Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A.
Risk Factors
This Annual
Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking information based on our current expectations. Because our business is subject to
many risks and our actual results may differ materially from any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of us, this section
includes a discussion of important factors that could affect our business, operating results, financial condition and the trading
price of our securities. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the other information in this Annual Report on Form
10-K, including our financial statements and the related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations. The occurrence of any of the events or developments described below could have a material
adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, prospects and securities trading prices. Additional
risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations.
Risks related
to the Corona Virus and COVID-19 Pandemic
Public health
officials have recommended and mandated precautions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, including prohibitions on congregating
in heavily populated areas and shelter-in-place orders or similar measures. Our research and development and our entire business
may be adversely impacted by actions taken to contain or treat the impact of COVID-19, and the extent of such impact will
depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.
Risks related
to our financial position and need for additional capital
Our auditors
have previously expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, which may hinder our ability to
obtain further financing.
Our past working
capital deficiency, stockholders’ deficit and recurring losses from operations raise substantial doubt about our ability
to continue as a going concern. As a result, our independent registered public accounting firm included an explanatory paragraph
in its report on our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 with respect to this uncertainty. We believe
that the net proceeds from our recent February 2021 IPO, and our existing cash will be sufficient to fund our current operating
plans through at least the next 12 months. We have based these estimates, however, on assumptions that may prove to be wrong,
and we could spend our available financial resources much faster than we currently expect and need to raise additional funds sooner
than we anticipate. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on acceptable terms, we would be forced to delay, reduce
or eliminate our technology development and commercialization efforts.
We have
incurred significant net losses since inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future
and may never achieve or maintain profitability.
Since inception, we have incurred significant
net losses. Our net losses were $4,051,221 and $5,230,245 for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. As
of December 31, 2020, we had a shareholders’ deficit of $13,103,250. To date, we have devoted our efforts towards securing
financing, building, and evolving our technology platform, marketing our mobile app product for radio stations as well as initiating
our marketing efforts for our music player. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable
future. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if, and as, we:
·
hire and retain additional sales, accounting and finance marketing and engineering personnel;
·
build out our product pipeline;
·
add operational, financial and management information systems and personnel; and
·
maintain, expand, protect and enforce our intellectual property portfolio.
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To become profitable, we must develop and
eventually commercialize one or more product candidates, including Auddia and Vodacast, with significant market potential. This
will require us to be successful in a range of challenging activities, and our expenses will increase substantially as we seek
to bring these products to market. We may never succeed in any or all of these activities and, even if we do, we may never generate
revenue that is significant or large enough to achieve profitability. If we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain
or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our failure to become and remain profitable would decrease the value
of our company and could impair our ability to raise capital, develop new products, expand our business or continue our operations.
A decline in the value of our Company also could cause stockholders to lose all or part of their investment.
We may need
additional funding, which may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Failure to obtain this capital when needed may force
us to delay, limit or terminate our product development efforts or other operations.
We expect our
expenses to increase in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we continue to invest in sales, marketing and engineering
resources and bring our products to market. Furthermore, following the closing of our IPO, we expect to incur additional costs
associated with operating as a public company. While we believe that the net proceeds from our recent IPO and our existing cash,
cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities will be sufficient to fund our current operating plans through at least the
next 12 months, we anticipate that we may need additional funding to complete the development of our full product line and
scale products with a demonstrated market fit.
Building and scaling
technology products is a time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process that takes years to complete, and we may never generate
the necessary user experience required to obtain market acceptance and achieve meaningful product sales. In addition, our product
candidates, once developed, may not achieve commercial success. The majority of revenue will be derived from or based on sales
of software products that may not be commercially available for many years, if at all. Accordingly, we will need to continue to
rely on revenues from existing products and/or additional financing to achieve our business objectives. Adequate additional financing
may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.
Raising
additional capital may cause dilution to our existing stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights
to our technologies and product candidates.
We may seek additional
capital through a combination of public and private equity offerings, debt financings, strategic partnerships and alliances and
licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities,
the ownership interest of stockholders will be diluted, and the terms may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely
affect the rights of existing stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed payment obligations
and could involve restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability
to acquire or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to
conduct our business. If we raise additional funds through strategic partnerships and alliances and licensing arrangements with
third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, or our other product candidates, or grant licenses
on terms unfavorable to us.
We have
generated historical revenue from our mobile app platform for radio stations, but future revenue growth is dependent on new software
services.
Our ability to
generate revenue from product sales and achieve profitability depends on our ability to successfully complete the development and
commercialization of future software products. Our ability to generate meaningful revenue from product sales depends heavily on
our success in:
·
obtaining market acceptance;
·
effectively addressing any competing technological and market developments;
·
negotiating favorable terms in any collaboration, licensing or other arrangements into which we may enter and performing our obligations under such arrangements;
·
maintaining, protecting, enforcing, and expanding our portfolio of intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, trade secrets and know-how;
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·
avoiding and defending against intellectual property infringement, misappropriation and other claims;
·
implementing additional internal systems and infrastructure, as needed; and
·
attracting, hiring and retaining qualified personnel.
Our limited operating history of
our current business plan may make it difficult for investors to evaluate the success of our business to date and to assess our
future viability.
We are an early-stage
company founded in 2012, with a limited operating history that has recently changed its business plan to develop and sell our new
and potential products. There can be no assurance that any of our future products and services will be successfully developed,
protected from competition by others, or marketed successfully. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that we will ever have positive
net earnings.
