I built an AI tool to analyze franchise disclosure documents in ~30 days. Here’s what surprised me.

I didn’t start with “I want to build a SaaS.” I just kept seeing the same problem come up.

People looking at franchises are expected to read through 200–400 page FDDs and somehow understand:
– what the actual risks are
– whether the numbers are realistic
– and what actually matters vs what’s just legal filler

Most don’t. They rely on consultants or attorneys, or just skim it and hope for the best.

So I tried building something that breaks an FDD down into something usable:
– pulls out all 23 required sections
– highlights risks with context (not just summaries)
– and ties everything back to actual clauses

What surprised me wasn’t the build, it was everything around it.

The problem is real, but not obvious
People don’t google “FDD analysis tool.” They google specific brands or just ask consultants. Discovery is the hardest part.
The output matters more than the model
The biggest difference wasn’t the AI itself, it was structuring the output so it actually looks like something you’d trust.
Distribution is 10x harder than building
You can build something useful pretty quickly now. Getting it in front of the right people is a completely different game.
Free tools are probably the only way in
I ended up making a free Item 19 (financial performance) analyzer because it’s the one thing people actually care about early.

I’m based in Australia building this for US franchise buyers, which has made distribution even more interesting.

Right now I’m just trying to figure out distribution — Reddit, a bit of outreach, and now posting here.

If anyone here has worked in franchising or dealt with FDDs, I’d be really interested in how you approach evaluating them.

Still early, but interesting space.