Starting Strength
Formerly known as StrengthTrain
Bottom line
- Total investment $237K – $713K including a $40K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 51/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 24 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 47.1% CAGR over 3 years with 25 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 Starting Strength unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
42%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Starting Strength franchisees operate strength training coaching facilities, delivering barbell-based fitness programming to members through group classes and personal coaching. Day-to-day operations include class instruction, member onboarding, facility management, and coaching staff supervision. Revenue is generated through membership fees and coaching services.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
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
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 19 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
Modest growth, opaque financials, and questionable franchisor health create meaningful uncertainty around unit profitability and franchisor viability.
Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (average unit volume, net income) prevents ROI validation
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is False — suggests potential franchisor financial instability or accounting irregularities
- 03MEDModest unit growth of 13.6% YoY with only 25 total units indicates slow market penetration and limited brand momentum
- 04MINORWide investment range ($237K-$712K) suggests highly variable unit economics or inconsistent franchisee buildouts
- 05MED8% royalty on undisclosed revenue makes it impossible to model profitability — franchisees may be subsidizing franchisor
- 06HIGHNo disclosed litigation history could indicate either clean record OR incomplete disclosure in FDD
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
32 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Starting Strength · FDD (2025) PDF