We
have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Failure to achieve and maintain effective
internal control over financial reporting could result in our failure to accurately or timely report our financial condition or
results of operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and securities prices.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or
a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a
material misstatement of our financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Management is working to
remediate our current material weaknesses and prevent potential future material weaknesses by hiring additional qualified accounting
and financial reporting personnel, and further reviewing and enhancing our accounting processes. We may not be able to fully remediate
any future material weaknesses until these steps have been completed and have been operating effectively for a sufficient period
of time. If we are not able to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, our financial statements and related
disclosures may be inaccurate, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and our securities prices.
We are required to comply with the SEC’s
rules implementing Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires management to certify financial and other information
in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our controls over financial
reporting. Although we will be required to disclose changes made in our internal controls and procedures on a quarterly basis,
we will not be required to make our first annual assessment of our internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section
404 until this annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. This assessment includes disclosure of
any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting, as well as a statement that
our independent registered public accounting firm has issued an opinion on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial
reporting, provided that our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness
of our internal control over financial reporting until our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC following the
later of the date we are deemed to be an “accelerated filer” or a “large accelerated filer,” each as defined
in the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or the date we are no longer an emerging
growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years.
If we fail
to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis could
be impaired, which would adversely affect our business.
Ensuring that we have
adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures in place to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis
is a costly and time-consuming effort that needs to be re-evaluated frequently. The rapid growth of our operations and the completed IPO
has created a need for additional resources within the accounting and finance functions due to the increasing need to produce timely financial
information and to ensure the level of segregation of duties customary for a U.S. public company. We continue to reassess the sufficiency
of finance personnel in response to these increasing demands and expectations.
Our management
is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles. Our management does not expect that our internal control over financial reporting
will prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable,
not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control
systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that
all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within our company will have been detected.
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We expect to expend significant resources
in developing the necessary documentation and testing procedures required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We cannot
be certain that the actions we will be taking to improve our internal controls over financial reporting will be sufficient, or
that we will be able to implement our planned processes and procedures in a timely manner. In addition, if we are unable to produce
accurate financial statements on a timely basis, investors could lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements,
which could cause the market price of our common stock to decline and make it more difficult for us to finance our operations
and growth.
Risks related
to the development of our products
Our subscription
revenue margins and our freedom to operate our Auddia commercial-free radio platform rely on continuity of the established music
licensing framework.
Present music
licensing costs and general rights to play music are determined by an established statutory rate framework which could change in
the future. Changes in licensing costs and general rights to play music content could impact our direct costs for content or even
prohibit access to content that is fundamental to the platform. Changes could adversely impact our cost to operate the platform
and/or our rights to deliver content to end users.
Our Auddia
platform will rely on the established “personal use exemption” which allows individuals to record content for personal
use, without prohibition.
The Auddia platform
will allow consumers to access broadcast audio content “live,” in real-time, and also enables end users to personally
record audio content for later consumption. We believe that Auddia will rely on an established precedent which permits individuals
to record and replay content (audio and/or video) so long as it is for personal use, only (the “Personal Use Exemption”).
While the Personal Use Exemption has been well established, there is a risk that the Personal Use Exemption may not apply to the
Auddia platform. If it is found that Auddia is not able to rely upon the Personal Use Exemption, the costs to the Company for music
content would increase significantly and result in an increase in the consumer price for Auddia, thus making Auddia less desirable
in the marketplace.
If we are unable
to obtain and maintain patent protection for our products and product candidates, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained
is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize products and product candidates similar or identical
to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our products and product candidates may be adversely affected.
Our commercial
success will depend, in part, on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection in the United States and other countries
with respect to our products and product candidates. We seek to protect our proprietary position by filing patent applications
in the United States and abroad related to our products and product candidates that are important to our business.
We cannot be certain
that additional patents will be issued or granted with respect to applications that are currently pending or that we may apply
for in the future with respect to one or more of our products and product candidates, or that issued or granted patents will not
later be found to be invalid and/or unenforceable.
The patent prosecution
process is expensive and time-consuming. We may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications
at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research
and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection. Although we enter into non-disclosure and confidentiality
agreements with parties who have access to patentable aspects of our research and development output, such as our employees, collaboration
partners, consultants, advisors and other third parties, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose such output
before a patent application is filed, thereby jeopardizing our ability to seek patent protection.
Real or
perceived errors, failures or bugs in our platform or products could materially and adversely affect our operating results and
growth prospects.
The software underlying
our platform and products is highly technical and complex. Our software has previously contained, and may now or in the future
contain, undetected errors, bugs or vulnerabilities. In addition, errors, failures and bugs may be contained in open source software
utilized in building and operating our products or may result from errors in the deployment or configuration of open source software.
Some errors in our software may only be discovered after the software has been deployed or may never be generally known. Any errors,
bugs or vulnerabilities discovered in our software after it has been deployed, or never generally discovered, could result in interruptions
in platform availability, product malfunctioning or data breaches, and thereby result in damage to our reputation, adverse effects
upon customers and users, loss of customers and relationships with third parties, including social media networks, loss of revenue
or liability for damages. In some instances, we may not be able to identify the cause or causes of these problems or risks within
an acceptable period of time.
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Risks related
to our business operations
Our future
success depends on our ability to retain key employees, consultants and advisors and to attract, retain and motivate qualified
personnel.
We are highly
dependent on members of our executive team; the loss of whose services may adversely impact the achievement of our objectives.
While we have entered into employment agreements with certain of our executive officers, any of them could leave our employment
at any time. We currently do not have “key person” insurance on any of our employees. The loss of the services of one
or more of our current employees might impede the achievement of our research, development and commercialization objectives.
