The Coven® Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Coven is a coworking franchise operating inclusive, women- and nonbinary-focused workspaces with desks, offices, and meeting rooms. Franchisees run the locations, managing memberships, facilities, and events.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Coven® franchise requires a total initial investment of $213K – $465K, including a $50K franchise fee. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $213K – $465K
- 19th pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Incl. company outletsn=2
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 6
- 21st pct Recreation & …
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Recreation & Entertainment · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Recreation & Entertainment avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $213K – $465K including a $50K franchise fee.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports Historical Performance rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 55/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports Historical Performance rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- The Coven Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- The Coven, Inc.
- Predecessor
- The Coven, Inc. (originally The Coven LLC, formed Aug 8, 2017 in Minnesota; converted to The Coven, Inc. Aug 5, 2019)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Alex West Steinman
- CEO experience
- 2017 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 165 Western Avenue North, Suite 8, St. Paul, MN 55102
- Auditor
- Schechter Dokken Kanter Andrews & Selcer Ltd.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $12K
- vs $119K prior year
Affiliated brands
- has not offered franchises in any line of business
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Alex West Steinman
- Headquarters
- MN
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 75% below the typical recreation & entertainment franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Site Selection Assistance | $0 | $2K | |
| Rent (3 months) | $45K | $84K | |
| Lease, Utility and Security Deposits | $2K | $10K | |
| Design and Architectural Fees | $5K | $35K | |
| Coven Design Servicesnot refundable | $15K | $25K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $50K | $100K | |
| Equipment | $3K | $5K | |
| Fixtures & Furniture | $15K | $100K | |
| Inventory | $1K | $5K | |
| The Coven Digital Community, Booking Software, and Designated Software (Including 3 months of fees) | $4K | $9K | |
| Signage | $3K | $5K | |
| Training Expenses | $2K | $8K | |
| Community Grand Opening and Pre-Sale Marketing Campaign | $10K | $10K | |
| Licenses, Permits and Professional Fees | $3K | $5K | |
| Insurance | $1K | $2K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $5K | $10K | |
| Total initial investment | $213K | $465K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $213K – $465K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $10K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- Greater of 8% of Gross Sales or $800 per month
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | Greater of 8% of Gross Sales or $800 per month |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $850 |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $13K |
| Inventory (initial) | $1K – $5K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
The Coven® did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one The Coven® unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
32%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Includes company-owned outlets
Based on a sample of only 2
- Item 19 type
- Historical Performance
- Sample size
- 2
- vs category median 5 · small
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 166 Recreation & Entertainment brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% (near the Recreation & Entertainment average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports Historical Performance rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +100.0% over 3 years (2 opened, 0 closed).
Multi-unit rate
Only 1% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Recreation & Entertainment averages
How The Coven® Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 6
- Opened
- 2
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 67%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +100.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 2
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 7
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 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.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Early-stage coworking franchisor (began 2022, 6 units) with slightly negative net worth of -$756, flagged as early-stage distress. However it posted positive net income of $14,987 on $119,304 revenue, no litigation, no bankruptcy, no going-concern doubt. Treated as minor given startup stage.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Largest disclosed settlement: $50,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Schechter Dokken Kanter Andrews & Selcer Ltd.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNegative net worth -$756 but early-stage
- 02MINORPositive net income $14,987
- 03MINORNo litigation/bankruptcy/going-concern
- 04MED6 units, began franchising 2022 — limited history
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Drive time |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 5 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Minnesota |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 58 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 8 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisor
- POS system
- The Coven Digital Community
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: The Coven Digital Community
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
4 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Coven® · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Coven® franchise?
The total investment to open a The Coven® franchise ranges from $213K – $465K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Coven® franchise owners earn?
The Coven® does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the The Coven® FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the The Coven® FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is The Coven®'s franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for The Coven® (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many The Coven® franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Coven® has 6 total units in the United States, including 4 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Coven® a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Coven® as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 55 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.