LQR House Inc. 10-K

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risk factors, together with the other information contained in this annual report, before purchasing our common stock. We have listed below (not necessarily in order of importance or probability of occurrence) what we believe to be the most significant risk factors applicable to us, but they do not constitute all of the risks that may be applicable to us. Any of the following factors could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects, and could result in a partial or complete loss of your investment. Some statements in this report, including statements in the following risk factors, constitute forward-looking statements. Please refer to the section titled “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements”. Risks Related to Our Business and Industry Our Chief Executive Officer, Sean Dollinger, has been the subject of a compliance review that was initiated by the British Columbia Securities Commission, and has not formally been concluded, in connection with the sale of a subsidiary by Namaste Technologies Inc. when Mr. Dollinger was the Chief Executive Officer there, and if the British Columbia Securities Commission or any other regulatory agency takes additional action against Mr. Dollinger, our business could be materially adversely affected. Sean Dollinger, our Chief Executive Officer, was the Chief Executive Officer of Namaste Technologies Inc., or Namaste, a Canadian public company, from June 2015 to February 2019. In October 2017, Namaste sought to list its securities on the TSX Venture Exchange, or TSXV. During that time, the TSXV and the Toronto Stock Exchange, or TXV, advised their listed issuers that they could not hold interests in any entities engaging in activities related to cannabis in the United States. After receiving the TSXV Notice, Namaste sought to divest one of its subsidiaries who would be the subject of the TSXV’s notice, Dollinger Enterprises US Inc., or Dollinger US. On November 28, 2017, in a transaction approved by the Namaste board of directors, Namaste sold Dollinger US to ESC Hughes Holdings Ltd, or ESC Hughes, a company owned by David Hughes, who was acting as Chief Marketing Officer of Namaste through his wholly owned consulting firm, ORH Marketing Ltd. In an Investor call on November 29, 2017, Mr. Dollinger affirmed that the $400,000.00 purchase price for Dollinger US was fair market value and that the deal was conducted at arm’s length. 13 On September 13, 2018, and October 4, 2018, Citron Research, a company controlled by US-based short-seller Andrew Left, released two reports on Namaste. In those reports, Citron Research made allegations of securities fraud relating to the sale of Dollinger US. On October 9, 2018, and October 10, 2018, the British Columbia Securities Commission’s (“BCSC”) compliance department, which is a separate and distinct group from the BCSC’s enforcement department, issued comment letters to Namaste containing requests for information regarding the allegations in Citron Research’s report. Namaste responded to the letter and stated that neither ESC Hughes nor David Hughes was then, or is now, a “related party” to the Company (as defined in Multilateral Instrument 61-101, Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ) as neither ESC Hughes nor David Hughes individually, or in aggregate, held then, or hold now, greater than 10% of the outstanding securities of Namaste. Mr. Dollinger departed from Namaste in February 2019 but has offered his full cooperation to the BCSC in all requests. The BCSC has not filed an action against Mr. Dollinger, or Namaste, because of the Dollinger US transaction. In connection with the sale of Dollinger US, on October 19, 2018, a class action complaint was filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against Namaste and its former CEO, Sean Dollinger, and COO, Philip Van Den Berg on behalf of those who acquired securities of Namaste during certain time periods, alleging that the Defendants made misrepresentations of material facts relating to Namaste’s business, operations, and finances by omitting from core documents, non-core documents and statements, material facts about the sale of Dollinger US. The complaint asserted causes of action for misrepresentations with respect to securities under Section 138.3 of Ontario Securities Act (imposing liability “Where a responsible issuer or a person or company with actual, implied or apparent authority to act on behalf of a responsible issuer releases a document that contains a misrepresentation …”) and common law claims for secondary market negligent and fraudulent misrepresentations. The Ontario Court approved a settlement agreement on July 22, 2019, in which the plaintiffs received $2,150,000.00, paid out by Namaste’s insurance policy, and the defendants, including Mr. Dollinger, did not make any admissions of guilt, liability, or wrongdoing. We do not believe that Mr. Dollinger’s involvement in this class action, which was settled without any admissions of guilt or wrongdoing or liability, will have any effect on our ability to operate our business, the price of our stock, or the results of our operations. Additionally, on November 19, 2018, a class action complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Namaste, Sean Dollinger, Philip Van Den Berg, and former CFO, Kenneth Ngo, on behalf of persons and entities who or which purchased or otherwise acquired shares of Namaste common stock traded on the over-the-counter market between November 29, 2017, and March 6, 2019. In that claim, plaintiffs alleged violations of Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 based on allegations that the defendants made false or misleading statements or failed to disclose that Namaste did not disclose that it had sold Dollinger US to Namaste executives and, consequently, Namaste did not sell Dollinger US in an arm’s length transaction, and as a result, Namaste’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times relating to the sale of Dollinger US. The District Court in this case approved a settlement agreement on March 11, 2020, in which the plaintiffs were awarded $2,750,000.00, paid out by Namaste’s insurance policy, and the defendants, including Mr. Dollinger, did not make any admissions of guilt, liability, or wrongdoing. We do not believe that Mr. Dollinger’s involvement in this class action, which was settled without any admissions of guilt or wrongdoing or liability, will have any effect on our ability to operate our business, the price of our stock, or the results of our operations. Regarding the BCSC compliance review and correspondence with Mr. Dollinger, we believe that it is reasonable to infer from the length of time that has passed since the last contact from the BCSC, though not a certainty, that the BCSC compliance department has concluded its review into Mr. Dollinger. Additionally, we believe it is reasonable to infer that, had the BCSC enforcement department, which has a six-year statute of limitations as to actionable securities fraud, found wrongdoing involving the matter described above, the BCSC enforcement department likely would have contacted Mr. Dollinger or his lawyer by now, though, again, that inference is by no means a certainty. We do not believe that there is an ongoing BCSC investigation or review in which Mr. Dollinger is a subject, however, we have not received formal confirmation to that effect, and we will likely never receive formal confirmation of that fact since the BCSC does not make public their confidential investigations. If there is an active investigation or review of Mr. Dollinger by the BCSC or any other enforcement division of a regulatory agency, and that review results in an enforcement action against him by the BCSC or any other regulatory agency, then the filing of that action or the result thereof could cause a diversion of the time that Mr. Dollinger has to spend on our business and otherwise may have a have a material adverse impact on the price of our securities and the results of our operations. 14 Our Chief Executive Officer and Director is, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those that could be conducted by us and, accordingly, may in the future have conflicts of interest in allocating his time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. We intend to become the full-service digital marketing and brand development face of the alcoholic beverage space. Our Chief Executive Officer is also a sole shareholder and Director of Dollinger Innovations Inc., a Canadian corporation, and the sole Member and Manager of Dollinger Holdings LLC, a Florida Limited liability Company. Our Packaging of Origin Co-Responsibility Agreement, dated July 6, 2020 (the “Packaging of Origin Co-Responsibility Agreement”), originally signed by and among Leticia Hermosillo Ravelero (the “Producer”), Sean Dollinger, Dollinger Innovations Inc., and Dollinger Holdings LLC, was assigned to us pursuant to an assignment agreement, dated June 30, 2023 (the “June 30 Assignment Agreement”), by and among LQR House (assignee), Dollinger Innovations Inc., Dollinger Holdings LLC, Sean Dollinger (assignor), and the Producer. Following the assignment to us of all rights, title, and interest in the Packaging of Origin Co-Responsibility Agreement under the June 30 Assignment Agreement, we and the Producer signed a Bottled at Origin Joint Responsibility Agreement, dated July 11, 2023 (the “Bottled at Origin Joint Responsibility Agreement”). Further, the Shared Responsibility & Bonding Agreement dated March 19, 2021 (the “Shared Responsibility and Bonding Agreement”), as originally among Sean Dollinger, Dollinger Innovations Inc., Dollinger Holdings, LLC, and the Producer, was assigned to us pursuant to (i) an asset purchase agreement dated March 19, 2021, which assigned over all rights, title, and interest in the Shared Responsibility and Bonding Agreement to LQR House and (ii) a ratification agreement containing the Producer’s assent to the assignment, among LQR House, Dollinger Innovations Inc., Dollinger Holdings LLC, and Sean Dollinger (collectively, the “Shared Responsibility and Bonding Assignment Agreement”). Our business is materially dependent on the Bottled at Origin Joint Responsibility Agreement and the Shared Responsibility and Bonding Agreement. Pursuant to the Bottled at Origin Joint Responsibility Agreement, the Producer supplies to us product that strictly complies with the “Official Tequila Standard” (as defined in the agreement) under Mexican law and allows us to use the word “Tequila” or “Tequila 100% Agave” on the SWOL brand. The Producer also supplies exclusively to us Tequila Anejo and flavored tequila in accordance with the orders submitted by us. Pursuant to the Shared Responsibility and Bonding Agreement, the Producer produces and supplies to “Tequila made 100% of agave” and labeled with the trademark “SWOL” obtained in Mexico. We facilitate the distribution of tequila in collaboration with Rilo, who we engage to import SWOL branded tequila from Mexico to the United States. Sean Dollinger, our Director and Chief Executive Officer is also the sole shareholder and Director of Dollinger Innovations Inc., and the sole Member and Manager of Dollinger Holdings LLC. If there is a disagreement between us on one hand and Dollinger Innovations Inc and Dollinger Holdings LLC on the other, with respect to the June 30 Assignment Agreement and the Shared Responsibility and Bonding Assignment Agreement, it could be in Mr. Dollinger’s personal interest to agree with Dollinger Innovations Inc. and Dollinger Holdings LLC in opposition to the interests of the Company. If this occurred, the Company could lose access to a material portion of its assets which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. 