Recruiting and
retaining other qualified employees, consultants and advisors for our business, including scientific and technical personnel, will
also be critical to our success. Competition for skilled personnel is intense and the turnover rate can be high. We may not be
able to attract and retain personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous technology companies for individuals
with similar skill sets. The inability to recruit, or loss of services of certain executives, key employees, consultants or advisors,
may impede the progress of our product development and commercialization objectives.
If we are
unable to manage expected growth in the scale and complexity of our operations, our performance may suffer.
If we are successful
in executing our business strategy, we will need to expand our managerial, operational, financial and other systems and resources
to manage our operations, continue our technology development activities and, in the longer term, scale a commercial infrastructure
to support our product roll out and end user projections. Future growth would impose significant added responsibilities on members
of management. It is likely that our management, finance, sales, marketing and engineering systems and facilities currently in
place may not be adequate to support this future growth. Our need to effectively manage our operations, growth and future product
commercialization requires that we continue to develop more robust business processes and improve our systems and procedures in
each of these areas and to attract and retain sufficient numbers of talented employees. We may be unable to successfully implement
these tasks on a larger scale and, accordingly, may not achieve our product development and growth goals.
Any cybersecurity-related
attack, significant data breach or disruption of the information technology systems or networks on which we rely could negatively
affect our business.
Our operations
rely on information technology systems for the use, storage and transmission of sensitive and confidential information with respect
to our customers, our customers’ consumers or other social media audiences, the third-party technology platforms of other
parties and our employees. A malicious cybersecurity-related attack, intrusion or disruption by either an internal or external
source or other breach of the systems on which our platform and products operate, and on which our employees conduct business,
could lead to unauthorized access to, use of, loss of or unauthorized disclosure of sensitive and confidential information, disruption
of our services, and resulting regulatory enforcement actions, litigation, indemnity obligations and other possible liabilities,
as well as negative publicity, which could damage our reputation, impair sales and harm our business. Cyberattacks and other malicious
internet-based activity continue to increase, and cloud-based platform providers of products and services have been and are expected
to continue to be targeted. In addition to traditional computer “hackers,” malicious code (such as viruses and worms),
phishing, employee theft or misuse and denial-of-service attacks, sophisticated nation-state and nation-state supported actors
now engage in attacks (including advanced persistent threat intrusions). Despite efforts to create security barriers to such threats,
it is not feasible, as a practical matter, for us to entirely mitigate these risks. If our security measures are compromised as
a result of third-party action, employee, customer, or user error, malfeasance, stolen or fraudulently obtained log-in credentials
or otherwise, our reputation would be damaged, our data, information or intellectual property, or those of our customers, may be
destroyed, stolen or otherwise compromised, our business may be harmed and we could incur significant liability. We have not always
been able in the past and may be unable in the future to anticipate or prevent techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to
or compromise of our systems because they change frequently and are generally not detected until after an incident has occurred.
We also cannot be certain that we will be able to prevent vulnerabilities in our software or address vulnerabilities that we may
become aware of in the future. Further, as we rely on third-party cloud infrastructure, we depend in part on third party security
measures to protect against unauthorized access, cyberattacks and the mishandling of data and information. Any cybersecurity event,
including any vulnerability in our software, cyberattack, intrusion or disruption, could result in significant increases in costs,
including costs for remediating the effects of such an event, lost revenue due to network downtime, and a decrease in customer
and user trust, increases in insurance premiums due to cybersecurity incidents, increased costs to address cybersecurity issues
and attempts to prevent future incidents, and harm to our business and our reputation because of any such incident.
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There can be no
assurance that any limitation of liability provisions in our technical and/or subscription agreements would be enforceable or adequate
or would otherwise protect us from any such liabilities or damages with respect to any claim related to a cybersecurity incident.
We also cannot be sure that our existing general liability insurance coverage and coverage for cyber liability or errors or omissions
will continue to be available on acceptable terms or will be available in sufficient amounts to cover one or more large claims
or that the insurer will not deny coverage as to any future claim. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against
us that exceed available insurance coverage, or the occurrence of changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases
or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements, would harm our business.
Many governments
have enacted laws requiring companies to provide notice of data security incidents involving certain types of personal data. In
addition, some of our customers require us to notify them of data security breaches. Security compromises experienced by our competitors,
by our customers or by us may lead to public disclosures, which may lead to widespread negative publicity. Any security compromise
in our industry, whether actual or perceived, could harm our reputation, erode confidence in the effectiveness of our security
measures, negatively affect our ability to attract new customers, encourage consumers to restrict the sharing of their personal
data with our customers or the social media networks, cause existing customers to elect not to renew their subscriptions or subject
us to third-party lawsuits, regulatory fines or other action or liability, which could harm our business.
Changing
regulations and increased awareness relating to privacy, information security and data protection could increase our costs, affect
or limit how we collect and use personal information and harm our brand.
We receive, store
and otherwise process personal information and other data from and about our customers and our employees. We also receive personal
information and other data about our customers’ consumers or other social media audiences. There are numerous federal, state,
local and international laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection, information security and the storing, sharing,
use, processing, transfer, disclosure, retention and protection of personal information and other content, the scope of which is
rapidly changing, subject to differing interpretations and may be inconsistent among countries and states, or conflict with other
rules. We are also subject to the terms of our privacy policies and contractual obligations to third parties related to privacy,
data protection and information security. We strive to comply with applicable laws, regulations, policies and other legal obligations
relating to privacy, data protection and information security. However, the regulatory framework for privacy, data protection and
information security worldwide is, and is likely to remain, uncertain for the foreseeable future, and it is possible that these
or other actual or alleged obligations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to
another and may conflict with other rules or our practices.
