Bottom line
- Total investment $1.9M – $6.6M including a $100K franchise fee, 15.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $4.0M/year (median $3.7M). Estimated payback in 3.6 years.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 59/100.
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 Museum of Illusions unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
7%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Museum of Illusions units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$803K
on $4.0M purchase
Total debt
$3.2M
SBA $2.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate interactive illusion museums featuring hands-on exhibits, optical illusions, and immersive experiences. Day-to-day operations include ticket sales, visitor experience management, event/private rental coordination, merchandise sales, staff scheduling, facility maintenance, and marketing to drive foot traffic in leased retail spaces.
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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Moderate-to-caution risk profile: emerging brand with unproven system maturity, opaque financial disclosures, aggressive multi-tiered royalties, and slow unit growth despite attractive unit-level returns.
Score breakdown · what drove the 59 / 100 rating
- 01MINORHigh royalty burden: 15% + 15% + 5% creates complex multi-tier fee structure that could exceed 35% of total revenue in high-event locations
- 02MINORWide investment range ($1.9M–$6.5M) suggests inconsistent unit economics or significant geographic/format variability with unclear ROI drivers
- 03MEDModest unit growth of only 10% YoY with just 20 total units indicates slow franchise expansion and limited proven scalability
- 04MINORHigh initial franchise fee ($100K) combined with $1.9M+ startup cost creates significant downside risk if unit underperforms
- 05MEDNo Item 19 Financial Performance Representations disclosed — cannot independently verify the stated $4M revenue and $1.1M net income figures
- 06MINORExperiential venue model is location-dependent and vulnerable to post-pandemic traffic volatility, economic downturns, and tourism cycles
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
18 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Museum of Illusions · FDD (2025) PDF