15 Our business, revenue, and operations depend on our continuing relationship with CWS. In the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, all revenue was derived from or directly related to contractual relationship with CWS. Although we acquired the CWS Platform from Ssquared on November 1, 2023, and no longer rely on the Marketing Agreement for any revenue, CWS will continue to be for the foreseeable future our only source of distribution of alcoholic beverages. Additionally, because the President of CWS is also the 100% equity owner of KBROS, we could have opportunities in the future to expand the number of our distributors or even replace CWS with a distributor that offer terms more favorable. These opportunities could be declined by KBROS as it is responsible for the management of the fulfillment of sales orders that are generated by the CWS Platform. Because of the affiliate relationship between KBROS and CWS, KBROS would be conflicted if presented with opportunities for the CWS Platform that are against the interests of CWS and may decline such opportunities against our interest. While our relationship with CWS is ongoing and is expected to continue, we cannot be certain that CWS will be willing or able to continue to distribute the products sold on the CWS Platform and although under the Management Agreement it is KBROS’s responsibility to fulfill orders, if we could not or KBROS were not able or willing to secure a new distributor for the CWS Platform if necessary, the lack of a distributor would have material adverse consequences on our financial condition and prospects. We have a limited operating history, which may make it difficult to evaluate our business and prospects. The Company is an early, startup stage entity with little operating history. The Company only has nominal cash as of the date of this Annuary Report on the Form 10-K. The revenue and income potential of the Company’s business and market are unproven. The Company’s limited operating history makes an evaluation of the Company and its prospects difficult and highly speculative. There can be no assurances that: (a) the Company will be able to develop products or services on a timely and cost effective basis; (b) the Company will be able to generate any increase in revenues; (c) the Company will have adequate financing or resources to continue operating its business and to provide products and services to customers; (d) the Company will earn a profit; (e) the Company can raise sufficient capital to support operations by attaining profitability; or (f) the Company can satisfy future liabilities. Our independent registered public accounting firm has expressed substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern in its report. The Company has evaluated whether there are certain conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that the consolidated financial statements are issued. The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The Company sustained net losses of $15,747,724 and $1,842,175 during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and had cash used in operations of $9,113,855 during the year ended December 31, 2023. The Company requires additional capital to operate and expects losses to continue for the foreseeable future. These factors raise substantial doubts about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Company’s ability to continue as a going concern until it reaches profitability is dependent upon its ability to generate cash from operating activities and to raise additional capital to fund operations. Management plans to raise additional capital to fund operations through debt and/or equity financings. The Company has raised funds from the IPO and an additional $16.6 million from its public offerings in October and November 2023. Our failure to raise additional capital could have a negative impact on not only our financial condition but also our ability to execute our business plan. No assurance can be given that the Company will be successful in these efforts. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. The Company may not be able to obtain financing on acceptable terms, or at all. The Company may need to raise additional capital to support its operations. The Company may need to procure additional financing over time, the amount and timing of which will depend on a number of factors, including the pace of expansion of the Company’s opportunities and customer base, the scope of product development to be undertaken by the Company, the need to respond to customer needs for improvement of product offerings, the services offered and development efforts, the cash flow generated by its operations, the extent of losses, if any with respect to matters identified as risk factors herein and the extent of other unanticipated areas or amounts of expenditure. The Company cannot fully predict the extent to which it will require additional financing. There can be no assurance regarding the availability or terms of additional financing the Company may be able to procure over time. Any new investor may require that any future debt financing or issuance of preferred equity by the Company could be senior to the rights of stockholders, and any future issuance of equity could result in the dilution of the value of our shares. 16 The Company may incur significant losses, and there can be no assurance that the Company will ever become a profitable business. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had net losses of $15,747,724 and $1,842,175, respectively. It is anticipated that the Company may continue to sustain operating losses. Its ability to become and/or remain profitable depends in material part on success in growing and expanding the Company’s products and services. There can be no assurance that this will occur. Unanticipated problems and expenses often encountered in offering new and unique products or services may impact whether the Company is successful. Furthermore, the Company may encounter substantial delays and unexpected expenses related to development, technological changes, marketing, insurance, legal or regulatory requirements and changes to such requirements or other unforeseen difficulties. There can be no assurance that the Company will remain profitable. If the Company sustains losses over a period of time, it may be unable to continue in business. The Company’s future revenue and operating results are unpredictable and may fluctuate significantly. It is difficult to accurately forecast the Company’s revenues and operating results, and they could fluctuate in the future due to several factors. These factors may include acceptance of the Company’s products and services; the amount and timing of operating costs and capital expenditures; competition from other market venues or services that may reduce market share and create pricing pressure; and adverse changes in general economic, industry and regulatory conditions and requirements. The Company’s operating results may fluctuate from year to year due to the factors listed above and others not listed. At times, these fluctuations may be significant. We rely on a limited number of suppliers, or, in some cases, a sole supplier, and may not be able to find replacements or immediately transition to alternative suppliers. Our SWOL Tequila is produced by the sole supplier, an individual based in Guadalajara, Mexico. This supplier is solely responsible for the production, bottling, labeling, capping, and packaging of our finished tequila product. If our contracts with this supplier are terminated for any reason (including, natural death of our supplier), we may not have alternative sources of supply at comparable prices and may not be able to complete orders for SWOL Tequila in time or at all. If we find a replacement, we also may not be able to raise the prices of our products to cover all, or even a portion, of the increased costs. In addition, if our supplier fails to perform satisfactorily, fails to handle increased orders, it could cause us to fail to meet orders, lose sales, incur additional costs and/or expose us to product quality issues. This could cause us to lose credibility in the marketplace and damage our relationships with our customers and partners, ultimately leading to a decline in our business and results of operations. We may not be able to obtain an acceptable substitute for production, bottling, labeling, capping, and packaging from another supplier on the same basis or at all. Even if we are able to obtain acceptable substitutes from replacement suppliers, their use could require us to significantly alter our business operations. An interruption in our business operations could occur if we encounter delays or difficulties in securing or maintaining the production of SWOL Tequila. Any such interruption could negatively impact our business development, launches of new products, and significantly affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and reputation. 17 The Company’s ability to import SWOL Tequila may be suspended at any time by the Mexican authorities and until registration of the Company’s Mexican agreements is complete, the Company will not be able to enforce its authorization to use the denomination of origin “TEQUILA” applied in their products branded under the SWOL trademark against third parties in Mexico. On March 19, 2021, the Company entered into an asset purchase agreement with Dollinger Innovations Inc., Dollinger Holdings LLC, and Sean Dollinger pursuant to which we acquired the assets related to the online or in-person sale of original SWOL tequila and other SWOL branded products. The transaction included the assignment of the Shared Responsibility and Bonding Agreement by and between Dollinger Innovations and Leticia Hermosillo Raverero relating to the production of original SWOL tequila for exclusive importation into the United States by Dollinger Innovations or its assigns. In connection with this assignment, on July 7, 2023, the Company, Dollinger Innovations Inc. and the Producer signed a ratification of the agreement of assignment of rights of the Shared Responsibility and Bonding Agreement, which requires registration with the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property. The Company submitted documents to the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property to obtain such registration on July 12, 2023. On June 30, 2023, pursuant to an assignment agreement, Dollinger Innovations Inc., Dollinger Holdings LLC, and Sean Dollinger assigned their rights as distributor under the Packaging of Origin Co-Responsibility Agreement with the Producer dated July 6, 2020 to the Company. Subsequent to that, on July 11, 2023, the Producer and LQR House signed a Bottled at Origin Joint Responsibility Agreement, which requires registration with the Mexican institute of Industrial Property, which was requested by the Company on July 13, 2023. The Company does not know when it will receive the completed registrations described above, and the Mexican authorities could suspend importation into the United States of SWOL branded products at any time. Until we obtain a completed registration, the Company will not be able to enforce its authorization to use the denomination of origin “TEQUILA” applied in their products branded under the SWOL trademark against third parties in Mexico. After we obtain such registrations, the Mexican authorities could suspend such importation of SWOL branded