansion momentum; vulnerable to market saturation in leadership/training sector
- 04MINORHigh initial investment range ($94K–$143K) paired with 8% royalty on gross revenue creates tight breakeven timeline—franchisee needs >$246K gross revenue annually just to cover 8% royalty alone
- 05MINORDual royalty structure (8% standard, 6% on Anython fundraising) adds complexity and potential for revenue disputes; unclear how 'Anython' is defined and tracked
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 5,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | No |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 60 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Harris County, Texas |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | TX |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One predecessor action: Washington DFI consent order (2015) regarding failure to register and provide proper FDD before franchise sale; predecessor paid $1,000.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 34 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 41 hrs
- Training location
- Houston, TX or another location designated by franchisor; some classroom remotely via Zoom
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
60 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Apex Leadership Co. · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Apex Leadership Co. franchise?
The total investment to open a Apex Leadership Co. franchise ranges from $94K – $143K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Apex Leadership Co. franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Apex Leadership Co. FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $917K. The median is $773K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Apex Leadership Co. FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Apex Leadership Co. FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Apex Leadership Co.'s franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Apex Leadership Co. has a charge-off rate of 23.1% across 26 loans, meaning 23.1% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Apex Leadership Co. franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Apex Leadership Co. has 131 total units in the United States, including 119 franchised units and 12 company-owned units. 19 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Apex Leadership Co. a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Apex Leadership Co. as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 46 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.