Item 1A. Risk Factors

Our business, financial condition and operating results are subject to a number of risk factors, both those that are known to us and identified below and others that may arise from time to time. These risk factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from those suggested by forward-looking statements in this Report and elsewhere, and may adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating results. If any of these risk factors should occur, moreover, the trading price of our securities could decline, and investors in our securities could lose all or part of their investment in our securities. These risk factors should be carefully considered in evaluating our prospects.

Risks Relating to our Business

We are uncertain of our ability to generate sufficient revenue and profitability in the future.

We continue to develop and refine our business model, but we can provide no assurance that we will be able to generate a sufficient amount of revenue, from our business in order to achieve profitability.  It is not possible for us to predict at this time the potential success of our business. The revenue and income potential of our proposed business and operations are currently unknown. If we cannot continue as a viable entity, you may lose some or all of your investment in our Company.

The Company incurred a net loss from operations of $2,864,984 for the year ended December 31, 2020. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had cash and stockholders’ equity of $4,387,416 and $9,159,209, respectively. At December 31, 2020, the Company had a working capital deficiency of $578,797. We cannot provide any assurance that we will be able to raise additional cash from equity financings, secure debt financing, and/or generate revenue from the sales of our products. If we are unable to secure additional capital, we may be required to curtail our research and development initiatives and take additional measures to reduce costs in order to conserve our cash in amounts sufficient to sustain operations and meet our obligations.

Significant disruptions of information technology systems or security breaches could adversely affect our business.

We are increasingly dependent upon information technology systems, infrastructure and data to operate our business. In the ordinary course of business, we collect, store and transmit large amounts of confidential information (including, among other things, trade secrets or other intellectual property, proprietary business information and personal information). It is critical that we do so in a secure manner to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of such confidential information. We also have outsourced elements of our operations to third parties, and as a result we manage a number of third-party vendors who may or could have access to our confidential information. Attacks on information technology systems are increasing in their frequency, levels of persistence, sophistication and intensity, and they are being conducted by increasingly sophisticated and organized groups and individuals with a wide range of motives and expertise. The size and complexity of our information technology systems, and those of third-party vendors with whom we contract, and the large amounts of confidential information stored on those systems, make such systems vulnerable to service interruptions or to security breaches from inadvertent or intentional actions by our employees, third-party vendors, and/or business partners, or from cyber-attacks by malicious third parties. Cyber-attacks could include the deployment of harmful malware, ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, social engineering and other means to affect service reliability and threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.

Significant disruptions of our information technology systems, or those of our third-party vendors, or security breaches could adversely affect our business operations and/or result in the loss, misappropriation and/or unauthorized access, use or disclosure of, or the prevention of access to, confidential information, including, among other things, trade secrets or other intellectual property, proprietary business information and personal information, and could result in financial, legal, business and reputational harm to us.

Any failure or perceived failure by us or any third-party collaborators, service providers, contractors or consultants to comply with our privacy, confidentiality, data security or similar obligations to third parties, or any data security incidents or other security breaches that result in the unauthorized access, release or transfer of sensitive information, including personally identifiable information, may result in governmental investigations, enforcement actions, regulatory fines, litigation or public statements against us, could cause third parties to lose trust in us or could result in claims by third parties asserting that we have breached our privacy, confidentiality, data security or similar obligations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition or results of operations. Moreover, data security incidents and other security breaches can be difficult to detect, and any delay in identifying them may lead to increased harm. While we have implemented data security measures intended to protect our information technology systems and infrastructure, there can be no assurance that such measures will successfully prevent service interruptions or data security incidents.

Our supply chains in China subject us to risks and uncertainties relating to the laws and regulations of China and the changes in relations between the United States and China.

Under its current leadership, the government of China has been pursuing economic reform policies, including by encouraging foreign trade and investment. However, there is no assurance that the Chinese government will continue to pursue such policies, that such policies will be successfully implemented, that such policies will not be significantly altered, or that such policies will be beneficial to our supply chains in China. China’s system of laws can be unpredictable, especially with respect to foreign investment and foreign trade. The United States government has called for substantial changes to foreign trade policy with China and has raised (as well as has proposed to further raise in the future), tariffs on several Chinese goods. China has retaliated with increased tariffs on United States goods. Moreover, China’s legislature has recently adopted a national security law to substantially change the way Hong Kong has been governed since the territory was handed over by the United Kingdom to China in 1997. This law increases the power of the central government in Beijing over Hong Kong, limits the civil liberties of residents of Hong Kong and could restrict the ability of businesses in Hong Kong to continue to conduct business or to continue to conduct business as previously conducted. The U.S. State Department has indicated that the United States no longer considers Hong Kong to have significant autonomy from China and President Trump signed an executive order and the Hong Kong Autonomy Act to remove Hong Kong’s preferential trade status. The United States may impose the same tariffs and other trade restrictions on exports from Hong Kong that it places on goods from mainland China. Any further changes in United States trade policy could trigger retaliatory actions by affected countries, including China, resulting in trade wars. Any changes in United States and China relations may have a material adverse effect on our supply chains in China which could materially harm our business and financial condition.