products only in case of cancellation of the registration, which would only happen in the following scenarios: i) if the parties fail to comply with the “Official Tequila Standard” as that will result in the suspension or cancellation of the export certificates issued by the regulatory Council of Tequila, A.C. (“RCT”); ii) if LQR House fails to include the phrases: “Protected Designation of Origin” in their products in the terms provided in article 302 of Mexico Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property; and iii) by termination of the validity of the authorization provided by the Producer. In the event that importation of SWOL products is suspended it would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial results and reputation. If demand for our products and services does not develop as expected our projected revenues and profits will be affected. Our future profits are influenced by many factors, including economics, world events and changing customer preferences. We believe that the markets in our product segment will continue to grow, that we will be successful in marketing our products and services in these markets. If our expectations as to the size of these markets and our ability to sell our products and services in this market are not correct, our revenue may not materialize, and our business will be adversely affected. If we fail to acquire and retain new customers, or fail to do so in a cost-effective manner, we may be unable to increase net revenues, improve margins and achieve profitability. Our success depends on our ability to acquire and retain new customers and to do so in a cost-effective manner. We must continue to acquire customers in order to increase net revenues, improve margins, and achieve profitability. We intend to make significant investments related to customer acquisition and expect to continue to spend significant amounts to acquire additional customers. We cannot assure you that the net revenues from the new customers we acquire will ultimately exceed the cost of acquiring those customers. If we fail to deliver a quality shopping experience, or if consumers do not perceive the products we offer to be of high value and quality, we may be unable to acquire or retain customers. If we are unable to acquire or retain customers who purchase products in volumes sufficient to grow our business, we may be unable to generate the scale necessary to achieve operational efficiency. Consequently, our prices may increase, or may not decrease to levels sufficient to generate customer interest, our net revenues may decrease, and our margins and profitability may decline or not improve. As a result, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. 18 We believe that many of our new customers will originate from word-of-mouth and other non-paid referrals from our customers. Therefore, we must ensure that our customers remain loyal to us to continue receiving those referrals. If our efforts to satisfy our customers are not successful, we may be unable to acquire new customers in sufficient numbers to continue to grow our business, and we may be required to incur significantly higher marketing expenses to acquire new customers. We rely on other third parties to provide services essential to the success of our business. Third parties provide a variety of essential business functions for us, including customer service, legal and distribution. It is possible that some of these third parties will fail to perform their services or will perform them in an unacceptable manner. It is possible that we will experience delays, errors, or other problems with their work that will materially impact our operations. In particular, we rely on CWS for the distribution of products sold by our marketing clientele. In the event CWS were to lose their distribution license, for any reason, including but not limited to, changes in state and federal regulations, we would have to seek alternative distribution options immediately. The services we sell to our clients could be interrupted by the change in distribution provider and our business and reputation could suffer. If our efforts to contract with another distributor are unsuccessful, the Company may be unable to achieve or maintain profitability and may incur significant losses in the future. As a result, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. The value of our brand also depends on effective customer support to provide a high-quality customer experience, which requires significant personnel expenses. If not managed properly, this expense could impact our profitability. Failure to manage or train our outsourced customer support representatives properly could compromise our ability to handle customer complaints effectively. Reduced consumer demand for alcoholic beverages could harm our business. There have been periods in the past in which overall per capita consumption of alcoholic beverages in the United States and other markets in which we participate has declined substantially. A limited or general decline in consumption in one or more of our product categories could occur in the future due to a variety of factors, including a general decline in economic conditions, increased concern about the health consequences of consuming alcoholic beverage products and about drinking and driving, a trend toward a healthier diet including lighter, lower-calorie beverages such as diet soft drinks, juices and water products, the increased activity of anti-alcohol groups and increased federal, state or foreign excise and other taxes on alcoholic beverage products. The competitive position of the Company’s products could also be affected adversely by any failure to achieve consistent, reliable quality in the product or service levels to customers. The success of our business relies heavily on brand image, reputation, and product quality. It is important that we maintain and increase the image and reputation of our existing brands and products. Concerns about product quality, even when unsubstantiated, could be harmful to our image and reputation of our brands and products. While we have quality control programs in place, in the event we experienced an issue with product quality, we may experience recalls or liability in addition to business disruption which could further negatively impact brand image and reputation and negatively affect our sales. Our brand image and reputation may also be more difficult to protect due to less oversight and control because of the outsourcing of some of our operations. We also could be exposed to lawsuits relating to product liability or marketing or sales practices. Deterioration to our brand equity may be difficult to combat or reverse and could have a material effect on our business and financial results. 19 In addition, in recent years, there has been a marked increase in the use of social media platforms and other forms of Internet-based communications that provide individuals with access to broad audiences, and the availability of information on social media platforms is virtually immediate, as can be its impact. Many social media platforms immediately publish the content their participants post, often without filters or checks on accuracy of the content posted. Furthermore, other Internet-based or traditional media outlets may in turn reference or republish such social media content to an even broader audience. Information concerning us, regardless of its accuracy, may be posted on such platforms at any time. Information posted may be adverse to our interests or may be inaccurate, each of which may materially harm our brand, reputation, performance, prospects and business, and such harm may be immediate and we may have little or no opportunity to respond or to seek redress or a correction. Changes in consumer spending could have a negative impact on our financial condition and business results. Alcohol sales depend upon a number of factors related to the level of consumer spending, including the general state of the economy, federal and state income tax rates, deductibility of business entertainment expenses under federal and state tax laws, and consumer confidence in future economic conditions. Changes in consumer spending in these and other areas can affect both the quantity and the price of wines that customers are willing to purchase online, at restaurants or through retail outlets. Reduced consumer confidence and spending may result in reduced demand for our products, limitations on our ability to increase prices and increased levels of selling and promotional expenses. This, in turn, may have a considerable negative impact upon sales and gross margins. We are subject to, or voluntarily comply with, a number of other laws and regulations relating to the payments we accept from our customers and third parties, including with respect to money laundering, money transfers, privacy, and information security, and electronic fund transfers. These laws and regulations could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. If we were found to be in violation of any of these applicable laws or regulations, we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties and higher transaction fees or lose our ability to accept credit and debit card payments from our customers, process electronic funds transfers or facilitate other types of online payments, which may make our services less convenient and less attractive to our customers and diminish the customer experience. Adverse public opinion about alcohol may harm our business. While a number of research studies suggest that moderate alcohol consumption may provide various health benefits, other studies conclude or suggest that alcohol consumption has no health benefits and may increase the risk of stroke, cancer and other illnesses. An unfavorable report on the health effects of alcohol consumption could significantly reduce the demand for wine, which could harm our business by reducing sales and increasing expenses. In recent years, activist groups have used advertising and other methods to inform the public about the societal harms associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages. These groups have also sought, and continue to seek, legislation to reduce the availability of alcoholic beverages, to increase the penalties associated with the misuse of alcoholic beverages, or to increase the costs associated with the production of alcoholic beverages. Over time, these efforts could cause a reduction in the consumption of alcoholic beverages generally, which could harm our business by reducing sales and increasing expenses. Increased regulatory costs or taxes would harm our financial performance. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, or the TTB, imposes excise taxes, and/or other taxes on beverage alcohol products, and/or on certain raw materials used to produce our beverage alcohol products, in varying amounts. TTB or other governmental bodies may propose changes to international trade agreements, tariffs, taxes and other government rules and regulations. Significant increases in taxes on, or that impact, beverage alcohol products could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition and/or results of operations. Changes in the prices of supplies and raw materials could have a materially adverse effect on our business. There have been changes in the cost of raw materials used in tequila production and especially raw spirits in recent years. The increases in prices may also take place in the future and our inability to pass on increases to our customers could reduce our margins and profits and have a material adverse effect on our business. We cannot assure you that shortages or increases in the prices of our supplies or raw materials will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. 