Bottom line
- Total investment $268K – $699K including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $1.2M).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 52/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 18 loans (below the industry average).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 Essential Speech & ABA Therapy unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
30%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Essential Speech & ABA Therapy units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
39.8%
5.35× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.12×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$3.6M
on $12.3M purchase
Total debt
$8.7M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate clinical practices delivering speech-language pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy services to pediatric and adult clients. Day-to-day operations include client scheduling, direct clinical service delivery (or staff management of clinicians), insurance billing/reimbursement processing, compliance with state licensing boards, and client progress documentation. Revenue is typically generated through insurance claims, private pay, and school district contracts.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
High-growth healthcare franchise with undisclosed profitability, aggressive expansion, and franchisor stability concerns — suitable only for well-capitalized operators with healthcare industry experience.
Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo Net Income disclosure in Item 19 — inability to assess actual profitability despite $1.1M average revenue
- 02MINORHigh investment-to-revenue ratio (initial investment of $267.5K-$698.75K against $1.1M avg revenue suggests 24-63% payback period minimum)
- 03MINORExplosive unit growth of 150% YoY with only 13 total units — unsustainable growth trajectory and market saturation risk in small territories
- 04HIGHGoing Concern flagged as False — suggests potential financial instability or disclosure issues at franchisor level
- 05HIGHNo litigation disclosed but high-regulation industry (speech/ABA therapy) with potential liability exposure and state licensing requirements not addressed
- 06MINORFranchise fee of $49,500 is moderate but combined with high royalties (5%) on healthcare revenue creates cash flow pressure
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
12 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Essential Speech & ABA Therapy · FDD (2025) PDF