RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider the risks described below together with all of the other information included in this prospectus before making an investment decision with regard to our common stock. The statements contained in or incorporated herein that are not historic facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be harmed. In that case, you may lose all or part of your investment.
We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
Risks Relating to Our Business
We operate in an immature industry and have a relatively new business model, which makes it difficult to evaluate our business and prospects.
We derive nearly all of our revenue from the sale of marketing services, which is an immature industry that has undergone rapid and dramatic changes in its short history. The industry in which we operate is characterized by rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards, and changing user and client demands. Our business model is also evolving and is distinct from many other companies in our industry, and it may not be successful. As a result of these factors, the future revenue and income potential of our business is uncertain. Any evaluation of our business and our prospects must be considered in light of these factors and the risks and uncertainties often encountered by companies in an immature industry with an evolving business model such as ours. Some of these risks and uncertainties relate to our ability to:
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maintain and expand client relationships;
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sustain and increase the number of customers on behalf of our clients marketing plans;
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manage our expanding operations and implement and improve our operational, financial and management controls;
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overcome challenges presented by adverse global economic conditions as they impact spending in our client verticals;
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raise capital at attractive costs, or at all;
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successfully expand our footprint in our existing client verticals and enter new client verticals;
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respond effectively to competition and potential negative effects of competition on profit margins;
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attract and retain qualified management, employees and independent service providers;
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successfully introduce new processes and technologies and upgrade our existing technologies and services; and
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respond to government regulations relating to the Internet, marketing in our client verticals, personal data protection, email, software technologies and other aspects of our business.
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If we are unable to address these risks, our business, results of operations and prospects could suffer.
Our operating results may fluctuate and our future revenues and profitability are uncertain.
Our operating results have varied in the past and may fluctuate significantly in the future as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are outside our control. These factors include the following:
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current global economic and financial conditions as well as their impact on e-commerce, financial services, and the communications and Internet industries;
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our success in direct marketing and promotional campaigns;
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any changes to the scope and success of marketing efforts by third-parties;
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market acceptance of our services by our new customers;
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customer renewal rates and turnover of customers of our services,
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continued development of our distribution channels for our products and services;
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the impact of price changes in our products and services or our competitors' products and services;
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the impact of decisions by distributors to offer competing or replacement products or modify or cease their marketing practices;
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the availability of alternatives to our products;
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seasonal fluctuations in business activity;
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changes in marketing expenses related to promoting and distributing our services
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potential attacks, including hacktivism, by nefarious actors, which could threaten the perceived reliability of our products and services;
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changes in policies regarding Internet administration imposed by governments or governmental authorities outside the U.S.;
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potential disruptions in regional registration behaviors due to catastrophic natural events or armed conflict; and
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changes in the level of spending for information technology-related products and services by our customers.
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Our operating expenses may increase. If an increase in our expenses is not accompanied by a corresponding increase in our revenues, our operating results will suffer, particularly as revenues from some of our services are recognized ratably over the term of the service, rather than immediately when the customer pays for them, unlike our sales and marketing expenditures, which are expensed in full when incurred. From our inception through March 31, 2013 we experienced a net loss of $102,080 from our business operations. We have a current monthly burn rate of approximately $30,000 to $50,000 per month.
Due to all of the above factors, our revenues and operating results are difficult to forecast. Therefore, we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our operating results will not necessarily be meaningful, and you should not rely upon them as an indication of future performance. Also, operating results may fall below our expectations and the expectations of securities analysts or investors in one or more future periods. If this were to occur, the market price of our common stock would likely decline.
Our operating results may continue to be adversely affected as a result of unfavorable market, economic, social and political conditions.
An unstable global economic, social and political environment may have a negative impact on demand for our services, our business and our operations, including the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, natural disasters, the eurozone crisis and the U.S. economic environment. The economic, social and political environment has or may negatively impact, among other things:
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our customers' continued growth and development of their businesses and our customers' ability to continue as going concerns or maintain their businesses, which could affect demand for our products and services;
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current and future demand for our services, including decreases as a result of reduced spending on information technology and communications by our customers;
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price competition for our products and services;
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the price of our common stock;
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our liquidity;
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our ability to service our debt, to obtain financing or assume new debt obligations; and
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our ability to obtain payment for outstanding debts owed to us by our customers or other parties with whom we do business.
