Montessori Kids Universe
Formerly known as Guidepost Montessori
Bottom line
- Total investment $782K – $1.7M including a $75K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.4M).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 61/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 50 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 Montessori Kids Universe unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
12%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Montessori Kids Universe units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.6M
on $7.8M purchase
Total debt
$6.2M
SBA $3.9M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate Montessori-based early childhood education centers (typically preschool/pre-K), managing classroom instruction, staff hiring/training, parent communications, and facility operations. Revenue comes from tuition fees, enrollment capacity, and ancillary services (summer camps, extended care). Operations are labor-intensive with high fixed costs (facility rent, teacher salaries, curriculum licensing).
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 · 17 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
Early-stage Montessori franchise with litigation history involving fraud allegations, undisclosed profitability, questionable going concern status, and minimal unit growth — presents HIGH RISK for capital recovery and operational support.
Score breakdown · what drove the 61 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHTwo settlements within 3 years (2017 & 2019) indicating systemic compliance and ethics issues, including fraud allegations
- 02MINOROnly 19 units with unknown growth trajectory suggests stagnant or declining system; minimal scale for support infrastructure
- 03MEDNo Item 19 (average unit economics) disclosed — inability or unwillingness to share net income data is a major transparency red flag
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status = FALSE suggests franchisor may have financial instability or legal impediments to operations
- 05MEDHigh initial investment ($782K–$1.7M) relative to disclosed average revenue ($1.3M) leaves razor-thin margins before 7% royalty, rent, and labor
- 06HIGH2019 fraud and deceptive trade practices settlement indicates franchisees have pursued legal action for misrepresentation
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
48 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Montessori Kids Universe · FDD (2025) PDF