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indicates the clear winner per row. Ties and missing data are not highlighted.
How winners are chosen
Lower is better for investment, liquid capital, franchise fee, royalty and ad-fund rates, SBA charge-off rate, and owner turnover.
Higher is better for disclosed revenue and owner earnings, verdict score, total units, net unit growth, and franchisee contacts. For the letter grade, A ranks highest.
A row is highlighted only when one brand clearly leads. Ties are never highlighted, and missing data never counts as a win. Some rows (earnings-metric type, loan counts, contract terms) are informational and have no winner.
Focus by buyer type
| Brand |  DBelow averageMaple Bear Education 2025 FDD Remove |  AStrongest tierLightbridge Academy Education 2025 FDD Remove |
|---|---|---|
| Vitals | ||
FDD filing | FDD issued May 2, 2025 | FDD issued Apr 10, 2025 |
Investment range | $799K – $2.4M | $1.0M – $2.7M |
Liquid capital | $150K – $200K | $150K – $300K |
Franchise fee | $85K | $50K |
Royalty rate | 6.0% | 7.0% |
Ad fund rate | 2.0% | 2.0% |
| Performance | ||
Avg gross sales | No Item 19 representation | $2.5MCombined outlet types |
Median gross sales | Not disclosed | $2.6MCombined outlet types |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | Not disclosed | $380K |
Earnings metric | Not classified | EBITDA / Average 380,317 |
| Risk | ||
Rating | DBelow average | AStrongest tier |
Verdict score | 36 / 100 | 94 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | Under 10 loans (3) | 0.0% (n=41) |
SBA loans on record | 3 | 41 |
| Scale | ||
Total units | 1 | 81 |
Net change (latest yr) | -1 | +7 |
Signed, not yet open | 4 (4.00 per open outlet) | 117 (1.44 per open outlet) |
Turnover rate | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Contract | ||
Initial term (years) | 10 | 15 |
Renewal term (years) | 5 | 5 |
Initial training (hrs) | 80 | 177 |
| Contacts | ||
Franchisee phones | 7 | 56 |
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