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In addition, to the extent that the economic, social and political environment impacts specific industry and geographic sectors in which many of our customers are concentrated, that may further negatively impact our business. If the market, economic, social and political conditions in the U.S. and globally do not improve, or if they further deteriorate, we may experience material adverse impacts on our business, operating results and financial position as a consequence of the above factors or otherwise.
The online and mobile marketing industry is highly competitive with many diverse competitors.
Many of our competitors are better funded than we are. The technology we rely on to generate revenue is changing rapidly and we may not be able to keep up with the technological developments. We do not hold patents or have any protectable intellectual property at this time that will prevent other competitors from developing our identical products and services and thereby controlling the market share of our industry.
The effects of the recent global economic slowdown may continue to have a negative impact on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
The recent global economic slowdown has caused disruptions and extreme volatility in global financial markets, increased rates of default and bankruptcy, and declining consumer and business confidence, which has led to decreased levels of consumer spending. These macroeconomic developments have and could continue to negatively impact our business, which depends on the general economic environment and levels of consumer spending in the United States and other parts of the world that affect not only the ultimate consumer, but also retailers. As a result, we may not be able to maintain or increase our sales to existing customers, make sales to new customers, or maintain or improve our earnings from operations as a percentage of net sales. If the global economic slowdown continues for a significant period or continues to worsen, our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
If we do not effectively manage our growth, our operating performance will suffer and we may lose clients.
We hope to experience, and to a certain extent have experienced, rapid growth in our operations, and we expect to experience further growth in our business, both through acquisitions and internally. This growth has placed, and will continue to place, significant demands on our management and our operational and financial infrastructure. In particular, continued rapid growth and acquisitions may make it more difficult for us to accomplish the following:
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Successfully scale our technology to accommodate a larger business and integrate acquisitions;
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maintain our standing with key vendors, including Internet search companies and third-party website publishers;
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maintain our client service standards; and
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develop and improve our operational, financial and management controls and maintain adequate reporting systems and procedures.
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In addition, our personnel, systems, procedures and controls may be inadequate to support our future operations. The improvements required to manage our growth will require us to make significant expenditures, expand, train and manage our employee base and allocate valuable management resources. If we fail to effectively manage our growth, our operating performance will suffer and we may lose clients, key vendors and key personnel.
Our key personnel may provide only limited amounts of time to our business, which may cause our business to fail.
Our future ability to execute our business plan depends upon the continued service of our Chief Executive Officer , Chairman, and Secretary James S. Byrd, Jr., our President, COO, acting CFO, Treasurer and Director, Douglas S. Hackett, and other key technology, marketing, sales and support personnel or other employees. Both of these gentlemen have significant other business interests, and neither will devote their full time and effort to our business. As such, they may be limited in the amount of time they can devote to the Company. If we lost the services of one or more of our key personnel, or if one or more of our executive officers or employees joined a competitor or otherwise competed with us, our business may be adversely affected. In particular, the services of key members of our research and development team would be difficult to replace. We cannot assure that we will be able to retain or replace our key personnel. Additionally, our officers, James S. Byrd, Jr. and Douglas S. Hackett are working for us for nominal compensation. However, if we are successful in raising capital through this offering, Mr. Byrd and Mr. Hackett intend to take a base salary of between $150,000 and $250,000 per year each, depending on amount of capital raised and on sales and profitability.
Mr. Hackett and Mr. Byrd beneficially own and control the great majority of our common stock, and therefore they can exercise control over our company.
Our Chairman and CEO, James S. Byrd, Jr. and our President, Douglas S. Hackett beneficially own 99.4% of our common stock. Therefore, Mr. Byrd and Mr. Hackett exercise strong control over our company, and have the ability to control our business. Specifically, Mr. Byrd and Mr. Hackett have the ability to exercise voting control over how we conduct our business, including who serves as a director of our company, the hiring and firing of key employees, the issuance of additional shares or debt in our company, mergers and acquisitions among other items. There are risks inherently associated with having voting control over the company vested in the hands of two individuals, and that could impact how our company performs.
Our independent registered public accounting firm has expressed substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern.