If we fail to keep pace with changing industry technology and consumer preferences, we will be at a competitive disadvantage.

The industry segments in which we are operating are evolving rapidly. They are characterized by changing technology, budding industry standards, frequent new and enhanced product introductions, rapidly changing end-user/consumer preferences and product obsolescence. In order to continue to compete effectively in these markets, we need to respond quickly to technological changes and to understand their impact on our customers’ preferences. It may take significant time and resources to respond to these technological changes. If we fail to keep pace with these changes, our business may suffer. Moreover, developments by others may render our technologies and intended products noncompetitive or obsolete, or we may be unable to keep pace with technological developments or other market factors. If any of our competitors implement new technologies before we are able to implement them, those competitors may be able to provide more effective products than ours. Any delay or failure in the introduction of new or enhanced products could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, our inability to keep pace with changing industry technology and consumer preferences may cause our inventory to become obsolete at a rate faster than anticipated, which may result in our taking goodwill impairment charges in past or future acquisitions that negatively impact our results of operations.

If we cannot obtain additional capital required to finance our research and development efforts, our business may suffer and you may lose the value of your investment.

We may require additional funds to further execute our business plan and expand our business. If we are unable to obtain additional capital when needed, we may have to restructure our business or delay or abandon our development and expansion plans. We will have ongoing capital needs as we expand our business. If we raise additional funds through the sale of equity or convertible securities, your ownership percentage of our common stock will be reduced. In addition, these transactions may dilute the value of our common stock. We may have to issue securities that have rights, preferences and privileges senior to our common stock. The terms of any additional indebtedness may include restrictive financial and operating covenants that would limit our ability to compete and expand. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain the additional financing we may need to fund our business, or that such financing will be available on terms acceptable to us.

We face intense competition in our market, especially from larger, well-established companies, and we may lack sufficient financial or other resources to maintain or improve our competitive position.

A number of other companies engage in the business of developing applications for facial recognition for access control. The market for biometric security products is intensely competitive, and we expect competition to increase in the future from established competitors and new market entrants. Our current competitors include both emerging or developmental stage companies, such as ourselves, as well as larger companies. Many of our existing competitors have, and some of our potential competitors could have, substantial competitive advantages such as:

In addition, some of our larger competitors have substantially broader product offerings and leverage their relationships based on other products or incorporate functionality into existing products to gain business in a manner that discourages users from purchasing our products, including through selling at zero or negative margins, product bundling, or closed technology platforms. Conditions in our market could change rapidly and significantly as a result of technological advancements, partnering by our competitors or continuing market consolidation. New start-up companies that innovate and large competitors that are making significant investments in research and development may invent similar or superior products and technologies that compete with our products and technology. Our current and potential competitors may also establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with third parties that may further enhance their resources.

Our markets are subject to technological change and our success depends on our ability to develop and introduce new products.

Each of the governmental and commercial markets for our products is characterized by:

Our success will be dependent in part on the design and development of new products. To develop new products and designs for our target markets, we must develop, gain access to and use leading technologies in a cost-effective and timely manner and continue to expand our technical and design expertise. The product development process is time-consuming and costly, and there can be no assurance that product development will be successfully completed, that necessary regulatory clearances or approvals will be granted on a timely basis, or at all, or that the potential products will achieve market acceptance. Our failure to develop, obtain necessary regulatory clearances or approvals for, or successfully market, potential new products could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Claims by others that we infringe their intellectual property rights could increase our expenses and delay the development of our business. As a result, our business and financial condition could be harmed.

Our industries are characterized by the existence of a large number of patents as well as frequent claims and related litigation regarding patent and other intellectual property rights. We cannot be certain that our products do not and will not infringe issued patents, patents that may be issued in the future, or other intellectual property rights of others.

We do not have the resources to conduct exhaustive patent searches to determine whether the technology used in our products infringe patents held by third parties. In addition, product development is inherently uncertain in a rapidly evolving technological environment in which there may be numerous patent applications pending, many of which are confidential when filed.

