As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 10, 2024.
Registration No. 333-280282
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
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AMENDMENT NO. 1
TO
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
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Brag House Holdings, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Delaware |
7990 |
87-4032622 |
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(State or other jurisdiction of |
(Primary Standard Industrial |
(I.R.S. Employer |
25 Pompton Avenue, Suite 101
Verona, NJ 07044
(413) 398-2845
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
___________________________
Lavell Juan Malloy, II
Chief Executive Officer
Brag House Holdings Inc.
25 Pompton Avenue, Suite 101
Verona, NJ 07044
(413) 398-2845
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
___________________________
Copies to:
Robert Cohen, Esq. |
Joel Mayersohn, Esq. |
___________________________
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:
As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement is declared effective.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☐
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by checkmark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JULY 10, 2024
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
Shares
Brag House Holdings, Inc.
Common Stock
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We are offering 1,600,000 shares of our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”). This is our initial public offering. The initial public offering price for our Common Stock is expected to be $5.00 per share.
Prior to the offering, there has been no public market for our Common Stock. We have applied to list our Common Stock on The Nasdaq Capital Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “TBH” which listing is a condition to this offering. However, no assurance can be given that our application will be approved and that our Common Stock will ever be listed on Nasdaq. If our listing application is not approved by Nasdaq, we will not be able to consummate the offering and will terminate this offering.
This prospectus gives effect to a 1 for 5.1287 consolidation of our issued and outstanding Common Stock, which was effected on June 14, 2024, (the “Reverse Split”). Except where otherwise indicated, all share and per share data in this prospectus have been retroactively restated to reflect the Reverse Split.
We are an “emerging growth company” under the federal securities laws and, as such, we have elected to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements for this prospectus and future filings. See “Prospectus Summary — Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Smaller Reporting Company.”
Investing in our Common Stock involves a high degree of risk. Before buying any shares, you should carefully read the discussion of the material risks of investing in our Common Stock under the heading “Risk Factors” beginning on page 12 of this prospectus.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed on the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
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(1) Does not include additional compensation payable to the underwriters. We have agreed to pay the underwriters a non-accountable expense allowance equal to 1.0% of the total proceeds raised and to reimburse the underwriters for certain expenses incurred relating to this offering, including an accountable expense allowance equal to $150,000. In addition, we will issue to representative of the underwriters, Kingswood Capital Partners, LLC, or its designees, warrants to purchase in the aggregate the number of shares of our Common Stock equal to three percent (3%) of the number of shares sold in this offering at an exercise price equal to 100% of the offering price of the Common Stock offered hereby. See “Underwriters” beginning on page 90 of this prospectus for additional information regarding the compensation payable to the underwriters.
We have granted a 45-day option to the underwriters to purchase up to 240,000 additional shares of Common Stock, representing 15% of the Common Stock sold in this offering, solely to cover over-allotments, if any. If the underwriters exercise the option in full, the total underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us will be $736,000, and the total proceeds to us, before expenses, will be $8,464,000.
Delivery of the shares of Common Stock is expected to be made on or about , 2024.
KINGSWOOD CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC
The date of this prospectus is , 2024
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F-1 |
Neither we nor the underwriters have authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the shares of Common Stock offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus or in any applicable free writing prospectus is current only as of its date, regardless of its time of delivery or any sale of shares of our Common Stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
For investors outside the United States: Neither we nor the underwriters have done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the shares of Common Stock and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT PRESENTATION
The audited consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2024 represent the operations of Brag House Holdings, Inc.
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
Except where the context otherwise requires or where otherwise indicated throughout this registration statement, the terms “Brag House,” “we,” “us,” our,” “our company,” “Company” and “our business” refer to Brag House Holdings, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Brag House Inc. and Brag House Ltd.
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This summary highlights, and is qualified in its entirety by, the more detailed information and financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary does not contain all of the information that may be important to you in making your investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, especially the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page 12, “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements, and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before making an investment decision. All share and per share data in this prospectus reflects the Reverse Split of our Common Stock issued and outstanding (including adjustments for fractional shares).
We have applied to list our Common Stock on Nasdaq, which listing is a condition to this offering. However, no assurance can be given that our application will be approved and that our Common Stock will ever be listed on Nasdaq. If our listing application is not approved by Nasdaq, we will not be able to consummate the offering.
Business Overview
Brag House offers an integrated electronic video game sports, or esports, platform designed for casual gamers and their friends to experience the fun, passion, intensity and excitement of college sports rivalries in an organic, inclusive and personalized gaming environment, while creating authentic pathway for brands to connect with our Generation Z (“Gen Z”) audience.
The vision for Brag House began with our founders — co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Lavell Juan Malloy, II and co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer Daniel Leibovich — who recognized a need in the gaming industry for an esports platform focused on the casual college gamer. Driven by this vision, our mission is to facilitate, support and enhance the organic — and sometimes spontaneous — creation of digital communities of casual games while delivering value to our shareholders through our diversified revenue model.
• Our Vertically Integrated Social Network. Driven by our founders’ vision, we have developed and intend to implement an integrated social network that facilitates the development of digital communities of casual gamers that are supported and enhanced through interactive streaming capabilities, instant messaging, openly available community spaces, leaderboards and our Brags — unique risk-free non-monetary, non-transferrable “bets” that users can place on gaming outcomes. Our vertically integrated approach combines gamer recruitment, facilitation of community engagement and content creation, live-stream production and tournament host activities. By facilitating the creation and publication of all content on our platform, we believe we will be able to offer a one-stop interface and control all aspects of the user experience, from community building, to gamified engagement, to hosting and producing tournaments. Through our company platform, or our Brag House Platform, we aim to attract college-aged gamers by using differentiated engagement functionalities to meet them where and how they play.
• Our Diversified Revenue Channels. Our diversified revenue model focuses on advertising and branding partnerships (B2B) as well as our members and users (B2C). To date, all of our current revenue has been generated B2B from Tournaments and Tertiary Fees. Our other intended revenue sources we discuss in this prospectus have not generated meaningful revenue as of yet.
• B2B:
Tournaments and Tertiary Fees
We are able to leverage our esports tournaments to enhance and monetize our B2B partnerships. We perform all publicity and marketing for the tournament and host its production, including the streaming and live broadcast of the tournament. Through December 31, 2023, we have held 23 tournaments, and seven of those tournaments were sponsored by corporate entities including Fortune 500 companies that have generated approximately $667,000 in revenue for us. We anticipate that for 2024, tournaments and sponsorships with major sports enterprises and corporate entities will constitute approximately 99% of our revenue, while subscriptions, merchandise and other forms of revenue to be approximately 1%.
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Data Insights
As we continue to build our technology platform, we plan to implement our data insights model in Q1 2025 that will collect anonymized and aggregated data based on the habits, values, and social media use of our primary userbase, currently the Gen Z audience, and use such information to empower brand advertisers to craft highly effective, hyper-personalized marketing strategies. Our goal is to make Brag House uniquely positioned to offer brands the option to pay for accessing unparalleled insights into Gen Z’s needs and desires. Specifically, we aim to build and leverage comprehensive data, including, but not limited to lifestyle and behavior insights, and predictive analytics, without sharing Personal Identifiable Information (“PII”). This will empower brands to craft highly effective, hyper-personalized marketing strategies that resonate with Gen Z’s needs and desires.
Advertising and Marketing Fees
At Brag House, we aim to connect advertisers with college-aged gamers, consumers and esports fans. This involves soliciting advertisers to promote their products through digital channels (such as on our social media accounts and in our Brag House Platform), and also through physical channels (such as by advertising with billboards or signs at our live events). In growing the network of Brag House Platform users, we will continue to make ourselves and our events an appealing destination for advertisers to promote their products.
Collegiate Leads Program
We will continue to develop our network through our Collegiate Leads Program, or our CL Program — where our on-the-ground student ambassadors (i.e. “Collegiate Leads”) help us refine our product offering and expand our footprint on campuses around the country. Through our CL Program, our Collegiate Leads will represent Brag House, organize local tournaments and promote brand awareness. We plan to have over 50 Collegiate Leads across 50 campuses. In addition to promoting Brag House at their own schools, we plan to have these Collegiate Leads reach out to other universities and establish a gaming presence in over 150 colleges and universities in the United States by the end of 2024.
• B2C: We intend to offer a subscription model in which our users can select from different membership tiers, giving them access to additional features, prizes and Brag Bucks — our non-monetized and non-transferrable virtual coin that can be used only within our platform’s ecosystem. As of December 31, 2023, we had not commenced offering paid subscriptions (memberships). We anticipate offering paid subscriptions in 2024.
Our Mission and Approach
Our mission is to foster connectivity and to facilitate an organic and inclusive community in which casual gamers, streamers, fans and friends can compete, enjoy friendly bragging and bantering in a safe environment, support their players and teams and win prizes. To that end, we create exciting and personalized experiences for our users. Our vertically integrated Brag House Platform incorporates features for social media interaction, live streaming and gamification through both web and mobile offerings to provide gamers, streamers and their friends the opportunity to celebrate their love of gaming and competition.
We leverage existing college sports rivalries by hosting tournaments and live-streams with a top-tier production experience, which includes game commentary, in-game interviews, play-by-play analysis, post-game analysis, live broadcast digital visuals and tournament brackets. In addition, we encourage our users to engage with these tournaments and live-streams by offering them the ability to partake and enter in-game stat-based predictions on the outcomes of these events. This is known as our “Bragging Functionality.” Our Bragging Functionality includes our in-platform non-monetary, non-transferrable currency, or Brag Bucks, that are utilized by our users to enter into those predictions, as well as digital tokens that are awarded to users for engaging with the Brag House Platform. These digital tokens, or Loyalty Tokens, can be redeemed for prizes. We describe our Bragging Functionality, Brag Bucks and Loyalty Tokens below in greater detail under the headings “Business — Our B2C Strategy — Leveraging Bragging Functionality” and “Business — Our B2C Strategy — Providing In-Application Digital Product Purchase Opportunities.” Whether through gameplay highlights, live-streamed esports competitions or custom-designed digital gameplay environments, the Brag House audience is regularly watching and engaging.