We also expect
that there will continue to be new laws, regulations and industry standards concerning privacy, data protection and information
security proposed and enacted in various jurisdictions. The United States, the European Union (“EU”), and other countries
in which we currently or may operate are increasingly adopting or revising privacy, information security and data protection laws
and regulations that could have a significant impact on our current and planned privacy, data protection and information security-related
practices, our collection, use, sharing, retention and safeguarding of customer, consumer and/or employee information, as well
as any other third-party information we receive, and some of our current or planned business activities. New and changing laws,
regulations, and industry standards concerning privacy, data protection and information security may also impact the social media
platforms and data providers we utilize, and thereby indirectly impact our business. In the United States, this includes increased
privacy-related regulations and enforcement activity at both the federal level and state levels that impose requirements on the
personal information we collect in the course of our business activities. In the EU, this includes the General Data Protection
Regulation (“GDPR”), which came into effect in May 2018. While we have taken measures to comply with applicable requirements
contained in the GDPR, we may need to continue to make adjustments as more clarification and guidance on the requirements of the
GDPR and how to comply with such requirements becomes available. Further, following a referendum in June 2016 in which voters in
the United Kingdom approved an exit from the EU, the United Kingdom government has initiated a process to leave the EU, known as
Brexit. Brexit has created uncertainty with regard to the regulation of data protection in the United Kingdom. In particular, although
the United Kingdom enacted a Data Protection Act in May 2018 that is designed to be consistent with the GDPR, uncertainty remains
regarding how data transfers to and from the United Kingdom will be regulated. Additionally, although we have self-certified under
the U.S.-EU and U.S.-Swiss Privacy Shield Frameworks with regard to our transfer of certain personal data from the EU and Switzerland
to the United States, some regulatory uncertainty remains surrounding the future of data transfers from the EU and Switzerland
to the United States, and we are monitoring regulatory developments in this area. California also recently enacted legislation,
the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, (the “CCPA”), that will afford consumers expanded privacy protections
and control over the collection, use and sharing of their personal information when it goes into effect on January 1, 2020. The
CCPA was recently amended, and it is possible that it will be amended again before it goes into effect. The potential effects of
this legislation are far-reaching and may require us to modify our data processing practices and policies and to incur substantial
costs and expenses in an effort to comply. For example, the CCPA gives California residents expanded rights to access and require
deletion of their personal information, opt out of certain personal information sharing and receive detailed information about
how their personal information is used. The CCPA also provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of
action for data breaches that may increase data breach litigation.
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With laws and
regulations such as the GDPR in the EU and the CCPA in the United States imposing new and relatively burdensome obligations, and
with substantial uncertainty over the interpretation and application of these and other laws and regulations, we may face challenges
in addressing their requirements and making necessary changes to our policies and practices, and may incur significant costs and
expenses in an effort to do so. For example, the increased consumer control over the sharing of their personal information afforded
by CCPA may affect our customers’ ability to share such personal information with us or may require us to delete or remove
consumer information from our records or data sets, which may create considerable costs for our organization. In addition, any
failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our privacy policies, our privacy-, data protection- or information security-related
obligations to customers, users or other third parties or any of our other legal obligations relating to privacy, data protection
or information security may result in governmental investigations or enforcement actions, litigation, claims or public statements
against us by consumer advocacy groups or others, and could result in significant liability, loss of relationships with key third
parties including social media networks and other data providers, or cause our users to lose trust in us, which could have an adverse
effect on our reputation and business. Furthermore, the costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, the laws, regulations
and policies that are applicable to the businesses of our users may limit the adoption and use of, and reduce the overall demand
for, our platform.
Additionally,
if the third parties we work with, such as vendors or developers, violate applicable laws or regulations or our policies, such
violations may also put our customers’ and their users’ and consumers’ or other social media audiences’
content at risk and could in turn have an adverse effect on our business. Any significant change to applicable laws, regulations
or industry practices regarding the collection, use, retention, security or disclosure of such content, or regarding the manner
in which the express or implied consent of such persons for the collection, use, retention or disclosure of such content is obtained,
could increase our costs and require us to modify our services and features, possibly in a material manner, which we may be unable
to complete and may limit our ability to store and process user data or develop new services and features. All of these implications
could adversely affect our revenue, results of operations, business and financial condition.
Our business
depends on a strong brand, and if we are not able to develop, maintain and enhance our brand, our business and operating results
may be harmed. Moreover, our brand and reputation could be harmed if we were to experience significant negative publicity.
We believe that
developing, maintaining and enhancing our brand is critical to achieving widespread acceptance of our platform and products, attracting
new customers, retaining existing customers, persuading existing customers to adopt additional products and use-cases, and hiring
and retaining our employees. We believe that the importance of our brand will increase as competition in our market further intensifies.
Successful promotion of our brand will depend on a number of factors, including the effectiveness of our marketing efforts, including
thought leadership, our ability to provide a high-quality, reliable and cost-effective platform, the perceived value of our platform
and products and our ability to provide quality customer success and support experience. Brand promotion activities require us
to make substantial expenditures. To date, we have made significant investments in the promotion of our brand. The promotion of
our brand, however, may not generate customer awareness or increase revenue, and any increase in revenue may not offset the expenses
we incur in building and maintaining our brand.
We operate in
a public-facing industry in which every aspect of our business is impacted by social media. Negative publicity, whether or not
justified, can spread rapidly through social media. To the extent that we are unable to respond timely and appropriately to negative
publicity, our reputation and brand could be harmed. Moreover, even if we are able to respond in a timely and appropriate manner,
we cannot predict how negative publicity may affect our reputation and business. We and our employees also use social media to
communicate externally. There is risk that the use of social media by us or our employees to communicate about our business may
give rise to liability or result in public exposure of personal information of our employees or customers, each of which could
affect our revenue, business, results of operations and financial condition.
