FranchiseVerdict
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FV-00326·MODERATEExcellent95

Blingle!

OtherFranchising since 2021Website
Investment
$173K – $227K
58th pct Other
Avg revenue
$488K
17th pct Other
Royalty
Units
78
72nd pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $173K – $227K including a $60K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $488K/year (median $364K).
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 59/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 120 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -31.0% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
HPB Lighting LLC
Parent company
JEZ Investments LLC
Incorporated in
Pennsylvania
HQ
2525 N. 117th Avenue, Third Floor, Omaha, Nebraska 68164
Auditor
Forvis Mazars, LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$3.5M
vs $2.2M 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 Blingle! unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $488,253
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $173K–$227K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $20K–$40K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

30%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$68K
EBITDA margin
14.0%
Total invested
$230K
Payback
40 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Blingle! units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$684K

on $3.4M purchase

Total debt

$2.7M

SBA $1.7M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Blingle! franchisees operate a seasonal holiday lighting and decoration service, installing and managing exterior holiday displays for residential and commercial clients. Day-to-day activities include customer acquisition, design consultation, installation crew management, and holiday display removal/storage. Revenue is heavily concentrated in Q4 (September–December), requiring off-season cash flow management and service diversification.

CEO
Anthony “Tony” Hulbert
Founded
2020
FDD year
2025
States available
14

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$173K – $227K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$20K – $40K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$60K
Royalty
Tiered: 5% of Gross Revenue Collected for $0-$1,000,000; …
Ad fund
3.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$488K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$364K
Item 19 type
Actual Gross Sales
Sample size
18 units
vs category median 20
Range (low → high)
$48K$1.9M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Revenue rank17th
vs Other peers
Investment cost rank58th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank70th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank72th
vs Other peers
Risk score rank39th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
78
Opened
21
Last reporting year
Closed
49
Turnover rate
62.8%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-26.4%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-31.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
78-28
Franchised units
2024
106
Franchised units
2025
113
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 17 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 · 17 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
120
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

59
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE59 / 100

Rapidly contracting franchise system (−26.4% YoY) facing active litigation, missing financial transparency (no Item 19), and uncertain franchisor viability—high risk of franchisor instability and franchisee failure.

Score breakdown · what drove the 59 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDSystem contracting sharply: 26.4% unit decline YoY (78 units now) signals serious franchisee distress or poor system health
  2. 02HIGHActive litigation involving parent company ownership/governance creates uncertainty about franchisor stability and decision-making authority
  3. 03MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed despite $488K average revenue claim — prevents verification of profitability and franchisee sustainability
  4. 04MINORTiered royalty structure with $500/month minimum may be unsustainable for struggling franchisees in declining system
  5. 05HIGHGoing Concern status = FALSE is ambiguous; if this means franchisor lacks going concern, indicates serious financial distress
  6. 06MEDHigh initial investment ($172-227K) relative to disclosed average revenue ($488K) with unknown net income creates ROI opacity
  7. 07MINORSeasonality risk: holiday decoration business has concentrated revenue window; no disclosure of off-season sustainability

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Population-based
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
1
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Pennsylvania

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
144 hrs
On-the-job training
20 hrs
POS system
POS System
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

35 numbers

Locked
(804) 997-••••
VA
(305) 985-••••
FL
(859) 567-••••
KY

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Blingle! · FDD (2025) PDF

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