Education
KidStrong Franchise
A children's athletic and cognitive-development franchise offering group classes in physical, brain, and character-based training for kids from walking age through 11, delivered from two-floor "Training Floor" Centers of 3,200 to 4,000 square feet. Formed as a Delaware LLC in 2019 and franchising since August 2019, backed by private equity firm Princeton Equity Group; franchised unit count grew every year in the FDD's three-year window while company-owned locations stayed in the single digits.
Every franchisor has to file a document called an FDD before they can legally sell you a franchise. Buried in it are the two things a sales rep won't volunteer: what you'll actually spend to open, and whether existing locations are opening or closing. That's what's below, pulled straight from KidStrong's own filing.
What it costs to open
From the filing's investment breakdown -- not a "starting at" number a sales rep quoted you.
Franchise fee
$45,000
Total to open
$476,400–$671,200
Ongoing royalty
7% of gross sales
What you'd actually spend, over time
The upfront cost is only part of it. Plug in what you expect a location to bring in, and see the real total once royalties over a few years are added on top.
Defaulted to a rough education industry average, not a figure from KidStrong's own FDD -- change it to your own estimate.
Total cost of ownership over 5 years
$598,900 – $793,700
Startup investment
$476,400–$671,200
Royalty per year (7%)
$24,500
Total royalty, 5yr
$122,500
When would you break even?
Revenue alone doesn't tell you this -- it depends on what's left after rent, labor, and everything else. KidStrong's FDD doesn't disclose a reliable profit figure (most franchisors don't), so this starts from a typical education profit margin (~15%) and applies it to the revenue you entered above -- adjust the percentage to your own realistic estimate.
Defaulted to a general education industry benchmark, not a figure from KidStrong's own filing -- this is a starting point to adjust, not a promise about what franchisees actually make.
At that profit, you'd break even in about
9.1–12.8 years
Weigh that payback period against what you already know: KidStrong is opening more locations. A long payback period on a shrinking brand is a very different bet than the same payback period on a growing one.
Is KidStrong actually growing?
Franchisors have to report, every year, how many locations opened, closed, or changed hands. Most franchise sites never show you this. Here it is:
Locations opened vs. closed, by year
GrowingFrom Item 20 of KidStrong's FDD, the section franchisors use to disclose real openings and closings.
| Year | Franchised units, start | Franchised units, end | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 52 | 89 | +37 |
| 2024 | 89 | 121 | +32 |
| 2025 | 121 | 156 | +35 |
Most recent year (2025): gained 35 franchised units, ending the year at 156 total.
What you're actually signing up for
The cost and growth numbers above are only part of the picture. These three FDD items are the ones a prospective franchisee tends to weigh most heavily once they're past the sticker price.
Training & ongoing support (Item 11)
Item 11: before opening, KidStrong provides site-selection assistance and an introduction to its national real estate broker (Morrow Hill), reviews architectural plans at 45% and 95% completion, provides initial training and opening assistance, and supplies a digital, 196-page confidential Manual. Franchisees separately pay a $1,500 startup marketing fee and must spend $35,000-$45,000 on a pre-opening/grand-opening marketing campaign, on top of the 1.65% Brand Fund contribution and the 1% Technology Fee.
Territory protection (Item 12)
Item 12: KidStrong grants a "Protected Territory" -- a custom polygon based on mobile customer-location data (or a fixed 2-mile rural / block radius urban fallback) -- but it is explicitly not exclusive: KidStrong reserves the right to sell online and to operate other fitness brands under common Princeton Equity Group ownership in the same market. Franchisees must also hit Minimum Performance Criteria (membership thresholds by Performance Year) or risk having the territory reduced or eliminated.
Renewal & termination terms (Item 17)
Item 17: 10-year initial term. There's no true renewal -- instead a one-time option to sign a new "successor" agreement on then-current terms (potentially materially different), requiring 90-180 days' notice, a remodel, retraining, and a successor-agreement fee in lieu of the initial franchise fee. KidStrong may not terminate without cause; disputes go to mediation/arbitration in Collin County, Texas.
How KidStrong compares to other Education franchises
Across the 7 education franchises we've hand-verified so far, the typical range to open runs $1,074,443–$2,678,183, with royalties averaging around 7.2% of gross sales (based on the 7 of them that charge a flat %-of-revenue royalty).
Keep going
- KidStrong and School of Rock are both education franchises; School of Rock's total investment starts about $89,350 lower than KidStrong's. School of Rock Franchise
- KidStrong and Code Ninjas are both education franchises; Code Ninjas's total investment starts about $302,150 lower than KidStrong's. Code Ninjas Franchise
Where this came from: California DFPI Registration Renewal, App ID APP00005283, filed 4/20/2026, effective 6/10/2026. FDD issued April 20, 2026. Item 5: $45,000 Initial Franchise Fee for a standard Center ($30,000 for a hybrid Center). Item 6: royalty is 7% of Gross Sales, plus a 1.65% Brand Fund contribution and a separate 1% Technology Fee (both of Gross Sales). Item 7: three TOTAL rows -- standard Center $476,400-$671,200 (used here, matching the $45,000 fee), hybrid Center $319,300-$436,650, and a third for multi-unit development; the standard single-Center total is the correct pick. Item 20 Table 1 franchised outlets; company-owned outlets held roughly steady (9-11) across the window. You can pull the same filing yourself from the California DFPI's public franchise search. Filed 2026-04-20. None of this is investment advice -- get the franchisor's current FDD and talk to a real attorney or accountant before you sign anything.
If you see a different unit count elsewhere: franchisors only have to refile their FDD annually, so the numbers here can run 6–18 months behind a franchisor's own real-time marketing claims -- which often aren't independently verified, and sometimes count signed-but-not-yet-open locations. A gap isn't necessarily an error on either side; it's two different snapshots in time from two different sources.