We may face claims by third parties that our products or technology infringe on their patents or other intellectual property rights. Any claim of infringement could cause us to incur substantial costs defending against the claim, even if the claim is invalid, and could distract our management. If any of our products are found to violate third-party proprietary rights, we may be required to pay substantial damages. In addition, we may be required to re-engineer our products or obtain licenses from third parties to continue to offer our products. Any efforts to re-engineer our products or obtain licenses on commercially reasonable terms may not be successful, which would prevent us from selling our products, and, in any case, could substantially increase our costs and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights adequately.

Our ability to compete for government contracts is affected, in part, by our ability to protect our intellectual property rights. We rely on a combination of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, confidentiality procedures and non-disclosure and licensing arrangements to protect our intellectual property rights. Despite these efforts, we cannot be certain that the steps we take to protect our proprietary information will be adequate to prevent misappropriation of our technology or protect that proprietary information. The validity and breadth of claims in technology patents involve complex legal and factual questions and, therefore, may be highly uncertain. Nor can we assure you that, if challenged, our patents will be found to be valid or enforceable, or that the patents of others will not have an adverse effect on our ability to do business. In addition, the enforcement of laws protecting intellectual property may be inadequate to protect our technology and proprietary information.

We may not have the resources to assert or protect our rights to our patents and other intellectual property. Any litigation or proceedings relating to our intellectual property, whether or not meritorious, will be costly and may divert the efforts and attention of our management and technical personnel.

We also rely on other unpatented proprietary technology, trade secrets and know-how and no assurance can be given that others will not independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary technology, techniques or processes, that such technology or know-how will not be disclosed or that we can meaningfully protect our rights to such unpatented proprietary technology, trade secrets, or know-how. Although we intend to enter into non-disclosure agreements with our employees and consultants, there can be no assurance that such non-disclosure agreements will provide adequate protection for our trade secrets or other proprietary know-how.

Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to obtain new patents.

Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to obtain patent and trade secret protection for proprietary technology that we currently possess or that we may develop in the future. No assurance can be given that any pending or future patent applications will issue as patents, that the scope of any patent protection obtained will be sufficient to exclude competitors or provide competitive advantages to us, that any of our patents will be held valid if subsequently challenged or that others will not claim rights in or ownership of the patents and other proprietary rights held by us.

Furthermore, there can be no assurance that our competitors have not or will not independently develop technology, processes or products that are substantially similar or superior to ours, or that they will not duplicate any of our products or design around any patents issued or that may be issued in the future to us. In addition, whether or not patents are issued to us, others may hold or receive patents which contain claims having a scope that covers products or processes developed by us.

We may not have the resources to adequately defend any patent infringement litigation or proceedings. Any such litigation or proceedings, whether or not determined in our favor or settled by us, is costly and may divert the efforts and attention of our management and technical personnel. In addition, we may be required to obtain licenses to patents or proprietary rights from third parties. There can be no assurance that such licenses will be available on acceptable terms if at all. If we do not obtain required licenses, we could encounter delays in product development or find that the development, manufacture or sale of products requiring such licenses could be foreclosed. Accordingly, challenges to our intellectual property, whether or not ultimately successful, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations has been and may continue to be adversely affected by the coronavirus outbreak or other similar epidemics or adverse public health developments.

The pandemic resulting from the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) has caused many governments to implement quarantines and significant restrictions on travel, and to advise that people remain at home where possible and avoid crowds. This has led to many businesses shutting down or limiting operations as well as greater uncertainty in financial markets. To date, an economic downturn and other adverse impacts resulting from COVID-19 have resulted in our distributors and/or the VA significantly reducing orders for our products and being unable to pay us in accordance with the terms of already fulfilled orders. Continuing effects of COVID-19, or other similar epidemics or adverse public health developments, may, in all likelihood, extend these reduced product orders and continue the inability of our distributors and/or the VA to pay us for orders, for an undeterminable period of time. Delays and disruptions, such as difficulty obtaining components and temporary suspension of operations, have resulted in our existing inventory levels not being sufficient, and our business, financial condition and results of operations have been materially and adversely affected, as a result of a slowdown and suspension in our business. In the event that this slowdown and/or suspension carries on for a long period of time, this will, in all likelihood, continue to have a material adverse impact on our business. As a result of the current or future epidemics, we have been and may continue to be impacted by shutdowns, employee impacts from illness and other community response measures meant to prevent spread of the virus, all of which has and may continue to negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, if we are regularly unable to meet our obligations to deliver our products to distributors and/or the VA, they may decide to terminate or reduce their distribution arrangements with us and our business could be adversely affected. The extent to which COVID-19 will continue to impact our results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and will include emerging information concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions taken by governments and private businesses to attempt to contain the virus.

