Netcapital Inc. 10-K

ITEM 1. BUSINESS. Overview Netcapital Inc. is a fintech company with a scalable technology platform that allows private companies to raise capital online from accredited and non-accredited investors. We give all investors the opportunity to access investments in private companies. Our model is disruptive to traditional private equity investing and is based on Title III, Regulation Crowdfunding (“Reg CF”) of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (“JOBS Act”). In addition, we have recently expanded our model to include Regulation A (“Reg A”) offerings. We generate fees from listing private companies on our funding portal located at www.netcapital.com. We also generate fees from advising companies with respect to their Reg A offerings posted on www.netcapital.com. Our consulting group, Netcapital Advisors Inc. (“Netcapital Advisors”), which is a wholly owned subsidiary, provides marketing and strategic advice to companies in exchange for cash fees and/or equity positions. The Netcapital funding portal is registered with the SEC, is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), a registered national securities association, and provides investors with opportunities to invest in private companies. Neither Netcapital Advisors, nor any Netcapital entity or subsidiary, is a broker- dealer, nor do any of such entities operate as a broker-dealer with respect to any Reg A offering listed on the www.netcapital.com website. Our Business We provide private company investment access to accredited and non-accredited investors through our online portal (www.netcapital.com), which is operated by our wholly owned subsidiary Netcapital Funding Portal, Inc. The Netcapital funding portal charges a $5,000 listing fee, a 4.9% portal fee for capital raised at closing, and beginning in fiscal year 2024, a 1% success fee paid for with equity of the funding portal customer. In addition, the portal generates fees for other ancillary services, such as rolling closes. Netcapital Advisors generates fees and equity stakes from consulting in select portfolio (“portfolio Companies”) and non-portfolio clients. With respect to its services for Reg A offerings, Netcapital Advisors charges a monthly flat fee for each month the offering is listed on the netcapital.com website as well as a nominal administrative flat fee for each investor that is processed to cover out-of-pocket costs. We generated revenues of $4,951,435, with costs of service of $108,060, in the year ended April 30, 2024 for a gross profit of $4,843,375 (consisting of $3,537,700 in equity securities for payment of services and $1,413,736 in cash-based revenues, offset by $108,060 for costs of services) as compared to revenues of $8,493,985 with costs of service of $85,038 in the year ended April 30, 2023 for a gross profit of $8,408,947 (consisting of $7,105,000 in equity securities for the payment of services and $1,388,985 in cash-based revenues, offset by $85,038 for costs of services). We provided additional services for two (2) and four (4) of our Portfolio Companies during the years ended April 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and our cash-based gross profits as a percentage of gross profits were approximately 1% in both fiscal years. In fiscal 2024 and 2023, the average amount raised in an offering on the Netcapital funding portal was $280,978 and $128,170, respectively. The total number of offerings on the Netcapital funding portal in fiscal 2024 and 2023 that closed was 70 and 63, respectively, of which 17 and 13 offerings hosted on the Netcapital funding platform in fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively, terminated their listings without raising the required minimum dollar amount of capital. As of the date of this report, we own minority equity positions in 20 Portfolio Companies that have utilized the funding portal to facilitate their offerings, for which equity was received as payment for services. Funding Portal Netcapital.com is an SEC-registered funding portal that enables private companies to raise capital online, while investors are able to invest from almost anywhere in the world, at any time, with just a few clicks. Securities offerings on the portal are accessible through individual offering pages, where companies include product or service details, market size, competitive advantages, and financial documents. Companies can accept investments from virtually anyone, including friends, family, customers, employees, etc. Customer accounts on our platform are not permitted to hold digital securities. - 4 - In addition to access to the Funding Portal, the Funding Portal provides the following services: ● a fully automated onboarding process; ● automated filing of required regulatory documents; ● compliance review; ● custom-built offering page on our portal website; ● third party transfer agent and custodial services; ● email marketing to our proprietary list of investors; ● rolling closes, which provide potential access to liquidity before final close date of offering; ● assistance with annual filings; and ● direct access to our team for ongoing support. Consulting Business Our consulting group, Netcapital Advisors helps companies at all stages to raise capital. Netcapital Advisors provides strategic advice, technology consulting and online marketing services to assist with fundraising campaigns on the Netcapital platform. We also act as an incubator and accelerator, taking equity stakes in select disruptive start-ups. Netcapital Advisors’ services include: ● incubation of technology start-ups; ● investor introductions; ● online marketing; ● website design, software and software development; ● message crafting, including pitch decks, offering pages, and ad creation; ● strategic advice; and ● technology consulting. Proposed Broker-Dealer Business Our recently formed wholly owned subsidiary, Netcapital Securities Inc. has applied for broker-dealer registration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). We that by having a registered broker-dealer, it will create opportunities to expand revenue base by hosting and generating additional fees