Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
RISK FACTORS
RISKS RELATED
TO JERRICK MEDIA’S BUSINESS
doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern may hinder our ability
to obtain future financing.
As reflected in the accompanying audited
consolidated financial statements, the Company had a net loss of approximately $11.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2018,
and a working capital deficit and accumulated deficit of approximately $2.3 million and approximately $36.5 million respectively,
at December 31, 2018. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern through
April 1, 2020.
The ability of the Company to continue
its operations is dependent on management’s plans, which include the raising of capital through debt and/or equity markets
with some additional funding from other traditional financing sources, including term notes, until such time that funds provided
by operations are sufficient to fund working capital requirements. The Company may need to incur liabilities with certain related
parties to sustain the Company’s existence.
The Company will require additional funding
to finance the growth of its current and expected future operations as well as to achieve its strategic objectives. The Company
believes its current available cash, along with anticipated revenues, may be insufficient to meet its cash needs for the near
future. There can be no assurance that financing will be available in amounts or terms acceptable to the Company, if at all.
In response to these problems, management
has taken the following actions:
●
seeking additional third party debt and/or equity financing;
●
execute a plan to recapitalize the company;
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●
continue with the implementation of the business plan;
●
generate new sales from international customers; and
●
allocate sufficient resources to continue with advertising and
marketing efforts.
Based on the report from out
independent auditors dated April 1, 2019, management stated that our financial statements for the period
ended December 31, 2018, were prepared assuming that we would continue as a going concern, which contemplates the realization
of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The accompanying financial statements do not
include any adjustments relating to the recovery of the recorded assets or the classification of the liabilities that might
be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.
We are not profitable
and may never be profitable.
Since inception through the present, we
have been dependent on raising capital to support our working capital needs. During this same period, we have recorded net accumulated
losses and are yet to achieve profitability. Our ability to achieve profitability depends upon many factors, including our ability
to develop and commercialize our websites. There can be no assurance that we will ever achieve any significant revenues or profitable
operations.
Our
operating expenses exceed our revenues and will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
We are in an early stage of our development
and we have not generated sufficient revenues to offset our operating expenses. Our operating expenses will likely continue to
exceed our operating income for the foreseeable future, until such time as we are able to monetize our brands and generate substantial
revenues, particularly as we undertake payment of the increased costs of operating as a public company.
Our
Operating subsidiary has a limited operating history.
Our operating subsidiary has been in existence
for approximately two years. Our limited operating history means that there is a high degree of uncertainty in our ability to:
(i) develop and commercialize our products; (ii) achieve market acceptance; or (iii) respond to competition. Additionally, even
if we do implement our business plan, we may not be successful. No assurances can be given as to exactly when, if at all, we will
be able to recognize profits high enough to sustain our business. We face all the risks inherent in a new business, including
the expenses, difficulties, complications, and delays frequently encountered in connection with conducting operations, including
capital requirements. Given our limited operating history, we may be unable to effectively implement our business plan, which
would result in a loss of your investment.
WE
have assumed A significant amount of debt and our operations may not be able to generate sufficient cash flows to meet our debt
obligations, which could reduce our financial flexibility and adversely impact our operations.
Currently the Company has considerable
convertible notes, related party notes and lines of credit outstanding with various debtors. Our ability to make payments on such
indebtedness will depend on our ability to generate cash flow. The Company may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations
to enable us to repay this indebtedness and to fund other liquidity needs, including capital expenditure requirements. Such indebtedness
could affect our operations in several ways, including the following:
●
a significant portion of our cash flows could be required to
be used to service such indebtedness;
●
a high level of debt could increase our vulnerability to general
adverse economic and industry conditions;
●
any covenants contained in the agreements governing such outstanding
indebtedness could limit our ability to borrow additional funds, dispose of assets, pay dividends and make certain investments;
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●
a high level of debt may place us at a competitive disadvantage
compared to our competitors that are less leveraged and, therefore, our competitors may be able to take advantage of opportunities
that our indebtedness may prevent us from pursuing; and
●
debt covenants to which we may agree may affect our flexibility
in planning for, and reacting to, changes in the economy and in our industry.
A high level of indebtedness increases
the risk that we may default on our debt obligations. We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flows to pay the principal
or interest on our debt. If we cannot service or refinance our indebtedness, we may have to take actions such as selling significant
assets, seeking additional equity financing (which will result in additional dilution to stockholders) or reducing or delaying
capital expenditures, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial condition. If we do not
have sufficient funds and are otherwise unable to arrange financing, our assets may be foreclosed upon which could have a material
adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We
will need additional capital, which may be difficult to raise as a result of our limited operating history or any number of other
reasons.