Our future success depends on the continued service of management, engineering and sales personnel and our ability to identify, hire and retain additional personnel.

Our success depends, to a significant extent, upon the efforts and abilities of members of senior management. We have not entered into employment agreements with most of the key employees of our LogicMark subsidiary, which we believe presents a greater risk of losing some of these key employees, than if we had employment agreements with them. The loss of the services of one or more of our senior management or other key employees could adversely affect our business. There is intense competition for qualified employees in our industry, particularly for highly skilled design, applications, engineering and sales people. We may not be able to continue to attract and retain developers, managers, or other qualified personnel necessary for the development of our business or to replace qualified individuals who may leave us at any time in the future. Our anticipated growth is expected to place increased demands on our resources, and will likely require the addition of new management and engineering staff as well as the development of additional expertise by existing management employees. If we lose the services of or fail to recruit engineers or other technical and management personnel, our business could be harmed.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected if we are unsuccessful in our current litigation with the certain stockholders of Fit Pay and Giesecke+Devrient Mobile Security America, Inc. (“GDMSAI”). 

On February 24, 2020, Michael J. Orlando, one of our former directors and our former Chief Operating Officer, as shareholder representative (the “Shareholder Representative”), and the other stockholders of Fit Pay (collectively, the “Fit Pay Shareholders”), filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Company, CrowdOut Capital, LLC, and Garmin International, Inc. (the “Complaint”). See Orlando v. Nxt-ID, Inc. No. 20-cv-1604 (S.D.N.Y.). The Complaint alleges that the Company has breached certain contractual obligations under a merger agreement, dated May 23, 2017, between Fit Pay and the Company, regarding certain future, contingent earnout payments allegedly that could be owed to the Fit Pay Shareholders from future revenues. The Complaint seeks unspecified monetary damages from the defendants. While we believe that these claims are without merit and we plan to vigorously defend the action, there is no assurance that we will be successful in such defense.  On May 12, 2020, the Company filed an answer and counterclaims alleging, among other things, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty of the Shareholder Representative as well as arguing that the Shareholder Representative should be estopped from pursuing these claims. The Company has moved for summary judgment to have the lawsuit dismissed. In March 2021, following our successful application to stay all discovery, the court granted CrowdOut’s and Garmin’s separate motions to dismiss. Orlando’s claim against the Company still remains and the Company’s motion for summary judgment is still pending.

In connection with the sale of Fit Pay, GDMSAI has identified a disagreement with the Company over calculation of dividends with respect to GDMSAI’s Series C Non-Convertible Voting Preferred Stock of the Company (the “Series C Preferred Stock”). On August 13, 2020, the Company was sued by GDMSAI seeking, among other things, $440,000 of dividends that it believes are owed to it pursuant to the terms of the Series C Preferred Stock. The Company believes that GDMSAI’s claims are not correct and plans to vigorously defend the action. The Company has moved to have the case removed from Delaware to New York, where the Company claims the forum clause requires the claims to be heard. The Company has opposed GDMSAI’s motion for summary judgment. In the event that we are unsuccessful in the defense of these actions, we could be required to pay the Fit Pay Shareholders and GDMSAI substantial damages which would, in all likelihood, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In March 2021, a Delaware Chancery court rejected our argument that the Fit Pay merger agreement requires litigation solely in New York and thereafter granted GDMSAI summary judgment on the merits, holding that relevant dividend language required a perpetually paid dividend once the $50M threshold had been achieved. The Company plans to appeal. There are no assurances that our appeal will be successful and even if our appeal is successful that a New York court will agree with our interpretation of the manner in which dividends on the Series C Preferred are to be calculated.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act), the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming, or costly, and increase demand on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual and current reports with the SEC with respect to our business and operating results.

As a result of disclosure of information in this Report and in filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition is more visible, which we believe may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and operating results could be harmed, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert resources of our management and harm our business and operating results.

Periods of rapid growth and expansion could place a significant strain on our resources, including our employee base, which could negatively impact our operating results.

We may experience periods of rapid growth and expansion, which may place significant strain and demands on our management, our operational and financial resources, customer operations, research and development, marketing and sales, administrative, and other resources. To manage our possible future growth effectively, we will be required to continue to improve our management, operational and financial systems. Future growth would also require us to successfully hire, train, motivate and manage our employees. In addition, our continued growth and the evolution of our business plan will require significant additional management, technical and administrative resources. If we are unable to manage our growth successfully we may not be able to effectively manage the growth and evolution of our current business and our operating results could suffer.

We depend on contract manufacturers, and our production and products could be harmed if it is unable to meet our volume and quality requirements and alternative sources are not available.