20 We are subject to, or voluntarily comply with, a number of other laws and regulations relating to the payments we accept from our customers and third parties, including with respect to money laundering, money transfers, privacy, and information security, and electronic fund transfers. These laws and regulations could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. If we were found to be in violation of any of these applicable laws or regulations, we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties and higher transaction fees or lose our ability to accept credit and debit card payments from our customers, process electronic funds transfers or facilitate other types of online payments, which may make our services less convenient and less attractive to our customers and diminish the customer experience. We are subject to risks associated with payments to us from our customers and other third parties, including risks associated with fraud. Nearly all of our customers’ payments, for marketing services, are made by credit card or debit card. We currently rely exclusively on one third party vendor to provide payment processing services, including the processing of payments from credit cards and debit cards, and our business would be disrupted if this vendor becomes unwilling or unable to provide these services to us and we are unable to find a suitable replacement on a timely basis. We are also subject to payment brand operating rules, payment card industry data security standards and certification requirements, which could change or be reinterpreted to make it more difficult or impossible for us to comply. If we fail to comply with these rules or requirements, we may be subject to fines and higher transaction fees and lose our ability to accept credit and debit card payments from customers, which would make our services less convenient and attractive to our customers and likely result in a substantial reduction in revenue. We may also incur losses as a result of claims that the customer did not authorize given purchases, fraud, erroneous transmissions and customers who have closed bank accounts or have insufficient funds in their accounts to satisfy payments owed to us. We are subject to, or voluntarily comply with, a number of other laws and regulations relating to the payments we accept from our customers and third parties, including with respect to money laundering, money transfers, privacy, and information security, and electronic fund transfers. These laws and regulations could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. If we were found to be in violation of any of these applicable laws or regulations, we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties and higher transaction fees or lose our ability to accept credit and debit card payments from our customers, process electronic funds transfers or facilitate other types of online payments, which may make our services less convenient and less attractive to our customers and diminish the customer experience. We may not be able to fully exploit newly acquired brands. We intend to acquire third-party brands. In our experience, not every brand deployment is successful. We may incur significant costs acquiring and promoting new brands only to have limited market acceptance and limited resulting sales. If this occurs, our financial results may be negatively impacted, and we may determine it is in the best interest of the Company to no longer support that brand. We operate in highly competitive industries, and competitive pressures could have a material adverse effect on our business. The alcoholic beverage distribution industry in the United States is intensely competitive and highly fragmented. The principal competitive factors in that industry include product range, pricing, distribution capabilities and responsiveness to consumer preferences, with varying emphasis on these factors depending on the market and the product. With respect to individual customers, we face significant competition from various regional distributors and brick and mortar stores, who compete principally on price. The effect of this competition could adversely affect our results of operations. 21 We are dependent on the continued services and performance of our senior management and other key employees, the loss of any of whom could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition. Our future performance depends on the continued services and contributions of our senior management and other key employees, including Sean Dollinger, our founder and Chief Executive Officer, and Kumar Abhishek, our Chief Financial Officer and Jaclyn Hoffman, our Chief Marketing Officer. Without these key executives and employees, we may not have the ability to execute our business plans and to identify and pursue new opportunities and product innovations. The loss of services of senior management or other key employees could significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our development and strategic objectives. The loss of the services of our senior management or other key employees for any reason could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. We do not presently maintain any key man life insurance policies. We may not be able to manage future growth effectively. If our business plans are successful, we may experience significant growth in a short period of time and potential scaling issues. Should we grow rapidly, our financial, management and operating resources may not expand sufficiently to adequately manage our growth. If we are unable to manage our growth, our costs may increase disproportionately, our future revenues may stop growing or decline and we may face dissatisfied customers. Our failure to manage our growth may adversely impact our business and the value of your investment. If the Company fails to develop or protect its intellectual property adequately, the Company’s business could suffer. The Company has attempted, and may attempt, to develop certain intellectual property of its own, but cannot assure that it will be able to obtain exclusive rights in trade secrets, patents, trademark registrations and copyright registrations. At this time, the Company is unsure of what types of intellectual property might be developed. The cost of developing, applying for and obtaining such enforceable rights is expensive. Even after such enforceable rights are obtained, there are significant costs for maintaining and enforcing them. The Company may lack the resources to put in place exclusive protection and enforcement efforts. Also, certain of the Company’s product or service offerings initially draws from publicly available technology in the marketplace. The Company’s failure to obtain or maintain adequate protection of its intellectual property rights for any reason could have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition and results of operations. If the Company were to develop intellectual property, the Company may seek to enforce its intellectual property rights on others through litigation. The Company’s claims, even if meritorious, may be found invalid or inapplicable to a party the Company believes infringes or has misappropriated its intellectual property rights. In addition, litigation can: ● be expensive and time consuming to prosecute or defend; ● result in a finding that the Company does not have certain intellectual property rights or that such rights lack sufficient scope or strength; ● divert management’s attention and resources; or ● require the Company to license its intellectual property. We do not have any trademarks that are registered in the United States. Our SWOL trademark is registered in Mexico only. As a result, a third party may be able to successfully challenge our enforcement of the SWOL trademark in the United States. If a successful challenge to our enforcement of our trademarks rights with respect to SWOL were to occur, we could lose the ability to market SWOL in the United States and such an occurrence could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. The Company relies or may rely in the future on trademarks or service marks to establish a market identity for its products or services. To maintain the value of the Company’s trademarks or service marks, the Company might have to file lawsuits against third parties to prevent them from using marks confusingly similar to or dilutive of the Company’s registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks. The Company also might not obtain registrations for its pending or future trademark or service marks applications and might have to defend its registered trademark or service marks and pending applications from challenge by third parties. Enforcing or defending the Company’s registered and unregistered trademarks or service marks might result in significant litigation costs and damages, including the inability to continue using certain marks. 22 The laws of foreign countries in which the Company may contemplate doing business in the future may not recognize intellectual property rights or protect them to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. Adverse determinations in a judicial or administrative proceeding could prevent the Company from offering or providing its products or services or prevent the Company from stopping others from offering or providing competing services, and thereby have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, and results of operations. The Company’s products, services or processes could be subject to claims of infringement of the intellectual property of others. Claims that the Company’s products, services, business methods, or processes infringe upon the proprietary rights of others often are not asserted until after commencement of commercial sales of a product. Significant litigation regarding intellectual property rights exists in the Company’s industry. Third parties may make claims of infringement against the Company in connection with the use of its technology. Any claims, even those without merit, could: ● be expensive and time consuming to defend; ● cause the Company to cease making, licensing, or using services that incorporate the challenged intellectual property; or ● divert management’s attention and resources. The Company cannot be certain of the outcome of any litigation. Any royalty or licensing agreement, if required, may not be available to the Company on acceptable terms or at all. The Company’s failure to obtain the necessary licenses or other rights could prevent the development, or distribution of the Company’s marketing technology and, therefore, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business. We are exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates that could negatively impact our financial results and cash flows . Our supplier is located in Mexico. Because of this we face exposure to adverse movements in foreign currency exchange rates. Our primary exposures are expected to be related to pesos denominated operating expenses in Mexico. These exposures may change over time as business practices evolve, and they could have a material adverse impact on our financial results and cash flows. A failure or breach of our security systems or infrastructure as a result of cyberattacks could disrupt our business, result in the disclosure or misuse of confidential or proprietary information, damage our reputation, increase our costs and cause losses. Information security risks for technology companies, such as the Company, have significantly increased in recent years in part because of the proliferation of new technologies, the use of the Internet and telecommunications technologies to conduct financial transactions, and the increased sophistication and activities of organized crime, hackers, terrorists and other external parties. These threats may derive from fraud or malice on the part of our employees or third parties or may result from human error or accidental technological failure. These threats include cyberattacks, such as computer viruses, malicious code, phishing attacks or information security breaches. 