from Reg A+ and Reg D offerings on the Netcapital platform;, earning additional fees in connection with offerings that may result from the introduction of clients to other FINRA broker-dealers and expanding our distribution capabilities by leveraging strategic partnerships with other broker-dealers to distribute offerings of issuers that utilize the Netcapital platform to a wider range of investors in order to maximize market penetration and optimize capital raising efforts. Netcapital Securities Inc.’s application to become a registered broker-dealer remains subject to regulatory approval and/or licensing from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). No assurance can be given as to when or if such approvals may be granted or when, if at all, Netcapital will be able to expand the services it offers. As of the date of this Annual Report, Netcapital Securities Inc. has not conducted any business activities. - 5 - Competition We compete with a number of public and private companies that provide assistance with capital raising, strategy, technology consulting, and digital marketing. Most of our competitors have significant financial resources and occupy entrenched positions in the market with name-brand recognition. The majority of our capital raising and digital marketing business is on the Internet. The barriers to entry into most Internet markets are relatively low, making them accessible to a large number of entities and individuals. We believe the principal competitive factors in our industry that create certain barriers to entry include but are not limited to reputation, technology, financial stability and resources, proven track record of successful operations, critical mass, and independent oversight and transparency of business practices. Obtaining approval from FINRA to operate as a funding portal is also a barrier to entry due to the significant internal control and capital requirements. While these barriers may limit those able to enter or compete effectively in the market, it is likely that new competitors as well as laws and regulations of governmental authority may be established in the future, in addition to our known current competitors. We face significant competition in every aspect of our business, including from companies that facilitate online capital formation and the sharing of content and information, companies that enable marketers to display advertising, companies that distribute video and other forms of media content, and companies that provide development platforms for applications developers. We compete to attract, engage, and retain customers, to attract and retain marketers, and to attract and retain developers to build compelling applications that integrate with our products. Increased competition from current and future competitors may in the future materially adversely affect our business, revenues, operating results and financial condition. Industry Regulation In an effort to enhance economic growth and to democratize access to private investment opportunities, Congress finalized the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) in 2016. Title III of the JOBS Act enabled early-stage companies to offer and sell securities to the general public for the first time. The SEC then adopted Regulation Crowdfunding, or Reg CF, in order to implement the JOBS Act’s crowdfunding provisions. Reg CF has several important features that changed the landscape for private capital raising and investment. For the first time, this regulation: ● Allowed the general public to invest in private companies, no longer limiting early-stage investment opportunities to less than 10% of the population; ● Enabled private companies to advertise their securities offerings to the public (general solicitation); and ● Conditionally exempted securities sold under Section 4(a)(6) from the registration requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC had also adopted rules to implement Section 401 of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act by expanding Reg A into two tiers ● Tier 1, for securities offerings of up to $20 million in a 12-month period; and ● Tier 2, for securities offerings of up to $75 million in a 12-month period. We are subject, both directly and indirectly, to various laws and regulations relating to our business. If any of the laws are amended, compliance could become more expensive and directly affect our income. We intend to comply with such laws, but new restrictions may arise that could materially adversely affect our Company. Specifically, the SEC regulates our funding portal business, and our funding portal is also a member of FINRA and is regulated by FINRA. We are also subject to the USA Patriot Act of 2001, which contains anti-money laundering and financial transparency laws and mandates various regulations applicable to financial services companies, including standards for verifying client identification at account opening, and obligations to monitor client transactions and report suspicious activities. Anti-money laundering laws outside of the United States contain some similar provisions. In the event that our wholly-owned subsidiary receives a broker-dealer license, we will become subject to additional regulation and supervision of the SEC and FINRA, including without limitation Rule 15c3-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Uniform Net Capital Rule). The Uniform Net Capital Rule specifies minimum capital requirements intended to ensure the general financial soundness and liquidity of broker-dealers. The Uniform Net Capital Rule prohibits broker-dealers from paying cash dividends, making unsecured advances or loans or repaying subordinated loans if such payment would result in a net capital amount of less than 5% of aggregate debit balances or less than 120% of its minimum dollar requirement. Our failure to comply with these requirements as applicable to us could have a material adverse effect on us. - 6 - Our Market The traditional funding model restricts access to capital, investments and liquidity. According to Harvard Business Review, venture capital firms, or VCs, invest in fewer than 1% of