We rely on contract manufacturers to provide manufacturing services for our products. If these services become unavailable, we would be required to identify and enter into an agreement with a new contract manufacturer or take the manufacturing in-house. The loss of our contract manufacturers could significantly disrupt production as well as increase the cost of production, thereby increasing the prices of our products. These changes could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We are presently a small company with too limited resources and personnel to establish a comprehensive system of internal controls. If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we would not be able to accurately report our financial results on a timely basis or prevent fraud. As a result, current and potential stockholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our common stock.

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and effectively prevent fraud. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our brand and operating results would be harmed. We may in the future discover areas of our internal controls that need improvement. For example, because of size and limited resources, our external auditors may determine that we lack the personnel and infrastructure necessary to properly carry out an independent audit function. Although we believe that we have adequate internal controls for a company with our size and resources, we are not certain that the measures that we have in place will ensure that we implement and maintain adequate controls over our financial processes and reporting in the future. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, would harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Inferior internal controls would also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which would have a negative effect on our company and the trading price of our common stock.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. As of December 31, 2020, we have identified certain matters that constituted material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting. See Item 9A of this Report for further discussion on our internal controls. As a result, current and potential stockholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our common stock.

If we do not effectively manage changes in our business, these changes could place a significant strain on our management and operations.

Our ability to grow successfully requires an effective planning and management process. The expansion and growth of our business could place a significant strain on our management systems, infrastructure and other resources. To manage our growth successfully, we must continue to improve and expand our systems and infrastructure in a timely and efficient manner. Our controls, systems, procedures and resources may not be adequate to support a changing and growing company. If our management fails to respond effectively to changes and growth in our business, including acquisitions, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects.

We may not be able to access the equity or credit markets.

We face the risk that we may not be able to access various capital sources including investors, lenders, or suppliers. Failure to access the equity or credit markets from any of these sources could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and future prospects.

Persistent global economic trends could adversely affect our business, liquidity and financial results.

Although improving, persistent global economic conditions, particularly the scarcity of capital available to smaller businesses, could adversely affect us, primarily through limiting our access to capital and disrupting our clients’ businesses. In addition, continuation or worsening of general market conditions in economies important to our businesses may adversely affect our clients’ level of spending and ability to obtain financing, leading to us being unable to generate the levels of sales that we require.  Current and continued disruption of financial markets could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects.

We may seek or need to raise additional funds. Our ability to obtain financing for general corporate and commercial purposes or acquisitions depends on operating and financial performance, and is also subject to prevailing economic conditions and to financial, business and other factors beyond our control. The global credit markets and the financial services industry have recently experienced a period of unprecedented turmoil characterized by the bankruptcy, failure or sale of various financial institutions. An unprecedented level of intervention from the U.S. and other governments has been seen. As a result of such disruption, our ability to raise capital may be severely restricted and the cost of raising capital through such markets or privately may increase significantly at a time when we would like, or need, to do so. Either of these events could have an impact on our flexibility to fund our business operations, make capital expenditures, pursue additional expansion or acquisition opportunities, or make another discretionary use of cash and could adversely impact our financial results.

Although recent trends point to continuing improvements, there is still lingering volatility and uncertainty. Recently there has been greater volatility in the financial markets as a result of uncertainty caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, which originated in China and continues to spread, including in the United States and Europe. A change or disruption in the global financial markets for any reason, including COVID-19 or other epidemics, may cause consumers, businesses and governments to defer purchases in response to tighter credit, decreased cash availability and declining consumer confidence. Accordingly, demand for our products could decrease and differ materially from current expectations. Further, some of our customers may require substantial financing in order to fund their operations and make purchases from us. The inability of these customers to obtain sufficient credit to finance purchases of our products and meet their payment obligations to us or possible insolvencies of our customers could result in decreased customer demand, an impaired ability for us to collect on outstanding accounts receivable, significant delays in accounts receivable payments, and significant write-offs of accounts receivable, each of which could adversely impact our financial results.

Rising interest rates could adversely impact our business.

Changes in interest rates could have an adverse impact on our business by increasing our cost of capital. For example:

Rising interest rates could generally harm our business and financial condition.

Risks Related to Our Biometric Recognition Applications and Related Products

Our biometric products and technologies may not be accepted by the intended commercial consumers of our products, which could harm our future financial performance.