We expect that we will have adequate financing
for the next 6 months. However, in the event that we exceed our expected growth, we would need to raise additional capital. There
is no assurance that additional equity or debt financing will be available to us when needed, on acceptable terms or even at all.
Our limited operating history makes investor evaluation and an estimation of our future performance substantially more difficult.
As a result, investors may be unwilling to invest in us or such investment may be on terms or conditions which are not acceptable.
In the event that we are not able to secure financing, we may have to scale back our growth plans or cease operations.
We
depend on our key management personnel and the loss of their services could adversely affect our business.
We place substantial reliance upon the
efforts and abilities of Jeremy Frommer, our Chief Executive Officer, and our other executive officers and directors. Though no
individual is indispensable, the loss of the services of these executive officers could have a material adverse effect on our
business, operations, revenues or prospects. We do not currently maintain key man life insurance on the lives of these individuals.
We
have not adopted various corporate governance measures, and as a result stockholders may have limited protections against interested
director transactions, conflicts of interest and similar matters.
Recent Federal legislation, including
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, has resulted in the adoption of various corporate governance measures designed to promote the
integrity of corporate management and the securities markets. Because our securities are not yet listed on a national securities
exchange, we are not required to adopt these corporate governance measures and have not done so voluntarily in order to avoid
incurring the additional costs associated with such measures. Among these measures is the establishment of independent committees
of the Board of Directors. However, to the extent a public market develops for our securities, such legislation will require us
to make changes to our current corporate governance practices. Those changes may be costly and time-consuming. Furthermore, the
absence of the governance measures referred to above with respect to our Company may leave our shareholders with more limited
protection in connection with interested director transactions, conflicts of interest and similar matters.
We
face intense competition. If we do not provide digital content that is useful to users, we may not remain competitive, and our
potential revenues and operating results could be adversely affected.
Our business is rapidly evolving and intensely
competitive, and is subject to changing technologies, shifting user needs, and frequent introductions of new products and services.
Our ability to compete successfully depends heavily on providing digital content that is useful and enjoyable for our users and
delivering our content through innovative technologies in the marketplace.
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We have many competitors in the digital
content creation industry and media companies. Our current and potential competitors range from large and established companies
to emerging start-ups. Established companies have longer operating histories and more established relationships with customers
and users, and they can use their experience and resources in ways that could affect our competitive position, including by making
acquisitions, investing aggressively in research and development, aggressively initiating intellectual property claims (whether
or not meritorious) and competing aggressively for advertisers and websites. Emerging start-ups may be able to innovate and provide
products and services faster than we can.
Additionally, our operating results would
suffer if our digital content is not appropriately timed with market opportunities, or if our digital content is not effectively
brought to market. As technology continues to develop, our competitors may be able to offer user experiences that are, or that
are seen to be, substantially similar to or better than ours. This may force us to compete in different ways and expend significant
resources in order to remain competitive. If our competitors are more successful than we are in developing compelling content
or in attracting and retaining users and advertisers, our revenues and operating results could be adversely affected.
We
face competition from traditional media companies, and we may not be included in the advertising budgets of large advertisers,
which could harm our operating results.
In addition to internet companies, we
face competition from companies that offer traditional media advertising opportunities. Most large advertisers have set advertising
budgets, a very small portion of which is allocated to Internet advertising. We expect that large advertisers will continue to
focus most of their advertising efforts on traditional media. If we fail to convince these companies to spend a portion of their
advertising budgets with us, or if our existing advertisers reduce the amount they spend on our programs, our operating results
would be harmed.
WE FACE RISKS ARISING FROM ACQUISITIONS.
We may pursue strategic acquisitions in
the future. Risks in acquisition transactions include difficulties in the integration of acquired businesses into our operations
and control environment, difficulties in assimilating and retaining employees and intermediaries, difficulties in retaining the
existing clients of the acquired entities, assumed or unforeseen liabilities that arise in connection with the acquired businesses,
the failure of counterparties to satisfy any obligations to indemnify us against liabilities arising from the acquired businesses,
and unfavorable market conditions that could negatively impact our growth expectations for the acquired businesses. Fully integrating
an acquired company or business into our operations may take a significant amount of time. We cannot assure you that we will be
successful in overcoming these risks or any other problems encountered with acquisitions and other strategic transactions. These
risks may prevent us from realizing the expected benefits from acquisitions and could result in the failure to realize the full
economic value of a strategic transaction or the impairment of goodwill and/or intangible assets recognized at the time of an
acquisition. These risks could be heightened if we complete a large acquisition or multiple acquisitions within a short period
of time.
Our
business depends on strong brands and relationships, and if we are not able to maintain our relationships and enhance our brands,
our ability to expand our base of users, advertisers and affiliates will be impaired and our business and operating results could
be harmed.