the companies they consider and only 10% of VC meetings are obtained through cold outreach. In addition, only 2% of VC funding went to women in 2022, according to PitchBook, while only 1% went to black-owned firms, according to TechCrunch. Furthermore, under the traditional model, the average investor lacked access to early-stage investments. Prior to the JOBS Act, almost 90% of U.S. households were precluded from investing in private deals, per dqydj.com. Liquidity has also been an issue, as private investments are generally locked up until IPO or takeout. The JOBS Act helped provide a solution to these issues by establishing the funding portal industry, which is currently in its infancy. Title III of the JOBS Act outlines Reg CF, which traditionally allowed private companies to raise up to $1.07 million from all Americans. In March 2021, regulatory enhancements by the SEC went into effect and increased the limit to $5 million every 12 months. These amendments increased the offering limits for Reg CF, Regulation A and Regulation D, Rule 504 offerings as follows: Reg CF increased to $5 million; Regulation D, Rule 504 increased to $10 million from $5 million; and Regulation A Tier 2 increased to $75 million from $50 million. There was $494 million raised via Reg CF in 2022, according to Crowdwise. We believe a significant opportunity exists to disrupt private capital markets via the Netcapital funding portal. Private capital markets reached $12 trillion by the first half of 2022, per McKinsey. Within this market, private equity represents the largest share, with assets in excess of $3 trillion and a 10-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10%. Since 2000, global private equity (“PE”), net asset value has increased almost tenfold, nearly three times faster than the size of the public equity market. Both McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group predict that this strong growth will continue, as investors allocate increasing amounts to private equity, due to historically higher returns and lower volatility than public markets. In addition, Boston Consulting Group estimates that there are $42 trillion held in retail investment accounts, which we believe represents a large pool of potential account holders for us. Our Technology The Netcapital platform is a scalable, real-time, transaction-processing engine that runs without human intervention, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For companies raising capital, the technology provides fully automated onboarding with integrated regulatory filings. Funds are collected from investors and held in escrow until the offering closes. For entrepreneurs, the technology facilitates access to capital at low cost. For investors, the platform provides access to investments in private, early-stage companies that were previously unavailable to the general public. Both entrepreneurs and investors can track and view their investments through their dashboard on netcapital.com. The platform currently has more than 100,000 users. Scalability was demonstrated in November 2021, when the platform processed more than 2,000 investments in less than two hours, totaling more than $2 million. Our infrastructure is designed in a way that can horizontally scale to meet our capacity needs. Using Docker containers and Amazon Elastic Container Service, or Amazon ECS, we are able to automate the creation and launch of our production web and application programming interface, or API, endpoints in order to replicate them as needed behind Elastic Load Balancers (ELBs). Additionally, all of our public facing endpoints live behind CloudFlare to ensure protection from large scale traffic fluctuations (including DDoS attacks). - 7 - Our main database layer is built on Amazon RDS and features a Multi-AZ deployment that can also be easily scaled up or down as needed. General queries are cached in our API layer, and we monitor to optimize very complex database queries that are generated by the API. Additionally, we cache the most complex queries (such as analytics data) in our NoSQL (Mongo) data store for improved performance. Most of our central processing unit, or CPU, intensive data processing happens asynchronously through a worker/jobs system managed by AWS ElastiCache’s Redis endpoint. This component can be easily fine-tuned for any scale necessary. The technology necessary to operate our funding portal is licensed from Netcapital Systems LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, of which Jason Frishman, Netcapital Founder, owns a 29% interest, under a license agreement with the Funding Portal. Payments under the licensing agreement amounted to $195,000 and $430,000 in the years ended April 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Proposed Alternative Trading (“ATS”) Relationship We believe that lack of liquidity is a key issue for investors in private companies in our targeted market. We also recognize that secondary trading of securities in private companies is subject to extensive regulation and oversight. Such regulation and oversight includes, but is not limited to, the need to be a registered broker-dealer that is licensed to operate an ATS, or to partner with an entity that is licensed to do so. In order to try to address what we believe is a large, unmet need, our wholly-owned subsidiary, Netcapital Systems LLC, a Utah limited liability company (“Netcapital UT LLC”), entered into a software license and services agreement on January 2, 2023 (the “Templum License Agreement”) with Templum Markets LLC (“Templum”), to provide issuers and investors on the Netcapital platform with the potential for greater distribution and liquidity. Templum is a company that provides capital markets infrastructure for trading private equity securities, and operates an ATS with approval in 53 U.S. states and territories for the trading of unregistered or private securities. We are currently working with Templum to design the software required to allow issuers and investors on the Netcapital platform to access the Templum ATS in order to engage in secondary trading of securities in a regulatorily compliant manner. The