FranchiseVerdict
DISCOVERY MAP® logo
FV-00762·MODERATEExcellent91

Discovery Map®

Business Services - OtherFranchising since 1993Website
Investment
$29K – $36K
11th pct Other
Avg revenue
$58K
0th pct Other
Royalty
10.0%
32nd pct Other
Units
116
70th pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $29K – $36K including a $25K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $58K/year (median $53K).
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 62/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 6 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Discovery Map International, Inc.
Incorporated in
Vermont
HQ
5197 Main Street, Suite 8, Waitsfield, Vermont 05673
Auditor
Murphy Gaudreau Hoskinson, Inc.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.3M
vs $1.0M 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 DISCOVERY MAP® unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $58,171
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: $29K–$36K
Working capital
$
Item 7 didn't break this out — defaulted to ~10% of annual revenue

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

21%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$7K
EBITDA margin
12.0%
Total invested
$34K
Payback
58 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 DISCOVERY MAP® 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

$58K

on $291K purchase

Total debt

$233K

SBA $0.1M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Discovery Map® franchisees produce and sell local printed advertising maps and directories, supplemented by digital web advertising placement. Daily operations involve sales calls to local businesses, map distribution, website ad management, and territory-specific marketing.

CEO
Peter L. Hans
Founded
2005
FDD year
2025
States available
29

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$29K – $36K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$0 – $2K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
10.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
11.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$58K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$53K
Item 19 type
Actual
Sample size
102 units
vs category median 39 · large
Range (low → high)
$10K$215K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Revenue rank0th
vs Business Services - Other peers
Investment cost rank11th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank32th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank70th
vs Business Services - Other peers
Risk score rank55th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
116
Opened
4
Last reporting year
Closed
6
Turnover rate
5.2%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-2.5%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+0.9%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
116-3
Franchised units
2024
119
Franchised units
2025
115
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 26 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 · 26 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
6
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

Declining franchise system with undisclosed profitability metrics and complex royalty structure creates moderate-to-high investment risk.

Score breakdown · what drove the 62 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORUnit count declining 2.5% YoY (116 units) suggests market contraction or franchisee attrition
  2. 02MEDAverage net income not disclosed in Item 19 — unable to validate ROI claims against $29,250-$36,300 investment
  3. 03MINORRevenue average of $58,171 with 10% royalty creates thin margins; profitability unclear
  4. 04MINORUnusual royalty structure (25% on website ads vs. 10% print) suggests digital revenue struggles or aggressive fee capture
  5. 05HIGH10-year term is lengthy given declining unit trajectory and no going concern assurance
  6. 06HIGHNo litigation disclosure doesn't confirm absence; may indicate young or small system

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Exclusive Area
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
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
Optional
Governing law
Vermont

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
19 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
AdWiz
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

68 numbers

Locked
(678) 209-••••
ATLANTA,
GA
(406) 219-••••
KAUAI
MT
(802) 595-••••
VT

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

DISCOVERY MAP® · FDD (2025) PDF

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