Maintaining and enhancing our brands’
profiles may require us to make substantial investments and these investments may not be successful. If we fail to promote and
maintain the brands’ profiles, or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business and operating results could
be harmed. We anticipate that, as our market becomes increasingly competitive, maintaining and enhancing our brands’ profiles
may become increasingly difficult and expensive. Maintaining and enhancing our brands will depend largely on our ability
to be a technology leader and to continue to provide attractive products and services, which we may not do successfully.
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IF WE FAIL TO RETAIN EXISTING USERS
OR ADD NEW USERS, OR IF OUR USERS DECREASE THEIR LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR PRODUCTS, OUR REVENUE, FINANCIAL RESULTS, AND BUSINESS
MAY BE SIGNIFICANTLY HARMED.
The size of our user base and our user’s
level of engagement are critical to our success. Our financial performance will be significantly determined by our success in
adding, retaining, and engaging active users of our products, particularly Vocal. We anticipate that our active user growth rate
will generally decline over time as the size of our active user base increases, and it is possible that the size of our active
user base may fluctuate or decline in one or more markets, particularly in markets where we have achieved higher penetration rates.
If people do not perceive Vocal to be useful, reliable, and trustworthy, we may not be able to attract or retain users or otherwise
maintain or increase the frequency and duration of their engagement. A number of other content management systems and publishing
platforms that achieved early popularity have since seen their active user bases or levels of engagement decline, in some cases
precipitously. There is no guarantee that we will not experience a similar erosion of our active user base or engagement levels.
Our user engagement patterns have changed over time, and user engagement can be difficult to measure, particularly as we introduce
new and different products and services. Any number of factors could potentially negatively affect user retention, growth, and
engagement, including if:
● users
increasingly engage with other competitive products or services;
● we
fail to introduce new features, products or services that users find engaging or if we
introduce new products or services, or make changes to existing products and services,
that are not favorably received;
● user
behavior on any of our products changes, including decreases in the quality and frequency
of content shared on our products and services;
● there
are decreases in user sentiment due to questions about the quality or usefulness of our
products or our user data practices, or concerns related to privacy and sharing, safety,
security, well-being, or other factors;
● we
are unable to manage and prioritize information to ensure users are presented with content
that is appropriate, interesting, useful, and relevant to them;
● we
are unable to obtain or attract engaging third-party content;
● users
adopt new technologies where our products may be displaced in favor of other products
or services, or may not be featured or otherwise available;
● there
are changes mandated by legislation, regulatory authorities, or litigation that adversely
affect our products or users;
● technical
or other problems prevent us from delivering our products in a rapid and reliable manner
or otherwise affect the user experience, such as security breaches or failure to prevent
or limit spam or similar content;
● we
adopt terms, policies, or procedures related to areas such as sharing, content, user
data, or advertising that are perceived negatively by our users or the general public;
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● we
elect to focus our product decisions on longer-term initiatives that do not prioritize
near-term user growth and engagement;
● we
make changes in how we promote different products and services across our family of apps;
● initiatives
designed to attract and retain users and engagement are unsuccessful or discontinued,
whether as a result of actions by us, third parties, or otherwise;
● we
fail to provide adequate customer service to users, marketers, developers, or other partners;
● we,
developers whose products are integrated with our products, or other partners and companies
in our industry are the subject of adverse media reports or other negative publicity,
including as a result of our or their user data practices; or
● our
current or future products, such as our development tools and application programming
interfaces that enable developers to build, grow, and monetize mobile and web applications,
reduce user activity on our products by making it easier for our users to interact and
share on third-party mobile and web applications.
If we are unable to maintain or increase
our user base and user engagement, our revenue and financial results may be adversely affected. Any decrease in user retention,
growth, or engagement could render our products less attractive to users, marketers, and developers, which is likely to have a
material and adverse impact on our revenue, business, financial condition, and results of operations. If our active user growth
rate continues to slow, we will become increasingly dependent on our ability to maintain or increase levels of user engagement
and monetization in order to drive revenue growth.
IF WE ARE UNABLE TO PROTECT OUR
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, THE VALUE OF OUR BRANDS AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS MAY BE DIMINISHED, AND OUR BUSINESS MAY BE ADVERSELY
AFFECTED.