operation of the Templum ATS, however, remains subject to extensive regulation and oversight. Accordingly, any regulatory delays or objections will result in delays in our ability to launch the proposed platform. While we are currently working with Templum on the design of the required software to enable the access to secondary trading on the Templum ATS, no assurance can be given as to when, or if, we will be able to successfully complete this project in order to enable access to a secondary trading feature beta (testing) version to a closed group of users for testing before any final launch is made to the public, and Templum’s approval. Milestones required to launch the platform include, but are not limited to, plug-in of Templum’s KYC and AML requirements to enable interested users to directly send to the Templum ATS any KYC/AML information required by Templum for review and approval, as well as the launch of a beta version to a closed group of users. In July 2024, we announced the launch of our beta version for this secondary trading platform and our goal is to offer such secondary trading platform through the Templum ATS to all issuers and investors on the Netcapital funding portal before the end of 2024 subject to compliance with all regulatory requirements, however, we do not know when, or if, this feature will be fully completed and launched, as there are many details that remain to be completed. The operation of the Templum ATS is subject to extensive regulation and oversight. Accordingly, any regulatory delays or objections will result in delays in our ability to launch the proposed platform. In addition, because we cannot easily switch between operators of secondary trading platforms of this nature, any disruption of or interference, whether due to regulatory issues or natural disasters, cyber-attacks, terrorist attacks, power losses, telecommunications failures, or other similar events, would impact our operations and may adversely affect the ability of issuers and investors to utilize this platform. There is no obligation for Templum to renew its agreements with us on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Institutions and individual investors may face significant risk when buying securities on our proposed secondary trading platform. These risks include the following: ● private companies are not required to make periodic public filings, and therefore certain capitalization, operational and financial information may not be available for evaluation; - 8 - ● an investment may only be appropriate for investors with a long-term investment horizon and a capacity to absorb a loss of some or all of their investment; ● the securities, when purchased, are generally highly illiquid, are often subject to further transfer restrictions, and no public market exists for such securities; and ● transactions may fail to settle, which could harm our reputation. Further, we may become involved in disputes and litigation matters between customers with respect to transactions on our proposed secondary trading platform. There is a risk that clients may increasingly look to us to make them whole for delayed and/or broken trades. Customers may litigate over a failure of sellers to deliver securities or over the untimely deliveries of securities. Any litigation to which we are a party could be expensive and time consuming, regardless of the ultimate outcome, and the potential costs and risks of such litigation may incentivize us to settle, which could harm our reputation or have a material adverse effect on our business or results or operations. We estimate that the cost for developing this platform will not exceed $1.0 million, most of which has already been incurred and consists of salaries or fees paid to engineers and consultants. We have and continue to pay these expenses from our working capital. We do not currently have a revenue model associated with the sales of securities on the proposed ATS. However, we may seek incorporate this revenue model in the future, provided that we determine any such revenue model is in strict compliance with all regulatory guidelines. We currently anticipate that we will also be able to sell our interests in any portfolio company using the Templum ATS provided such sales are made in a regulatorily compliant matter. We expect to place a restriction on any sales during any period in which an issuer is offering its securities for sale on the Netcapital funding platform. In addition, securities issued in a Reg CF transaction generally cannot be resold for a period of one year, unless the securities are transferred: (1) to the issuer of the securities; (2) to an “accredited investor”; (3) as part of an offering registered with the SEC; or (4) to a member of the family of the purchaser or the equivalent, to a trust controlled by the purchaser, to a trust created for the benefit of a member of the family of the purchaser or the equivalent, or in connection with the death or divorce of the purchaser or other similar circumstance. Accordingly, any shares owned by us would also be subject to these restrictions. Additional restrictions may be implemented, and there can be no assurance that we will ever sell any of our interests in any portfolio company using the Templum ATS. Further, our insider trading policy prohibits all of our employees, officers, consultants and directors from buying or selling securities while in possession of material non-public information and all such parties are also required to maintain strict confidentiality of all such information. In addition, in order to maintain compliance with our insider trading policies, any affiliate or employee seeking to trade securities in any issuer listed on the funding portal must receive prior approval and clearance from our Chief Financial Officer and all such requests for clearance will be documented and maintained with our compliance department. Our Netcapital funding portal is currently registered with the SEC and is a member of FINRA. For so long as we continue to operate our Netcapital platform solely for primary offerings by issuers under Reg CF, we believe that we are not required to