Based on our financial history since inception, our independent registered public accounting firm has expressed substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern. We are a development stage company that has generated very little revenue. Specifically, the Company, while in the development stage, is proceeding with its business plan. The Company has taken certain steps in furtherance of this business plan, but there is no guarantee as to our profitability or success.
We cannot assure you that our growth strategy will be successful which may result in a negative impact on our growth, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.
One of our strategies is to expand our client base through marketing and client acquisition programs. We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully grow our client base to a level that is needed to sustain ourselves and become profitable. Our inability to implement this growth strategy successfully may have a negative impact on our growth, future financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
We currently do not have any agreements with our suppliers or customers. If these suppliers decide not to provide us products or these customers decide not to purchase products from us, our business operations and financial results will be adversely affected.
We currently do not have any agreement with our suppliers or customers. We do not know if these suppliers or customers will continue to cooperate with us although we have a good relationship with them. Also, the terms of the transactions are not guaranteed and may be changed from time to time or subject to negotiation based on supply and demand. If these suppliers decide not to provide us products or these customers decide not to purchase products from us, or if the terms of the transaction negatively change, our revenues and operations will be adversely affected.
If we need additional capital to fund our growing operations, we may not be able to obtain sufficient capital and may be forced to limit the scope of our operations.
We anticipate that we will need additional capital to finance our business operations. Specifically, we have a current burn rate, as of March 31, 2013, of approximately $30,000 to $50,000 per month. Therefore, if we do not experience any income or obtain additional financing, we could expect to run out of capital sometime between August 2013 and December 2013. For this reason, if we do not experience any income in the first half of fiscal 2014, we will need to raise additional capital of between $30,000 and $50,000 per month, in order to continue our business. In addition, in order to fully implement our business plan, we will need to raise an additional $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 of capital for the purpose of initiating and ramping up marketing and sales efforts, hiring of sales personnel and for general working capital. This additional $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 of financing will need to be raised in fiscal 2014 in order to effectively implement our business plan. However, there is no assurance that we will be able to raise any capital in the future, or that capital will be available on terms acceptable to us.
If adequate additional financing is not available on reasonable terms, we may not be able to expand our business and we would have to modify our business plans accordingly. There is no assurance that additional financing will be available to us.
In connection with our growth strategies, we may experience increased capital needs and accordingly, we may not have sufficient capital to fund our future operations without additional capital investments. Our capital needs will depend on numerous factors, including (i) our profitability; (ii) the release of competitive products by our competition; (iii) the level of our investment in research and development; and (iv) the amount of our capital expenditures, including acquisitions. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain capital in the future to meet our needs.
In recent years, the securities markets in the United States have experienced a high level of price and volume volatility, and the market price of securities of many companies have experienced wide fluctuations that have not necessarily been related to the operations, performances, underlying asset values or prospects of such companies. For these reasons, our securities can also be expected to be subject to volatility resulting from purely market forces over which we will have no control. If we need additional funding we will, most likely, seek such funding in the United States, and the market fluctuations affect on our stock price could limit our ability to obtain equity financing.
If we cannot obtain additional funding, we may be required to: (i) limit our expansion; (ii) limit our marketing efforts; and (iii) decrease or eliminate capital expenditures. Such reductions could materially adversely affect our business and our ability to compete.
Even if we do find a source of additional capital, we may not be able to negotiate terms and conditions for receiving the additional capital that are favorable to us. Any future capital investments could dilute or otherwise materially and adversely affect the holdings or rights of our existing shareholders. In addition, new equity or convertible debt securities issued by us to obtain financing could have rights, preferences and privileges senior to our common stock. We cannot give you any assurance that any additional financing will be available to us, or if available, will be on terms favorable to us.
We may need to hire additional employees.
Our future success also depends upon our continuing ability to attract and retain highly qualified personnel. Expansion of our business and the management and operation will require additional managers and employees with industry experience, and our success will be highly dependent on our ability to attract and retain skilled management personnel and other employees. There can be no assurance that we will be able to attract or retain highly qualified personnel. Competition for skilled personnel in our industries is significant. This competition may make it more difficult and expensive to attract, hire and retain qualified managers and employees.