We rely and expect to continue to rely
on a combination of confidentiality, assignment, and license agreements with our employees, consultants, and third parties with
whom we have relationships, as well as trademark, copyright, patent, trade secret, and domain name protection laws, to protect
our proprietary rights. In the United States and internationally, we have filed various applications for protection of certain
aspects of our intellectual property, and we currently hold a number of registered trademarks and issued patents in multiple jurisdictions
and have acquired patents and patent applications from third parties. Third parties may knowingly or unknowingly infringe
our proprietary rights, third parties may challenge proprietary rights held by us, and pending and future trademark and patent
applications may not be approved. In addition, effective intellectual property protection may not be available in every country
in which we operate or intend to operate our business. In any or all of these cases, we may be required to expend significant
time and expense in order to prevent infringement or to enforce our rights. Although we have generally taken measures to protect
our proprietary rights, there can be no assurance that others will not offer products or concepts that are substantially similar
to ours and compete with our business. In addition, we regularly contribute software source code under open source licenses and
have made other technology we developed available under other open licenses, and we include open source software in our products.
If the protection of our proprietary rights is inadequate to prevent unauthorized use or appropriation by third parties, the value
of our brands and other intangible assets may be diminished and competitors may be able to more effectively mimic our products,
services, and methods of operations. Any of these events could have an adverse effect on our business and financial results.
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WE ARE SUBJECT TO PAYMENT PROCESSING
RISK.
We accept payments using a variety of
different payment methods, including credit and debit cards and direct debit. We rely on internal systems as well as those of
third parties to process payments. Acceptance and processing of these payment methods are subject to certain certifications, rules
and regulations. To the extent there are disruptions in our or third-party payment processing systems, material changes
in the payment ecosystem, failure to recertify and/or changes to rules or regulations concerning payment processing, we could
be subject to fines and/or civil liability, or lose our ability to accept credit and debit card payments, which would harm our
reputation and adversely impact our results of operations.
WE ARE SUBJECT TO RISK AS IT RELATES
TO SOFTWARE THAT WE LICENSE FROM THIRD PARTIES.
We license software from third
parties, much of which is integral to our systems and our business. The licenses are generally terminable if we breach our obligations
under the license agreements. If any of these relationships were terminated or if any of these parties were to cease doing business
or cease to support the applications we currently utilize, we may be forced to spend significant time and money to replace the
licensed software.
FAILURES OR REDUCED ACCESSIBILITY
OF THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE ON WHICH WE RELY COULD IMPAIR THE AVAILABILITY OF OUR PLATFORM AND APPLICATIONS AND ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR
BUSINESS.
We license software from third
parties for integration into our Vocal platform, including open source software. These licenses might not continue to be available
to us on acceptable terms, or at all. While we are not substantially dependent upon any third-party software, the loss of the
right to use all or a significant portion of our third-party software required for the development, maintenance and delivery of
our applications could result in delays in the provision of our applications until we develop or identify, obtain and integrate
equivalent technology, which could harm our business.
Any errors or defects in the hardware
or software we use could result in errors, interruptions, cyber incidents or a failure of our applications. Any significant interruption
in the availability of all or a significant portion of such software could have an adverse impact on our business unless and until
we can replace the functionality provided by these applications at a similar cost. Furthermore, this software may not be available
on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. The loss of the right to use all or a significant portion of this software could
limit access to our platform and applications. Additionally, we rely upon third parties’ abilities to enhance their current
applications, develop new applications on a timely and cost-effective basis and respond to emerging industry standards and other
technological changes. We may be unable to effect changes to such third-party technologies, which may prevent us from rapidly
responding to evolving customer requirements. We also may be unable to replace the functionality provided by the third-party software
currently offered in conjunction with our applications in the event that such software becomes obsolete or incompatible with future
versions of our platform and applications or is otherwise not adequately maintained or updated.
We
need to manage growth in operations to maximize our potential growth and achieve our expected revenues and our failure to manage
growth will cause a disruption of our operations, resulting in the failure to generate revenue.
In order to maximize potential growth
in our current and potential markets, we believe that we must expand our marketing operations. This expansion will place a significant
strain on our management and our operational, accounting, and information systems. We expect that we will need to continue to
improve our financial controls, operating procedures, and management information systems. We will also need to effectively train,
motivate, and manage our employees. Our failure to manage our growth could disrupt our operations and ultimately prevent us from
generating the revenues we expect.
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In order to achieve the general strategies
of our company we need to maintain and search for hard-working employees who have innovative initiatives, while at the same time,
keep a close eye on any and all expanding opportunities in our marketplace.
We
plan to generate a significant portion of our revenues from advertising and affiliate sales relationships, and a reduction in
spending by or loss of advertisers and general decrease in online spending could adversely harm our business.
We plan to generate a substantial portion
of our revenues from advertisers. Our advertisers may be able to terminate prospective contracts with us at any time. Advertisers
will not continue to do business with us if their investment in advertising with us does not generate sales leads, and ultimately
customers, or if we do not deliver their advertisements in an appropriate and effective manner. If we are unable to remain competitive
and provide value to our advertisers, they may stop placing ads with us, which would adversely affect our revenues and business.