register under Regulation ATS. Competitive Advantages Based upon publicly available information either published on the websites of our peer group (StartEngine Crowdfunding, Inc., Wefunder Inc. and Republic Core LLC) or included in offering statements of issuers hosted on such offering platforms, we believe that we provide the lowest cost solution for online capital raising. We also believe, based upon our facilitated technology platforms, our strong emphasis on customer support, and feedback received from clients that have onboarded to our platform, that our access and onboarding of new clients are superior due to our facilitated technology platforms. Our network continues to rapidly expand as a result of our enhanced marketing and broad distribution to reach new investors. Our competitors include StartEngine Crowdfunding, Inc., Wefunder Inc. and Republic Core LLC. Given the rapid growth in the industry and its potential to disrupt the multi-billion dollar private capital market, we believe there is sufficient room for multiple players. - 9 - Our Strategy Two major tailwinds are driving accelerated growth in the shift to the use of online funding portals: (i) the COVID-19 pandemic; and (ii) the increase in funding limits under Reg CF. The pandemic drove a rapid need to bring as many processes as possible online. With travel restrictions in place and most people in lockdown, entrepreneurs were no longer able to fundraise in person and have increasingly turned to online capital raising through funding portals. There are numerous industry drivers and tailwinds that complement investor demand for access to investments in private companies. To capitalize on these, our strategy is to: ● Generate New Investor Accounts. Growing the number of investor accounts on our platform is a top priority. Investment dollars continuing to flow through our platform is a key revenue driver. When issuers advertise their offerings, they are generating new investor accounts for us at no cost to Netcapital. We plan to supplement our issuers’ spend on advertising by increasing our online marketing spend as well, which may include virtual conferences going forward. ● Hire Additional Business Development Staff. We seek to hire additional business development staff that is technology and financially passionate about capital markets to handle our growing backlog of potential customers. ● Increase the Number of Companies on Our Platform via Marketing. When a new company lists on our platform, they bring their customers, supporters, and brand ambassadors as new investors to Netcapital. We plan to increase our marketing budget to help grow our portal and advisory clients. ● Invest in Technology. Technology is critical to everything that we do. We plan to invest in developing innovative technologies that enhance our platform and allow us to pursue additional service offerings. ● Incubate and Accelerate Our Advisory Portfolio Clients. The advisory portfolio and our equity interests in select advisory clients represent potential upside for our shareholders. We seek to grow this model of advisory clients. ● Expand Internationally. We believe there is a significant opportunity to expand into Europe and Asia as an appetite abroad grows for U.S. stocks. ● Provide a secondary trading feature. We believe that lack of liquidity is a key issue for investors in private companies in our targeted market. Accordingly, we are exploring ways in which we can provide our clients with the ability to access a secondary trading feature. In January 2023, we entered into the Templum License Agreement to provide issuers and investors on the Netcapital platform with the potential for greater distribution and liquidity. Templum is an operator of an ATS with approval in 53 U.S. states and territories for the trading of unregistered or private securities to provide issuers and investors on the Netcapital platform with the potential for greater distribution and liquidity. We are currently working with Templum on the design of the required software to enable issuers and investors on the Netcapital platform the ability to access the Templum ATS in order to engage in secondary trading of securities. In July 2024, we announced the launch of our beta version for this secondary trading platform and our goal is to offer such secondary trading platform through the Templum ATS to all issuers and investors on the Netcapital funding portal before the end of 2024 subject to compliance with all regulatory requirements, however, we do not know when, or if, this feature will be fully completed and launched, as there are many details that remain to be completed. ● New Verticals Represent a Compelling Opportunity. We operate in a regulated market supported by the JOBS Act. We are working on expanding our model to include Regulation A and Regulation D offerings. ● Secure Broker-Dealer License. In May 2024, we announced that our wholly-owned subsidiary, Netcapital Securities Inc. applied for broker-dealer registration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). We that by having a registered broker-dealer, it will create opportunities to expand revenue base by hosting and generating additional fees from Reg A+ and Reg D offerings on the Netcapital platform;, earning additional fees in connection with offerings that may result from the introduction of clients to other FINRA broker-dealers and expanding our distribution capabilities by leveraging strategic partnerships with other broker-dealers to distribute offerings of issuers that utilize the Netcapital platform to a wider range of investors in order to maximize market penetration and optimize capital raising efforts. Netcapital Securities Inc.’s application to become a registered broker-dealer remains subject to regulatory approval and/or licensing from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). No assurance can be given as to when or if such approvals may be granted or when, if at all, Netcapital will be able to expand the services it offers. - 10 - Investment Portfolio A key part of our story involves the potential value creation driven by our portfolio companies. In our portfolio, we