23 Our operations will, in part, rely on the secure processing, transmission and storage of confidential proprietary and other information in our computer systems and networks. Our customers will rely on digital technologies, computers, email and messaging systems, software and networks to conduct their operations or to utilize our products or services. In addition, to access our products and services, our customers will use personal smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile devices that may be beyond our control. If a cyberattack or other information security breach occurs, it could lead to security breaches of the networks, systems or devices that our customers use to access our products and services which could result in the unauthorized disclosure, release, gathering, monitoring, misuse, loss or destruction of confidential, proprietary and other information (including account data information) or data security compromises. Such events could also cause service interruptions, malfunctions or other failures in the physical infrastructure or operations systems that will support our businesses and customers, as well as the operations of our customers or other third parties. Any actual attacks could lead to damage to our reputation with our customers and other parties and the market, additional costs to the Company (such as repairing systems, adding new personnel or protection technologies or compliance costs), regulatory penalties, financial losses to both us and our customers and partners and the loss of customers and business opportunities. If such attacks are not detected immediately, their effect could be compounded. Although we will attempt to mitigate these risks, there can be no assurance that we will be immune to these risks and not suffer losses in the future. Current market conditions and recessionary pressures in one or more of the Company’s markets could impact the Company’s ability to grow its business. The U.S. economy faces continued concerns about the systemic impacts of adverse economic conditions such as the U.S. deficit, historically high inflation, volatile energy costs, geopolitical issues, the continued availability and cost of credit in the face of expected interest rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve, ongoing supply chain disruptions, the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and unstable financial and real estate markets. Foreign countries, including those in the Euro zone, are affected by similar systemic impacts. Turbulence in the United States and international markets and economic conditions may adversely affect the Company’s liquidity and financial condition, and the liquidity and financial condition of the Company’s customers. If these market conditions occur, they may limit the Company’s ability, and the ability of the Company’s customers, to replace maturing liabilities and to access the capital markets to meet liquidity needs, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. There is no assurance that the Company’s products and services will be accepted in the marketplace. To date, inflationary pressures have not had a material impact on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations, and we have not developed any plans or taken any action to mitigate such inflationary pressures. However, there is no assurance the inflationary pressures will not have a material effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations in the future. If inflationary pressures begin to have a material effect on the Company in the future, we may or may not develop plans to mitigate those pressures. Risks Related to Government Regulation and Being a Public Company We will face growing regulatory and compliance requirements which can be costly and time consuming. New and evolving regulations and compliance standards for cyber security, data protection, privacy, and internal IT controls are often created in response to the tide of cyberattacks and will increasingly impact organizations like our company. Existing regulatory standards require that organizations implement internal controls for user access to applications and data. In addition, data breaches are driving a new wave of regulation, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, with stricter enforcement and higher penalties. Regulatory and policy-driven obligations require expensive and time-consuming compliance measures. The fear of non-compliance, failed audits, and material findings has pushed organizations to spend more to ensure they are in compliance, often resulting in costly, one-off implementations to mitigate potential fines or reputational damage. The high costs associated with failing to meet regulatory requirements, combined with the risk of fallout from security breaches, has elevated this topic from the IT organization to the executive and board level. We may need to spend additional time and money ensuring we will meet future regulatory requirements. 24 Our business could be negatively impacted by changes in the U.S. political environment. There is significant ongoing uncertainty with respect to potential legislation, regulation and government policy at the federal, state and local levels in the United States. Such uncertainty and any material changes in such legislation, regulation and government policy could significantly impact our business as well as the markets in which we compete. Specific legislative and regulatory proposals that might materially impact us include, but are not limited to, changes to liability rules for data privacy regulations, import and export regulations, income tax regulations and the U.S. federal tax code and public company reporting requirements, immigration policies and enforcement, healthcare law, minimum wage laws, climate and energy policies, foreign trade and relations with foreign governments, and pandemic response. To the extent changes in the political environment have a negative impact on us or on our customers, our markets, our business, results of operation and financial condition could be materially and adversely impacted in the future. Failure to comply with data privacy and security laws and regulations could adversely affect our operating results and business. In the ordinary course of our business, we might collect and store in our internal and external data centers, cloud services and networks sensitive data, including our proprietary business information and that of our customers, suppliers and business collaborators, as well as personal information of our customers and employees. The secure processing, maintenance and transmission of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. The number and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions that companies have experienced from third parties has increased over the past few years. Despite our security measures, it is impossible for us to eliminate this risk. A number of U.S. states have enacted data privacy and security laws and regulations that govern the collection, use, disclosure, transfer, storage, disposal, and protection of personal information, such as social security numbers, financial information and other sensitive personal information. For example, all 50 states and several U.S. territories now have data breach laws that require timely notification to affected individuals, and at times regulators, credit reporting agencies and other bodies, if a company has experienced the unauthorized access or acquisition of certain personal information. Other state laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended, or the CCPA, among other things, contain disclosure obligations for businesses that collect personal information about residents in their state and affords those individuals new rights relating to their personal information that may affect our ability to collect and/or use personal information. Effective January 1, 2023, we became subject to the California Privacy Rights Act, which expands upon the consumer data use restrictions, penalties and enforcement provisions under the California Consumer Privacy Act, and Virginia’s Consumer Data Protection Act, another comprehensive data privacy law. Effective July 1, 2023, we became subject to the Colorado Privacy Act and Connecticut’s An Act Concerning Personal Data Privacy and Online Monitoring, which are also comprehensive consumer privacy laws. Effective December 31, 2023, we will also become subject to the Utah Consumer Privacy Act, regarding business handling of consumers’ personal data. Meanwhile, several other states and the federal government have considered or are considering privacy laws like the CCPA. We will continue to monitor and assess the impact of these laws, which may impose substantial penalties for violations, impose significant costs for investigations and compliance, allow private class-action litigation and carry significant potential liability for our business. Outside of the U.S., data protection laws, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation, or the GDPR, also might apply to some of our operations or business collaborators. Legal requirements in these countries relating to the collection, storage, processing and transfer of personal data/information continue to evolve. The GDPR imposes, among other things, data protection requirements that include strict obligations and restrictions on the ability to collect, analyze and transfer EU personal data/information, a requirement for prompt notice of data breaches to data subjects and supervisory authorities in certain circumstances, and possible substantial fines for any violations (including possible fines for certain violations of up to the greater of 20 million Euros or 4% of total company revenue). Other governmental authorities around the world have enacted or are considering similar types of legislative and regulatory proposals concerning data protection. 