In addition, expenditures by advertisers tend to be cyclical, reflecting overall economic conditions and budgeting and buying
patterns. Adverse macroeconomic conditions can also have a material negative impact on the demand for advertising and cause our
advertisers to reduce the amounts they spend on advertising, which could adversely affect our revenues and business.
Security
breaches could harm our business.
Security breaches have become more prevalent
in the technology industry. We believe that we take reasonable steps to protect the security, integrity and confidentiality of
the information we collect, use, store and disclose, but there is no guarantee that inadvertent (e.g., software bugs or other
technical malfunctions, employee error or malfeasance, or other factors) or unauthorized data access or use will not occur despite
our efforts. Although we have not experienced any material security breaches to date, we may in the future experience attempts
to disable our systems or to breach the security of our systems. Techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to personal information,
confidential information and/or the systems on which such information are stored and/or to sabotage systems change frequently
and generally are not recognized until launched against a target. As a result, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques
or to implement adequate preventative measures.
If an actual or perceived security breach
occurs, the market perception of our security measures could be harmed and we could lose sales and customers and/or suffer other
negative consequences to our business. A security breach could adversely affect the digital content experience and cause the loss
or corruption of data, which could harm our business, financial condition and operating results. Any failure to maintain the security
of our infrastructure could result in loss of personal information and/or other confidential information, damage to our reputation
and customer relationships, early termination of our contracts and other business losses, indemnification of our customers, financial
penalties, litigation, regulatory investigations and other significant liabilities. In the event of a major third-party security
incident, we may incur losses in excess of their insurance coverage.
Moreover, if a high profile security breach
occurs with respect to us or another digital entertainment company, our customers and potential customers may lose trust in the
security of our business model generally, which could adversely impact our ability to retain existing customers or attract new
ones.
The
laws and regulations concerning data privacy and data security are continually evolving; our or our platform providers’
actual or perceived failure to comply with these laws and regulations could harm our business.
Customers view our content online, using
third-party platforms and networks and on mobile devices. We collect and store significant amounts of information about our customers—both
personally identifying and non-personally identifying information. We are subject to laws from a variety of jurisdictions regarding
privacy and the protection of this player information. For example, the European Union (EU) has traditionally taken a broader
view than the United States and certain other jurisdictions as to what is considered personal information and has imposed greater
obligations under data privacy regulations. The U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) also regulates the
collection, use and disclosure of personal information from children under 13 years of age. While none of our content is directed
at children under 13 years of age, if COPPA were to apply to us, failure to comply with COPPA may increase our costs, subject
us to expensive and distracting government investigations and could result in substantial fines.
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Data privacy protection laws are rapidly
changing and likely will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The U.S. government, including the Federal Trade Commission
and the Department of Commerce, is continuing to review the need for greater regulation over the collection of personal information
and information about consumer behavior on the Internet and on mobile devices and the EU has proposed reforms to its existing
data protection legal framework. Various government and consumer agencies worldwide have also called for new regulation and changes
in industry practices. In addition, in some cases, we are dependent upon our platform providers to solicit, collect and provide
us with information regarding our players that is necessary for compliance with these various types of regulations.
Customer interaction with our content
is subject to our privacy policy and terms of service. If we fail to comply with our posted privacy policy or terms of service
or if we fail to comply with existing privacy-related or data protection laws and regulations, it could result in proceedings
or litigation against us by governmental authorities or others, which could result in fines or judgments against us, damage our
reputation, impact our financial condition and harm our business. If regulators, the media or consumers raise any concerns about
our privacy and data protection or consumer protection practices, even if unfounded, this could also result in fines or judgments
against us, damage our reputation, and negatively impact our financial condition and damage our business.
In the area of information security and
data protection, many jurisdictions have passed laws requiring notification when there is a security breach for personal data
or requiring the adoption of minimum information security standards that are often vaguely defined and difficult to implement.
Our security measures and standards may not be sufficient to protect personal information and we cannot guarantee that our security
measures will prevent security breaches. A security breach that compromises personal information could harm our reputation and
result in a loss of confidence in our products and ultimately in a loss of customers, which could adversely affect our business
and impact our financial condition. This could also subject us to liability under applicable security breach-related laws and
regulations and could result in additional compliance costs, costs related to regulatory inquiries and investigations, and an
inability to conduct our business.
CHANGES TO FEDERAL, STATE OR INTERNATIONAL
LAWS OR REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO OUR COMPANY COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS.
