FranchiseVerdict
YEL! Youth Enrichment League logo
FV-03015·MODERATEExcellent95

YEL! Youth Enrichment League

Education - Children's ProgramsFranchising since 2019Website
Investment
$57K – $83K
26th pct Children's Pr…
Avg revenue
$209K
9th pct Children's Pr…
Royalty
6.0%
15th pct Children's Pr…
Units
5
28th pct Children's Pr…
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $57K – $83K including a $23K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $209K/year (median $201K). Estimated payback in 1.0 years.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 63/100.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
YEL Franchising, Inc.
Incorporated in
Minnesota
HQ
343 Bluff Road, Carver, MN 55315
Auditor
Thoresen Diaby Helle Condon & Dodge, Inc.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$27K
vs $20K 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 YEL! Youth Enrichment League unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $209,314
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: $57K–$83K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $5K–$15K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

42%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$33K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$80K
Payback
29 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 YEL! Youth Enrichment League 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

$377K

on $1.9M purchase

Total debt

$1.5M

SBA $0.9M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

YEL operates youth enrichment programs (likely afterschool, summer camps, or skill-building activities) where franchisees manage enrollment, hire instructors, schedule classes, and deliver age-appropriate educational/recreational programming. Day-to-day involves marketing to schools/parents, student registration, staff management, program scheduling, and facility operations.

CEO
Chet Gunhus
Founded
2019
FDD year
2024
States available
1

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$57K – $83K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$5K – $15K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$23K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
1.0 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$209K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$201K
Item 19 type
Actual Revenues, Expenses, and Income
Sample size
3 units
vs category median 16 · small
Range (low → high)
$169K$257K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
7 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank9th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Investment cost rank26th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank15th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank28th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Risk score rank61th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
5
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
4
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
20%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+0.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
1±0
Franchised units
2023
1
Franchised units
2024
1
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 29 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 · 29 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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

63
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE63 / 100

Micro-franchise system with unverified financials, franchisor financial concerns, and unproven unit growth creates elevated risk despite no litigation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINOROnly 5 operating units with unknown growth trajectory suggests minimal system traction and scale
  2. 02HIGHGoing Concern flag is FALSE — indicates financial instability or uncertainty at franchisor level
  3. 03MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representation limits ability to validate the $72,010 average net income claim
  4. 04MINOR6% royalty on $209k average revenue = $12.6k annually, but high initial investment ($57-83k) creates long payback period
  5. 05MINORExtremely small franchise system increases risk of franchisor viability and support quality
  6. 06MINORYouth enrichment/education sector has thin margins and high sensitivity to enrollment/seasonal volatility

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
County
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Granted
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
Minnesota

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
44 hrs
On-the-job training
32 hrs
POS system
Youth Database
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

33 numbers

Locked
(651) 539-••••
MN
(410) 576-••••
MD
(401) 462-••••
RI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

YEL! Youth Enrichment League · FDD (2024) PDF

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