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The Esports Industry
Esports is a general label that comprises a diverse offering of competitive electronic games that gamers play against each other. Some of the popular esports games currently being played include Fortnite, League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, Overwatch and FIFA. Although you can play games on your own against the computer or console, one of the ways esports is different than video games of old is the community and spectator nature of esports — competitive play against another person — either one-on-one or in teams — that is viewed by an online and in-person audience, is a central feature of esports. Since players play against each other online, a global network has developed as these players compete against each other worldwide. Additionally, game developers have greatly increased the watchability of games, which has made the spectator aspect of gaming much more prevalent and further drives expansion of the gaming market. The expanded reach of high-speed Internet service and the computer technology advances in the last decade have also greatly accelerated the growth of esports. Esports has now become so popular that many schools offer scholarships in esports; the best-known esports teams are getting mainstream sponsorship and are being bought or invested in by celebrities, athletes and professional sports teams. The highest-profile esports gamers have significant online audiences as they stream themselves playing against other players online, and potentially can generate millions of dollars in sponsorship money and subscription fees to their online streaming channels. According to the South African Journal of Sports Medicine, an estimated 645 million people watched esports globally in 2023. According to Newzoo, a video game market data company, the global esports revenue was approximately $1.8 billion in 2022.
Our Competitive Strengths
Based on management’s experience in the industry, we believe we have the following competitive strengths which enable us to compete effectively:
• We were the first to focus on the casual gamer market and to use a grassroots approach to build and reach our target community.
• We have intentionally developed our Brag House Platform that allows casual gamers to improve their skills while at the same time allowing fans to engage with the casual gamer community.
• Our vertically integrated Brag House Platform has allowed us to concurrently develop what we believe are compelling B2C and B2B product and service offerings, including our Bragging Functionality and Loyalty Tokens in connection to the consolidation of services.
We believe these competitive strengths allow us to develop unique relationships with casual gamers and their fans in a way that is beneficial to the brands trying to reach casual gamers as well as the casual gamers and their fans alike.
Growth Prospects
As we continue to invest in creating inclusive, exciting and personalized experiences for our users through our vertically integrated Brag House Platform, we will strive to build a leadership position within the growing esports gaming industry. We have established key areas of strategic focus that will guide the way we think about our future B2C and B2B growth prospects:
Expanding our community of casual gamers and fans is our top priority. Non-professional gamers represent more than 99% of all gamers globally according to Cyber Athletiks, presenting what we believe is a robust market segment that presents meaningful opportunity for growth. As of December 31, 2023, we had 1,568 Bragger members (as defined below), an approximate 35% year-over-year growth from 2021.
We experienced strong community growth in 2023, reaching nearly 940,000 video views of our Brag House content through December 31, 2023 on video platforms including X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, Meta, Twitch and YouTube, compared to nearly 420,000 video views through 2021 and 2022, which represent a 236% increase in views year-over-year from 2020 to 2023. We have also generated nearly 8 million impressions since inception, which represents approximately an 83% increase, or nearly 2X growth, year-over-year from 2020 to 2023. Additionally, since 2022, Brag House spectators who viewed live streams remained on the platform for 19 minutes per stream across over 290,000 live views, which represents nearly a 1.75X increase compared to the industry benchmark of 11 minutes. We capitalized this growth and user access to develop four current marketing and branding relationships as of December 31, 2023 with Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, the City of Fort Worth and the Denver Broncos. These B2B relationships contributed $367,000 in gross revenue in 2023.
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We will continue to invest in, and further enhance, our mobile and web platforms by (i) implementing a live-streaming functionality where our users can watch gaming streams live and chat, (ii) setting up separate subcommunities on our platform broken down by similar gaming interest, geographic location or college affiliation, (iii) promoting engagement that fosters a competitive and safe atmosphere among players who wish to compete against one another, and (iv) adding virtual and physical prizes that our users can win through engaging with our platform. We feel that the above measures will foster a positive relationship with our current userbase and foster community growth.
Data Insights. As we continue to build our technology we also aim to collect meaningful data which we hope will empower us to curate offerings that resonate deeply with our userbase, and provide brands the option to pay for accessing invaluable insights for those who seek to connect with this audience. We believe that by understanding the unique needs and preferences of our userbase, brands, through our data insights, will be able to develop highly targeted and effective marketing campaigns with genuine value, and by doing so reduce ineffective usage of resources and irrelevant advertising for our community. We believe this symbiotic relationship will foster a mutually beneficial environment where our users will receive more curated and relevant ads for products and services, while brands will achieve higher engagement and conversion rates through these new interactions the brands will implement in connection to the data insights. We plan to implement our data insights model in Q1 2025.
Strengthen and grow our B2B Partnerships. Given the potential reach of our tournaments, we believe we have the ability to reach, connect with, and influence a significant segment of casual gamers and spectators in a direct and authentic way. B2B partnerships represent a key part of our financial strategy, and because our target demographic represents such a large segment of the gaming market, we believe we can be a bridge between our users and tournament participants and our B2B partners.
Organic Growth through Additional Offerings. Though Brag House was founded for casual gamers, and providing a home for casual gamers will continue to be our mission, we believe we can attract professional streamers and gamers by facilitating discoverability within our platform. We believe we can help casual gamers grow their following and create original content through our Brag House Platform for fans and followers through access to our library resources and services. In addition, we believe we can establish relationships with esports agencies and professional gaming organizations, and then connect these organizations to the gamers who build their profile using our platform. While we currently have no plans to become an in-person events company, we believe there is demand for in-person esports events. Our first in-person event hosted at the University of Dallas in October 2021 drew more than 2,500 students and faculty; our aim is to replicate and increase this turnout in future in-person events.
We encourage content creation by our users as part of our effort to help casual gamers interested in pursuing professional gaming, as a result, content creation may become one of our sources of revenue in the future.
Summary of Risk Factors
Our business is subject to numerous risks, including risks that may prevent us from achieving our business objectives or may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects, that you should consider before making an investment decision. Some of the more significant risks and uncertainties relating to an investment in our company are listed below. These risks are more fully described in the “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus immediately following this prospectus summary:
Risks Relating to our Business
• We have not produced significant revenues. This makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and increases the risk that we will not be successful.
• Our history of recurring losses and anticipated expenditures raises substantial doubts about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our ability to continue as a going concern requires that we obtain sufficient funding to finance our operations.
• The loss of or a substantial reduction in activity by one or more of our largest clients, vendors and/or sponsors could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
• We may experience fluctuations in our operating results, which make our future results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations.
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• Our revenue model may not remain effective, and we cannot guarantee that our future monetization strategies will be successfully implemented or generate sustainable revenues and profit.
• Competition within the broader entertainment industry is intense and our existing and potential users may be attracted to competing forms of entertainment such as television, movies and sporting events, as well as other entertainment and esports options on the Internet. If our offerings do not continue to be popular, our business could be harmed.
• Our marketing and advertising efforts may fail to resonate with amateur gamers and creators.
• Technology changes rapidly in our business and if we fail to anticipate or successfully implement new technologies or adopt new business strategies, technologies or methods, the quality, timeliness and competitiveness of our amateur tournaments or competitions may suffer.
• We have a unique community culture that is vital to our success. Our operations may be materially and adversely affected if we fail to maintain this community culture as we expand in our addressable gamer communities.
• The amateur esports gaming industry is intensely competitive. Gamers and creators may prefer our competitors’ amateur competitions or tournaments over our own.
• We have entered into limited license agreements with game publishers. Failure to renew existing licensing agreements or to enter into new licensing agreements may require us to modify, limit, or discontinue certain services, which could materially affect our business, financial conditions and results of operations.
• Our growth will depend on our ability to attract and retain users, and the loss of our users, failure to attract new users in a cost-effective manner, or failure to effectively manage our growth could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
• The ability to grow our business is dependent in part on the success and availability of mass media channels developed by third parties, as well as our ability to develop commercially successful content, and amateur tournaments and competitions.
• We depend on servers to operate our Brag House Platform with online features and our online gaming service. If we were to lose server functionality for any reason, our business may be negatively impacted.
• Growth and engagement of our gamer community depends upon effective interoperability with mobile operating systems, networks, mobile devices and standards that we do not control.
• Our business depends substantially on the continuing efforts of our executive officers, key employees and qualified personnel, and our business operations may be severely disrupted if we lose their services.
• Our growth will depend, in part, on the success of our strategic relationships with third parties. Over-reliance on certain third parties, or our inability to extend existing relationships or agree to new relationships may cause unanticipated costs for us and impact our financial performance in the future.
• We generate revenue from advertising. The loss of advertisers, or reduction in spending by advertisers with Brag House, could seriously harm our business.
• Our business is subject to regulation, and changes in applicable regulations may negatively impact our business.
Risks Relating to Intellectual Property
• We may be subject to claims of infringement of third-party intellectual property rights, which are costly to defend, could result in significant damage awards, and could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.
• Our technology, content and brands are subject to the threat of piracy, unauthorized copying and other forms of intellectual property infringement.
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• Third parties may register trademarks or domain names or purchase internet search engine keywords that are similar to our registered trademark or pending trademarks, brands or websites, or misappropriate our data and copy our gaming platform, all of which could cause confusion, divert gamers and creators away from our gaming platform and league tournaments, or harm our reputation.
• We may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position.
• We may be subject to legal liability for information or content displayed on, retrieved from or linked to our online gaming platform, or distributed to our users.
• Changes in intellectual property laws and governmental regulations regarding the internet that are applied adversely to us or our members may have a material adverse effect on our business operations, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Relating to the Public Health Epidemics
• Public health epidemics or outbreaks, such as COVID-19, could materially and adversely impact our business.
Risks Relating to This Offering and Ownership of Our Common Stock
• Our management team has limited experience managing a public company.
• We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, and we may not be able to successfully implement remedial measures.
• As a result of becoming a public company, we will be obligated to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. These internal controls may not be effective and our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to certify as to their effectiveness, which could have a significant and adverse effect on our business and reputation.
• The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and distract our management, which could make it difficult to manage our business, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act. Following the completion of this offering, we will be required to comply with various regulatory and reporting requirements, including those required by the SEC. Complying with these reporting and other regulatory requirements will be time-consuming and will result in increased costs to us and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
• We will be subject to ongoing public reporting requirements that are less rigorous than Exchange Act rules for companies that are not emerging growth companies and our stockholders could receive less information than they might expect to receive from more mature public companies.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Smaller Reporting Company
We qualify as an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended, or the JOBS Act. As an “emerging growth company”, we may take advantage of reduced reporting requirements that are otherwise applicable to public companies. These provisions include, but are not limited to:
• the option to present only two years of audited financial statements and only two years of related “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this prospectus;
• not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;
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• not being required to comply with any requirements that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (i.e., an auditor discussion and analysis);
• reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements; and
• exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period. Our financial statements may therefore not be comparable to those of companies that comply with such new or revised accounting standards.