Our business is subject to a variety of
federal, state and international laws and regulations, including those with respect privacy, data, and other laws. These laws
and regulations, and the interpretation or application of these laws and regulations, could change. In addition, new laws or regulations
affecting our business could be enacted. These laws and regulations are frequently costly to comply with and may divert a significant
portion of management’s attention. If we fail to comply with these applicable laws or regulations, we could be subject to
significant liabilities which could adversely affect our business.
If
any of our relationships with internet search websites terminate, if such websites’ methodologies are modified or if we
are outbid by competitors, traffic to our websites could decline.
We depend in part on various internet
search websites, such as Google.com, Bing.com, Yahoo.com and other websites to direct a significant amount of traffic to our websites.
Search websites typically provide two types of search results, algorithmic and purchased listings. Algorithmic listings generally
are determined and displayed as a result of a set of unpublished formulas designed by search engine companies in their discretion.
Purchased listings generally are displayed if particular word searches are performed on a search engine. We rely on both algorithmic
and purchased search results, as well as advertising on other internet websites, to direct a substantial share of visitors to
our websites and to direct traffic to the advertiser customers we serve. If these internet search websites modify or terminate
their relationship with us or we are outbid by our competitors for purchased listings, meaning that our competitors pay a higher
price to be listed above us in a list of search results, traffic to our websites could decline. Such a decline in traffic could
affect our ability to generate advertising revenue and could reduce the desirability of advertising on our websites.
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Our
business involves risks of liability claims arising from our media content, which could adversely affect our ability to generate
revenue and could increase our operating expenses.
As a distributor of media content, we
face potential liability for defamation, invasion of privacy, negligence, copyright or trademark infringement, obscenity, violation
of rights of publicity and/or obscenity laws and other claims based on the nature and content of the materials distributed. These
types of claims have been brought, sometimes successfully, against broadcasters, publishers, online services and other disseminators
of media content. Any imposition of liability that is not covered by insurance or is in excess of our insurance coverage could
have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, measures to reduce our exposure to liability in connection with content available
through our internet websites could require us to take steps that would substantially limit the attractiveness of our internet
websites and/or their availability in certain geographic areas, which could adversely affect our ability to generate revenue and
could increase our operating expenses.
Intellectual
property litigation could expose us to significant costs and liabilities and thus negatively affect our business, financial condition
and results of operations.
We may be subject to claims of infringement
of third party patents and trademarks and other violations of third party intellectual property rights. Intellectual property
disputes are generally time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle, and the outcome of such disputes is uncertain and difficult
to predict. The existence of such disputes may require us to set-aside substantial reserves, and has the potential to significantly
affect our overall financial standing. To the extent that claims against us are successful, they may subject us to substantial
liability, and we may have to pay substantial monetary damages, change aspects of our business model, and/or discontinue any of
our services or practices that are found to be in violation of another party’s rights. Such outcomes may severely restrict
or hinder ongoing business operations and impact the value of our business. Successful claims against us could also result in
us having to seek a license to continue our practices. Under such conditions, a license may or may not be offered or otherwise
made available to us. If a license is made available to us, the cost of the license may significantly increase our operating burden
and expenses, potentially resulting in a negative effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Although we have been and are currently
involved in multiple areas of commerce, internet services, and high technology where there is a substantial risk of future patent
litigation, we have not obtained insurance for patent infringement losses. If we are unsuccessful at resolving pending and future
patent litigation in a reasonable and affordable manner, it could disrupt our business and operations, including by negatively
impacting areas of commerce or putting us at a competitive disadvantage.
If
we are unable to obtain or maintain key website addresses, our ability to operate and grow our business may be impaired.
Our website addresses, or domain names,
are critical to our business. We currently own more than 415 domain names. However, the regulation of domain names is subject
to change, and it may be difficult for us to prevent third parties from acquiring domain names that are similar to ours, that
infringe our trademarks or that otherwise decrease the value of our brands. If we are unable to obtain or maintain key domain
names for the various areas of our business, our ability to operate and grow our business may be impaired.
We
may have difficulty scaling and adapting our existing network infrastructure to accommodate increased traffic and technology advances
or changing business requirements, which could cause us to incur significant expenses and lead to the loss of users and advertisers.
To be successful, our network infrastructure
has to perform well and be reliable. The greater the user traffic and the greater the complexity of our products and services,
the more computer power we will need. We could incur substantial costs if we need to modify our websites or our infrastructure
to adapt to technological changes. If we do not maintain our network infrastructure successfully, or if we experience inefficiencies
and operational failures, the quality of our products and services and our users’ experience could decline. Maintaining
an efficient and technologically advanced network infrastructure is particularly critical to our business because of the pictorial
nature of the products and services provided on our websites. A decline in quality could damage our reputation and lead us to
lose current and potential users and advertisers. Cost increases, loss of traffic or failure to accommodate new technologies or
changing business requirements could harm our operating results and financial condition.
