Set The Stage
Formerly known as The Key
Bottom line
- Total investment $190K – $238K including a $60K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $378K/year (median $244K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 52/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 50 loans (below the industry average).
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 Set The Stage unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
37%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Set The Stage units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.1M
on $5.7M purchase
Total debt
$4.5M
SBA $2.8M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Set The Stage franchisees operate event production and staging services, likely managing client consultations, designing event layouts, coordinating logistics, and overseeing on-site setup and execution. Day-to-day involves managing client relationships, vendor coordination, equipment inventory, and team scheduling for corporate events, weddings, galas, and similar occasions.
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 · 11 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Rapidly scaling franchise with opaque profitability metrics and material investment required; lacks transparency needed for confident ROI assessment.
Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosed — cannot validate profitability claims or ROI timeline
- 02MINORExplosive 360% YoY unit growth (8 to 24 units) suggests either rapid success or unsustainable expansion; difficult to assess quality of growth
- 03MEDHigh initial investment ($190K-$238K) paired with undisclosed net income creates uncertainty around break-even and payback period
- 04MINORMinimum royalty structure (greater of 6% or monthly minimum) could strain cash flow for lower-performing locations
- 05MINOROnly 24 total units system-wide limits operational track record and peer support network for troubleshooting
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
45 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Set The Stage · FDD (2025) PDF