Poor perception of our business or industry as a result of the actions of third parties could harm our reputation and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our business is dependent on attracting a large number of visitors to our clients’ websites and providing leads and clicks to our clients, which depends in part on our reputation within the industry and with our clients. There are companies within our industry that regularly engage in activities that our clients’ customers may view as unlawful or inappropriate. These activities, such as spyware or deceptive promotions, by third parties may be seen by clients as characteristic of participants in our industry and, therefore, may have an adverse effect on the reputation of all participants in our industry, including us. Any damage to our reputation, including from publicity from legal proceedings against us or companies that work within our industry, governmental proceedings, consumer class action litigation, or the disclosure of information security breaches or private information misuse, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we fail to compete effectively against other online and mobile marketing companies and other competitors, we could lose clients and our revenue may decline.
The market for online and mobile marketing is intensely competitive. We expect this competition to continue to increase in the future. We perceive only limited barriers to entry to the online marketing industry. We plan to compete both for clients and for limited high quality advertising inventory. We also plan to compete for clients on the basis of a number of factors, including return on marketing expenditures, price, and client service.
We plan to compete with Internet and traditional media companies for a share of clients’ overall marketing budgets, including:
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online or mobile marketing or media services providers;
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offline and online advertising agencies;
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major Internet portals and search engine companies with advertising networks such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and AOL;
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other online marketing service providers, including online affiliate advertising networks and industry-specific portals or lead generation companies;
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website publishers with their own sales forces that sell their online marketing services directly to clients;
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in-house marketing groups at current or potential clients;
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offline direct marketing agencies; and
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television, radio and print companies.
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As a result, we may not be able to compete successfully. Competition from other marketing service providers’ on- and offline offerings could affect both volume and price, and thus revenue. If we fail to deliver results that are superior to those that other online marketing service providers achieve, we could lose clients and our revenue may decline.
If we are unable to retain the members of our management team or attract and retain qualified management team members in the future, our business and growth could suffer.
Our success and future growth depend, to a significant degree, on the continued contributions of the members of our management team. Each member of our management team is an at-will employee and may voluntarily terminate his or her employment with us at any time with minimal notice. We also may need to hire additional management team members to adequately manage our growing business. We may not be able to retain or identify and attract additional qualified management team members. Competition for experienced management-level personnel in our industry is intense. Qualified individuals are in high demand, particularly in the Internet marketing industry, and we may incur significant costs to attract and retain them. If we lose the services of any member of our management team or if we are unable to attract and retain additional qualified senior managers, our business and growth could suffer.
If the market for online marketing services fails to continue to develop, our future growth may be limited and our revenue may decrease.
The online and mobile marketing services market is relatively new and rapidly evolving, and it uses different measurements than traditional media to gauge its effectiveness. Some of our current or potential clients have little or no experience using the Internet for advertising and marketing purposes and have allocated only limited portions of their advertising and marketing budgets to the Internet. The adoption of Internet and mobile advertising, particularly by those entities that have historically relied upon traditional media for advertising, requires the acceptance of a new way of conducting business, exchanging information and evaluating new advertising and marketing technologies and services. In particular, we are dependent on our clients’ adoption of new metrics to measure the success of online marketing campaigns. We may also experience resistance from traditional advertising agencies who may be advising our clients. We cannot assure you that the market for online marketing services will continue to grow. If the market for online marketing services fails to continue to develop or develops more slowly than we anticipate, our ability to grow our business may be limited and our revenue may decrease.
Unauthorized access to or accidental disclosure of consumer personally-identifiable information that we collect may cause us to incur significant expenses and may negatively affect our credibility and business.
There is growing concern over the security of personal information transmitted over the Internet, consumer identity theft and user privacy. Despite our implementation of security measures, our computer systems may be susceptible to electronic or physical computer break-ins, viruses and other disruptions and security breaches. Any perceived or actual unauthorized disclosure of personally-identifiable information regarding website visitors, whether through breach of our network by an unauthorized party, employee theft, misuse or error or otherwise, could harm our reputation, impair our ability to attract website visitors and attract and retain our clients, or subject us to claims or litigation arising from damages suffered by consumers, and thereby harm our business and operating results. In addition, we could incur significant costs in complying with the multitude of state, federal and foreign laws regarding the unauthorized disclosure of personal information.
We incur significant costs to be a public company to ensure compliance with U.S corporate governance and accounting requirements and we may not be able to absorb such costs.
