FranchiseVerdict
Perspire Sauna Studio logo
FV-01924·STRONGExcellent81

Perspire Sauna Studio

Formerly known as Sweat Equity

Health & Wellness - OtherFranchising since 2017Website
Investment
$566K – $990K
86th pct Other
Avg revenue
63rd pct Other
Royalty
Units
72
75th pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $566K – $990K including a $50K franchise fee.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 136 loans (below the industry average).
  • Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Sweat Equity Group, LLC
Parent company
Sweat Equity Group Holdings, LLC
Incorporated in
California
HQ
129 Cabrillo Street, 200, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Auditor
Windes
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$4.7M
vs $5.1M prior year
⚠ Going-concern note
Disclosed in FDD 2025
Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.

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 Perspire Sauna Studio unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: personal services
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $566K–$990K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $25K–$60K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

20%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$165K
EBITDA margin
22.0%
Total invested
$820K
Payback
60 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.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate infrared sauna studios offering 30–45 minute wellness sessions, memberships, and add-on services (chromotherapy, sound therapy). Day-to-day operations include managing studio scheduling, member check-ins, facility maintenance, cleaning/sanitization, staff scheduling, and marketing to drive recurring membership revenue.

CEO
Lee Braun
Founded
2017
FDD year
2025
States available
22

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$566K – $990K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$25K – $60K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
The greater of 7% of Gross Revenues or $600 per month
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
72
Opened
22
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
6
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
92%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+46.7%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+153.8%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
66+21
Franchised units
2024
45
Franchised units
2025
26
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 22 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 22 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
136
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

44
Risk · 0-100
STRONG44 / 100

Perspire presents moderate-to-caution risk due to lack of financial transparency (no Item 19), high capital requirements, aggressive growth rate, and unclear unit economics in a competitive wellness category.

Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — unable to validate ROI claims or typical unit profitability
  2. 02MEDHigh capital requirement ($565k–$990k) with no disclosed average revenue or net income benchmarks
  3. 03MINORRapid expansion (46.7% YoY growth) may indicate aggressive recruitment over unit sustainability; quality control risk
  4. 04MINORMinimum royalty floor of $600/month creates fixed cost burden even for underperforming locations
  5. 05MEDWellness/fitness category has high failure rates; sauna studios are experiential with limited recurring revenue model clarity

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Household count
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 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
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
California

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
64 hrs
On-the-job training
62 hrs
POS system
MINDBODY
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

67 numbers

Locked
(949) 617-••••
CA
(424) 435-••••
CA
(913) 374-••••
KS

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Perspire Sauna Studio · FDD (2025) PDF

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