FranchiseVerdict
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FV-00917·STRONGExcellent95

Fastest Labs

OtherFranchising since 2010Website
Investment
$117K – $221K
41st pct Other
Avg revenue
$145K
5th pct Other
Royalty
Units
229
89th pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $117K – $221K including a $60K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $145K/year (median $105K). Estimated payback in 0.8 years.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 34/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 62 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 15050% CAGR over 3 years with 229 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Fas-Tes Franchise Systems, LLC
Parent company
Fastest Labs LLC
Incorporated in
Texas
HQ
5718 University Heights, Suite 105, San Antonio, TX 78249
Auditor
Kezos & Dunlavy
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$9.3M
vs $6.8M 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 Fastest Labs unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $144,599
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: $117K–$221K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $20K–$40K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

11%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$22K
EBITDA margin
15.0%
Total invested
$199K
Payback
110 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 Fastest Labs 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

$231K

on $1.2M purchase

Total debt

$925K

SBA $0.6M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Fastest Labs franchisees operate drug and alcohol testing facilities serving employers, law enforcement, healthcare providers, and individuals. Day-to-day operations include administering urine, hair, and oral fluid tests; maintaining compliance with DOT/SAMHSA regulations; managing lab certifications; handling collections; and providing results to clients via secure portals.

CEO
David M. Claflin
Founded
2010
FDD year
2025
States available
35

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$117K – $221K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$20K – $40K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$60K
Royalty
Greater of 7% of Gross Revenue or the Minimum Royalty due
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
0.8 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$145K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$105K
Item 19 type
Historical Financial Performance
Sample size
165 units
vs category median 20 · large
Range (low → high)
$24K$539K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
10 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Revenue rank5th
vs Other peers
Investment cost rank41th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank70th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank89th
vs Other peers
Risk score rank2th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
229
Opened
65
Last reporting year
Closed
18
Turnover rate
7.9%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+26.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+150.5%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
228+47
Franchised units
2024
181
Franchised units
2025
91
Franchised units

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).

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
Available · 16 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
62
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

34
Risk · 0-100
STRONG34 / 100

Fastest Labs presents moderate-to-caution risk: strong growth and no litigation are offset by high investment relative to returns, opaque royalty structures, and unverified financial claims lacking Item 19 substantiation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 34 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORHigh upfront investment ($116.5k-$220.5k) relative to average net income ($203k) creates thin margin for error with 2-3 year payback minimum
  2. 02MEDMinimum royalty structure not disclosed — 'greater of 7% or minimum' with minimum amount unknown creates unpredictable cash flow risk
  3. 03MINOR26% YoY unit growth (229 units) is strong but may indicate recent scaling; longevity of growth model unproven
  4. 04MEDNo Item 19 financials disclosed despite average net income figures being provided — suggests data may be unaudited or from limited sample
  5. 05MINORBusiness model lacks detail in FDD summary; inability to assess service delivery repeatability and scalability

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Number of businesses
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 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
Texas

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
52 hrs
On-the-job training
5 hrs

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

98 numbers

Locked
(707) 673-••••
CA
(770) 742-••••
GA
(407) 237-••••
FL

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Fastest Labs · FDD (2025) PDF

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