We incur significant costs associated with our public company reporting requirements, costs associated with newly applicable corporate governance requirements, including requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and other rules implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission. We expect all of these applicable rules and regulations to significantly increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more time consuming and costly. We also expect that these applicable rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these newly applicable rules, and we cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs. In addition, we may not be able to absorb these costs of being a public company which will negatively affect our business operations. Based on our management’s reasonable estimates, we anticipate that our cost of being a public company, including legal, audit costs, printing, filing fees and other costs will be between $100,000 and $250,000 per year.
We may not be able to meet the internal control reporting requirements imposed by the SEC resulting in a possible decline in the price of our common stock and our inability to obtain future financing.
As directed by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the SEC adopted rules requiring each public company to include a report of management on the company’s internal controls over financial reporting in its annual reports. Although the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act exempts companies with a public float of less than $75 million from the requirement that our independent registered public accounting firm attest to our financial controls, this exemption does not affect the requirement that we include a report of management on our internal control over financial reporting and does not affect the requirement to include the independent registered public accounting firm’s attestation if our public float exceeds $75 million.
While we expect to expend significant resources in developing the necessary documentation and testing procedures required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, there is a risk that we may not be able to comply timely with all of the requirements imposed by this rule. Regardless of whether we are required to receive a positive attestation from our independent registered public accounting firm with respect to our internal controls, if we are unable to do so, investors and others may lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements and our stock price and ability to obtain equity or debt financing as needed could suffer.
In addition, in the event that our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to rely on our internal controls in connection with its audit of our financial statements, and in the further event that it is unable to devise alternative procedures in order to satisfy itself as to the material accuracy of our financial statements and related disclosures, it is possible that we would be unable to file our Annual Report on Form 10-K with the SEC, which could also adversely affect the market for and the market price of our common stock and our ability to secure additional financing as needed.
If we fail to keep pace with rapidly-changing technologies and industry standards, we could lose clients or advertising inventory and our results of operations may suffer.
The business lines in which we currently compete are characterized by rapidly changing Internet and mobile marketing standards, changing technologies, frequent new product and service introductions, and changing user and client demands. The introduction of new technologies and services embodying new technologies and the emergence of new industry standards and practices could render our existing technologies and services obsolete and unmarketable or require unanticipated investments in technology. Our future success will depend in part on our ability to adapt to these rapidly-changing Internet and mobile media formats and other technologies. We will need to enhance our existing technologies and services and develop and introduce new technologies and services to address our clients’ changing demands. If we fail to adapt successfully to such developments or timely introduce new technologies and services, we could lose clients, our expenses could increase and we could lose advertising inventory.
Limitations on our ability to collect and use data derived from user activities could significantly diminish the value of our services and cause us to lose clients and revenue.
When a user visits our clients’ websites, we use technologies, including “cookies”, to collect information such as the user’s Internet Protocol, or IP, address, offerings delivered by us that have been previously viewed by the user and responses by the user to those offerings. In order to determine the effectiveness of a marketing campaign and to determine how to modify the campaign, we need to access and analyze this information. The use of cookies has been the subject of regulatory scrutiny and litigation and users are able to block or delete cookies from their browser. Periodically, certain of our clients and publishers seek to prohibit or limit our collection or use of this data. Interruptions, failures or defects in our data collection systems, as well as privacy concerns regarding the collection of user data, could also limit our ability to analyze data from our clients’ marketing campaigns. This risk is heightened when we deliver marketing services to clients in the financial and medical services client verticals. If our access to data is limited in the future, we may be unable to provide effective technologies and services to clients and we may lose clients and revenue.
We will incur increased costs and demands upon management as a result of complying with the laws and regulations that affect public companies, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, business and prospects.
After we cease to be an “emerging growth company,” we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company, including costs associated with public company reporting and corporate governance requirements. These requirements include compliance with Section 404 and other provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules implemented by the SEC. In addition, our management team will also have to adapt to the requirements of being a public company. We expect that compliance with these rules and regulations will substantially increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly.
The increased costs associated with operating as a public company will decrease our net income or increase our net loss, and may require us to reduce costs in other areas of our business or increase the prices of our products or services. Additionally, if these requirements divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, they could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, business and prospects.