We may take advantage of these provisions until the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering. However, we will cease to be an emerging growth company if any of the following events occur prior to the end of such five-year period: (i) our annual gross revenue exceeds $1.235 billion, (ii) we issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt in any three-year period, or (iii) we become a “large accelerated filer,” (as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act). We will be deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” at such time that we (a) have an aggregate worldwide market value of common equity securities held by non-affiliates of $700 million or more as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, (b) have been required to file annual and quarterly reports under the Exchange Act for a period of at least 12 months and (c) have filed at least one annual report pursuant to the Exchange Act. Even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we may still qualify as a “smaller reporting company,” which would allow us to take advantage of many of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements including reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in this prospectus and our periodic reports and proxy statements.
We have elected to take advantage of certain of the reduced disclosure obligations in the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and may elect to take advantage of other reduced reporting requirements in future filings. As a result, the information that we provide to our stockholders may be different than you might receive from other public reporting companies in which you hold equity interests.
Corporate Information
We were formed as a Delaware corporation in December 2021. For tax purposes, the Company made the S-Corporation election for the initial years of tax filing. As a result of the UK Reorganization, the Company no longer qualifies for this tax status election and is taxed as a C-Corporation for the years beginning 2021 and onward.
BHI, our wholly-owned indirect subsidiary and the entity through which our operations are primarily conducted, was formed as a Delaware corporation in February 2018.
Brag House Ltd., or BHL, our direct subsidiary and intermediate parent company of BHI, is a company organized under the laws of England & Wales and was incorporated in June 2021.
Our principal executive offices are located at 25 Pompton Avenue, Suite 101, Verona, NJ 07044 and our telephone number is 413-398-2845. Our website address is www.braghouse.com. The information contained in, or accessible through, our website does not constitute a part of this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.
7
Prior to July 2021, our shareholders directly held shares of common stock of our subsidiary, BHI. In August 2021, in anticipation of a potential listing on the London Stock Exchange, the shareholders of BHI exchanged all 10,000,000 shares of BHI common stock on a one for 14.07 basis in exchange for 140,700,000 ordinary shares of BHL, and BHI became a wholly-owned subsidiary of BHL, or the UK Reorganization.
Following the UK Reorganization, the board of directors of BHL determined that it was in the best interests of BHL and its shareholders that an initial public offering in the United States and concurrent listing on Nasdaq be pursued. To effect that proposed initial public offering and listing on Nasdaq, in December 2021, the Company was formed. In connection with this offering, prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement, on February 8, 2022 the Company approved a reorganization, in which the shareholders of BHL would exchange their ordinary shares and preference shares of BHL for a proportionate number of common and preferred shares in the Company on a 21 to 1 basis (the “U.S. Reorganization”). Immediately following the U.S. Reorganization, BHL became the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and BHI became the indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.
We anticipate that BHL will be wound down and dissolved as soon as reasonably practicable following the consummation of this offering.
Going Concern
We incurred a net loss of $1,034,161 and $4,672,348 for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and for the year ended December 31, 2023, respectively, and our accumulated deficit was $12,393,344 and $11,359,183 as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. Our independent registered public accountant has issued an audit opinion which includes an explanatory paragraph as to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern due to our history of recurring losses, our need for additional liquidity, and anticipated expenditures. Please see the Risk Factor on page 12 of this prospectus for a discussion of information that should be considered before making a decision to purchase our common stock.
Recent Developments
On June 11, 2024 our board of directors approved, and on June 13, 2024 our stockholders approved the Reverse Split. On June 14, 2024 we filed the Second Certificate of Amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation to effect the Reverse Split, such that every holder of Common Stock of the Company received 1 share of Common Stock for every 5.1287 of a share held. The Conversion Price of Series A convertible preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series A Preferred Stock”), will reflect the Reverse Split. Any future redemption of stock options or warrants for options or warrants that were granted prior to June 14, 2024 will also reflect the Reverse Split. Fractional shares will be paid out at a price of $5.00 per share. On June 13, 2024, the Company approved a 2024 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Stock Incentive Plan”) which will become effective on the business day immediately prior to the effective date of our registration statement related to this offering for grants of stock awards to employees, directors, and consultants of the Company. For more details, see “Incentive Award Plan” on page 74 of this prospectus.
8
The Offering
Common stock offered by us |
1,600,000 shares. |
|
Option to purchase additional shares |
We have granted the underwriters an option for a period of 45 days to purchase up to 240,000 additional shares of Common Stock. |
|
Common stock to be outstanding after this offering |
|
|
Use of proceeds |
We estimate that the net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $6.21 million (or approximately $7.3 million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full), based on an assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share, which is the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, including sales and marketing activities, product development and capital expenditures. For a more complete description of our intended use of the proceeds from this offering, see “Use of Proceeds.” |
|
Representative’s warrants |
Upon the closing of this offering, we have agreed to issue to Kingswood Capital Partners, LLC, as representative of the underwriters, or its designees, warrants that will be exercisable during the four and one-half year period commencing from the date of commencement of the sales of the Common Stock in connection with this offering, entitling the representative to purchase 3% of the number of shares of Common Stock sold in this offering at an exercise price equal to 100% of the offering price of the Common Stock offered hereby. The registration statement of which this prospectus is a part also covers the representative’s warrants and the Common Stock issuable upon the exercise thereof. For additional information regarding our arrangement with the underwriters, please see “Underwriting.” |
|
Risk factors |
We urge you to read the section titled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 12 and the other information included in this prospectus for a discussion of factors you should consider carefully before deciding to invest in our Common Stock. |
|
Lock-Up |
We, our executive officers and directors, and certain shareholders of our Common Stock, have agreed with the underwriters not to offer for sale, issue, sell, contract to sell, encumber or otherwise dispose of any of our Common Stock or securities convertible into Common Stock for a period of either 30 days or 180 days in the case of officers, directors and certain shareholders, and 180 days in the case of the Company (subject to certain exceptions), after the date of this prospectus without the written consent of the representative. See “Underwriting” on page 90 of this prospectus. |
|
Proposed Nasdaq Capital Market symbol |
We have applied to list our Common Stock on Nasdaq under the symbol “TBH,” which listing is a condition to this offering. However, no assurance can be given that our application will be approved and that our Common Stock will ever be listed on Nasdaq. If our listing application is not approved by Nasdaq, we will not be able to consummate the offering and will terminate the offering. |
9
The number of shares of our Common Stock to be outstanding after this offering is based on 5,600,000 shares of our Common Stock outstanding (as adjusted for the Reverse Split), which includes 2,708,452 shares of our Common Stock outstanding as of June 30, 2024, plus 38,996 shares of our Common Stock to be issued upon the conversion of our Series A Preferred Stock, and 1,252,552 shares of our Common Stock to be issued on the conversion of Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes and an assumed amount of accrued interest at conversion prices of $5.00 per share, and excludes:
• the 600,000 shares reserved for issuance pursuant to the Stock Incentive Plan (as adjusted for the Reverse Split); and
• the number of shares of Common Stock totalling $200,000 to Outside The Box Capital, Inc. for marketing services upon consummation of this offering, based on an assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share, which is the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus (as adjusted for the Reverse Split).
Except as otherwise indicated herein, all information in this prospectus assumes or gives effect to:
• no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase 240,000 additional shares of our Common Stock in this offering and;
• no exercise of the representative’s warrants.
10
SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA
The following tables set forth our summary financial data for the periods indicated. We have derived the statements of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (as adjusted for the Reverse Split) and the balance sheet data as of December 31, 2023 from our audited financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that should be expected for any future period. The tables below show the selected statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 (as adjusted for the Reverse Split) and the selected balance sheet data as of March 31, 2024 from our unaudited financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. You should read the following summary financial data together with the more detailed information contained in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.
For the three months ended |
For the years ended |
|||||||||||||||
2024 |
2023 |
2023 |
2022 |
|||||||||||||
(Unaudited) |
(Unaudited) |
(Audited) |
(Audited) |
|||||||||||||
Statements of Operations Data: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
Revenue |
$ |
55 |
|
$ |
54 |
|
$ |
366,438 |
|
$ |
250,305 |
|
||||
Cost of sales |
$ |
464 |
|
$ |
127 |
|
$ |
34,835 |
|
$ |
104,270 |
|
||||
Operating expenses |
$ |
232,014 |
|
$ |
560,865 |
|
$ |
2,313,856 |
|
$ |
3,280,741 |
|
||||
Other (income) expenses |
$ |
801,738 |
|
$ |
315,694 |
|
$ |
2,690,095 |
|
$ |
393,793 |
|
||||
Loss before income taxes |
$ |
(1,034,161 |
) |
$ |
(876,632 |
) |
$ |
(4,672,348 |
) |
$ |
(3,528,499 |
) |
||||
Benefit from (provision for) income |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||||
Net loss |
$ |
(1,034,161 |
) |
$ |
(876,632 |
) |
$ |
(4,672,348 |
) |
$ |
(3,528,499 |
) |
||||
Other comprehensive loss |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
(694 |
) |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
(694 |
) |
||||
Total comprehensive loss |
$ |
(1,034,161 |
) |
$ |
(877,326 |
) |
$ |
(4,672,348 |
) |
$ |
(3,529,193 |
) |
||||
Weighted-average common shares outstanding, basic and diluted |
|
2,667,601 |
|
|
2,462,741 |
|
|
2,657,477 |
|
|
2,387,967 |
|
||||
Basic and diluted net loss per common share |
$ |
(0.39 |
) |
$ |
(0.36 |
) |
$ |
(1.76 |
) |
$ |
(1.48 |
) |
As of |
As of |
|||||||||||||
Actual |
As Adjusted |
Actual |
As Adjusted(1)(2) |
|||||||||||
Balance Sheet Data: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
Cash and Cash Equivalents |
$ |
163,081 |
|
6,370,334 |
|
$ |
33,889 |
|
6,241,142 |
|
||||
Working capital(3) |
$ |
(7,807,960 |
) |
5,087,385 |
|
$ |
(6,698,536 |
) |
5,321,813 |
|
||||
Total assets |
$ |
969,061 |
|
6,444,200 |
|
$ |
718,590 |
|
6,315,008 |
|
||||
Total liabilities |
$ |
8,036,268 |
|
1,348,176 |
|
$ |
6,797,652 |
|
984,556 |
|
||||
Accumulated deficit |
$ |
(12,393,344 |
) |
(12,393,344 |
) |
$ |
(11,359,183 |
) |
(11,359,183 |
) |
||||
Total equity (deficit) |
$ |
(7,067,207 |
) |
5,096,024 |
|
$ |
(6,079,062 |
) |
5,330,451 |
|
____________
(1) The adjusted balance sheets give effect to the issuance and sale of shares of Common Stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share, which is the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. The as adjusted balance sheet data assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
(2) Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share, which is the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) as adjusted cash and cash equivalents, working capital, total assets, and total equity by $1.456 million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Similarly, each increase (decrease) of 100,000 shares in the number of shares offered by us at the assumed initial public offering price, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us would increase (decrease) as adjusted cash and cash equivalents, working capital, total assets, and total equity by $0.455 million. The adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will be adjusted based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of our initial public offering determined at pricing.
