Bottom line
- Total investment $303K – $465K including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $410K/year (median $390K). Estimated payback in 11.4 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 54/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 97 loans (below the industry average).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
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 Zoom Room unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
16%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Zoom Room units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$738K
on $3.7M purchase
Total debt
$3.0M
SBA $1.8M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Zoom Room franchisees operate escape room and interactive entertainment venues where customers pay per-group to solve puzzles and challenges in themed rooms. Day-to-day operations include hosting game sessions, managing customer flow, maintaining room sets and technology, scheduling reservations, and managing 10-20+ staff members across multiple themed experiences.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 25 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
Zoom Room presents caution-level risk due to system contraction, razor-thin unit economics, and high capital requirements relative to actual profitability, suggesting margin compression and potential franchisee cash flow distress.
Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 rating
- 01MINORUnit count declining 9.4% YoY (60 units) signals system contraction and potential demand softness
- 02MINORNet income of $33,663 on $409,758 revenue = 8.2% net margin, barely covering 8% royalty obligations with minimal profit
- 03MINORHigh initial investment ($302k-$465k) paired with thin margins creates extended payback period and elevated financial stress
- 04MINORWide gap between average revenue ($409k) and average net income suggests inconsistent unit performance and operational challenges
- 05MINOR8% royalty on weekly gross sales (not net) increases franchisee burden during revenue downturns
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
65 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Zoom Room · FDD (2026) PDF