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Because
some of our brands contain adult content, companies providing products and services on which we rely may refuse to do business
with us.
Many companies that provide products and
services we need are concerned that associating with us could lead to their becoming the target of negative publicity campaigns
by public interest groups and boycotts of their products and services. As a result of these concerns, these companies may be reluctant
to enter into or continue business relationships with us. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our existing
business relationships with the companies, domestic or international, that currently provide us with services and products. Our
inability to maintain such business relationships, or to find replacement service providers, would materially adversely affect
our business, financial condition and results of operations. We could be forced to enter into business arrangements on terms less
favorable to us than we might otherwise obtain, which could lead to our doing business with less competitive terms, higher transaction
costs and more inefficient operations than if we were able to maintain such business relationships or find replacement service
providers.
Operating
a network open to all internet users may result in legal consequences.
Our Terms and Conditions clearly state
that our network and services are only to be used by users who are over 13 years old. However, it is impractical to independently
verify that all activity occurring on our network fits into this description. As such, we run the risk of federal and state law
enforcement prosecution.
Risks
Related to FILTHY MEDIA
Changes
in laws regulating adult content could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our brand, Filthy Media, presents content
related to culture of erotic art. Regulation, investigations and prosecutions of adult content could prevent us from making such
content available in certain jurisdictions and may otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition
and results of operations. Government officials may also place additional restrictions on adult content affecting the way people
interact on the internet. The governments of some countries, such as China and India, have sought to limit the influence of other
cultures by restricting the distribution of products deemed to represent foreign or “immoral” influences. Regulation
aimed at limiting minors’ access to adult content both in the United States and abroad could also increase our cost of operations
and introduce technological challenges by requiring development and implementation of age verification systems. U.S. government
officials could amend or construe and seek to enforce more broadly or aggressively the adult content recordkeeping and labeling
requirements set forth in 18 U.S.C. Section 2257 and its implementing regulations in a manner that is unfavorable to our business.
Court rulings may place additional restrictions on adult content affecting how people interact on the internet, such as mandatory
web labeling.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR COMMON STOCK
The price of
our Common Stock may be subject to wide fluctuations.
Even though we have our shares quoted
on the OTCQB, a consistently active trading market for our Common Stock may not exist. You may not be able to sell
your shares quickly or at the current market price if trading in our stock is not active. You may lose all or a part
of your investment. The market price of our Common Stock may be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in
response to a variety of factors and risks, many of which are beyond our control. In addition to the risks noted elsewhere
in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, some of the other factors affecting our stock price may include:
●
variations in our operating results;
●
the level and quality of securities analysts’ coverage of our Common Stock;
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●
announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions, strategic
partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments;
●
announcements by third parties of significant claims or proceedings against us; and
●
future sales of our Common Stock.
For these reasons, comparing our operating
results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful, and you should not rely on past results as an indication of future
performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a public company’s securities, securities
class action litigation has often been instituted against the public company. Regardless of its outcome, this type
of litigation could result in substantial costs to us and a likely diversion of our management’s attention. You may not
receive a positive return on your investment when you sell your shares and you may lose the entire amount of your investment.
We
may, in the future, issue additional SHARES OF COMMON STOCK, which would reduce investors’ percent of ownership and dilute
our share value
Our Articles of Incorporation authorize
the issuance of 300,000,000 shares of Common Stock, and 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock. Currently the Company has issued
0 shares of Series A Preferred, 0 shares of Series B Preferred and 0 of Series D Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Series
D Preferred”). Additionally, the Company has issued warrants to purchase 116,333,122 shares of our common stock at an exercise
price of $0.20. As of April 1, 2019, the Series A Preferred, Series B Preferred and Series D Preferred, are convertible into
0 shares of the Company’s common stock, subject to adjustment. As of April 1, 2019, the Company has issued options exercisable
into 17,649,990 shares. In addition, the Company has convertible notes outstanding that convert into 4,114,764 shares of the Company’s
common stock at a conversion rate of $0.20. Assuming all of the Company’s currently outstanding preferred stock be converted
and all outstanding warrants and options be exercised and all convertible notes be converted, the Company would have to issue
an additional 138,097,876 shares of common stock representing 102% of our current issued and outstanding common stock. The
future issuance of this Common Stock would result in substantial dilution in the percentage of our Common Stock held by our then
existing shareholders. We may value any Common Stock issued in the future on an arbitrary basis. The issuance of Common Stock
for future services or acquisitions or other corporate actions may have the effect of diluting the value of the shares held by
our investors, and might have an adverse effect on any trading market for our Common Stock.