(3) We define working capital as current assets less current liabilities.
11
You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below and the other information in this prospectus, including our financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus and in the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” before deciding whether to invest in our Common Stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could be materially and adversely affected if any of these risks occurs, and as a result, the market price of our Common Stock could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment. This prospectus also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” Our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including those set forth below. For a summary of these risk factors, please see “Summary of Risk Factors” in the section titled “Prospectus Summary” beginning on page 1 of this prospectus.
Risks Relating to Our Business
We have not produced significant revenues. This makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and increases the risk that we will not be successful.
Our operations since inception have produced limited revenues and may not produce significant revenues in the near term, or at all, which may harm our ability to obtain additional financing and may require us to reduce or discontinue our operations. You must consider our business and prospects in light of the risks and difficulties we will encounter as a company operating in a rapidly evolving industry. We may not be able to successfully address these risks and difficulties, which could significantly harm our business, operating results, and financial condition.
Our history of recurring losses and anticipated expenditures raises substantial doubts about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our ability to continue as a going concern requires that we obtain sufficient funding to finance our operations.
We have incurred operating losses to date and it is possible we may never generate a profit. Our financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the ordinary course of business. If we are unable to raise sufficient capital in this offering or otherwise as and when needed, our business, financial condition and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected, and we will need to significantly modify our operational plans to continue as a going concern. If we are unable to continue as a going concern, we may have to liquidate our assets, and the values we receive for our assets in liquidation or dissolution could be significantly lower than the values reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Our lack of cash resources and our potential inability to continue as a going concern may materially adversely affect our share price and our ability to raise new capital, enter into critical contractual relations with third parties and otherwise execute our development strategy. We incurred a net loss of $1,034,161 and $4,672,348 for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and for the year ended December 31, 2023, respectively, and our accumulated deficit was $12,393,344 and $11,359,183 as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.
We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays, and other unknown factors that may adversely affect our financial condition. Our prior losses and expected future losses have had, and will continue to have, an adverse effect on our financial condition. If our esports platform does not achieve sufficient market acceptance and our revenues do not increase significantly, we may never become profitable. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods. Our failure to become and remain profitable would decrease the value of our company and could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business, diversify our product offerings or continue our operations. A decline in the value of our company could cause you to lose all or part of your investment.
The loss of or a substantial reduction in activity by one or more of our largest clients, vendors and/or sponsors could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, our partnerships accounted for approximately 99% of our revenue. As we are still developing our Brag House platform and attracting new users, the loss of any one of these partners from a historical perspective would be significant.
12
These partners and details regarding our dealings with them are as follows:
Coca-Cola and McDonald’s In 2021, we entered into an Agency Supplier Agreement with Moroch Partners, Inc., or Moroch, a marketing and communications agency. Pursuant to our agreement with Moroch, we held the “Texas Loyalty Cup”, a Brag House tournament, in 2021 in collaboration with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. The success of the tournament led to a continued and stronger relationship with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola as we further held two tournaments in 2022: “SoCal FIFA 23 Tournament” which was a direct contract with Coca-Cola and collaborated with McDonald’s through their marketing agency of the Southern California Region, Davis Elen, or DE, and “Black and Positively Golden Gamers HBCU Tournament Featuring Fortnite” which was a contract with McDonald’s through their agency, Walton Isaacson, or WI in collaboration with Coca-Cola. Due to the success Brag House was able to achieve, the partnership with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola grew stronger as Brag House was contracted by Coca-Cola, in collaboration with McDonald’s, for the third consecutive year to host a nationwide Fortnite tournament with student gamers from five states (Washington, Oregon, California, Oklahoma and Kansas). The tournament is known as the Golden Royale Cup, and took place over the course of three weeks in November, with three qualifying matches, followed by a grand finale match. The Golden Royale Cup amassed nearly 20,000 total hours of aggregate live streaming content watched. And garnered nearly 300,000 views from gamers watching the tournament in real-time. Furthermore, the event received nearly 1 million impressions across Brag House’s social media platforms.
Denver Broncos and the City of Fort Worth
In addition to the Golden Royale Cup from November 2023, Brag House has finalized two major partnerships agreements; the first with the Fort Worth Sports Commission, or FWSC, a division of The City of Fort Worth, to host a cutting edge in-person esports event, which will be streamed live digitally as well, in September 2024 at the Fort Worth Convention Center, or FWCC, focused on college students for the State of Texas where Brag House is anticipating over 80 Texas colleges and Universities to take part in the event and have over 20,000 visitors attend the event in-person and over 500,000 spectators through the live streaming; the second with the Denver Broncos, a world-renowned American Football franchise that competes in the National Football League, or NFL, to be a gaming partner for in-person and digital gaming activations (i.e. gaming events) for, at minimum, the 2023-2025 NFL seasons.
Economic downturns and political and market conditions beyond our control could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our financial performance is subject to global and U.S. economic conditions and their impact on levels of spending by users and advertisers. We are currently dealing with global changes in the macro-economic environment including disruptions in supply chain, labor disruptions, challenges in manufacturing, declines in customer demand, inflationary pressures, rising interest rates, and an impaired ability to access credit and capital markets, among other things. There are uncertainties as to the outcome of current financial conditions, including a recessionary environment or a contraction in the economy, which may impact overall consumer demand and supply requirements. Economic recessions have had, and may continue to have, far reaching adverse consequences across many industries, including the entertainment and esports industries, which may adversely affect our business and financial condition.
In addition, changes in general market, economic and political conditions in domestic and foreign economies or financial markets, including fluctuation in stock markets resulting from, among other things, trends in the economy as a whole may reduce users’ disposable income and advertisers’ budgets. Anyone of these changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.
A reversal of the U.S. economic recovery and a return to volatile or recessionary conditions in the United States or abroad could adversely affect our business or our access to capital markets in a material manner.
To date, our principal sources of capital used to fund our operations have been the net proceeds we received from sales of equity securities. We have and will continue to use significant capital for the growth and development of our business, and, as such, we expect to seek additional capital either from operations or that may be available from future issuance(s) of common stock or debt financings, to fund our planned operations.
13
Accordingly, our results of operations and the implementation of our long-term business strategy could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy, including conditions that are outside of our control, such as the adverse consequences arising out of disruption caused by COVID-19. The most recent global financial crisis resulted in extreme volatility and slowdown in the capital and credit markets. A severe or prolonged economic downturn could result in a variety of risks to our business and could have a material adverse effect on us, including limiting our ability to obtain additional capital from the capital markets. We could also be adversely affected by such factors as changes in foreign currency rates and weak economic and political conditions in each of the countries in which we operate.
We may experience fluctuations in our operating results, which make our future results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations.
Our quarterly financial results have fluctuated in the past and we expect our financial results to fluctuate in the future. These fluctuations may be due to a variety of factors, some of which are outside of our control and may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business.
We have a limited operating history. Although we have experienced significant growth since our gaming platform for amateur online experiences was launched, and we established our amateur tournaments and competitions, our historical growth rate may not be indicative of our future performance due to our limited operating history and the rapid evolution of our business model. We may not be able to achieve similar results or accelerate growth at the same rate as we have historically. As our amateur tournaments and competitions continue to develop, we may adjust our strategy and business model to adapt. These adjustments may not achieve expected results and may have a material and adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, our rapid growth and expansion have placed, and continue to place, significant strain on our management and resources. This level of significant growth may not be sustainable or achievable at all in the future. We believe that our continued growth will depend on many factors, including our ability to develop new sources of revenues, diversify monetization methods including our direct to consumer offerings, attract and retain competitive gamers and creators, increase engagement, continue developing innovative technologies, tournaments and competitions in response to shifting demand in esports and online gaming, increase brand awareness, and expand into new markets. We cannot assure you that we will achieve any of the above, and our failure to do so may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We are subject to risks associated with operating in a rapidly developing industry and a relatively new market.
Many elements of our business are unique, evolving and relatively unproven. Our business and prospects depend on the continuing development of live streaming of competitive esports gaming. The market for esports and amateur online gaming competition is relatively new and rapidly developing and are subject to significant challenges. Our business relies upon our ability to cultivate and grow an active gamer community, and our ability to successfully monetize such a community through tournament fees, digital subscriptions for our esports gaming services, and advertising and sponsorship opportunities. In addition, our continued growth depends, in part, on our ability to respond to constant changes in the esports gaming industry, including rapid technological evolution, continued shifts in gamer trends and demands, frequent introductions of new games and titles and the constant emergence of new industry standards and practices. Developing and integrating new games, titles, content, products, services or infrastructure could be expensive and time-consuming, and these efforts may not yield the benefits we expect to achieve at all. We cannot assure you that we will succeed in any of these aspects or that the esports gaming industry will continue to grow as rapidly as it has in the past.
Our revenue model may not remain effective, and we cannot guarantee that our future monetization strategies will be successfully implemented or generate sustainable revenues and profit.
We generate revenues from advertising, sponsorship and league tournaments, and through the operation of our live streaming platform using a revenue model whereby gamers and creators can get free access to certain live streaming of amateur tournaments, and gamers and creators pay fees to compete in league competition. We have generated, and expect to continue to generate, a substantial portion of revenues using this revenue model in the near term. To date, all of our current revenue has been generated B2B from Tournaments and Tertiary Fees. Our other intended revenue sources we discuss in this prospectus have not generated meaningful revenue as of yet. We are, however, particularly focused on implementing a direct to consumer model for our expanding gamer base. Although our business has experienced significant growth in recent years, there is no guarantee that our direct to consumer packages will gain significant traction to maximize our growth rate in the future, as the demand for our offerings may change, decrease substantially or dissipate, or we may fail to anticipate and serve gamer demands effectively.
14
Our marketing and advertising efforts may fail to resonate with amateur gamers and creators.
