Bottom line
- Total investment $130K – $288K including a $50K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 59/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 6 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 28.8% CAGR over 3 years with 95 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 The Scout Guide unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
34%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Overview
About
The Scout Guide franchisees operate local digital lifestyle guides and community-focused content platforms, curating and publishing local business recommendations, event listings, and lifestyle content. They generate revenue through advertising sales to local businesses, sponsored content, and potentially subscription or premium listing services. Day-to-day operations involve sales prospecting to local merchants, content curation/publication, and community relationship management.
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 · 30 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
High investment opacity and slow unit growth create meaningful risk—lack of published financials makes it impossible to validate return potential against capital requirements.
Score breakdown · what drove the 59 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosure (avg revenue and net income not disclosed) prevents ROI validation against $129,600-$288,100 investment
- 02MEDSlow unit growth of 6.8% YoY with only 95 units suggests limited brand recognition and market traction
- 03MEDHigh 10% royalty rate combined with undisclosed profitability creates uncertainty about actual take-home income
- 04HIGHNo going concern statement is neutral but combined with slow growth and hidden financials raises questions about system viability
- 05MINORModest franchise fee ($50,000) relative to total investment suggests most capital goes to startup costs with unclear revenue visibility
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
89 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
The Scout Guide · FDD (2025) PDF