25 The interpretation and enforcement of the laws and regulations described above are uncertain and subject to change and may require substantial costs to monitor and implement and maintain adequate compliance programs. Failure to comply with U.S. and international data protection laws and regulations could result in government enforcement actions (which could include substantial civil and/or criminal penalties), private litigation and/or adverse publicity and could negatively affect our operating results and business. Our business depends on our customers’ continued and unimpeded access to the Internet and the development and maintenance of Internet infrastructure. Internet access providers may be able to block, degrade or charge for access to certain of our services, which could lead to additional expenses and the loss of customers. Our services depend on the ability of our customers, and the customers of Country Wine & Spirits Inc., to access the Internet. Currently, this access is provided by companies having significant market power in the broadband and Internet access marketplace, including incumbent telephone companies, cable companies, mobile communications companies and government-owned service providers. Some of these providers have the ability to take measures including legal actions, that could degrade, disrupt or increase the cost of user access to certain of our services by restricting or prohibiting the use of their infrastructure to support our services, charging increased fees to our users, or regulating online speech. Such interference could result in a loss of existing users, advertisers and goodwill, could result in increased costs and could impair our ability to attract new users, thereby harming our revenue and growth. Moreover, the adoption of any laws or regulations adversely affecting the growth, popularity or use of the Internet, including laws impacting Internet neutrality, could decrease the demand for our services and increase our operating costs. The legislative and regulatory landscape regarding the regulation of the Internet and, in particular, Internet neutrality, in the U.S. is subject to uncertainty. To the extent any laws, regulations or rulings permit Internet service providers to charge some users higher rates than others for the delivery of their content, Internet service providers could attempt to use such law, regulation or ruling to impose higher fees or deliver our content with less speed, reliability or otherwise on a non-neutral basis as compared to other market participants, and our business could be adversely impacted. Internationally, government regulation concerning the Internet, and in particular, network neutrality, may be developing or non-existent. Within such a regulatory environment, we could experience discriminatory or anticompetitive practices impeding both our and our customers’ domestic and international growth, increasing our costs or adversely affecting our business. Additional changes in the legislative and regulatory landscape regarding Internet neutrality, or otherwise regarding the regulation of the Internet, could harm our business, operating results and financial condition. Our business could be affected by new governmental regulations regarding the Internet. To date, government regulations have not materially restricted the use of the Internet in most parts of the world. However, the legal and regulatory environment relating to the Internet is uncertain, and governments may impose regulation in the future. New laws may be passed, courts may issue decisions affecting the Internet, existing but previously inapplicable or unenforced laws may be deemed to apply to the Internet or regulatory agencies may begin to more rigorously enforce such formerly unenforced laws, or existing legal safe harbors may be narrowed, both by U.S. federal or state governments and by governments of foreign jurisdictions. The adoption of any new laws or regulations, or the narrowing of any safe harbors, could hinder growth in the use of the Internet and online services generally, and decrease acceptance of the Internet and online services as a means of communications, e-commerce and advertising. In addition, such changes in laws could increase our costs of doing business or prevent us from delivering our services over the Internet or in specific jurisdictions, which could harm our business and our results of operations. 26 Changes in laws and government regulations to which we are currently subject, including changes to the method or approach of enforcement, may increase our costs or limit our ability to market our alcohol brands and the brands of our clients, which could adversely affect our operating results and business. A complex multi-jurisdictional regime governs alcoholic beverage manufacturing, distribution, sales, and marketing in the United States. The alcoholic beverages industry in which we operate is subject to extensive regulation by the TTB (and other federal agencies), each state’s liquor authority, and potentially local authorities depending on location. These regulations and laws dictate such matters as licensing requirements, production, importation, ownership restrictions, trade, and pricing practices, permitted distribution channels, delivery, and prohibitions on sales to minors, permitted, and required labeling, and advertising and relations with wholesalers and retailers. These laws, regulations and licensing requirements may, and sometimes are, interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other legal mandates or with the Company’s business practices. Further, these laws, rules, regulations, and interpretations are constantly changing because of litigation, legislation, and agency priorities, and could result in increased regulation. The Company’s actual or asserted non-compliance with any such law, regulation or requirement could expose us to investigations, claims, litigation, injunctive proceedings and other criminal or civil proceedings by private parties and regulatory authorities, as well as license suspension, license revocation, substantial fines, and negative publicity, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, and business. Government laws and regulations may result in increased production and sales costs, including an increase on the applicable tax in various state, federal and foreign jurisdictions in which we do business. The amount of alcohol that CWS can sell directly to consumers over the internet is regulated, and in certain states CWS is not allowed to sell alcohol directly to consumers at all. Changes in these laws and regulations that tighten current rules could have an adverse impact on sales or increase costs to produce, market, package or sell alcohol. Changes in regulation that require significant additional source data for registration and sale, in the labelling or warning requirements, or limitations on the permissibility of any component, condition or ingredient, in the places in which our alcohol can be legally sold could inhibit sales of affected products in those markets. While we do not engage in the act of selling alcohol on the internet, our business depends on the ability of CWS to continue selling alcohol online through the CWS Platform. If any regulation were to cause a negative impact on the ability of CWS to sell alcohol online, such an impact would have a negative effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. If CWS were ever to become unable to sell alcohol online through the CWS Platform, we would lose a significant source of our revenue, which would have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The alcohol industry, and the ’sale’ of alcohol online, is subject to extensive regulation by a number of federal, state, and local authorities. These regulations and laws dictate such matters as trade and pricing practices, permitted distribution channels, permitted and required labeling, and advertising. New or updated regulations, requirements or licenses, particularly changes that impact CWS’ ability to sell direct to customer and/or retain accounts in the states in which it operates, or new or increased excise taxes, income taxes, sales taxes or international tariffs, could have an indirect, material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. From time to time, states consider proposals to increase state alcohol excise taxes. New or revised regulations or increased licensing fees, requirements or taxes could have an indirect, material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources. As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the listing standards of Nasdaq. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting, and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly, and place significant strain on our personnel, systems and resources. Management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. The Exchange Act requires that our company file annual, quarterly, and current reports with respect to our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, establishing the corporate infrastructure necessary for operating a public company may divert our management’s attention from implementing our growth strategy, which could delay or slow the implementation of our business strategies, and in turn negatively impact our company’s financial condition and results of operations. 27 If we fail to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired. Our current internal controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of changes in conditions in our business or changes in the applicable laws, regulations and standards. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls, or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement, could harm our operating results, cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations, result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods or adversely affect the results of management evaluations and independent registered public accounting firm audits of our internal control over financial reporting that we will eventually be required to include in our periodic reports that will be filed with the SEC. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on Nasdaq in the future. Our management team has limited experience managing a public company. Most members of our management team have limited experience managing a publicly traded company, interacting with public company investors and complying with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies. Our management team may not successfully or efficiently manage our transition to being a public company that is subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under the federal securities laws and the continuous scrutiny of securities analysts and investors. These new obligations and constituents will require significant attention from our senior management and could divert their attention away from the day-to-day management of our business, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Industry and other market data used in this or other periodic reports that we have filed or will in the future file with the SEC, including those undertaken by us or our engaged consultants, may not prove to be representative of current and future market conditions or future results. This report includes or refers to, and periodic reports that we have filed and will in the future file with the SEC may include or refer to, statistical and other industry and market data that we obtained from industry publications and research, surveys and studies conducted by third parties and surveys and studies that we undertook ourselves regarding the market potential for our current products. Although we believe that such information has been obtained from reliable sources, the sources of such data have not guaranteed the accuracy or completeness of such information. While we believe these industry publications and third-party research, surveys and studies are reliable, we have not independently verified such data. The results of this data represent various methodologies, assumptions, research, analysis, projections, estimates, composition of respondent pool, presentation of data and adjustments, each of which may ultimately prove to be incorrect, and cause actual results and market viability to differ materially from those presented in any such report or other materials. Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, such as actual events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults, or non-performance by financial institutions or transactional counterparties, could adversely affect our current and projected business operations and our financial condition and results of operations. Actual events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, transactional counterparties or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems. For example, on March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank, or SVB, was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the FDIC, as receiver. Similarly, on March 12, 2023, Signature Bank Corp., or Signature, and Silvergate Capital Corp. were each swept into receivership. Although a statement by the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC indicated that all depositors of SVB would have access to all of their money after only one business day of closure, including funds held in uninsured deposit accounts, borrowers under credit agreements, letters of credit and certain other financial instruments with SVB, Signature or any other financial institution that is placed into receivership by the FDIC may be unable to access undrawn amounts thereunder. Although we are not a borrower under or party to any material letter of credit or any other such instruments with SVB, Signature or any other financial institution currently in receivership, if we enter into any such instruments and any of our lenders or counterparties to such instruments were to be placed into receivership, we may be unable to access such funds. In addition, if any of our partners, suppliers or other parties with whom we conduct business are unable to access funds pursuant to such instruments or lending arrangements with such a financial institution, such parties’ ability to pay their obligations to us or to enter into new commercial arrangements requiring additional payments to us could be adversely affected. In this regard, counterparties to credit agreements and arrangements with these financial institutions, and third parties such as beneficiaries of letters of credit (among others), may experience direct impacts from the closure of these financial institutions and uncertainty remains over liquidity concerns in the broader financial services industry. Similar impacts have occurred in the past, such as during the 2008 – 2010 financial crisis. 28 Inflation and rapid increases in interest rates have led to a decline in the trading value of previously issued government securities with interest rates below current market interest rates. Although the U.S. Department of Treasury, FDIC and Federal Reserve Board have announced a program to provide up to $25 billion of loans to financial institutions secured by certain of such government securities held by financial institutions to mitigate the risk of potential losses on the sale of such instruments, widespread demands for customer withdrawals or other liquidity needs of financial institutions for immediately liquidity may exceed the capacity of such program. Our access to funding sources and other credit arrangements in amounts adequate to finance or capitalize our current and projected future business operations could be significantly impaired by factors that affect us, any financial institutions with which we enter into credit agreements or arrangements directly, or the financial services industry or economy in general. These factors could include, among others, events such as liquidity constraints or failures, the ability to perform obligations under various types of financial, credit or liquidity agreements or arrangements, disruptions or instability in the financial services industry or financial markets, or concerns or negative expectations about the prospects for companies in the financial services industry. These factors could involve financial institutions or financial services industry companies with which we have financial or business relationships but could also include factors involving financial markets or the financial services industry generally. The results of events or concerns that involve one or more of these factors could include a variety of material and adverse impacts on our current and projected business operations and our financial condition and results of operations. These risks include, but may not be limited to, the following: ● delayed access to deposits or other financial assets or the uninsured loss of deposits or other financial assets; ● inability to enter into credit facilities or other working capital resources; ● potential or actual breach of contractual obligations that require us to maintain letters of credit or other credit support arrangements; or ● termination of cash management arrangements and/or delays in accessing or actual loss of funds subject to cash management arrangements. In addition, investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on acceptable terms or at all. Any decline in available funding or access to our cash and liquidity resources could, among other risks, adversely impact our ability to meet our operating expenses or other obligations, financial or otherwise, result in breaches of our financial and/or contractual obligations, or result in violations of federal or state wage and hour laws. Any of these impacts, or any other impacts resulting from the factors described above or other related or similar factors, could have material adverse impacts on our liquidity and our current and/or projected business operations and financial condition and results of operations. Any further deterioration in the macroeconomic economy or financial services industry could lead to losses or defaults by our partners, vendors or suppliers, which in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our current and/or projected business operations and results of operations and financial condition. For example, a partner may fail to make payments when due, default under their agreements with us, become insolvent or declare bankruptcy, or a supplier may determine that it will no longer deal with us as a customer. In addition, a vendor or supplier could be adversely affected by any of the liquidity or other risks that are described above as factors that could result in material adverse impacts on us, including but not limited to delayed access or loss of access to uninsured deposits or loss of the ability to draw on existing credit facilities involving a troubled or failed financial institution. The bankruptcy or insolvency of any partner, vendor or supplier, or the failure of any partner to make payments when due, or any breach or default by a partner, vendor or supplier, or the loss of any significant supplier relationships, could cause us to suffer material losses and may have a material adverse impact on our business. 29 Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock Our stock price may be volatile, and purchasers of our common stock could incur substantial losses. The stock market in general has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to operating performance of individual companies, particularly following a public offering of a company with a small public float. There is the potential for rapid and substantial price volatility of our commonstock. Broad market factors may seriously harm the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual or expected operating performance and financial condition or prospects, which may make it difficult for investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our common stock. Additionally, the price and volume of our common stock may fluctuate significantly as a result of the following factors: ● quarterly variations in our operating results compared to market expectations; ● adverse publicity about us, the industries we participate in or individual scandals; ● announcements of new offerings or significant price reductions by us or our competitors; ● fluctuations in stock market prices and volumes; ● changes in senior management or key personnel; ● changes in financial estimates by securities analysts; ● the market’s reaction to our reduced disclosure as a result of being an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act; ● negative earnings or other announcements by us or our competitors; ● defaults on indebtedness, incurrence of additional indebtedness, or issuances of additional capital stock; ● global economic, legal and regulatory factors unrelated to our performance; and ● the other factors listed in this “ Risk Factors ” section. Volatility in the market price of our common stock may prevent investors from being able to sell their shares at or above the initial public offering price. As a result, you may suffer a loss on your investment. 30 Certain recent initial public offerings of companies with relatively small public floats comparable to our anticipated public float have experienced extreme volatility that was seemingly unrelated to the underlying performance of the respective company. Our common stock have experienced and may potentially experience rapid and substantial price volatility, which may make it difficult for prospective investors to assess the value of our common stock. In addition to the risks addressed above, our common stock may be subject to rapid and substantial price volatility. Recently, companies with comparably small public floats and initial public offering sizes have experienced instances of extreme stock price run-ups followed by rapid price declines, and such stock price volatility was seemingly unrelated to the respective company’s underlying performance. Although the specific cause of such volatility is unclear, our anticipated public float may amplify the impact the actions taken by a few stockholders have on the price of our stock, which may cause our stock price to deviate, potentially significantly, from a price that better reflects the underlying performance of our business. Our common stock may experience run-ups and declines that are seemingly unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance and financial condition or prospects, making it difficult for prospective investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our common stock. In addition, investors of shares of our common stock may experience losses, which may be material, if the price of our common stock declines or if such investors purchase shares of our common stock prior to any price decline. We are currently listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market. If we are unable to maintain listing of our securities on Nasdaq or any stock exchange, our stock price could be adversely affected and the liquidity of our stock and our ability to obtain financing could be impaired and it may be more difficult for our stockholders to sell their securities. Although our common stock is currently listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, we may not be able to continue to meet the exchange’s minimum listing requirements or those of any other national exchange. If we are unable to maintain listing on Nasdaq or if a liquid market for our common stock does not develop or is sustained, our common stock may remain thinly traded. The listing rules of Nasdaq require listing issuers to comply with certain standards in order to remain listed on its exchange. If, for any reason, we should fail to maintain compliance with these listing standards and Nasdaq should delist our securities from trading on its exchange and we are unable to obtain listing on another national securities exchange, a reduction in some or all of the following may occur, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our stockholders: ● the liquidity of our common stock; ● the market price of our common stock; ● our ability to obtain financing for the continuation of our operations; ● the number of institutional and general investors that will consider investing in our common stock; ● the number of investors in general that will consider investing in our common stock; ● the number of market makers in our common stock; ● the availability of information concerning the trading prices and volume of our common stock; and ● the number of broker-dealers willing to execute trades in shares of our common stock. If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for the shares and trading volume could decline. The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If research analysts do not establish and maintain adequate research coverage or if one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our common stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for our common stock would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which, in turn, could cause the market price or trading volume for our common stock to decline. 