Enacted
and future legislation may increase the difficulty and cost for us to commercialize our product candidates and may affect the prices
we may set.
Our business and
financial prospects could be affected by changes in regulations and policy in the United States and abroad. We operate in a highly
regulated industry and new laws or judicial decisions, or new interpretations of existing laws or decisions, related to copyright
or the personal use exemption for recording content and the amount of payment for content rights could negatively impact our business,
operations and financial condition.
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We may be
subject to litigation, disputes or regulatory inquiries for a variety of claims, which could adversely affect our results of operations,
harm our reputation or otherwise negatively affect our business.
From time to time,
we may be involved in litigation, disputes or regulatory inquiries that arise in the ordinary course of business. These may include
claims, lawsuits and proceedings involving labor, and employment, wage and hour, commercial, alleged securities law violations
or other investor claims, and other matters. We expect that the number and significance of these potential disputes may increase
as our business expands and our company grows larger. While our agreements with customers limit our liability for damages arising
from our platform, we cannot assure you that these contractual provisions will protect us from liability for damages in the event
we are sued. Although we carry general liability insurance coverage, our insurance may not cover all potential claims to which
we are exposed or may not be adequate to indemnify us for all liability that may be imposed. Any claims against us, whether meritorious
or not, could be time consuming, result in costly litigation, require significant amounts of management time, adversely affect
our reputation and result in the diversion of significant operational resources. Because litigation is inherently unpredictable,
we cannot assure you that the results of any of these actions will not have a material adverse effect on our revenue, business,
brand, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks related to our intellectual
property
Our business
is subject to the risks of earthquakes, fire, floods and other natural catastrophic events, and to interruption by man-made problems
such as power disruptions, computer viruses, cyberattack, data security breaches or terrorism.
A significant
natural disaster, such as an earthquake, fire or a flood, occurring where a business partner is located could adversely affect
our business, results of operations and financial condition. Further, if a natural disaster or man-made problem were to affect
our network service providers or Internet service providers, this could adversely affect the ability of our customers to use our
products and platform. In addition, natural disasters and acts of terrorism could cause disruptions in our or our customers’
businesses, national economies, or the world economy. We also rely on our network and third-party infrastructure and enterprise
applications and internal technology systems for our engineering, sales and marketing and operations activities. If a major disruption
is caused by a natural disaster or man-made problem, we may be unable to continue our operations and may endure system interruptions,
reputational harm, delays in our development activities, lengthy interruptions in service, breaches of data security and loss of
critical data, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Any failure to protect our intellectual
property rights could impair our business.
Our success and
ability to compete depend in part upon our intellectual property. We attempt to protect our intellectual property rights, both
in the United States and in foreign countries, through a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, as
well as licensing agreements and third-party nondisclosure and assignment agreements. However, the steps we take to protect our
intellectual property rights may be inadequate. Because of the differences in foreign trademark, patent and other laws concerning
proprietary rights, our intellectual property rights may not receive the same degree of protection in foreign countries as they
would in the United States. Our failure to obtain or maintain adequate protection of our intellectual property rights for any reason
could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We have applied
for patent protection in the United States relating to certain existing and proposed systems, methods and processes. We cannot
assure that any of our patent applications will result in an issued patent. Any patent(s) we own could be challenged, invalidated
or circumvented by others and may not be of sufficient scope or strength to provide us with any meaningful protection or commercial
advantage. Further, we cannot assure you that competitors will not infringe our patent(s), or that we will have adequate resources
to enforce our patent(s).
We also rely on
unpatented proprietary technology. It is possible that others will independently develop the same or similar technology or otherwise
obtain access to our unpatented technology. To protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information, we have entered into
confidentiality agreements with most of our employees and consultants. We cannot assure you that these agreements will provide
meaningful protection for our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use, misappropriation
or disclosure of such trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information. If we are unable to maintain the proprietary nature
of our technologies, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed.
We rely on our
trademarks, service marks, trade names, and brand names to distinguish our products and services from the products and services
of our competitors, and have registered or applied to register many of these trademarks in the United States and other jurisdictions.
We cannot assure you that our trademark applications will be approved. Third parties may also oppose our trademark applications,
or otherwise challenge our use of the trademarks, or use and register confusingly similar trademarks in these or other jurisdictions.
In the event that our trademarks are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our products and services, which could
result in loss of brand recognition, and could require us to devote resources advertising and marketing new brands. Further, we
cannot assure you that third parties will not infringe our trademarks, or that we will have adequate resources to enforce our trademarks.
17
Although we rely
on copyright laws to protect the works of authorship (including software) created by us, we do not register the copyrights in any
of our copyrightable works. Copyrights of U.S. origin must be registered before the copyright owner may bring an infringement suit
in the United States. Furthermore, if a copyright of U.S. origin is not registered within three months of publication of the underlying
work, the copyright owner is precluded from seeking statutory damages or attorney’s fees in any United States enforcement
action, and is limited to seeking actual damages and lost profits. Accordingly, if one of our unregistered copyrights of U.S. origin
is infringed by a third party, we will need to register the copyright before we can file an infringement suit in the United States,
and our remedies in any such infringement suit may be limited.
In order to protect
our intellectual property, we may be required to spend significant resources to monitor and protect our rights. Litigation brought
to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights could be costly, time-consuming and distracting to management, and could
result in the impairment or loss of portions of our intellectual property. Furthermore, our efforts to enforce our intellectual
property rights may be met with defenses, counterclaims and countersuits attacking the validity and enforceability of our intellectual
property rights. Our failure to secure, protect and enforce our intellectual property rights could adversely affect our brand and
adversely affect our business.
