Bottom line
- Total investment $132K – $192K including a $49K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $388K/year (median $323K).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 55/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 41 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 Mad Science unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
28%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Mad Science units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$466K
on $2.3M purchase
Total debt
$1.9M
SBA $1.2M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Mad Science franchisees deliver hands-on STEM education programs (chemistry, physics, engineering experiments) to children through school partnerships, birthday parties, summer camps, and corporate events. Day-to-day operations involve scheduling mobile lab visits, managing equipment inventory, recruiting/training instructors, and marketing programs to schools and parents.
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 · 18 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
Mad Science presents elevated risk due to non-disclosed profitability, stagnant unit growth, going concern status, active litigation, and regulatory history that collectively suggest a struggling franchise system with unclear franchisee economics.
Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — franchisor may have solvency or operational viability issues
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — unable to verify profitability claims; only $388k average revenue provided
- 03MINORMinimal unit growth (1.8% YoY) — system is essentially stagnant with only ~70 locations
- 04HIGHOngoing Paris litigation (2020) with competitor alleging reputation damage and network disruption — material reputational risk
- 05MINORFDD registration violation in Maryland (2012) with consent order — compliance/governance red flag
- 06MEDHigh franchise fee ($49k) relative to slow growth and undisclosed margins — ROI unclear
- 07MINOR8% royalty on $388k avg revenue = ~$31k annual fee — materially impacts unit economics with unknown net profitability
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
27 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Mad Science · FDD (2025) PDF