31 We have never paid cash dividends on our stock and do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future. We have paid no cash dividends on any class of our stock to date, and we do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the near term. For the foreseeable future, we intend to retain any earnings to finance the development and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock. Accordingly, investors must be prepared to rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation to earn an investment return, which may never occur. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our board deems relevant. Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our stockholders, or restrict our operations. Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenues, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity and/or debt financing and collaborations, licensing agreements or other strategic arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of such securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a stockholder. To the extent that we raise additional capital through debt financing, it would result in increased fixed payment obligations and a portion of our operating cash flows, if any, being dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on such indebtedness. In addition, debt financing may involve agreements that include restrictive covenants that impose operating restrictions, such as restrictions on the incurrence of additional debt, the making of certain capital expenditures or the declaration of dividends. We may issue additional debt and equity securities, which are senior to our common stock as to distributions and in liquidation, which could materially adversely affect the market price of our common stock. In the future, we may attempt to increase our capital resources by entering into additional debt or debt-like financing that is secured by all or up to all of our assets, or issuing debt or equity securities, which could include issuances of commercial paper, medium-term notes, senior notes, subordinated notes or shares. In the event of our liquidation, our lenders and holders of our debt securities would receive a distribution of our available assets before distribution to our stockholders. In addition, any additional preferred stock, if issued by our company, may have a preference with respect to distributions and upon liquidation, which could further limit our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. Because our decision to incur debt and issue securities in our future offerings will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings and debt financing. Further, market conditions could require us to accept less favorable terms for the issuance of our securities in the future. Thus, you will bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the value of your common stock and diluting your interest in our company. Enforcing legal liability against certain members of our Board and our senior management might be difficult. Although we are organized under the laws of the State of Nevada and investors are able to effect service of process in the United States upon us, some of the members of our board of directors and some members of our senior management reside outside of the United States and all or a substantial portion of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible to serve process on these directors and certain members of our senior management in the United States or to enforce court judgments obtained in the United States against these individuals based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal or state securities laws. In addition, awards of punitive damages in actions brought in the United States or elsewhere may not be enforceable outside the United States. 32 We are subject to ongoing public reporting requirements that are less rigorous than Exchange Act rules for companies that are not emerging growth companies, and our stockholders could receive less information than they might expect to receive from more mature public companies. We are required to publicly report on an ongoing basis as an “emerging growth company” (as defined in the JOBS Act) under the reporting rules set forth under the Exchange Act. For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other Exchange Act reporting companies that are not emerging growth companies, including but not limited to: ● not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; ● being permitted to comply with reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements; and ● being exempt from the requirement to hold a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period. Our financial statements may therefore not be comparable to those of companies that comply with such new or revised accounting standards. We expect to take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would remain an emerging growth company for up to five years, although if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, we would cease to be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. Because we are subject to ongoing public reporting requirements that are less rigorous than Exchange Act rules for companies that are not emerging growth companies, our stockholders could receive less information than they might expect to receive from more mature public companies. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive if we elect to rely on these exemptions, or if taking advantage of these exemptions would result in less active trading or more volatility in the price of our common stock. We are a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies. Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act defines a “smaller reporting company” as an issuer that is not an investment company, an asset-backed issuer, or a majority-owned subsidiary of a parent that is not a smaller reporting company and that: ● had a public float of less than $250 million as of the last business day of its most recently completed second fiscal quarter, computed by multiplying the aggregate worldwide number of shares of its voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates by the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average of the bid and asked prices of common equity, in the principal market for the common equity; or ● in the case of an initial registration statement under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act for shares of its common equity, had a public float of less than $250 million as of a date within 30 days of the date of the filing of the registration statement, computed by multiplying the aggregate worldwide number of such shares held by non-affiliates before the registration plus, in the case of a Securities Act registration statement, the number of such shares included in the registration statement by the estimated public offering price of the shares; or 33 ● in the case of an issuer whose public float as calculated under paragraph (1) or (2) of this definition was zero or whose public float was less than $700 million, had annual revenues of less than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year for which audited financial statements are available. As a smaller reporting company, we will not be required and may not include a Compensation Discussion and Analysis section in our proxy statements; we will provide only two years of financial statements; and we need not provide the table of selected financial data. We also will have other “scaled” disclosure requirements that are less comprehensive than issuers that are not smaller reporting companies which could make our common stock less attractive to potential investors, which could make it more difficult for our stockholders to sell their shares. As a “smaller reporting company,” we may choose to exempt our company from certain corporate governance requirements that could have an adverse effect on our public stockholders . Under Nasdaq rules, a “smaller reporting company,” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, is not subject to certain corporate governance requirements otherwise applicable to companies listed on Nasdaq. For example, a smaller reporting company is exempt from the requirement of having a compensation committee composed solely of directors meeting certain enhanced independence standards, as long as the compensation committee has at least two members who do meet such standards. Although we do not currently rely on any of these exemptions, we may elect to rely on any or all of these exemptions in the future. By electing to utilize any such exemptions, our company may be subject to greater risks of poor corporate governance, poorer management decision-making processes, and reduced results of operations from problems in our corporate organization. Consequently, our stock price may suffer, and there is no assurance that we will be able to continue to meet all continuing listing requirements of Nasdaq from which we will not be exempt, including minimum stock price requirements. Future sales of substantial amounts of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of common stock, either by us or by our existing stockholders, or the possibility that such sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Future sales in the public market of shares of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of common stock, shares held by our existing stockholders or shares issued upon exercise of our outstanding stock options or warrants, or the perception by the market that these sales could occur, could lower the market price of our common stock or make it difficult for us to raise additional capital. Our share buyback program that was approved by the Board in September 2023 could affect our stock price and increase its volatility, and may reduce the market liquidity for our stock. The share buyback program may also materially impact the Company’s liquidity. Repurchases pursuant to the share buyback program approved in September 2023, or any other share buyback program we adopt in the future, could affect our stock price and increase its volatility and may reduce the market liquidity for our stock. The existence of a share buyback program could also cause our stock price to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program. Additionally, these repurchases will diminish our cash and may subject us to additional taxes, which could impact our ability to pursue possible future strategic opportunities and acquisitions and would result in lower overall returns on our cash balances. There can be no assurance that any share repurchases will, in fact, occur, or, if they occur, that they will enhance stockholder value. Although share buyback programs are intended to enhance long-term stockholder value, short-term stock price fluctuations could reduce the effectiveness of these repurchases.