If third
parties claim that we infringe upon or otherwise violate their intellectual property rights, our business could be adversely affected.
We face the risk
of claims that we have infringed or otherwise violated third parties’ intellectual property rights. There is considerable
patent and other intellectual property development activity in our industry. Our future success depends in part on not infringing
upon or otherwise violating the intellectual property rights of others. From time to time, our competitors or other third parties
may claim that we are infringing upon or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights, and we may be found to be infringing
upon or otherwise violating such rights. We may be unaware of the intellectual property rights of others that may cover some or
all of our technology or conflict with our trademark rights. Any claims of intellectual property infringement or other intellectual
property violations, even those without merit, could:
·
be expensive and time consuming to defend;
·
cause us to cease making, licensing or using our platform or products that incorporate the challenged intellectual property;
·
require us to modify, redesign, reengineer or rebrand our platform or products, if feasible;
·
divert management’s attention and resources; or
·
require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements in order to obtain the right to use a third party’s intellectual property.
Any royalty or
licensing agreements, if required, may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. A successful claim of infringement
against us could result in our being required to pay significant damages, enter into costly settlement agreements, or prevent us
from offering our platform or products, any of which could have a negative impact on our operating profits and harm our future
prospects. We may also be obligated to indemnify our customers or business partners in connection with any such litigation and
to obtain licenses, modify our platform or products, or refund subscription fees, which could further exhaust our resources. Such
disputes could also disrupt our platform or products, adversely affecting our customer satisfaction and ability to attract customers.
Our use of “open
source” software could negatively affect our ability to offer and sell access to our platform and products and subject us
to possible litigation.
We use open source
software in our platform and products and expect to continue to use open source software in the future. There are uncertainties
regarding the proper interpretation of and compliance with open source licenses, and there is a risk that such licenses could be
construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to use such open source software, and
consequently to provide or distribute our platform and products. Although use of open source software has historically been free,
recently several open source providers have begun to charge license fees for use of their software. If our current open source
providers were to begin to charge for these licenses or increase their license fees significantly, this would increase our research
and development costs and have a negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition.
Additionally,
we may from time to time face claims from third parties claiming ownership of, or seeking to enforce the terms of, an open source
license, including by demanding release of source code for the open source software, derivative works or our proprietary source
code that was developed using or that is distributed with such open source software. These claims could also result in litigation
and could require us to make our proprietary software source code freely available, require us to devote additional research and
development resources to change our platform or incur additional costs and expenses, any of which could result in reputational
harm and would have a negative effect on our business and operating results. In addition, if the license terms for the open source
software we utilize change, we may be forced to reengineer our platform or incur additional costs to comply with the changed license
terms or to replace the affected open source software. Further, use of certain open source software can lead to greater risks than
use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or controls on the origin
of software or indemnification for third party infringement claims. Although we have implemented policies to regulate the use and
incorporation of open source software into our platform and products, we cannot be certain that we have not incorporated open source
software in our platform and products in a manner that is inconsistent with such policies.
18
A third party has alleged Trademark
Infringement
On September 24, 2020, we received Cease
and Desist Letter alleging that the ticker symbol AUDD infringes upon the claimant’s trademark “audD”. There
is no claim concerning our proprietary technology. The claimant was seeking a permanent injunction against infringement, damages,
and attorneys’ fees. The Company abandoned AUDD as a ticker symbol and is now using AUUD. While we intend to defend this
lawsuit vigorously and believe that we have valid defenses to these claims, there can be no assurance that a favorable outcome
will be obtained.
In addition, any
intellectual property litigation to which we become a party may require us to do one or more of the following:
·
cease selling, licensing, or using products or features that incorporate the intellectual property rights that we allegedly infringe, misappropriate, or violate;
·
make substantial payments for legal fees, settlement payments, or other costs or damages, including indemnification of third parties;
·
obtain a license or enter into a royalty agreement, either of which may not be available on reasonable terms or at all, in order to obtain the right to sell or use the relevant intellectual property; or
·
redesign the allegedly infringing products to avoid infringement, misappropriation, or violation, which could be costly, time-consuming, or impossible.
Intellectual property
litigation is typically complex, time consuming, and expensive to resolve and would divert the time and attention of our management
and technical personnel. It may also result in adverse publicity, which could harm our reputation and ability to attract or retain
customers. As we grow, we may experience a heightened risk of allegations of intellectual property infringement. An adverse result
in any litigation claims against us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Indemnity
provisions in various agreements potentially expose us to substantial liability for intellectual property infringement and other
losses.
Our agreements
with customers and other third parties may include indemnification or other provisions under which we agree to indemnify or otherwise
be liable to them for losses suffered or incurred as a result of claims of intellectual property infringement, damages caused by
us to property or persons, or other liabilities relating to or arising from our platform, products or other acts or omissions.
The term of these contractual provisions often survives termination or expiration of the applicable agreement. Large indemnity
payments or damage claims from contractual breach could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
From time to time, customers may require
us to indemnify or otherwise be liable to them for breach of confidentiality or failure to implement adequate security measures
with respect to their data stored, transmitted or processed by our employees, platform or products. Although we normally contractually
limit our liability with respect to such obligations, we may still incur substantial liability related to them. Any dispute with
a customer with respect to such obligations could have adverse effects on our relationship with that customer and other current
and prospective customers, reduce demand for our platform or products, and harm our revenue, business and operating results.
