FranchiseVerdict
Sandbox VR logo
FV-02229·MODERATEExcellent86

Sandbox VR

Formerly known as GloStation

OtherFranchising since 2019Website
Investment
$251K – $1.9M
70th pct Other
Avg revenue
$1.7M
39th pct Other
Royalty
Units
36
59th pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $251K – $1.9M including a $50K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.7M/year. Estimated payback in 1.5 years.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 55/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 18 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 200.0% CAGR over 3 years with 36 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
GloStation Franchising USA, Inc.
Parent company
GloStation USA, Inc.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
4695 Chabot Drive, Suite 200, Pleasanton, California 94588
Auditor
Galleros Robinson
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$4.9M
vs $5.2M 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 Sandbox VR unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,704,740
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $251K–$1.9M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $75K–$100K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

24%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$273K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$1.2M
Payback
51 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Sandbox VR units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

33.8%

4.28× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

2.40×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$5.7M

on $15.3M purchase

Total debt

$9.6M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($7.7M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate location-based entertainment venues featuring premium virtual reality experiences (Holodecks). Day-to-day operations include customer booking management, VR equipment operation and maintenance, staff training and supervision, facility cleaning/sanitization, and marketing to drive foot traffic. Revenue is generated through pay-per-experience bookings, often positioned as premium entertainment for corporate events, birthday parties, and casual consumers.

CEO
Steven Zhao
Founded
2017
FDD year
2025
States available
2

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$251K – $1.9M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$75K – $100K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
The greater of: (a) 5% of Gross Sales; or (b) the Minimum…
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
6.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
1.5 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.7M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
Item 19 type
Gross Sales and EBITDA
Sample size
36 units
vs category median 20
Range (low → high)
$506K$2.8M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
8 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Revenue rank39th
vs Other peers
Investment cost rank70th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank70th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank59th
vs Other peers
Risk score rank27th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
36
Opened
1
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
33
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
8%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+50.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+200.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
3+3
Franchised units
2024
2
Franchised units
2025
1
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 15 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 · 15 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
18
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

55
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE55 / 100

Sandbox VR presents caution-level risk: rapid unit growth masks recent franchisee litigation, unprotected territory with high ongoing royalties, and unverified financial claims requiring deep due diligence before commitment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHRecent material litigation with Canadian franchisees settled July 2024, indicating franchise relationship strain and potential operational/support issues
  2. 02MINORNo protected territory despite high initial investment ($250K-$1.9M), creating direct competition risk from other franchisees or company-owned locations
  3. 03MINORRoyalty structure heavily favors franchisor ($1,000/month minimum per Holodeck regardless of revenue), creating cash flow pressure during slow periods
  4. 04MINORRapid 50% YoY unit growth (18→36 units in one year) raises sustainability questions and may indicate market saturation or aggressive recruitment over franchisee success
  5. 05MEDWide investment range ($250K-$1.9M) with limited clarity on what drives 7.5x variance, suggesting inconsistent site requirements or hidden costs
  6. 06MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representations provided; average net income of $688,829 is unverified and may not reflect typical franchisee experience
  7. 07MINORHigh capital intensity (VR equipment) creates technology obsolescence risk and difficulty recouping investment if business underperforms

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
2
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
Delaware

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
0 hrs
On-the-job training
56 hrs
POS system
Reservation Operating Platform
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

23 numbers

Locked
(517) 335-••••
MI
(804) 371-••••
VA
(213) 576-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Sandbox VR · FDD (2025) PDF

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