Our amateur tournaments and competitions are marketed through a diverse spectrum of advertising and promotional programs and campaigns such as online and mobile advertising, marketing through websites, event sponsorship and direct communications with our gaming community including via email, blogs and other electronic means. An increasing portion of our marketing activity is taking place on social media platforms that are either outside, or not totally within, our direct control. Changes to gamer preferences, marketing regulations, privacy and data protection laws, technology changes or service disruptions may negatively impact our ability to reach target gamers and creators. Our ability to market our amateur tournaments and competitions is dependent in part upon the success of these programs. If the marketing for our amateur tournaments and competitions fails to resonate and expand with the gamer community, or if advertising rates or other media placement costs increase, our business and operating results could be harmed.
Technology changes rapidly in our business and if we fail to anticipate or successfully implement new technologies or adopt new business strategies, technologies or methods, the quality, timeliness and competitiveness of our amateur tournaments or competitions may suffer.
Rapid technology changes in the esports gaming market require us to anticipate, sometimes years in advance, which technologies we must develop, implement and take advantage of in order to be and remain competitive in the esports gaming market. We have invested, and in the future may invest, in new business strategies including a direct to consumer model, technologies, products, or games or first-tier game titles to continue to persistently engage the amateur gamer and deliver the best online and in-person gaming experience. Such endeavors may involve significant risks and uncertainties, and no assurance can be given that the technology we choose to adopt and the features that we pursue will be successful. If we do not successfully implement these new technologies, our reputation may be materially adversely affected, and our financial condition and operating results may be impacted. We also may miss opportunities to adopt technology or develop amateur tournaments or competitions that become popular with gamers and creators, which could adversely affect our financial results. It may take significant time and resources to shift our focus to such technologies, putting us at a competitive disadvantage.
Our development process usually starts with particular gamer experiences in mind, and a range of technical development and feature goals that we hope to be able to achieve. We may not be able to achieve these goals, or our competitors may be able to achieve them more quickly and effectively than we can based on having greater operating capital and personnel resources. If we cannot achieve our technology goals within the original development schedule, then we may delay their release until these goals can be achieved, which may delay or reduce revenue and increase our development expenses. Alternatively, we may be required to significantly increase the resources employed in research and development in an attempt to accelerate our development of new technologies, either to preserve our launch schedule or to keep up with our competitors, which would increase our development expenses.
We have a unique community culture that is vital to our success. Our operations may be materially and adversely affected if we fail to maintain this community culture as we expand in our addressable gamer communities.
We have cultivated an interactive and vibrant online social gamer community centered around amateur online gaming. We ensure a superior gamer experience by continuously improving the user interface and features of our gaming platform along with offering a multitude of competitive and recreational gaming experiences with first tier esports games. We believe that maintaining and promoting a vibrant community culture is critical to retaining and expanding our gamer community. We have taken multiple initiatives to preserve our community culture and values. Despite our efforts, we may be unable to maintain our community culture and cease to be the preferred platform for our target gamers and creators as we expand our gamer footprint, which would be detrimental to our business operations.
We operate in the entertainment and esports industries, both of which are intensely competitive. Our users may prefer our competitors’ offerings over our own.
We operate in the esports industry. Competition in the amateur esports gaming industry generally is intense. Our competitors range from established leagues and championships owned directly, as well as leagues franchised by, well known and capitalized game publishers and developers, interactive entertainment companies and diversified media companies to emerging start-ups, and we expect new competitors to continue to emerge throughout the amateur esports gaming ecosystem. If our competitors develop and launch competing amateur tournaments or competitions, or develop a more successful amateur online gaming platform, our revenue, margins, and profitability will decline.
15
In addition, we operate in the entertainment industry. Our users face a vast array of entertainment choices. Other forms of entertainment, such as television, movies, and sporting events may be perceived by our users to offer greater variety, interactivity and enjoyment. We compete with these other forms of entertainment for the discretionary time and income of our users. If we are unable to sustain sufficient interest in our esports platform, our business model may not continue to be viable.
The specific industries in which we operate are characterized by dynamic user demand and technological advances, and there is intense competition among online esports platforms and entertainment providers. A number of established, well-financed companies producing esports content and/or interactive entertainment products and services compete with our offerings, and other well-capitalized companies may introduce competitive services. Such competitors may spend more money and time on developing and testing products and services, undertake more extensive marketing campaigns, adopt more aggressive pricing or promotional policies or otherwise develop more commercially successful products or services than ours, which could negatively impact our business. Our competitors may also develop products, features, or services that are similar to ours or that achieve greater market acceptance. Such competitors may also undertake more far-reaching and successful product development efforts or marketing campaigns, or may adopt more aggressive pricing policies. If we are not able to maintain or improve our market share, or if our offerings do not continue to be popular, our business could suffer.
We currently have only limited license agreements with game publishers, and may not in the future enter into additional license agreements. Failure to do so may require us to modify, limit, or discontinue certain services, which could materially affect our business, financial conditions and results of operations.
The size and engagement level of our online and in-person gamers are critical to our success and are closely linked to the quality and popularity of the esports game publishers. Changes in consumer demand for, and acceptance of, the game titles that we offer for our tournaments and activities, as well as online multiplayer competitive gaming in general could adversely affect our ability to attract and retain users and affect the financial condition of our business. We currently have only limited license agreements in place with game publishers for the use of certain game titles played on our platform, and may not in the future enter into additional license agreements. These game publishers may unilaterally decide to prevent us from offering experiences on our platform using their game titles, as the case may be. Should those game publishers choose not to allow us to offer experiences involving their respective game titles to our users, the popularity of our tournaments and competitions may decline and the number of our gamers and creators may decrease, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Our growth will depend on our ability to attract and retain users, and the loss of our users, failure to attract new users in a cost-effective manner, or failure to effectively manage our growth could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Our ability to achieve growth in revenue in the future will depend, in large part, upon our ability to attract new users to our offerings, retain existing users of our offerings and reactivate users in a cost-effective manner. Achieving growth in our community of users may require us to increasingly engage in sophisticated and costly sales and marketing efforts, which may not make sense in terms of return on investment. We have used and expect to continue to use a variety of free and paid marketing channels, in combination with compelling offers and exciting games to achieve our objectives.
Our success depends on our ability to maintain and grow the number of amateur gamers and creators attending and participating in our online tournaments and competitions, and using our gaming platform, and keeping our gamers and creators highly engaged. Of particular importance is the successful deployment and expansion of our direct to consumer model to our gaming community for purposes of creating predictable recurring revenues.
In order to attract, retain and engage amateur gamers and creators and remain competitive, we must continue to develop and produce engaging tournaments and competitions, successfully leverage the newest “hit” esports games and titles, implement new technologies and strategies, improve features of our gaming platform and stimulate interactions in our gamer community.
A decline in the number of our amateur gamers and creators in our ecosystem may adversely affect the engagement level of our gamers and creators, the vibrancy of our gamer community, or the popularity of our amateur league play, which may in turn reduce our monetization opportunities, and have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we are unable to attract and retain or convert gamers and creators into direct to consumer-based paying gamers and creators, our revenues may decline, and our results of operations and financial condition may suffer.
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We cannot assure you that our online and in-person gaming platform will remain sufficiently popular with amateur gamers and creators to offset the costs incurred to operate and expand it. It is vital to our operations that we remain sensitive and responsive to evolving gamer preferences and offer first-tier esports game content that attracts our amateur gamers and creators. We must also keep providing amateur gamers and creators with new features and functions to enable superior content viewing, and social interaction. Further, we will need to continue to develop and improve our gaming platform and to enhance our brand awareness, which may require us to incur substantial costs and expenses. If such increased costs and expenses do not effectively translate into an improved gamer experience and direct to consumer-based, long-term engagement, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
In addition, users may stop using our esports platform at any time, including if the quality of the user experience on our platform, including our support capabilities in the event of a problem, does not meet their expectations or keep pace with the quality of the user experience generally offered by competitive offerings.
The ability to grow our business is dependent in part on the success and availability of mass media channels developed by third parties, as well as our ability to develop commercially successful content, and amateur tournaments and competitions.
The success of our business is driven in part by the commercial success and adequate supply of third-party mass media channels for which we may distribute our content, amateur league tournaments and competitions, including our social media platforms on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat and various streaming outlets, including Twitch, YouTube, Meta Platforms, and ESL.tv. Our success also depends on our ability to accurately predict which channels, games, and platforms will be successful with the esports gaming community, our ability to develop and distribute commercially successful content, which is presently available on Twitch, amateur tournaments and competition for these channels and gaming platforms and our ability to effectively manage the transition of our gamers and creators from one generation or demographic to the next. Additionally, we may enter into certain exclusive licensing arrangements that affect our ability to deliver or market our amateur gaming tournaments and competitions on certain channels and platforms. A channel or platform may not succeed as expected or new channels or platforms may take market share and gamers and creators away from platforms for which we have devoted significant resources. If demand for the channels or platforms for which we are developing amateur tournaments or competitions is lower than our expectations, we may be unable to fully recover the investments we have made, and our financial performance may be harmed. Alternatively, a channel or platform for which we have not devoted significant resources could be more successful than we initially anticipated, causing us to not be able to take advantage of meaningful revenue opportunities.
If we fail to maintain and enhance our brand or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business, results of operations and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.
We believe that maintaining and enhancing our brand is of significant importance to the success of our business. A well-recognized brand is important to increasing the number of esports gamers and creators and the level of engagement of our overall gaming community which is critical in enhancing our attractiveness to advertisers and sponsors. Since we operate in a highly competitive market, brand maintenance and enhancement directly affect our ability to maintain and enhance our market position.
Although we have developed our brand and amateur tournaments and competitions through word of mouth referrals and key strategic partners, as we expand, we may conduct various marketing and brand promotion activities using various methods to continue promoting our brand. We cannot assure you, however, that these activities will be successful or that we will be able to achieve the brand promotion effect we expect.
In addition, any negative publicity in relation to our tournaments or competitions, or operations, regardless of its veracity, could harm our brands and reputation. Negative publicity or public complaints from gamers and creators may harm our reputation, and if complaints against us are not addressed to their satisfaction, our reputation and our market position could be significantly harmed, which may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and prospects.
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Negative gamer perceptions about our brand, gaming platform, amateur tournaments or competitions and/or business practices may damage our business and increase the costs incurred in addressing gamer concerns.
