DefyFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A DEFY franchise requires a total initial investment of $2.7M – $4.2M, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2022 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.0M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2022 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $2.7M – $4.2M
- 41st pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- $2.0M
- 18th pct Recreation & …
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 6th pct Recreation & …
- Units
- 61
- 34th pct Recreation & …
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Recreation & Entertainment · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Recreation & Entertainment avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
At 0.6x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Bottom line
- Total investment $2.7M – $4.2M including a $60K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.0M/year (median $1.9M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 48/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- House of Trix, LLC
- Parent company
- Rockin’ Jump Holdings, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Palladium Equity Partners IV, LP
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Elizabeth Blair
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 86 N. University Avenue, Suite 350, Provo, Utah 84601
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $340K
- vs $793K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
DEFY operates trampoline parks and action sports entertainment venues where franchisees manage daily operations including facility maintenance, safety compliance, customer service, and staff management. Revenue streams include admission fees, party packages, concessions, and member passes; franchisees must navigate the patent non-compete radius from the 2020 settlement.
- CEO
- Elizabeth Blair
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 25
FDD Item 7 · 2022 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60K | $60K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $150K | $250K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $2.4M | $3.9M |
| Total initial investment | $2.7M | $4.2M |
Source: DEFY 2022 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$303K
15.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
8%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
12.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $2.7M – $4.2M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $150K – $250K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $60K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $2K |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $30K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.0M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.9M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 55 units
- vs category median 5 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $498K→$4.5M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.1M→$3.0M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2021
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 176 Recreation & Entertainment brands
Revenue is only 0.6x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Recreation & Entertainment averages
How Defy Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 61
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 56
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 8%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 3.7%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 11 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
DEFY presents meaningful risk due to undisclosed profitability, IP litigation history, stagnant unit count, and high capital requirements relative to disclosed revenue.
Litigation (Item 3)
Cherokee Gray Eagle IP, LLC and Rebounderz Franchise and Development, Inc. v. CircusTrix, LLC, Sky Zone, LLC, Sky Zone Franchise Group, LLC, Rockin' Jump Franchise, LLC, et al. in US District Court Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division. Patent infringement claim for angled wall unit for trampolines (US Patent No. 8,764,575). Filed March 2018. Settled January 2020 with $1M payment by CircusTrix and non-competition agreement with 8-mile radius restriction around Rebounderz locations. Case dismissed with prejudice.
Largest disclosed settlement: $1,000,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers 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 48 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents ROI validation; only $2.65M-$4.2M investment with unknown profitability
- 02MINORPatent infringement lawsuit settled for $1M in 2020 with 8-mile non-compete radius suggests IP vulnerability and operational restrictions
- 03MINORStagnant unit growth (61 locations) with unknown trajectory indicates market saturation or franchisee churn
- 04MINORHigh investment-to-revenue ratio (1.3x-1.9x) suggests extended payback period and cash flow risk
- 05MINOR6% royalty on $2.02M average revenue = ~$121K annual fee burden on already-thin margins
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 150,000 |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Provo, Utah |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Delaware |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Cherokee Gray Eagle IP, LLC and Rebounderz Franchise and Development, Inc. v. CircusTrix, LLC, Sky Zone, LLC, Sky Zone Franchise Group, LLC, Rockin' Jump Franchise, LLC, et al. in US District Court Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division. Patent infringement claim for angled wall unit for trampolines (US Patent No. 8,764,575). Filed March 2018. Settled January 2020 with $1M payment by CircusTrix and non-competition agreement with 8-mile radius restriction around Rebounderz locations. Case dismissed with prejudice.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 7 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 67 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
14 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
DEFY · FDD (2022) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a DEFY franchise?
The total investment to open a DEFY franchise ranges from $2.7M – $4.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do DEFY franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the DEFY FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.0M. The median is $1.9M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is DEFY's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for DEFY (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 DEFY franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, DEFY has 61 total units in the United States, including 5 franchised units and 56 company-owned units.
Is DEFY a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates DEFY as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 48 out of 100, 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.