focus on companies with emerging, disruptive technologies. A partial list of our investment portfolio is described below: KingsCrowd Industry: Fintech Trusted by over 300,000 investors to vet startup investments, KingsCrowd, Inc. is a leader in ratings and analytics for online private markets. The company aggregates, analyzes, and rates companies raising on platforms like Netcapital to help investors make more informed decisions. Risks related to an investment in KingsCrowd include, but are not limited to the following: ● Many of the key responsibilities of KingsCrowd’s business have been assigned to one individual, and its ability to implement adequate internal controls depends, in part, on its ability to attract trained professional staff that allows it to segregate duties among several individuals. ● KingsCrowd may become subject to any number of laws and regulations that may be adopted with respect to the Internet and electronic commerce; and ● KingsCrowd’s success depends in part on its ability to grow and take advantage of efficiencies of scale; ChipBrain Industry: AI Effective communicators close more deals. ChipBrain LLC’s emotionally intelligent AI assistant provides real-time emotion, tone, and facial expression feedback in live conversations across text, voice, and video. Taking the guesswork out of identifying conversational cues, the company’s technology enables sales professionals to see at a glance how they are coming across to customers. Risks related to an investment in ChipBrain include, but are not limited to the following: ● ChipBrain’s future growth depends to a large extent on its ability to effectively anticipate and adapt to customer requirements and offer services that meet customer demands; ● The failure to attract and retain key employees could hurt the business, and the management team does not have extensive experience in the operation of businesses such as ChipBrain; and ● An intentional or unintentional disruption, failure, misappropriation or corruption of its network and information systems could severely affect its business. Zelgor Industry: Mobile Games Backed by famous venture capitalist Tim Draper, napster founder, Shawn Fanning, and co-creator of Guitar Hero, Kai Huang, Zelgor Inc.(“Zelgor”) is an interactive entertainment company featuring a new species of rambunctious alien characters called The Noobs. The Noobs are a unique and original intellectual property introduced to the world through mobile games, multimedia content, and strategic partnerships. Risks related to an investment in Zelgor include, but are not limited to the following: ● Many of the key responsibilities of Zelgor’s business have been assigned to four individuals; ● Zelgor may become subject to any number of laws and regulations that may be adopted with respect to the Internet and electronic commerce; and ● The business of mobile applications is competitive and is expected to become increasingly competitive in the future. - 11 - MustWatch Industry: Technology MustWatch LLC (“MustWatch”) brings your friends and favorite shows together all in one place. The Watch Party app makes it easy to find new shows, see what your friends are watching, and recommend great shows to each other. The company’s platform delivers targeted show recommendations based on the television viewing tastes of users’ friends and family. It’s not a single streaming platform’s media catalog, but a cross-platform television guide, crowdsourced from your friends and family. Risks related to an investment in MustWatch include, but are not limited to the following: ● MustWatch’s inability to use software licensed from third parties, or to use open source software under license terms that interfere with its proprietary rights, could disrupt its business; ● The business depends on continued, unimpeded access to the Internet by MustWatch and its users, but Internet access providers and Internet backbone providers may be able to block, degrade or charge for access to or bandwidth use of certain of our products and services, which could lead to additional expenses and the loss of users; and ● Failure to comply with laws and contractual obligations related to data privacy and protection could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition and operating results of MustWatch. C-Reveal Therapeutics Industry: Cancer Immunotherapy C-Reveal Therapeutics’s (“C-Reveal”) proprietary technology, developed at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University, helps the body’s immune system to identify and destroy cancer cells by inhibiting key enzymes that conceal the disease. This patent pending approach is designed to improve the efficacy of treating a broad range of cancers.Risks related to an investment in C-Reveal include, but are not limited to the following: ● It may not be able to secure and maintain relationships with research institutions and clinical investigators that are capable of conducting and have access to necessary patient populations for the conduct of C-Reveal’s clinical trials; ● C-Reveal’s product development programs will be based on novel technologies and are inherently risky; and ● C-Reveal’s clinical trials may not be successful. Hiveskill LLC Industry: AI The product is an AI-powered database and CRM hybrid that uses data and emotionally intelligent AI to boost direct one-to-one marketing efforts. It also provides specialized experts who know how to leverage your company’s data. Risks related to an investment in Hiveskill LLC (“Hiveskill”) include, but are not limited to the following: ● Competition in the markets in which Hiveskill competes could prevent it from generating or sustaining revenue growth and generating or maintaining profitability; ● Hiveskill operates in an emerging market that is characterized by rapid changes in customer requirements, frequent introductions of new and enhanced products, and continuing and rapid technological advancement; and ● Maintaining its reputation is critical to Hiveskill’s ability to attract and retain clients, and any failure, or perceived failure, to appropriately operate its business or deal with matters that give rise to reputation