Risks related to ownership of our
common stock
Our executive
officers, directors, and principal stockholders will maintain the ability to control all matters submitted to our stockholders
for approval.
Following the sale by us of 3,991,818 common shares
in the IPO, our executive officers, directors and stockholders who owned more than 5% of our outstanding common stock before the IPO will,
in the aggregate, beneficially own common shares representing approximately 30.56% of our outstanding common stock following completion
of the IPO. As a result, if these stockholders were to act together, they would be most likely be able to control most or all matters
submitted to our stockholders for approval, as well as our management and affairs. For example, these persons, if they act together, they
would likely control the election of directors and approval of any merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets.
This concentration of voting power could delay or prevent an acquisition of our company on terms that other stockholders may desire or
result in management of our company with which our public stockholders disagree.
19
A significant
portion of our total outstanding shares are restricted from immediate resale but may be sold into the market in the near future,
which could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is performing well.
Sales of a
substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could occur at any time, subject to certain
restrictions described below. These sales, or the perception in the market that holders of a large number of shares intend to
sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock. After the recent IPO, we have 11,291,829 shares of common
stock issued and outstanding. This includes the 3,991,818 shares, as part of the Units, that we sold in the IPO, the
1,568,182 shares that were registered for resale by certain selling shareholders, which may be resold in the public market
immediately without restriction, unless purchased by our affiliates, but does not include 4,590,590 shares issuable upon
the exercise of the Series A Warrants, 341,655 common shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of common share purchase
options and 358,334 common shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of common share purchase warrants. Following the
IPO, 5,731,829 shares are restricted as a result of securities laws or lock-up agreements but may be able to be sold
commencing 180 days after the IPO.
The issuance
of warrants in the IPO will cause existing stockholders to experience additional dilution if those warrants are exercised.
In addition to the shares
of common stock we issued in the IPO, we also issued 4,590,590 Series A Warrants. The Series A Warrants issued in the IPO are exercisable
for an equal number of shares of our common stock. If the holders of the Series A Warrants exercise their warrants, existing stockholders
will experience dilution at the time they exercise their warrants.
We also offered a warrant
to the representative of the IPO underwriters that is exercisable for 319,345 shares (the “Representative’s Warrant”).
If the representative of the underwriters exercises these warrants in the future, existing stockholders will experience additional dilution.
The price
of our common stock may be volatile and fluctuate substantially, which could result in substantial losses for investors in our securities.
Our common stock price
and Series A Warrant price are likely to be volatile. The stock market in general and the market for technology companies has experienced
extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility,
you may not be able to sell your common stock at or above the IPO price. The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many
factors, including:
·
the success of competitive products or technologies;
·
regulatory or legal developments in the United States,
·
the recruitment or departure of key personnel;
·
the level of expenses related to any of our product candidates, and our commercialization efforts;
·
actual or anticipated changes in our development timelines;
·
our ability to raise additional capital;
·
disputes or other developments relating to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters and our ability to obtain patent protection for our product candidates;
·
significant lawsuits, including patent or stockholder litigation;
·
variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;
·
general economic, industry and market conditions; and
·
the other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section.
If our quarterly
operating results fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the price of our common stock could decline
substantially. Furthermore, any quarterly fluctuations in our operating results may, in turn, cause the price of our stock to fluctuate
substantially. We believe that quarterly comparisons of our financial results are not necessarily meaningful and should not be
relied upon as an indication of our future performance.
20
In the past, following
periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class-action litigation often has been instituted
against that company. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could cause us to incur substantial costs to defend such claims
and divert management’s attention and resources.
If securities
analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they publish negative evaluations of our stock, the price
of our stock could decline.
The trading market
for our common stock will rely, in part, on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our
business. We do not currently have, and may never obtain, research coverage by industry or financial analysts. If no, or few, analysts
commence coverage of us, the trading price of our stock would likely decrease. Even if we do obtain analyst coverage, if one or
more of the analysts covering our business downgrade their evaluations of our stock, the price of our stock could decline. If one
or more of these analysts cease to cover our stock, we could lose visibility in the market for our stock, which in turn could cause
our stock price to decline.
An active
trading market for our common stock may not develop.
Prior to the IPO, there
was no public market for our common stock. The IPO price for our common stock was determined through negotiations with the underwriters.
Although we have received approval for the trading of our common stock and Series A Warrants on the Nasdaq Capital Market, an active trading
market for our shares may never develop or be sustained following this IPO. If an active market for our common stock does not develop,
it may be difficult to sell our securities without depressing the market price for the shares, or at all.
If we do
not keep a registration statement updated for the term of the warrants, the holders will not be able to exercise the warrants.
While we intend
to keep a registration statement/prospectus updated until February 16, 2026 (five years from the effective date of the Registration
Statement), we may not be able to do so, nor will we necessarily be providing adequate public financial information to allow the
holders to sell the common stock underlying the Series A Warrants. Accordingly, investors might not be able to exercise their Series
A Warrants and sell the underlying common stock at a time when it is beneficial to do so.
In order to keep
a prospectus effective, we will be required to, among other actions, file post-effective amendments to the registration statement
containing current financial and other information. Each such registration statement will have to be filed with, and declared effective
by the SEC. There can be no assurance that such post-effective amendments will be declared effective.
We are an
“emerging growth company,” and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies may make
our common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an “emerging
growth company” (“EGC”), as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an EGC until the earliest of: (i) the
last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1.07 billion or more; (ii) the last day
of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the completion of our IPO; (iii) the date on which we have
issued more than $1 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years; and (iv) the date on which we are deemed
to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the SEC. For so long as we remain an EGC, we are permitted and intend to rely
on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.