OUR COMMON SHARES ARE SUBJECT TO
THE “PENNY STOCK” RULES OF THE SEC AND THE TRADING MARKET IN OUR SECURITIES IS LIMITED, WHICH MAKES TRANSACTIONS IN
OUR STOCK CUMBERSOME AND MAY REDUCE THE VALUE OF AN INVESTMENT IN OUR STOCK.
The Securities and Exchange Commission
has adopted Rule 15g-9 which establishes the definition of a “penny stock,” for the purposes relevant to us, as any
equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or with an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject
to certain exceptions.
For any transaction involving a penny
stock, unless exempt, the rules require:
(a) that
a broker or dealer approve a person’s account for transactions in penny stocks;
and
(b) the
broker or dealer receive from the investor a written agreement to the transaction, setting
forth the identity and quantity of the penny stock to be purchased.
In order to approve a person’s account
for transactions in penny stocks, the broker or dealer must: (a) obtain financial information and investment experience objectives
of the person; and (b) make a reasonable determination that the transactions in penny stocks are suitable for that person and
the person has sufficient knowledge and experience in financial matters to be capable of evaluating the risks of transactions
in penny stocks.
The broker or dealer must also deliver,
prior to any transaction in a penny stock, a disclosure schedule prescribed by the Commission relating to the penny stock market,
which, in highlight form: (a) sets forth the basis on which the broker or dealer made the suitability determination, and (b) that
the broker or dealer received a signed, written agreement from the investor prior to the transaction. Generally, brokers may be
less willing to execute transactions in securities subject to the “penny stock” rules. This may make it more difficult
for investors to dispose of our Common shares and cause a decline in the market value of our stock.
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Disclosure also has to be made about the
risks of investing in penny stocks in both public offerings and in secondary trading and about the commissions payable to both
the broker-dealer and the registered representative, current quotations for the securities and the rights and remedies available
to an investor in cases of fraud in penny stock transactions. Finally, monthly statements have to be sent disclosing recent price
information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stocks.
LIABILITY OF DIRECTORS FOR BREACH
OF DUTY OF CARE IS LIMITED.
According to Nevada law (NRS 78.138(7)),
all Nevada corporations limit the liability of directors and officers, including acts not in good faith. Our stockholders’
ability to recover damages for fiduciary breaches may be reduced by this statute. In addition, we are obligated to indemnify our
directors and officers regarding stockholder suits which they successfully defend (NRS 78.7502).
BECAUSE WE DO NOT INTEND TO PAY
ANY CASH DIVIDENDS ON OUR COMMON STOCK, OUR STOCKHOLDERS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RECEIVE A RETURN ON THEIR SHARES UNLESS THEY SELL
THEM.
We intend to retain any future earnings
to finance the development and expansion of our business. We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our Common Stock in
the foreseeable future. Unless we pay dividends, our stockholders will not be able to receive a return on their shares unless
they sell them. There is no assurance that stockholders will be able to sell shares when desired.
WE MAY ISSUE ADDITIONAL SHARES OF
PREFERRED STOCK IN THE FUTURE THAT MAY ADVERSELY IMPACT YOUR RIGHTS AS HOLDERS OF OUR COMMON STOCK.
Our articles of incorporation authorize
us to issue up to issue up to 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock in various classes. As of April 1, 2019 there are 134,256,350
outstanding shares of common stock. Currently, the Company has issued 0 shares of Series A Preferred, 0 shares of Series B Preferred
and 0 shares of Series D Preferred stock outstanding. As of April 1, 2019, our outstanding preferred stock is convertible into
0 shares of the Company’s Common Stock. Our board of directors will have the authority to fix and determine the relative
rights and preferences of preferred shares, as well as the authority to issue additional shares, without further stockholder approval.
As a result, our board of directors could authorize the issuance of a series of preferred stock that would grant to holders
preferred rights to our assets upon liquidation, the right to receive dividends before dividends are declared to holders of our
Common Stock, and the right to the redemption of such preferred shares, together with a premium, prior to the redemption of the
Common Stock. To the extent that we do issue such additional shares of preferred stock, your rights as holders of Common Stock
could be impaired thereby, including, without limitation, dilution of your ownership interests in us. In addition, shares of preferred
stock could be issued with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change in control or make removal of management more difficult,
which may not be in your interest as a holder of Common Stock.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
Not applicable.
Item 2. Properties.
Our corporate headquarters which houses
operations and support personnel, is 2050 Center Ave, Suite 640, Fort Lee NJ 07024, an office consisting of a total of 2,300 square
feet. The current lease term is effective through August 5, 2023, with monthly rent of $5,612.00 for the first year and increases
at a rate of 3% for each subsequent year thereafter.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.