Club SciKidz Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Club SciKidz is a children's STEM education franchise offering science and technology camps and classes for kids. Franchisees run local programs, managing instructors, curriculum, and enrollment.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Club SciKidz franchise requires a total initial investment of $74K – $89K, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $579K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $74K – $89K
- 24th pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $579K
- Outlet subset20th pct Education
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 18th pct Education
- Units
- 25
- 44th pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
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 $74K – $89K including a $45K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $579K/year (median $367K) (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 76/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 60.0% CAGR over 3 years with 25 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Club SciKidz LLC
- Predecessor
- Club Scientific LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
- Robert T. Hagan
- CEO experience
- 11 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- GA
- HQ
- 848 Waterford Estates Manor, Canton, GA 30115
- Auditor
- Seay & Weissinger LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $522K
- vs $433K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Robert T. Hagan
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 2007
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 15
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 88% below the typical education franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $45K | $45K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $2K | $3K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $28K | $41K |
| Total initial investment | $74K | $89K |
Source: Club SciKidz 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $74K – $89K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $2K – $3K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $45K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $240 |
| Training fee | $10 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $15K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 28% below the education norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Source: FDD 2026 · 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
$75K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
90%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
13 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 Club SciKidz unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
90%
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 Club SciKidz units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$694K
on $3.5M purchase
Total debt
$2.8M
SBA $1.7M + 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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Avg gross sales
- $579K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $367K
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 sales
- Sample size
- 6
- vs category median 17 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $91K→$1.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 204 Education brands
Revenue is 7.1x 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 $579K/year in gross sales. Median is $367K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 7.1x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% (near the Education average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 3/10 — moderate disclosure depth. Average and range data are available but detailed cohort breakdowns may be limited.
Operator retention
System expanding at 60.0% CAGR over 3 years across 25 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Club SciKidz Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 25
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.2%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 96%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +60.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +60.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 16
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 4.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 16 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 3 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 3
- Loan volume
- $782K
- Median loan
- $191K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (3 loans) — rate not shown below 10
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
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 3
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Undisclosed profitability metrics and rapid expansion of a small system create meaningful uncertainty around franchisee returns; past litigation suggests franchisor-franchisee tension.
Litigation (Item 3)
Club SciKidz LLC v. Thuylinh Nguyen (Docket No. 19CVE1268, Superior Court of Cherokee County, Georgia): Filed July 1, 2019 to enforce non-compete against former franchisee. Settled July 1, 2019 with monetary compensation paid by Nguyen to franchisor and release of non-compete obligation.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Seay & Weissinger LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 76 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — unable to validate profitability claims against $248k average revenue
- 02MINORAggressive unit growth (41.2% YoY) on small base (25 units) suggests rapid expansion without proven unit economics
- 03HIGHLitigation history shows franchisor aggressively enforced non-competes, indicating potential relationship friction and franchisee restrictions
- 04MEDHigh royalty rate (7%) combined with undisclosed net income makes true ROI calculation impossible
- 05MINORFranchise fee ($45k) plus startup costs ($74.4k–$88.5k total) represent significant capital outlay with unvalidated profit margins
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 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 450,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | No |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | GA |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Club SciKidz LLC v. Thuylinh Nguyen (Docket No. 19CVE1268, Superior Court of Cherokee County, Georgia): Filed July 1, 2019 to enforce non-compete against former franchisee. Settled July 1, 2019 with monetary compensation paid by Nguyen to franchisor and release of non-compete obligation.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 30 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Virtual with Video Support
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- ACTIVE Network
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ACTIVE Network
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
22 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Club SciKidz · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Club SciKidz franchise?
The total investment to open a Club SciKidz franchise ranges from $74K – $89K, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Club SciKidz franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Club SciKidz FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $579K. The median is $367K. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Club SciKidz 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 Club SciKidz FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Club SciKidz's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Club SciKidz (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Club SciKidz franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Club SciKidz has 25 total units in the United States, including 24 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Club SciKidz a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Club SciKidz as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 76 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.