There can be no assurance that our biometric systems will achieve wide acceptance by commercial consumers of such security-based products, and/or market acceptance generally. The degree of market acceptance for products and services based on our technology will also depend upon a number of factors, including the receipt and timing of regulatory approvals, if any, and the establishment and demonstration of the ability of our proposed device to provide the level of security in an efficient manner and at a reasonable cost. Our failure to develop a commercial product to compete successfully with existing security technologies could delay, limit or prevent market acceptance. Moreover, the market for new biometric-based security systems is largely undeveloped, and we believe that the overall demand for mobile biometric-based security systems technology will depend significantly upon public perception of the need for such a level of security. There can be no assurance that the public will believe that our level of security is necessary or that the security industry will actively pursue our technology as a means to solve their security issues. Long-term market acceptance of our products and services will depend, in part, on the capabilities, operating features and price of our products and technologies as compared to those of other available products and services. As a result, there can be no assurance that currently available products, or products under development for commercialization, will be able to achieve market penetration, revenue growth or profitability.

Our biometric applications may become obsolete if we do not effectively respond to rapid technological change on a timely basis.

The biometric identification and personal identification industries are characterized by rapid technological change, frequent new product innovations, changes in customer requirements and expectations and evolving industry standards. If we are unable to keep pace with these changes, our business may be harmed. Products using new technologies, or emerging industry standards, could make our technologies less attractive. In addition, we may face unforeseen problems when developing our products, which could harm our business. Furthermore, our competitors may have access to technologies not available to us, which may enable them to produce products of greater interest to consumers or at a more competitive cost.

Our biometric applications are new and our business model is evolving. Because of the new and evolving nature of biometric technology, it is difficult to predict the size of this specialized market, the rate at which the market for our biometric applications will grow or be accepted, if at all, or whether other biometric technologies will render our applications less competitive or obsolete.  If the market for our biometric applications fails to develop or grows slower than anticipated, we would be significantly and materially adversely affected.

If our products and services do not achieve market acceptance, we may never have significant revenues or any profits.

If we are unable to operate our business as contemplated by our business model or if the assumptions underlying our business model prove to be unfounded, we could fail to achieve our revenue and earnings goals within the time we have projected, or at all, which would have a detrimental effect on our business. As a result, the value of any investment in our Company could be significantly reduced or completely lost.

We may in the future experience competition from other biometric application developers.

Competition in the development of biometric recognition is expected to become more intense. Competitors range from university-based research and development graphics labs to development-stage companies and major domestic and international companies. Many of these entities have financial, technical, marketing, sales, distribution and other resources significantly greater than those that we have. There can be no assurance that we can continue to develop our biometric technologies or that present or future competitors will not develop technologies that render our biometric applications obsolete or less marketable or that we will be able to introduce new products and product enhancements that are competitive with other products marketed by industry participants.

We may fail to create new applications for our products and enter new markets, which would have an adverse effect on our operations, financial condition and prospects.

Our future success depends in part on our ability to develop and market our technology for applications other than those currently intended. If we fail in these goals, our business strategy and ability to generate revenues and cash flow would be significantly impaired. We intend to expend significant resources to develop new technology, but the successful development of new technology cannot be predicted and we cannot guarantee we will succeed in these goals.

Our products may have defects, which could damage our reputation, decrease market acceptance of our products, cause us to lose customers and revenue and result in costly litigation or liability.

Our products may contain defects for many reasons, including defective design or manufacture, defective material or software interoperability issues. Products as complex as those we offer, frequently develop or contain undetected defects or errors. Despite testing defects or errors may arise in our existing or new products, which could result in loss of revenue, market share, failure to achieve market acceptance, diversion of development resources, injury to our reputation, and increased service and maintenance cost. Defects or errors in our products and solutions might discourage customers from purchasing future products. Often, these defects are not detected until after the products have been shipped. If any of our products contain defects or perceived defects or have reliability, quality or compatibility problems or perceived problems, our reputation might be damaged significantly, we could lose or experience a delay in market acceptance of the affected product or products and might be unable to retain existing customers or attract new customers. In addition, these defects could interrupt or delay sales. In the event of an actual or perceived defect or other problem, we may need to invest significant capital, technical, managerial and other resources to investigate and correct the potential defect or problem and potentially divert these resources from other development efforts. If we are unable to provide a solution to the potential defect or problem that is acceptable to our customers, we may be required to incur substantial product recall, repair and replacement and even litigation costs. These costs could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.

