FranchiseVerdict
Lil’ Kickers logo
FV-01500·MODERATEExcellent91

Lil’ Kickers

Education - Children's ProgramsFranchising since 2008Website
Investment
$40K – $64K
8th pct Children's Pr…
Avg revenue
$386K
29th pct Children's Pr…
Royalty
9.0%
76th pct Children's Pr…
Units
91
87th pct Children's Pr…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $40K – $64K including a $25K franchise fee, 9.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $386K/year (median $224K).
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 59/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -9.4% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Lil’ Kickers Inc.
Incorporated in
Washington
HQ
9040 Willows Road NE, Suite 101, Redmond, Washington 98052
Auditor
Clark Nuber PS
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$3.5M
vs $3.7M 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 Lil’ Kickers unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $385,832
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: education
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $40K–$64K
Working capital
$
Item 7 didn't break this out — defaulted to ~10% of annual revenue

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

74%

Above typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$42K
EBITDA margin
11.0%
Total invested
$57K
Payback
16 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 Lil’ Kickers 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

$309K

on $1.5M purchase

Total debt

$1.2M

SBA $0.8M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Lil' Kickers franchisees operate youth soccer instruction programs for ages 18 months to 6 years, typically delivering small-group classes at facilities they secure (parks, schools, studios). Day-to-day involves scheduling classes, teaching developmental soccer skills, managing instructor staff, handling parent/customer relations, and managing local marketing.

CEO
Don Crowe
Founded
2007
FDD year
2025
States available
24

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$40K – $64K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$0 – $10K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
9.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
Fixed monthly fee $350 - $850
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$386K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$224K
Item 19 type
Gross Sales
Sample size
56 units
vs category median 16 · large
Range (low → high)
$58K$2.1M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank29th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Investment cost rank8th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank76th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank87th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Risk score rank43th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
91
Opened
6
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
1.1%
Company-owned
6
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
93%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-7.2%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-9.4%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
77+2
Franchised units
2024
83
Franchised units
2025
85
Franchised units

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

Item 12 · 24 states reported

The Territory Map

FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.

24

states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
2
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

59
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE59 / 100

Contracting unit base, missing profitability data, and high fee structure relative to disclosed revenue creates meaningful investment risk despite protected territory.

Score breakdown · what drove the 59 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORUnit count declining 7.2% YoY indicates shrinking franchise system and potential brand weakness
  2. 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents accurate ROI analysis and profitability assessment
  3. 03MINOR9% royalty rate is relatively high for youth sports instruction category with modest $385K avg revenue
  4. 04MINORFranchise fee ($25K) + startup costs ($40-64K) require $65-89K total capital with unclear profitability timeline
  5. 05MINOR5-year term is shorter than industry standard (10 years), creating renewal uncertainty and reinvestment risk

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
5 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
3 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Washington

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
24 hrs
On-the-job training
18 hrs
POS system
DaySmart Recreation
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

2 numbers

Locked
(626) 677-••••
CA
(425) 454-••••
WA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Lil’ Kickers · FDD (2025) PDF

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