FranchiseVerdict
Tippi Toes logo
FV-02748·STRONGExcellent95

Tippi Toes

Education - Children's ProgramsFranchising since 2009Website
Investment
$69K – $164K
32nd pct Children's Pr…
Avg revenue
$269K
16th pct Children's Pr…
Royalty
Units
88
86th pct Children's Pr…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $69K – $164K including a $50K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $269K/year (median $219K). Estimated payback in 1.7 years.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 50/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 3 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 75.0% CAGR over 3 years with 88 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Tippi Toes, Inc.
Parent company
None
Incorporated in
Oklahoma
HQ
3373 Eslin Court, Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37130
Auditor
Kezos & Dunlavy
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$2.5M
vs $2.4M 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 Tippi Toes unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $269,453
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: $69K–$164K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $12K–$20K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

33%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$43K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$132K
Payback
37 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Tippi Toes units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$485K

on $2.4M purchase

Total debt

$1.9M

SBA $1.2M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Tippi Toes is a children's movement and dance instruction franchise. Franchisees operate studios offering classes in ballet, tap, jazz, and creative movement for toddlers and young children, generating revenue through tuition fees, recitals, and merchandise. Daily operations include teaching classes, managing student enrollments, scheduling instructors, and maintaining studio facilities.

CEO
Sarah Nuse
Founded
1999
FDD year
2026
States available
26

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$69K – $164K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$12K – $20K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
greater of 7% of Gross Revenue or Minimum Royalty
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
1.7 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$269K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$219K
Item 19 type
Actual
Sample size
35 units
vs category median 16 · large
Range (low → high)
$53K$1.1M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
10 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank16th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Investment cost rank32th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank79th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank86th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Risk score rank20th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
88
Opened
12
Last reporting year
Closed
4
Turnover rate
4.5%
Company-owned
4
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
96%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+10.5%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+75.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
84+8
Franchised units
2025
76
Franchised units
2026
48
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 17 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 17 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
3
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

50
Risk · 0-100
STRONG50 / 100

Tippi Toes presents moderate-to-cautionary risk due to lack of financial disclosure transparency, undefined minimum royalty terms, and modest growth trajectory despite adequate profitability metrics.

Score breakdown · what drove the 50 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot independently verify avg revenue/net income claims
  2. 02MINORMinimum Royalty structure undefined — could create cash flow burden in slow months despite 7% rate
  3. 03MINORHigh franchise fee ($49,500) relative to startup costs creates break-even pressure before operations begin
  4. 04MEDModest unit growth (10.5% YoY) with only 88 units suggests niche market with limited expansion momentum
  5. 05MINORNet income ($68,882) leaves thin margin for error; represents only 25.6% of average revenue after all expenses

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Population
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Oklahoma

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
16 hrs
On-the-job training
2 hrs
POS system
Studio Pro
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

20 numbers

Locked
(518) 473-••••
NY
(608) 266-••••
WI
(804) 371-••••
VA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Tippi Toes · FDD (2026) PDF

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