We will provide warranties on certain product sales and allowances for estimated warranty costs are recorded during the period of sale. The determination of such allowances requires us to make estimates of product return rates and expected costs to repair or to replace the products under warranty. We will establish warranty reserves based on our best estimates of warranty costs for each product line combined with liability estimates based on the prior twelve months’ sales activities. If actual return rates and/or repair and replacement costs differ significantly from our estimates, adjustments to recognize additional cost of sales may be required in future periods. In addition, because our customers rely on secure authentication and identification of cardholders to prevent unauthorized access to programs, PCs, networks, or facilities, a malfunction of or design defect in its products (or even a perceived defect) could result in legal or warranty claims against us for damages resulting from security breaches. If such claims are adversely decided against us, the potential liability could be substantial and have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results. Furthermore, the possible publicity associated with any such claim, whether or not decided against us, could adversely affect our reputation. In addition, a well-publicized security breach involving smart card-based or other security systems could adversely affect the market’s perception of products like ours in general, or our products in particular, regardless of whether the breach is attributable to our products. Any of the foregoing events could cause demand for our products to decline, which would cause its business and operating results to suffer.

Risks Related to our Securities

The market price for our common stock is particularly volatile given our status as a relatively unknown company with a small and thinly traded public float, and lack of profits, which could lead to wide fluctuations in the price of our common stock.

The market for our common stock is characterized by significant price volatility when compared to the securities of larger, more established companies that trade on a national securities exchange and have large public floats, and we expect that the price of our common stock will continue to be more volatile than the securities of such larger, more established companies for the indefinite future. The volatility in the price of our common stock is attributable to a number of factors. First, as noted above, our common stock is, compared to the securities of such larger, more established companies, sporadically and thinly traded. The price of our common stock could, for example, decline precipitously in the event that a large number of shares of our common stock is sold on the market without commensurate demand. Secondly, we are a speculative or “risky” investment due to our lack of profits to date. As a consequence of this enhanced risk, more risk-adverse investors may, under the fear of losing all or most of their investment in the event of negative news or lack of progress, be more inclined to sell their shares of common stock on the market more quickly and at greater discounts than would be the case with the securities of a larger, more established company that trades on a national securities exchange and has a large public float. Many of these factors are beyond our control and may decrease the market price of our common stock regardless of our operating performance.

Because of volatility in the stock market in general, the market price of our common stock will also likely be volatile.

The stock market in general, and the market for stocks of healthcare technology companies in particular, has been highly volatile. As a result, the market price of our common stock is likely to be volatile, and investors in our common stock may experience a decrease, which could be substantial, in the value of their shares of common stock or the loss of their entire investment for a number of reasons, including reasons unrelated to our operating performance or prospects. The market price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a broad and diverse range of factors, including those described elsewhere in this Report, including this “Risk Factors” section, and the following:

The market price of our common stock has recently been and is still likely to be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations, and you may be unable to resell your shares of common stock at or above the price at which you acquired them.

The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a number of factors that are beyond our control, including, but not limited to:

In addition, if the market for technology and/or healthcare stocks or the stock market in general experiences loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, financial condition or operating results. The trading price of our common stock might also decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in our industry, even if these events do not directly affect us. Each of these factors, among others, could harm the value of your investment in our common stock. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market, securities class-action litigation has often been instituted against companies. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could materially and adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

We may acquire other technologies or finance strategic alliances by issuing our equity or equity-linked securities, which may result in additional dilution to our stockholders.  

If we are not able to comply with the applicable continued listing requirements or standards of the Nasdaq Capital Market, our common stock could be delisted from such exchange.

Our common stock is currently listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. In order to maintain that listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other continued listing requirements and standards, including those regarding director independence and independent committee requirements, minimum stockholders’ equity, minimum share price, and certain corporate governance requirements. There can be no assurances that we will be able to remain in compliance with the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC’s (“Nasdaq”) listing standards or if we do later fail to comply and subsequently regain compliance with Nasdaq’s listing standards, that will be able to continue to comply with the applicable listing standards. If we are unable to maintain compliance with these Nasdaq requirements, our common stock will be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market.

Until recently, we had not been in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (the “Minimum Bid Price Requirement”) for the continued listing of our shares of common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market. We received a letter from Nasdaq, dated January 4, 2021 (the “Nasdaq Letter”), notifying us that we had regained compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement, as a result of the closing bid price of our common stock having closed above $1.00 per share for at least ten consecutive trading days prior to February 1, 2021, and also imposing certain obligations on us during a monitoring period until July 5, 2021. In the event that we fail to comply with the obligations imposed on us in the Nasdaq Letter, our shares of common stock will be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market.

In the event that our common stock is delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market, as a result of our failure to comply with any of the obligations imposed on us in the Nasdaq Letter, or due to our failure to continue to comply with any other requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, and is not eligible for quotation on another market or exchange, trading of our common stock could be conducted in the over-the-counter market or on an electronic bulletin board established for unlisted securities such as the Pink Sheets or the OTC Bulletin Board. In such event, it could become more difficult to dispose of, or obtain accurate price quotations for, our common stock, and it would likely be more difficult to obtain coverage by securities analysts and the news media, which could cause the price of our common stock to decline further. Also, it may be difficult for us to raise additional capital if we are not listed on a national exchange.