Esports gamer expectations regarding the quality, performance and integrity of our amateur tournaments and competitions are high. Esports gamers and creators may be critical of our brand, gaming platform, tournaments or competitions and/or business practices for a wide variety of reasons. These negative gamer reactions may not be foreseeable or within our control to manage effectively, including perceptions about gameplay fairness, negative gamer reactions to game content via social media or other outlets, components and services, or objections to certain of our business practices. Negative gamer sentiment about our business practices also can lead to investigations from regulatory agencies and consumer groups, as well as litigation, which, regardless of their outcome, may be costly, damaging to our reputation and harm our business.
We rely on information technology and other systems and platforms, and any failures, errors, defects or disruptions in our systems or platforms could diminish our brand and reputation, subject us to liability, disrupt our business, affect our ability to scale our technical infrastructure and adversely affect our operating results and growth prospects. The games offered through our gaming platform and other software applications and systems may contain defects, and the third-party platforms upon which they are made available could contain undetected errors.
Our technology infrastructure is critical to the performance of our platform and offerings and to user satisfaction. We devote significant resources to network and data security to protect our systems and data. However, our systems may not be adequately designed with the necessary reliability and redundancy to avoid performance delays or outages that could be harmful to our business. We cannot assure you that the measures we take to prevent or hinder cyber-attacks and protect our systems, data and user information and to prevent outages, data or information loss, fraud and to prevent or detect security breaches, including a disaster recovery strategy for server and equipment failure and back-office systems and the use of third parties for certain cybersecurity services, will provide absolute security. We may in the future experience website disruptions, outages and other performance problems due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors and capacity constraints. Future disruptions from unauthorized access to, fraudulent manipulation of, or tampering with our computer systems and technological infrastructure, or those of third parties, could result in a wide range of negative outcomes, each of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
If our user base and engagement continue to grow, and the amount and types of offerings continue to grow and evolve, we will need an increasing amount of technical infrastructure, including network capacity and computing power, to continue to satisfy our users’ needs. Such infrastructure expansion may be complex, and unanticipated delays in completing these projects or availability of components may lead to increased project costs, operational inefficiencies, or interruptions in the delivery or degradation of the quality of our offerings. In addition, there may be issues related to this infrastructure that are not identified during the testing phases of design and implementation, which may only become evident after we have started to fully use the underlying equipment or software, that could further degrade the user experience or increase our costs. As such, we could fail to continue to effectively scale and grow our technical infrastructure to accommodate increased demands. In addition, our business may be subject to interruptions, delays or failures resulting from adverse weather conditions, other natural disasters, power loss, terrorism, cyber-attacks, public health emergencies (such as the coronavirus) or other catastrophic events.
We believe that if our users have a negative experience with our offerings, or if our brand or reputation is negatively affected, users may be less inclined to continue or resume utilizing our products or recommend our platform to other potential users. As such, a failure or significant interruption in our service would harm our reputation, business and operating results.
Our business could be adversely affected if our data privacy and security practices are not adequate, or perceived as being inadequate, to prevent data breaches, or by the application of data privacy and security laws generally.
In the course of our business, we may collect, process, store and use gamer and other information, including personally identifiable information, passwords and credit card information, the latter of which is subject to PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliance. In addition, through our data insights model which we intend to implement in the first quarter of 2025, we plan to collect data giving insight into the lifestyle and behavior of our users. We may share some of this data with third parties.
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Although we take measures to protect this information from unauthorized access, acquisition, disclosure and misuse, our security controls, policies and practices may not be able to prevent the improper or unauthorized access, acquisition or disclosure of such information. The unauthorized access, acquisition or disclosure of this information, or a perception that we do not adequately secure this information could result in legal liability, costly remedial measures, governmental and regulatory investigations, harm our profitability and reputation and cause our financial results to be materially affected. In addition, third party vendors and business partners receive access to information that we collect. These vendors and business partners may not prevent data security breaches with respect to the information we provide them or fully enforce our policies, contractual obligations and disclosures regarding the collection, use, storage, transfer and retention of personal data. A data security breach of one of our vendors or business partners could cause reputational harm to them and/or negatively impact our ability to maintain the credibility of our gamer community.
Data privacy, data protection, localization, security and consumer-protection laws are evolving, and the interpretation and application of these laws in the United States, Europe (including compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation), and elsewhere often are uncertain, contradictory and changing. It is possible that these laws may be interpreted or applied in a manner that is averse to us or otherwise inconsistent with our practices, which could result in litigation, regulatory investigations and potential legal liability or require us to change our practices in a manner adverse to our business. As a result, our reputation and brand may be harmed, we could incur substantial costs, and we could lose both gamers and creators and revenue.
A failure of Brag House’s information technology (IT) and data security infrastructure could adversely impact our business, operations, and reputation.
The secure maintenance and transmission of user information is a critical element of our operations. Our information technology and other systems that maintain and transmit user information, or those of service providers, business partners or employee information may be compromised by a malicious third-party penetration of our network security, or that of a third-party service provider or business partner, or impacted by intentional or unintentional actions or inactions by our employees, or those of a third-party service provider or business partner. As a result, our users’ information may be lost, disclosed, accessed or taken without our guests’ consent.
We continually face cyber risks and threats that seek to damage, disrupt or gain access to our networks and our gaming platform, supporting infrastructure, intellectual property and other assets. In addition, we rely on technological infrastructure, including third party cloud hosting and broadband, provided by third party business partners to support the in-person and online functionality of our gaming platform. These business partners are also subject to cyber risks and threats. Such cyber risks and threats may be difficult to detect. Both our partners and we have implemented certain systems and processes to guard against cyber risks and to help protect our data and systems. However, the techniques that may be used to obtain unauthorized access or disable, degrade, exploit or sabotage our networks and gaming platform change frequently and often are not detected. Our systems and processes, and the systems and processes of our third-party business partners, may not be adequate. Any failure to prevent or mitigate security breaches or cyber risks, or respond adequately to a security breach or cyber risk, could result in interruptions to our gaming platform, degrade the gamer experience, cause gamers and creators to lose confidence in our gaming platform and cease utilizing it, as well as significant legal and financial exposure. This could harm our business and reputation, disrupt our relationships with partners and diminish our competitive position.
Successful exploitation of our networks and gaming platform can have other negative effects upon the gamer experience we offer. In particular, the virtual economies that exist in certain of the games offered through our gaming platform are subject to abuse, exploitation and other forms of fraudulent activity that can negatively impact our business. Virtual economies involve the use of virtual currency and/or virtual assets that can be used or redeemed by a player within a particular online game or service.
Security breaches can also occur as a result of non-technical issues, including intentional or inadvertent breaches by our employees or by third parties. These risks may increase over time as the complexity and number of technical systems and applications we use also increases. Breaches of our security measures or those of our third-party service providers or cybersecurity incidents could result in unauthorized access to our sites, networks and systems; unauthorized access to and misappropriation of user information, including users’ personally identifiable information, or other confidential or proprietary information of ourselves or third parties; viruses, worms, spyware or other malware being served from our sites, networks or systems; deletion or modification of content or the display of unauthorized content on our sites; interruption, disruption or malfunction of operations; costs relating to breach remediation, deployment of additional personnel and protection technologies, response to governmental investigations and media inquiries and coverage; engagement of third-party experts and consultants; litigation, regulatory action and other potential liabilities. If
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any of these breaches of security should occur and be material, our reputation and brand could be damaged, our business may suffer, we could be required to expend significant capital and other resources to alleviate problems caused by such breaches, and we could be exposed to a risk of loss, litigation or regulatory action and possible liability. We cannot guarantee that recovery protocols and backup systems will be sufficient to prevent data loss. Actual or anticipated attacks may cause us to incur increasing costs, including costs to deploy additional personnel and protection technologies, train employees and engage third-party experts and consultants.
In addition, any party who is able to illicitly obtain a user’s password could access the user’s transaction data or personal information, resulting in the perception that our systems are insecure. Any compromise or breach of our security measures, or those of our third-party service providers, could violate applicable privacy, data protection, data security, network and information systems security and other laws and cause significant legal and financial exposure, adverse publicity and a loss of confidence in our security measures, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We rely on AWS to deliver our offerings to users on our platform, and any disruption of or interference with our use of AWS could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We currently host our esports platform and support our operations using Amazon Web Services, or AWS, a third-party provider of cloud infrastructure services, along with other service providers traditionally used by AWS. We do not, and will not, have control over the operations of the facilities or infrastructure of the third-party service providers that we use. Such third parties’ facilities are vulnerable to damage or interruption from natural disasters, cybersecurity attacks, terrorist attacks, power outages and similar events or acts of misconduct. Our platform’s continuing and uninterrupted performance will be critical to our success. We have experienced, and we expect that in the future we will experience interruptions, delays, and outages in service and availability from these third-party service providers from time to time due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors, website hosting disruptions and capacity constraints. In addition, any changes in these third parties’ service levels may adversely affect our ability to meet the requirements of our users. Since our platform’s continuing and uninterrupted performance is critical to our success, sustained or repeated system failures would reduce the attractiveness of our offerings. It may become increasingly difficult to maintain and improve our performance, especially during peak usage times, as we expand and the usage of our offerings increases. Any negative publicity arising from these disruptions could harm our reputation and brand and may adversely affect the usage of our offerings.
Our commercial agreement with AWS will remain in effect until terminated by AWS or us. Either party may terminate this Agreement for cause if the other party is in material breach of this Agreement and the material breach remains uncured for a period of 30 days from receipt of notice by the other party. No later than the Termination Date, we must close our account. AWS may also terminate this Agreement immediately upon notice (A) for cause if AWS has the right to suspend under certain circumstances as set forth in the AWS customer agreement, (B) if AWS’ relationship with a third-party partner who provides software or other technology AWS uses to provide the Service Offerings expires, terminates or requires us to change the way AWS provides the software or other technology as part of the Services, or (C) in order to comply with the law or requests of governmental entities. In the event that our agreement with AWS is terminated or we add additional cloud infrastructure service providers, we may experience significant costs or downtime in connection with the transfer to, or the addition of, new cloud infrastructure service providers. Although alternative providers could host our platform on a substantially similar basis to AWS, transitioning the cloud infrastructure currently hosted by AWS to alternative providers could potentially be disruptive and we could incur significant one-time costs.
Any of the above circumstances or events may harm our reputation and brand, reduce the availability or usage of our platform, lead to a significant loss of revenue, increase our costs and impair our ability to attract new users, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We depend on servers to operate our Brag House Platform with online features and our online gaming service. If we were to lose server functionality for any reason, our business may be negatively impacted.
