Prepaze AcademyFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Prepaze Academy franchise requires a total initial investment of $154K – $309K, including a $39K franchise fee. The 2024 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: D. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $154K – $309K
- 39th pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 47th pct Education
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 2
- 8th pct Education
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Education avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Started franchising in 2024. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
Bottom line
- Total investment $154K – $309K including a $39K franchise fee.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict D (Below Average) with a risk score of 75/100.
- No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Prepaze Academy Franchises Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Prepaze Inc.
- CEO title
- Founder & CEO
- Shenba Chockalingam
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- NC
- HQ
- 3031 Village Market Place, Morrisville, North Carolina 27560
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- vs $0 prior year
Overview
About
Prepaze Academy franchisees operate educational tutoring/test-prep centers (likely SAT/ACT preparation based on 'Prepaze' branding), managing student enrollment, instructor scheduling, curriculum delivery, and local marketing. Day-to-day operations involve student advising, tutor management, progress tracking, and facility administration within their protected territory.
- CEO
- Shenba Chockalingam
- Headquarters
- NC
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 2
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 11 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $39K | $39K | |
| Travel, Lodging, Food, and Other Expenses While Training | $5K | $15K | |
| Real Estate Improvements | $35K | $150K | |
| Rent (3 months of rent, plus a security deposit) | $16K | $24K | |
| Equipment, Furniture, Fixtures, Decor, and Supplies | $15K | $18K | |
| Computer Hardware and Software | $1K | $4K | |
| Signs | $3K | $7K | |
| Misc. Opening Costs | $1K | $3K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $1K | $2K | |
| Advertising (3 months) | $3K | $6K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $36K | $42K | |
| Total initial investment | $154K | $309K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $154K – $309K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $36K – $42K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $39K – $39K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- The greater of 12% of gross sales or $750 per month
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 14.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | greater of 12% of gross sales or $750 per month |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 14.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Education averages
How Prepaze Academy Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +100.0%
- Net unit change last year
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
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).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 11
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Nascent 2-unit system with opaque financials, going concern uncertainty, and undisclosed performance metrics presents material risk for $154k-$308.5k investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kezos & Dunlavy
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 75 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 2 existing units with unknown growth trajectory suggests nascent/stalled system with no proven scalability
- 02MEDNo Item 19 financial performance data disclosed despite $154k-$308.5k investment — impossible to validate ROI claims
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, indicating potential financial viability questions about franchisor sustainability
- 04MINORRoyalty floor of $750/month ($9,000/year) is substantial burden on small academy operations and may not align with actual revenue
- 05MEDHigh franchise fee ($39,000) relative to system size creates early cash drain with limited peer validation or support infrastructure
- 06MINOR5-year term is short for education-based franchise requiring brand establishment and student roster building
- 07HIGHNo litigation disclosed is positive, but minimal unit count limits legal/operational history to evaluate
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 4 years |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 10 mi |
| Territory population | 2,500 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Wake County, North Carolina |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | North Carolina |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 9 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 14 hrs
- Training location
- On-site at franchisee's restaurant and franchisor's facility
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 5 mo
- From signing to launch
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
28 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Prepaze Academy · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Prepaze Academy franchise?
The total investment to open a Prepaze Academy franchise ranges from $154K – $309K, with an initial franchise fee of $39K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Prepaze Academy franchise owners earn?
Prepaze Academy does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Prepaze Academy's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Prepaze Academy (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Prepaze Academy franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Prepaze Academy has 2 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 2 company-owned units.
Is Prepaze Academy a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Prepaze Academy as a D-grade franchise with a risk score of 75 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.