Defy Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $2.7M – $4.2M
- Disclosed sales
- $2.0M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
DEFY is an extreme air sports franchise operating trampoline and adventure parks with attractions like ninja courses and aerial obstacles. Franchisees run the parks, managing safety, staffing, admissions, parties, and concessions.
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]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $2.7M – $4.2M
- 51st pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- $2.0M
- 12th pct Recreation & …
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 9th pct Recreation & …
- Units
- 61
- 41st pct Recreation & …
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Recreation & Entertainment · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Recreation & Entertainment median · 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 $2.7M – $4.2M including a $60K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $2.0M/year (median $1.7M).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 50/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed); 3 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- House of Trix, LLC
- Parent company
- Rockin' Jump Holdings, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2022 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Trampoline Acquisition Corp. (managed by Palladium Equity Partners IV, LP)
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2022 FDD
- Predecessor
- House of Trix (franchised under HOUSE OF TRIX mark Oct 2017 - Mar 2018)
- Prior franchisor entity
- 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
- $793K
- vs $340K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 9
2 other brands on this site name Trampoline Acquisition Corp. (managed by Palladium Equity Partners IV, LP) as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2022 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Elizabeth Blair
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 25
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 513% above the typical recreation & entertainment franchise.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 5–7
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $2.7M – $4.2M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $150K – $250K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 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% |
| Technology fee | $14K |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $30K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Inventory (initial) | $30K – $60K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 154% above the recreation & entertainment norm.
Source: FDD 2022 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for DEFY until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$3.6M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
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, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one DEFY unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2022 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.0M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.7M
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
- 5 outlets
- vs category median 5
- Range (low → high)
- $1.3M→$2.8MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 54 of the 2022 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2021
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2022
- Disclosed in the 2022 filing, covering 2021
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 165 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.
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 $2.0M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.6x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Recreation & Entertainment median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence. Sample size of 5 outlets — treat as directional only.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (0.0% 3-year CAGR) with 61 units.
Multi-unit rate
Only 4% 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 Recreation & Entertainment medians
How Defy Compares
Category median of published Recreation & Entertainment brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2022 · Item 20
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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 56
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 8%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 3.7%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +80.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 3
- 0.05 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 8 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
8 current owners across 8 states.
- AZ 1
- CA 1
- FL 1
- GA 1
- NV 1
- OR 1
- VA 1
- WA 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
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 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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
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)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Cherokee Gray Eagle IP, LLC and Rebounderz vs. CircusTrix et al. - patent infringement claim for angled wall trampoline unit; settled January 2020 with $1M payment by CircusTrix and non-compete zone around Rebounderz locations; dismissed with prejudice.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
During 2021, the franchisor (House of Trix, LLC) received $66,000, or 9.6% of its total revenues of $692,000, from suppliers on account of franchisee purchases (commissions/consideration from suppliers).
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- 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 50 / 100 verdict
- 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
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2022 · 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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| 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 | No |
| Governing law | DE |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Cherokee Gray Eagle IP, LLC and Rebounderz vs. CircusTrix et al. - patent infringement claim for angled wall trampoline unit; settled January 2020 with $1M payment by CircusTrix and non-compete zone around Rebounderz locations; dismissed with prejudice.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 7 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 40 hrs
- Training location
- Online, franchisor corporate park (Provo, UT), and franchisee's location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 18 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects; franchisor approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
8 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
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 $1.7M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns DEFY?
DEFY is franchised by House of Trix, LLC. Its parent company is Rockin' Jump Holdings, LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Trampoline Acquisition Corp. (managed by Palladium Equity Partners IV, LP). Source: FDD Item 1, 2022 filing.
What is Item 19 in the DEFY 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 DEFY FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 50 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.