Our business relies on the continuous operation of servers, some of which are owned and operated by third parties. Although we strive to maintain more than sufficient server capacity, and provide for active redundancy in the event of limited hardware failure, any broad-based catastrophic server malfunction, a significant service-disrupting attack or intrusion by hackers that circumvents security measures, a failure of disaster recovery service or the failure of a
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company on which we are relying for server capacity to provide that capacity for whatever reason could degrade or interrupt the functionality of our platform, and could prevent the operation of our platform for both in-person and online gaming experiences.
We also rely on networks operated by third parties to support content on our platform, including networks owned and operated by game publishers. An extended interruption to any of these services could adversely affect the use of our platform, which would have a negative impact on our business.
Further, insufficient server capacity could also negatively impact our business. Conversely, if we overestimate the amount of server capacity required by our business, we may incur additional operating costs.
Our online gaming platform and games offered through our gaming platform may contain defects.
Our online platform and the games offered through our platform are extremely complex and are difficult to develop and distribute. We have quality controls in place to detect defects in our platform before updates are released. Nonetheless, these quality controls are subject to human error, overriding, and reasonable resource or technical constraints. Further, we have not undertaken independent third-party testing, verification or analysis of our platform and associated systems and controls. Therefore, our platform and quality controls and preventative measures we have implemented may not be effective in detecting all defects in our gaming platform. In the event a significant defect in our gaming platform and associated systems and controls is realized, we could be required to offer refunds, suspend the availability of our competitions and other gameplay, or expend significant resources to cure the defect, each of which could significantly harm our business and operating results.
We use third-party services and technologies in connection with our business, and any disruption to the provision of these services and technologies to us could result in negative publicity and a slowdown in the growth of our users, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our business partially depends on services provided by, and relationships with, various third parties, including cloud hosting and broadband providers, among others. To this end, when our cloud hosting and broadband vendors experience outages, our esports gaming services will be negatively impacted and alternative resources will not be immediately available. In addition, certain third-party software we use in our operations is currently publicly available free of charge. If the owner of any such software decides to charge users or no longer makes the software publicly available, we may need to incur significant costs to obtain licensing, find replacement software or develop it on our own. If we are unable to obtain licensing, find or develop replacement software at a reasonable cost, or at all, our business and operations may be adversely affected.
We exercise no control over the third-party vendors that we rely upon for cloud hosting, broadband and software service. If such third parties increase their prices, fail to provide their services effectively, terminate their service or agreements or discontinue their relationships with us, we could suffer service interruptions, reduced revenues or increased costs, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Growth and engagement of our gamer community depends upon effective interoperability with mobile operating systems, networks, mobile devices and standards that we do not control.
We make our services available across a variety of mobile operating systems and devices. We are dependent on the interoperability of our services with popular mobile devices and mobile operating systems that we do not control, such as Android and iOS. Any changes in such mobile operating systems or devices that degrade the functionality of our services or give preferential treatment to competitive services could adversely affect usage of our services. In order to deliver high quality services, it is important that our services work well across a range of mobile operating systems, networks, mobile devices and standards that we do not control. We may not be successful in developing relationships with key participants in the mobile industry or in developing services that operate effectively with these operating systems, networks, devices and standards. In the event that it is difficult for our users to access and use our services, particularly on their mobile devices, our user growth and user engagement could be harmed, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
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Our business depends substantially on the continuing efforts of our executive officers, key employees and qualified personnel, and our business operations may be severely disrupted if we lose their services.
Our future success depends substantially on the continued efforts of our executive officers and key employees. If one or more of our executive officers or key employees were unable or unwilling to continue their services with us, we might not be able to replace them easily, in a timely manner, or at all. Since the esports gaming industry is characterized by high demand and intense competition for talents, we cannot assure you that we will be able to attract or retain qualified staff or other highly skilled employees. In addition, as the Company is relatively young, our ability to train and integrate new employees into our operations may not meet the growing demands of our business which may materially and adversely affect our ability to grow our business and hence our results of operations.
If any of our executive officers and key employees terminate their services with us, our business may be severely disrupted, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected and we may incur additional expenses to recruit, train and retain qualified personnel. If any of our executive officers or key employees joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose gamers and creators, know-how and key professionals and staff members. Certain of our executive officers and key employees have entered into non-solicitation and non-competition agreements with us. However, certain provisions under the non-solicitation and non-competition agreement may be deemed legally invalid or unenforceable. If any dispute arises between our executive officers and us, we cannot assure you that we would be able to enforce these non-compete agreements.
We rely on third-party payment processors to process deposits and withdrawals made by our users into the platform, and if we cannot manage our relationships with such third parties and other payment-related risks, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We rely on a limited number of third-party payment processors to process deposits and withdrawals made by our users into our platform. If any of our third-party payment processors terminates its relationship with us or refuses to renew its agreement with us on commercially reasonable terms, we would need to find an alternate payment processor, and may not be able to secure similar terms or replace such payment processors in an acceptable time frame. Further, the software and services provided by our third-party payment processors may not meet our expectations, contain errors or vulnerabilities, be compromised or experience outages. Any of these risks could cause us to lose our ability to accept online payments or other payment transactions or make timely payments to users on our platform, any of which could make our platform less trustworthy and convenient and adversely affect our ability to attract and retain our users.
Nearly all of our payments are made by credit card, debit card or through other third-party payment services, which subjects us to certain regulations and to the risk of fraud. We may in the future offer new payment options to users that may be subject to additional regulations and risks. We are also subject to a number of other laws and regulations relating to the payments we accept from our users, including with respect to money laundering, money transfers, privacy and information security. If we fail to comply with applicable rules and regulations, we may be subject to civil or criminal penalties, fines and/or higher transaction fees and may lose our ability to accept online payments or other payment card transactions, which could make our offerings less convenient and attractive to our users. If any of these events were to occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Additionally, our payment processors require us to comply with payment card network operating rules, which are set and interpreted by the payment card networks. The payment card networks could adopt new operating rules or interpret or reinterpret existing rules in ways that might prohibit us from providing certain offerings to some users, be costly to implement or difficult to follow. We have agreed to reimburse our payment processors for fines they are assessed by payment card networks if we or the users on our platform violate these rules. Any of the foregoing risks could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If the Internet and other technology-based service providers experience service interruptions, our ability to conduct our business may be impaired and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
A substantial portion of our network infrastructure is provided by third parties, including Internet service providers and other technology-based service providers. We require technology-based service providers to implement cyber-attack-resilient systems and processes. However, if Internet service providers experience service interruptions, including because of cyber-attacks, or due to an event causing an unusually high volume of Internet use(such as a pandemic or public health emergency), communications over the Internet may be interrupted and impair our ability
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to conduct our business. Internet service providers and other technology-based service providers may in the future roll out upgraded or new mobile or other telecommunications services, such as 5G or 6G services, which may not be successful and thus may impact the ability of our users to access our platform or offerings in a timely fashion or at all. In addition, our ability to process e-commerce transactions depends on bank processing and credit card systems.
There can be no assurance that the Internet infrastructure or our own network systems will continue to be able to meet the demand placed on us by the continued growth of the Internet, the overall online gaming industry and our users. Any difficulties these providers face, including the potential of certain network traffic receiving priority over other traffic (i.e., lack of net neutrality), may adversely affect our business, and we exercise little control over these providers, which increases our vulnerability to problems with the services they provide. Any system failure as a result of reliance on third parties, such as network, software or hardware failure, including as a result of cyber-attacks, which causes a loss of our users’ property or personal information or a delay or interruption in our online services and products and e-commerce services, including our ability to handle existing or increased traffic, could result in a loss of anticipated revenue, interruptions to our platform and offerings, cause us to incur significant legal, remediation and notification costs, degrade the user experience and cause users to lose confidence in our offerings, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Our growth will depend, in part, on the success of our strategic relationships with third parties. Over-reliance on certain third parties, or our inability to extend existing relationships or agree to new relationships may cause unanticipated costs for us and impact our financial performance in the future.
We utilize the advertising campaign capabilities of online advertising platforms such as Google ads, Facebook ads, Instagram ads, Snapchat ads and X (formerly known as Twitter) ads to drive users to our Brag House Platform. Additionally, through our partnership with Moroch, we hosted tournaments sponsored by McDonald’s and Coca-Cola in 2021. The success of the tournament led to a continued and stronger relationship with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola as we further held tournaments sponsored by McDonalds and Coca-Cola in 2022 and 2023. As of December 31, 2023, our partnerships have accounted for 99% of our revenue. The loss of or a substantial reduction in activity by one or more of our largest clients, vendors and/or sponsors could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
These relationships, along with providers of online services, search engines, social media, directories and other websites and ecommerce businesses direct consumers to our platform. In addition, many of the parties with whom we have advertising arrangements provide advertising services to other companies, including other esports platforms with whom we compete.
While we believe there are other third parties that could drive users to our platform, adding or transitioning to them may disrupt our business and increase our costs. In the event that any of our existing relationships or our future relationships fails to provide services to us in accordance with the terms of our arrangement, or at all, and we are not able to find suitable alternatives, this could impact our ability to attract consumers cost effectively and harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We generate revenue from advertising. The loss of advertisers, or reduction in spending by advertisers with Brag House, could seriously harm our business.
We generate a growing portion of our revenues from advertising and sponsorship, which we expect to further develop and expand in the near future as online viewership of our esports gaming offerings expand. Our revenues from advertising and sponsorship partly depend on the continual development of the online advertising industry and advertisers’ willingness to allocate budgets to online advertising in the esports gaming industry. In addition, companies that decide to advertise or promote online may utilize more established methods or channels, such as more established internet portals or search engines, over advertising on our gaming platform. If the online advertising and sponsorship market does not continue to grow, or if we are unable to capture and retain a sufficient share of that market, our ability to increase our current level of advertising and sponsorship revenue and our profitability and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.
Furthermore, our core and long-term priority of optimizing the gamer experience and satisfaction may limit our gaming platform’s ability to generate revenues from advertising and sponsorship. For example, in order to provide our gamers and creators with an uninterrupted competitive gaming experience, we do not place significant amounts of advertising on our streaming interface or insert pop-up advertisements during streaming. While this decision could
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adversely affect our operating results in the short-term, we believe it enables us to provide a superior gamer experience on our gaming platform, which will help us expand and maintain our current base of gamers and creators and enhance our monetization potential in the long-term. However, this philosophy of putting our gamers and creators first may also negatively impact our relationships with advertisers, sponsors or other third parties, and may not result in the long-term benefits that we expect, in which case the success of our business and operating results could be harmed.