risk may materially and adversely harm the business, prospects and results of operations - 12 - Caesar Media Group Inc. Industry: Marketing Caesar Media Group, Inc. is an advanced marketing and technology solutions provider. Caesar Media Group is designed to leverage its technology and data to provide lead generation, search engine optimization (SEO) website development, project development, digital marketing, content management, customer service, and sales management. Risks related to an investment in Caesar Media include, but are not limited to the following: ● Caesar Media has a ability to prevent competitors from marketing similar products or services; and ● Third parties may infringe on its technology. The following table summarizes the components of investments as of April 30, 2024 and 2023: April 30, 2024 April 30, 2023 Netcapital DE LLC $ 48,128 $ 48,128 MustWatch LLC 440,000 440,000 Zelgor Inc. 1,400,000 1,400,000 ChipBrain LLC 3,366,348 3,366,348 Vymedic Inc. 11,032 11,032 C-Reveal Therapeutics LLC 50,000 50,000 Deuce Drone LLC 2,350,000 2,350,000 Hiveskill LLC 712,500 712,500 ScanHash LLC 425,000 425,000 Caesar Media Group Inc. 1,999.127 1,632,751 Cust Corp. 1,200,000 1,200,000 Reper LLC 1,200,000 1,200,000 Dark LLC 2,100,000 2,100,000 Netwire LLC 1,300,000 1,300,000 CountSharp LLC 1,170,000 1,170,000 CupCrew LLC 1,170,000 1,170,000 HeadFarm LLC 1,170,000 1,170,000 AceHedge LLC 1,110,000 — Fantize LLC 1,110,000 — StockText LLC 1,220,000 — RealWorld LLC 1,170,000 — 30 issuers that paid a 1% equity fee to the funding portal 97,700 — KingsCrowd Inc. 513,550 3,209,685 Total Investments at fair value $ 25,333,386 $ 22,955,444 Major Customers For the year ended April 30, 2024, the Company had one customer that constituted 25% of its revenues, a second customer that constituted 22% of its revenues, and a third customer that constituted 22% of its revenues. For the year ended April 30, 2023, the Company had one customer that constituted 25% of its revenues, and four customers that each constituted 14% of its revenues. - 13 - Recent Developments Nasdaq Delisting Determination As previously disclosed on a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company on September 1, 2023, the Company received a notification from The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC (“Nasdaq”) notifying the Company that it was not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market. Specifically, Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) requires listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share, and Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A) provides that a failure to meet the minimum bid price requirement exists if the deficiency continues for a period of 30 consecutive business days. Therefore, in accordance with Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the Company was provided 180 calendar days, or until February 28, 2024, to regain compliance with the Rule. Subsequently, on February 29, 2024, Nasdaq determined the Company was eligible for an additional 180 calendar days, or until August 26, 2024, to regain compliance with the Rule. Since then, Nasdaq has determined that as of July 22, 2024, the Company’s securities had a closing bid price of $0.10 or less for ten consecutive trading days.1 Accordingly, the Company is subject to the provisions contemplated under Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A)(iii) (the “Low Priced Stocks Rule”). As a result, on July 23, 2024, Nasdaq delivered written notice to the Company under which it advised the Company that Nasdaq has determined to delist the Company’s securities from The Nasdaq Capital Market (the “Nasdaq Letter”). The Company may appeal Nasdaq’s determination to a Hearings Panel (the “Panel”), pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Nasdaq Listing Rule 5800 Series. A hearing request will stay any further action pending final resolution of the Hearing Panel or any extension provided by the Panel. The Company intends to appeal Nasdaq’s determination and will timely submit a plan to a hearing panel to regain compliance to the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department. Notwithstanding the Company’s intention to request a hearing, there can be no assurance that the Panel will grant the Company any compliance period or that the Company will ultimately regain compliance with all applicable requirements for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market. The Company is monitoring the closing bid price of its common stock and will consider options to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum bid price requirement, including effectuating a reverse stock split. On July 24, 2024, the Company’s stockholders approved the implementation of a reverse stock split of the Company’s common stock at a ratio between 1-for-2 and 1-for-100, inclusive, with the ultimate ratio to be determined by the Company’s board of directors in its sole discretion. On September 25, 2024, our Board approved a reverse split ratio of 1-for-70 for the reverse split of the issued shares of our common stock. The Company intends to promptly effectuate a reverse split to regain compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rules related to minimum bid price for its common stock. Launch of Beta Version for Secondary Trading Platform In July 2024, we announced the launch of our beta version of a secondary trading platform through the Templum ATS to a closed group of users. This secondary trading platform has been designed to provide investors who purchase stock through the Netcapital funding portal with the potential for secondary trading through access to the Templum ATS. May 2024 Warrant Inducement On May 24, 2024, we entered into inducement offer letter agreements with certain investors that hold certain outstanding Series A-2 warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 14,320,000 shares of our common stock, originally issued in December 2023 at a reduced exercise price of $0.155 per share in partial consideration for the Company’s agreement to issue in a private placement (i) new Series A-3 common stock purchase