FranchiseVerdict
STEM Builders Learning Center logo
FV-02449·MODERATEExcellent81

STEM Builders Learning Center

Education - Children's ProgramsFranchising since 2018Website
Investment
$45K – $105K
11th pct Children's Pr…
Avg revenue
69th pct Children's Pr…
Royalty
7.0%
29th pct Children's Pr…
Units
5
28th pct Children's Pr…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $45K – $105K including a $25K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
  • 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
STEM Builders Learning Center, LLC
Incorporated in
Minnesota
HQ
15600 35th Ave N, Unit 201, Plymouth, MN 55447
Auditor
BAS Partners LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$37K
vs $41K 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 STEM Builders Learning Center unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: education
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $45K–$105K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $5K–$30K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

114%

Above typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%
ROIC above 100% usually means the revenue figure is a system-wide aggregate or top-cohort number rather than a single-unit average. Verify the "Revenue · per unit" field against the brand's FDD Item 19 detail tables before relying on this output.

Store EBITDA · annual
$105K
EBITDA margin
14.0%
Total invested
$92K
Payback
11 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

STEM Builders Learning Center operates an educational franchise offering science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) instruction to youth through after-school programs, camps, and workshops. Franchisees manage physical learning centers, hire and train instructors, recruit students, and deliver hands-on STEM curriculum and robotics programming. Daily operations include customer acquisition, student enrollment management, instructor scheduling, curriculum delivery, and parent communication.

CEO
Madhuri Chanda
Founded
2018
FDD year
2024
States available
4

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$45K – $105K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$5K – $30K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
7.0%
Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical

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

Total units
5
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
80%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+33.3%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+33.3%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
4+2
Franchised units
2023
3
Franchised units
2024
3
Franchised units

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

Item 12 · 4 states reported

The Territory Map

FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.

4

states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
2
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

65
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE65 / 100

Critical lack of financial transparency combined with micro-scale franchise system and going concern status creates severe uncertainty around franchisee profitability and franchisor stability.

Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosure (avg revenue and net income not disclosed) — impossible to validate ROI on $45k-$104k investment
  2. 02MEDExtremely small unit base (only 5 locations) with no disclosed average unit volumes — high risk of system collapse or franchisor inability to support network
  3. 03HIGHGoing Concern status is False — suggests potential financial instability or operational challenges at franchisor level
  4. 04MINOR$500/month minimum royalty on 7% creates unprofitable math for low-revenue locations; unclear breakeven point
  5. 05MINOR5-year term is shorter than industry standard (10 years typical) — reduced security and higher renegotiation risk
  6. 06MINOR33.3% YoY growth on only 5 units (1.67 net new units) is mathematically insignificant — cannot extrapolate viability
  7. 07HIGHNo litigation disclosed but going concern status raises questions about franchisor financial health and dispute history

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Zip codes
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
5 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
No
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Minnesota

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
33 hrs
On-the-job training
21 hrs
POS system
Calimatic
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

18 numbers

Locked
(605) 773-••••
MN
(410) 576-••••
MN
(763) 273-••••
MN

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

STEM Builders Learning Center · FDD (2024) PDF

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