In the event that our common stock is delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market, U.S. broker-dealers may be discouraged from effecting transactions in shares of our common stock because they may be considered penny stocks and thus be subject to the penny stock rules.

The SEC has adopted a number of rules to regulate “penny stock” that restricts transactions involving stock which is deemed to be penny stock. Such rules include Rules 3a51-1, 15g-1, 15g-2, 15g-3, 15g-4, 15g-5, 15g-6, 15g-7, and 15g-9 under the Exchange Act. These rules may have the effect of reducing the liquidity of penny stocks. “Penny stocks” generally are equity securities with a price of less than $5.00 per share (other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or quoted on the Nasdaq Capital Market if current price and volume information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange or system). Our shares of common stock have in the past constituted, and may again in the future constitute, “penny stock” within the meaning of the rules. The additional sales practice and disclosure requirements imposed upon U.S. broker-dealers may discourage such broker-dealers from effecting transactions in shares of our common stock, which could severely limit the market liquidity of such shares of common stock and impede their sale in the secondary market.

A U.S. broker-dealer selling a penny stock to anyone other than an established customer or “accredited investor” (generally, an individual with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or an annual income exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with his or her spouse) must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and must receive the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. In addition, the “penny stock” regulations require the U.S. broker-dealer to deliver, prior to any transaction involving a “penny stock”, a disclosure schedule prepared in accordance with SEC standards relating to the “penny stock” market, unless the broker-dealer or the transaction is otherwise exempt. A U.S. broker-dealer is also required to disclose commissions payable to the U.S. broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, a U.S. broker-dealer is required to submit monthly statements disclosing recent price information with respect to the “penny stock” held in a customer’s account and information with respect to the limited market in “penny stocks”.

Stockholders should be aware that, according to the SEC, the market for “penny stocks” has suffered in recent years from patterns of fraud and abuse. Such patterns include: (i) control of the market for the security by one or a few broker-dealers that are often related to the promoter or issuer; (ii) manipulation of prices through prearranged matching of purchases and sales and false and misleading press releases; (iii) “boiler room” practices involving high-pressure sales tactics and unrealistic price projections by inexperienced sales persons; (iv) excessive and undisclosed bid-ask differentials and markups by selling broker-dealers; and (v) the wholesale dumping of the same securities by promoters and broker-dealers after prices have been manipulated to a desired level, resulting in investor losses. Our management is aware of the abuses that have occurred historically in the penny stock market. Although we do not expect to be in a position to dictate the behavior of the market or of broker-dealers who participate in the market, management will strive within the confines of practical limitations to prevent the described patterns from being established with respect to our securities.

Our stockholders may experience significant dilution.

Although certain exercise restrictions are placed upon the holders of our warrants, the issuance of material amounts of common stock by us would cause our existing stockholders to experience significant dilution in their investment in us. In addition, if we obtain additional financing involving the issuance of equity securities or securities convertible into equity securities, our existing stockholders’ investment would be further diluted. Such dilution could cause the market price of our common stock to decline, which could impair our ability to raise additional financing.

We do not anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future; you should not buy our common stock if you expect dividends.

The payment of dividends on our common stock will depend on earnings, financial condition and other business and economic factors affecting us at such time as our board of directors may consider relevant.  If we do not pay dividends, our common stock may be less valuable because a return on your investment will only occur if our stock price appreciates.

We currently intend to retain our future earnings 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.

We could issue “blank check” preferred stock without stockholder approval with the effect of diluting then current stockholder interests and impairing their voting rights; and provisions in our charter documents could discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable.

Our certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 10,000,000 shares of “blank check” preferred stock with designations, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by our board of directors. Our board of directors is empowered, without stockholder approval, to issue a series of preferred stock with dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting or other rights which could dilute the interest of, or impair the voting power of, our common stockholders. The issuance of a series of preferred stock could be used as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control of the Company. For example, it would be possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to change control of the Company.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) sales practice requirements may limit a stockholder’s ability to buy and sell our common stock.

FINRA has adopted rules that require that in recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable for that customer. Prior to recommending speculative low-priced securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives and other information. Under interpretations of these rules, FINRA believes that there is a high probability that speculative low-priced securities will not be suitable for certain customers. FINRA requirements will likely make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their customers buy our common stock, which may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity in our common stock. As a result, fewer broker-dealers may be willing to make a market in our common stock, reducing a stockholder’s ability to resell shares of our common stock.