FranchiseVerdict
BEST BRAINS logo
FV-00283·MODERATEStandard76

Best Brains

Education - Tutoring & Test PrepFranchising since 2013Website
Investment
$50K – $134K
16th pct Tutoring & Te…
Avg revenue
55th pct Tutoring & Te…
Royalty
14.0%
61st pct Tutoring & Te…
Units
164
84th pct Tutoring & Te…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $50K – $134K including a $15K franchise fee, 14.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 62/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 3 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 39.7% CAGR over 3 years with 164 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
BEST BRAINS, INC.
Incorporated in
Illinois
HQ
135 E. Algonquin Road, Suite B, Arlington Heights, Illinois 60005
Auditor
Accutax Bizsolutions LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$6.1M
vs $8.7M prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one BEST BRAINS unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: education
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $50K–$134K
Working capital
$
Item 7 didn't break this out — defaulted to ~10% of annual revenue

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

47%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$45K
EBITDA margin
6.0%
Total invested
$95K
Payback
25 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Best Brains operates learning centers focused on cognitive skill development for children, likely offering tutoring, enrichment programs, and educational assessments. Franchisees manage day-to-day center operations including student enrollment, curriculum delivery, staff hiring/training, and parent communication to generate revenue through tuition and program fees.

CEO
Ajay Sunkara
Founded
2011
FDD year
2025
States available
28

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$50K – $134K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$0 – $6K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$15K
Royalty
14.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
$1 per subject per student per month up to $3, subject to…
Total fee load
14.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
164
Opened
43
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
2
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
99%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+32.8%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+39.7%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
162+40
Franchised units
2024
122
Franchised units
2025
116
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 18 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 18 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
3
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

62
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE62 / 100

Best Brains presents meaningful risk due to missing financial disclosures, aggressive growth metrics, unprotected territory, and corporate stability concerns that warrant cautious investigation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 62 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosed (Item 19 missing) — impossible to validate ROI claims
  2. 02MINORHigh royalty rate at 14% of gross sales with no profitability benchmarks provided
  3. 03MINORRapid unit growth (32.8% YoY) may indicate unsustainable expansion or aggressive recruiting over franchisee success
  4. 04MINORNo protected territory creates direct competition risk and cannibalization potential
  5. 05HIGHGoing Concern flagged as FALSE — suggests financial instability at corporate level
  6. 06MINOR5-year term is shorter than industry standard (typically 10 years), increasing renewal uncertainty

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
5 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Not allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Illinois

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
34 hrs
On-the-job training
10 hrs
POS system
BEST BRAINS Educational Assistant internet portal ("BEA Portal")
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

93 numbers

Locked
(732) 825-••••
NJ
(636) 481-••••
MO
(410) 698-••••
MD

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

BEST BRAINS · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above