These exemptions include:
·
not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404;
·
not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements;
·
being permitted to present only two years of audited financial statements, in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements, and only two years of related “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this prospectus;
·
reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements; and
·
an exemption from the requirement to seek nonbinding advisory votes on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
21
We may choose to take advantage of some, but not all, of the available exemptions. We have taken advantage of reduced reporting
burdens in this Annual Report. In particular, we have not included all of the executive compensation information that would be
required if we were not an EGC. We cannot predict whether investors will find our common stock less attractive if we rely on certain
or all of these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading
market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.
We will
incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time
to new compliance initiatives.
As a public company,
and particularly after we are no longer an EGC, we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not
incur as a private company.
In addition, the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act and rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and Nasdaq have imposed various requirements on public companies,
including establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. Our
management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these
rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming
and costly. For example, we expect that these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain
director and officer liability insurance.
Failure
to establish and maintain effective internal controls in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material
adverse effect on our business and stock price.
We are not currently
required to comply with the rules of the SEC implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and therefore are not required
to make a formal assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for that purpose. Upon becoming
a publicly traded company, we will be required to comply with the SEC’s rules implementing Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act, which will require management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an
annual management report on the effectiveness of controls over financial reporting. Though we will be required to disclose changes
made in our internal controls and procedures on a quarterly basis, we will not be required to make our first annual assessment
of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until the year following our first annual report required
to be filed with the SEC. Our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness
of our internal control over financial reporting until the later of the year following our first annual report required to be filed
with the SEC or the date we are no longer an emerging growth company and are an accelerated or large accelerated filer.
To comply with
the requirements of being a public company, we may need to undertake various actions, such as implementing new internal controls
and procedures and hiring additional accounting or internal audit staff. In this regard, we will need to continue to dedicate internal
resources, engage outside consultants and adopt a detailed work plan to assess and document the adequacy of internal control over
financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented
and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. In addition, we have
identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and may identify further such material weaknesses,
either of which we may not be able to remediate in time to meet the applicable deadline imposed upon us for compliance with the
requirements of Section 404.
If unable to comply
with the requirements of Section 404 to address and remediate in a timely manner material weaknesses identified in our internal
control over financial reporting, or to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent
registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial
reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our
common stock could be negatively affected, and we could become subject to investigations by the Nasdaq Capital Market on which
our securities are listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources.
Pursuant to Section 404,
we will be required to furnish a report by our management on our internal control over financial reporting, including, once we
are no longer an EGC, an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public
accounting firm. To achieve compliance with Section 404 within the prescribed period, we will be engaged in a process to document
and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting, which is both costly and challenging. Despite our efforts, there is
a risk that neither we nor our independent registered public accounting firm will be able to conclude within the prescribed timeframe
that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404. This could result in an adverse reaction
in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.
22
Provisions
in our corporate charter and our bylaws and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us, which may be beneficial to our
stockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
We are a Delaware
corporation. The anti-takeover provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) may discourage, delay
or prevent a change in control by prohibiting us from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period
of three years after the person becomes an interested stockholder, even if a change in control would be beneficial to our existing
stockholders.
Provisions in
our corporate charter and our bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of us that
stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which you might otherwise receive a premium for your shares. These
provisions also could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock, thereby
depressing the market price of our common stock. In addition, because our board of directors is responsible for appointing the
members of our management team, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove
our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors. Among other things,
these provisions:
·
allow the authorized number of our directors to be changed only by resolution of our board of directors;
·
limit the manner in which stockholders can remove directors from the board;
·
establish advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals that can be acted on at stockholder meetings and nominations to our board of directors;
·
require that stockholder actions must be effected at a duly called stockholder meeting and prohibit actions by our stockholders by written consent;
·
limit who may call stockholder meetings; and
·
authorize our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval, which could be used to institute a stockholder rights plan, or so-called “poison pill,” that would work to dilute the stock ownership of a potential hostile acquirer, effectively preventing acquisitions that have not been approved by our board of directors.
Moreover, because
we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL, which prohibits a person who
owns in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us for a period of three years after the date
of the transaction in which the person acquired in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock, unless the merger or combination
is approved in a prescribed manner.
Because
we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, will
be your sole source of gain.
We have never
declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all of our future earnings, if any, to finance
the growth and development of our business. In addition, the terms of any future debt agreements may preclude us from paying dividends.
As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be your sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.
23
Our charter provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated
by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for such disputes with
us or our directors, officers or employees.
Our certificate of incorporation
provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings:
any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company, any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed
by any director, officer or other employee of the Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders, any action asserting a
claim against the Company arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or the Company’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws,
or any action asserting a claim against the Company governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Our certificate of incorporation also
provides that unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United
States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as amended. Despite the fact that the certificate of incorporation provides
for these exclusive forum provisions to be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Section 27 of the Exchange Act,
creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules
and regulations thereunder and Section 22 of the Securities Act , creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all
suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, this
provision of the Company’s certificate of incorporation would not apply to claims brought to enforce a duty or liability created
by the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. However, there is uncertainty as to
whether a Delaware court would enforce the exclusive Federal forum provisions for Securities Act claims and that investors cannot waive
compliance with the federal securities laws and rules and regulations thereunder.
The choice of
forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes
with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers
and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provisions contained in our charter to be inapplicable
or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions.
Item 1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2.
Properties
We own no properties. Our current corporate headquarters is based in a leased office in Boulder,
Colorado. Our current lease expires on April 30, 2021; however, we believe that we will find suitable space elsewhere in the area
on acceptable terms.