However, for as long as we remain an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, or JOBS Act, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We may take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.”
We will 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, or if we issue more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt in a three-year period, we would cease to be an “emerging growth company” immediately.
It is also more difficult and expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance as a public company, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve on our board of directors or as our executive officers.
We will not be required to comply with certain provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for as long as we remain an “emerging growth company.”
We are not currently required to comply with the SEC rules that implement Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and are therefore not required to make a formal assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting for that purpose. As a public company, we are required to comply with certain of these rules, which will require management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Though we will be required to disclose changes made in our internal control procedures on a quarterly basis, we will not be required to make our first annual assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until the year following our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC.
We will 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, or if we issue more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt in a three-year period, we would cease to be an “emerging growth company” immediately.
Our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting until the later of the year following our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC, or the date we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our controls are documented, designed or operating.
We are an “emerging growth company” and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.
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. An “emerging growth company” can therefore delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards under Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act. This allows us to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until those standards apply to private companies.
Because of the exemptions from various reporting requirements provided to us as an “emerging growth company” and because we will have an extended transition period for complying with new or revised financial accounting standards, we may be less attractive to investors and it may be difficult for us to raise additional capital as and when we need it. Investors may be unable to compare our business with other companies in our industry if they believe that our financial accounting is not as transparent as other companies in our industry. If we are unable to raise additional capital as and when we need it, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends or distributions on our capital stock. And we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends or distributions on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain our future earnings, if any, to support operations and to finance expansion and therefore we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.
The declaration, payment and amount of any future dividends will be made at the discretion of the board of directors, and will depend upon, among other things, the results of our operations, cash flows and financial condition, operating and capital requirements, and other factors as the board of directors considers relevant. There is no assurance that future dividends will be paid, and, if dividends are paid, there is no assurance with respect to the amount of any such dividend.
The offering price of our common stock should not be used as an indicator of the future market price of the securities. The offering price bears no relationship to our actual value, and may make our shares difficult to sell.
The offering prince in the private offering price bears no relationship to the book value, assets or earnings of our company or any other recognized criteria of value. As such, investors may be unable to sell any shares or make any profit from the investment.
You will experience dilution of your ownership interest because of the future issuance of additional shares of our common stock.
In the future, we may issue our authorized but previously unissued equity securities, resulting in the dilution of the ownership interests of our present stockholders. We are currently authorized to issue an aggregate of 100,000,000 shares of common stock, with no par value.
We may also issue additional shares of our common stock or other securities that are convertible into or exercisable for common stock in connection with hiring or retaining employees or consultants, future acquisitions, future sales of our securities for capital raising purposes, or for other business purposes.
Messrs. Byrd and Hackett’s control may prevent you from directing the course of our operations and may affect the price of our common stock.
Messrs. Byrd and Hackett beneficially own approximately 99.4% of our common stock
prior to the offering
. As long as Messrs. Byrd and Hackett beneficially own more than 50% of our common stock, they will be able to elect our entire board of directors, control all matters that require a stockholder vote (such as mergers, acquisitions and other business combinations) and exercise a significant amount of influence over our management and operations. As such, the value attributable to the right to vote is limited.
This concentration of ownership could result in a reduction in value to the common stock you own because of the ineffective voting power, and could have the effect of preventing us from undergoing a change of control in the future.
Our common stock is considered a penny stock, which may be subject to restrictions on marketability, so you may not be able to sell your shares.
If our common stock becomes tradable in the secondary market, we will be subject to the penny stock rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission that require brokers to provide extensive disclosure to their customers prior to executing trades in penny stocks. These disclosure requirements may cause a reduction in the trading activity of our common stock, which in all likelihood would make it difficult for our shareholders to sell their securities.
Penny stocks generally are equity securities with a price of less than $5.00 (other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or quoted on the NASDAQ system). Penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document that provides information about penny stocks and the risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction, and monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account. The broker-dealer must also make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction. These requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity, if any, in the secondary market for a security that becomes subject to the penny stock rules. The additional burdens imposed upon broker-dealers by such requirements may discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our securities, which could severely limit the market price and liquidity of our securities. These requirements may restrict the ability of broker-dealers to sell our common stock and may affect your ability to resell our common stock.