Goldfish Swim School
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.7M – $3.7M including a $50K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $2.0M/year (median $1.8M). Estimated payback in 4.8 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 24/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 162 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 2390% CAGR over 3 years with 199 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 Goldfish Swim School unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
10%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Goldfish Swim School units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
33.0%
4.16× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.45×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$6.2M
on $16.0M purchase
Total debt
$9.8M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate swim schools providing swim lessons, water safety training, and aquatic programs for infants through children. Day-to-day operations include managing certified swim instructors, scheduling classes, maintaining pool facilities (chlorine, temperature, safety compliance), handling member enrollment/billing, and managing customer service across multiple daily class sessions.
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 · 10 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
Goldfish presents moderate risk: high capital requirements, aggressive royalties, and unvalidated financial claims in a labor-intensive, seasonally-sensitive market require thorough franchisee validation.
Score breakdown · what drove the 24 / 100 rating
- 01MINORHigh initial investment ($1.66M-$3.75M) with moderate unit growth (11.6% YoY) creates longer payback period risk
- 02MINORDual-tier royalty structure (greater of $1,250/mo or 6%) is aggressive; at $1.99M avg revenue, 6% royalty = ~$119,400/year in perpetuity
- 03MINORAverage net income of $560,524 on $1.99M revenue (28% margin) appears optimistic for swim instruction (labor-intensive, seasonal demand, facility overhead)
- 04MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representations disclosed; cannot validate average revenue/income claims independently
- 05MINORModerate unit growth (11.6% YoY on 199 units = ~23 new locations) suggests market saturation or franchisee satisfaction plateau
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
15 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Goldfish Swim School · FDD (2026) PDF