FranchiseVerdict
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FV-02049·STRONGExcellent100

Project LeanNation

RetailFranchising since 2023Website
Investment
$260K – $397K
67th pct Retail
Avg revenue
$643K
15th pct Retail
Royalty
7.0%
59th pct Retail
Units
34
32nd pct Retail
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $260K – $397K including a $60K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $643K/year (median $517K). Estimated payback in 0.8 years.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 50/100.
  • System growing at 57.1% CAGR over 3 years with 34 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Project Lean Nation Franchising, Inc.
Incorporated in
New York
HQ
14 Franklin Street, Suite 1403, Rochester, New York 14604
Auditor
Nacca & Capizzi, LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.5M
vs $2.1M prior year

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 Project LeanNation unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $643,443
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: retail
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $260K–$397K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $25K–$35K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

11%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$39K
EBITDA margin
6.0%
Total invested
$358K
Payback
111 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

Project LeanNation franchisees operate fitness/wellness centers focused on lean body transformation and nutrition coaching. Day-to-day operations include leading group fitness classes, conducting one-on-one coaching sessions, managing member billing and retention, and coordinating with corporate on marketing/nutrition protocols. Revenue streams typically include membership dues, personal training, and supplemental nutrition/product sales.

CEO
Tim Dougherty
Founded
2020
FDD year
2026
States available
13

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$260K – $397K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$25K – $35K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$60K
Royalty
7.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
0.8 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$643K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$517K
Item 19 type
Full Year Operations and Ramp-up Data
Sample size
25 units
vs category median 52 · small
Range (low → high)
$179K$1.8M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
10 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Revenue rank15th
vs Retail peers
Investment cost rank67th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank59th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank32th
vs Retail peers
Risk score rank23th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
34
Opened
8
Last reporting year
Closed
3
Turnover rate
8.8%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
97%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+17.9%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+57.1%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
33+5
Franchised units
2025
28
Franchised units
2026
21
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 8 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 · 8 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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

50
Risk · 0-100
STRONG50 / 100

Moderate-to-cautionary risk profile: recent regulatory violation, lack of Item 19 transparency, modest growth rate, and small system size offset by strong unit economics and protected territories.

Score breakdown · what drove the 50 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORRegulatory violation in Virginia (2025) involving FDD non-compliance and premature unit sale suggests franchisor compliance gaps
  2. 02MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representations limits ability to validate the $414,148 avg net income claim across all units
  3. 03MINOR17.9% YoY unit growth is solid but relatively modest for a fitness/wellness concept; retention rate unknown
  4. 04MINORHigh franchise fee ($60k) + startup investment ceiling ($396.6k) with 7% royalty creates significant breakeven pressure on stated $643k avg revenue
  5. 05MEDUnit count (34) indicates small system with limited support infrastructure and higher vulnerability to individual unit failures

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Population
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
1
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
Required
Governing law
New York

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
39 hrs
On-the-job training
24 hrs
POS system
Square POS
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

16 numbers

Locked
(701) 328-••••
ND
(410) 576-••••
MD
(212) 416-••••
NY

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Project LeanNation · FDD (2026) PDF

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