warrants to purchase up to 14,320,000 shares of our common stock and (ii) new Series A-4 common stock purchase warrants to purchase up to 14,320,000 shares of our common stock for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $2.2 million from the exercise of the existing warrants, before deducting placement agent fees and other expenses payable by the Company. The Series A-3 Warrants and Series A-4 Warrants are exercisable beginning on the effective dates of stockholder approval of the issuance with such warrants expiring on (i) the five year anniversary of the initial exercise date for the Series A-3 Warrants and (ii) the eighteen month anniversary of the initial exercise date for the Series A-4 Warrants. This transaction closed on May 29, 2024. H.C. Wainwright was the exclusive agent for transaction for which we paid them a cash fee equal to 7.5% from the exercise of the Series A-2 warrant at the reduced exercise price and a management fee equal to 1.0% of such aggregate gross proceeds. We also issued warrants to designees of H.C. Wainwright to purchase up to 1,074,000 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.1938 per share. Application for Broker-Dealer License In May 2024, we announced that our wholly-owned subsidiary, Netcapital Securities Inc. applied for broker-dealer registration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). We believe that by having a registered broker-dealer, it will create opportunities to expand revenue base by hosting and generating additional fees from Reg A+ and Reg D offerings on the Netcapital platform, earning additional fees in connection with offerings that may result from the introduction of clients to other FINRA broker-dealers and expanding our distribution capabilities by leveraging strategic partnerships with other broker-dealers to distribute offerings of issuers that utilize the Netcapital platform to a wider range of investors in order to maximize market penetration and optimize capital raising efforts. Netcapital Securities Inc.’s application to become a registered broker-dealer remains subject to regulatory approval and/or licensing from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). No assurance can be given as to when or if such approvals may be granted or when, if at all, Netcapital will be able to expand the services it offers. - 14 - Temporary Cessation of our Valuation Business In April 2024, we determined to cease activities with respect to our valuation business conducted by our subsidiary MSG Development Corp. The person who operated MSG Development Corp. retired in fiscal 2024 due to health reasons and we were unsuccessful in transitioning the valuation consulting work performed by MSG Development Corp. to another person. Consequently, in fiscal 2024, we recorded an impairment loss for the intangible assets associated with our acquisition of MSG. We intend to re-start valuation activities through MSG Development Corp. in the future if we can find and hire the necessary personnel although there is no current timeframe for when we could re-start such activities and we may ultimately never continue such valuation activities. April 2024 Common Stock Issuance On April 24, 2024, we issued an aggregate of 681,198 shares of our common stock at a price per share of $0.1324 to Steven Geary, a member of the Company’s board of directors, and Paul Riss, a member of the board of directors of Netcapital Funding Portal, Inc. our wholly-owned subsidiary, in consideration of the cancellation of $90,204 in outstanding indebtedness owed to Mr. Geary and Mr. Riss by us. The shares were issued as restricted securities as defined in Rule 144 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. We did not receive any proceeds from these issuances. Employees As of April 30, 2024, the Company had three members of its senior corporate personnel. As of April 30, 2024, we had approximately 21 employees, all of which were full time. None of our employees are unionized or covered by collective bargaining agreements, and we consider our current employee relations to be good. Corporate History and Information The Company was incorporated in Utah in 1984 as DBS Investments, Inc. (“DBS”), merged with ValueSetters L.L.C. in December of 2003 and changed its name to ValueSetters, Inc. In November 2010, the Company purchased NetGames.com to drive subscription revenue through online games such as chess.net. In the summer of 2017, Dr. Cecilia Lenk and Coreen Kraysler, CFA were hired to bring in consulting and advisory business. In November 2020, the Company purchased Netcapital Funding Portal Inc. and changed the name of the parent company from ValueSetters, Inc. to Netcapital Inc., while the name of the consulting business was changed to Netcapital Advisors. In November 2021, the Company purchased MSG Development Corp. We formed Netcapital Securities Inc. in 2024. - 15 - Our principal executive offices are located at One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts and our telephone number is 781-925-1700. We maintain a corporate website with the address http://www.netcapitalinc.com, our funding portal maintains a website with the address http://www.netcapital.com, Netcapital Advisors maintains a website at http://www.netcapitaladvisors.com and our valuation business maintains a website at https://valucorp.com/. We have not incorporated by reference into this Report on Form 10-K the information on any of our websites and you should not consider any of such information to be a part of this document. Our website addresses are included in this document for reference only. We make available free of charge through our corporate website our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports through a link to the EDGAR database as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish such material to the SEC. You can also read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. You can obtain additional information about the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1.800.SEC.0330. In addition, the SEC maintains a website (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including all of our filings.