Our business is subject to regulation, and changes in applicable regulations may negatively impact our business.
We are subject to a number of foreign and domestic laws and regulations that affect companies conducting business on the Internet. In addition, laws and regulations relating to user privacy, data collection, retention, electronic commerce, virtual items and currency, consumer protection, content, advertising, localization, and information security have been adopted or are being considered for adoption by many jurisdictions and countries throughout the world. These laws could harm our business by limiting the products and services we can offer consumers or the manner in which we offer them. The costs of compliance with these laws may increase in the future as a result of changes in interpretation. Furthermore, any failure on our part to comply with these laws or the application of these laws in an unanticipated manner may harm our business and result in penalties or significant legal liability.
In addition, we include modes in our gaming platform that allow players to compete against each other. Although we structure and operate these skill-based competitions with applicable laws in mind, our skill-based competitions in the future could become subject to evolving rules and regulations and expose us to significant liability, penalties and reputational harm.
Changes in tax laws or regulations that are applied adversely to us or our clients may have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flow, financial condition or results of operations.
New income, sales, use or other tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances could be enacted at any time, which could affect the tax treatment of our earnings and adversely affect our operations, and our business and financial performance. Further, existing tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances could be interpreted, changed, modified or applied adversely to us. For example, on December 22, 2017, tax legislation was signed into law that contained many significant changes to the U.S. tax laws. Future guidance from the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities with respect to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act may affect us, and certain aspects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could be repealed or modified in future legislation. For example, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act enacted in 2020, or the CARES Act, modified certain provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the CARES Act, or any newly enacted federal tax legislation.
Changes in corporate tax rates, the realization of net deferred tax assets relating to our operations, the taxation of foreign earnings, and the deductibility of expenses under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the CARES Act or future reform legislation could have a material impact on the value of our deferred tax assets, could result in significant one-time charges, and could increase our future U.S. tax expense.
In addition, we may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other transaction taxes by U.S. federal, state, local and foreign authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We urge our stockholders and investors to consult with our legal and tax advisors with respect to this legislation and the potential tax consequences of investing in or holding our Common Stock.
The laws and regulations concerning data privacy are continually evolving. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could harm our business.
Consumers are able to play the games offered through our gaming platform online, using our platform. We collect and store information about our consumers both personally identifying and non-personally identifying information. Numerous federal, state and international laws address privacy, data protection and the collection, storing, sharing, use, disclosure and protection of personally identifiable information and other user data. Numerous states already have, and are looking to expand, data protection legislation requiring companies like ours to consider solutions to meet differing needs and expectations of creators and attendees. Outside the United States, personally identifiable information and other user data is increasingly subject to legislation and regulations in numerous jurisdictions around the world, the intent of which is to protect the privacy of information that is collected, processed and transmitted in or from the governing jurisdiction. Foreign data protection, privacy, information security, user protection and other
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laws and regulations are often more restrictive than those in the United States. In particular, the European Union and its member states traditionally have taken broader views as to types of data that are subject to privacy and data protection laws and regulations and have imposed greater legal obligations on companies in this regard. For example, in April 2016, European legislative bodies adopted the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which became effective on May 25, 2018. The GDPR applies to any company established in the European Union as well as to those outside of the European Union if they collect and use personal data in connection with the offering of goods or services to individuals in the European Union or the monitoring of their behavior. The GDPR enhances data protection obligations for processors and controllers of personal data, including, for example, expanded disclosures about how personal information is to be used, limitations on retention of information, mandatory data breach notification requirements and onerous new obligations on service providers. Non-compliance with the GDPR may result in monetary penalties of up to €20 million or 4% of annual worldwide revenue, whichever is higher. In addition, some countries are considering or have passed legislation implementing data protection requirements or requiring local storage and processing of data or similar requirements that could increase the cost and complexity of delivering our services. The GDPR and other changes in laws or regulations associated with the enhanced protection of certain types of personal data could greatly increase our cost of providing our products and services or even prevent us from offering certain services in jurisdictions in which we operate. The European Commission is also currently negotiating a new ePrivacy Regulation that would address various matters, including provisions specifically aimed at the use of cookies to identify an individual’s online behavior, and any such ePrivacy Regulation may provide for new compliance obligations and significant penalties. Any of these changes to European Union data protection law or its interpretation could disrupt and/or harm our business.
On June 23, 2016, the U.K. held a referendum in which voters approved an exit from the European Union, commonly referred to as “Brexit.” This decision created an uncertain political and economic environment, especially in regard to regulation of data protection, in the U.K. and other European Union countries, and the formal process for leaving the European Union has taken years to complete. The U.K. formally left the European Union on January 31, 2020 and began a transition period which expired on December 31, 2020. In particular, while the U.K. has implemented legislation that implements and complements the GDPR, with penalties of noncompliance of up to the greater of £17.5 million or four percent of worldwide revenues, it is unclear how data transfers to and from the United Kingdom will be regulated. The interpretation and application of many privacy and data protection laws are, and will likely remain, uncertain, and it is possible that these laws may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our existing data management practices or product features. Although player interaction on our platform is subject to our privacy policies, end user license agreements, or EULAs, and terms of service, if we fail to comply with our posted privacy policies, EULAs, or terms of service, or if we fail to comply with existing privacy-related or data protection laws and regulations, it could result in proceedings or litigation against us by governmental authorities or others, which could result in fines or judgments against us, damage our reputation, impact our financial condition and/or harm our business.
In addition to government regulation, privacy advocacy and industry groups may propose new and different self-regulatory standards that either legally or contractually apply to us. Any inability to adequately address privacy, data protection and data security concerns or comply with applicable privacy, data protection or data security laws, regulations, policies and other obligations could result in additional cost and liability to us, damage our reputation, inhibit sales and harm our business. Further, our failure, and/or the failure by the various third-party service providers and partners with which we do business, to comply with applicable privacy policies or federal, state or similar international laws and regulations or any other obligations relating to privacy, data protection or information security, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release of personally identifiable information or other user data, or the perception that any such failure or compromise has occurred, could damage our reputation, result in a loss of creators or attendees, discourage potential creators and attendees from trying our platform and/or result in fines and/or proceedings by governmental agencies and/or users, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, given the breadth and depth of changes in data protection obligations, ongoing compliance with evolving interpretation of the GDPR and other regulatory requirements requires time and resources and a review of the technology and systems currently in use against the requirements of GDPR and other regulations.
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Risks Relating to Public Health Epidemics
Public health epidemics or outbreaks could materially and adversely impact our business.
The novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) emerged in December 2019 and adversely impacted global commercial activity, disrupted supply chains and contributed to significant volatility in financial markets. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic introduced material uncertainty and risk with respect to us and our performance, especially as it relates to in-person attendance at events and game centers.
Any future public health epidemics or outbreaks could result in a significant or prolonged decrease in consumer spending on entertainment or leisure activities and may have an adverse effect on demand for our product offerings, including in-person access to game centers and tournaments, reducing cash flows and revenues, and thereby materially harming our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Relating to Intellectual Property
We may be subject to claims of infringement of third-party intellectual property rights, which are costly to defend, could result in significant damage awards, and could limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.
From time to time, third parties may claim that we have infringed their intellectual property rights. For example, patent holding companies may assert patent claims against us in which they seek to monetize patents they have purchased or otherwise obtained. Although we take steps to avoid knowingly violating the intellectual property rights of others, it is possible that third parties still may claim infringement.
Existing or future infringement claims against us, whether valid or not, may be expensive to defend and divert the attention of our employees from business operations. Such claims or litigation could require us to pay damages, royalties, legal fees and other costs. We also could be required to stop offering, distributing or supporting esports games, our gaming platform or other features or services which incorporate the affected intellectual property rights, redesign products, features or services to avoid infringement, or obtain a license (if licenses are available at all), all of which could be costly, results in a loss of revenues for us and otherwise harm our business.
In addition, many patents have been issued that may apply to potential new modes of delivering, playing or monetizing interactive entertainment software products and services, such as those offered on our gaming platform or that we would like to offer in the future. We may discover that future opportunities to provide new and innovative modes of game play and game delivery to gamers and creators may be precluded by existing patents that we are unable to license on reasonable terms.
Our technology, content and brands are subject to the threat of piracy, unauthorized copying and other forms of intellectual property infringement.
We regard our technology, content and brands as proprietary and take measures to protect our technology, content and brands and other confidential information from infringement. Piracy and other forms of unauthorized copying and use of our technology, content and brands are persistent, and policing is difficult. Further, the laws of some countries in which our products are or may be distributed either do not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States or are poorly enforced. Legal protection of our rights may be ineffective in such countries. In addition, although we take steps to enforce and police our rights, factors such as the proliferation of technology designed to circumvent the protection measures used by our business partners or by us, the availability of broadband access to the Internet, the refusal of Internet service providers or platform holders to remove infringing content in certain instances, and the proliferation of online channels through which infringing product is distributed all have contributed to an expansion in unauthorized copying of our technology, content and brands.
Third parties may register trademarks or domain names or purchase internet search engine keywords that are similar to our registered trademark or pending trademarks, brands or websites, or misappropriate our data and copy our gaming platform, all of which could cause confusion, divert gamers and creators away from our gaming platform and league tournaments, or harm our reputation.
Competitors and other third parties may (i) register trademarks that are similar to our trademarks and (ii) purchase domain names or internet search engine keywords that are confusingly similar to our brands or websites in Internet search engine advertising programs and in the header and text of the resulting sponsored links or advertisements in
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order to divert gamers and creators from us to their websites. Preventing such unauthorized use is inherently difficult. If we are unable to prevent such unauthorized use, competitors and other third parties may continue to drive potential gamers and creators away from our gaming platform to competing, irrelevant or potentially offensive platforms, which could harm our reputation and cause us to lose revenue.
We may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position.
We regard the protection of our trademarks, service marks, patents, domain names, trade secrets, proprietary technologies and similar intellectual property as critical to our success. We rely on federal, state and common law rights, as well as contractual restrictions, and confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and contractors and other parties with whom we conduct business. These contractual arrangements and the other steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property may not prevent the misappropriation of our proprietary information or deter independent development of similar technologies by others. Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property rights could result in our competitors offering similar products, potentially resulting in the loss of some of our competitive advantage, and a decrease in our revenue which would adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. Our success depends, at least in part, on our ability to protect our core technology and intellectual property.
Currently, we have one (1) registered trademark. We also plan to file patents to protect our core technology and intellectual property. We cannot assure you that we will be granted a patent with respect to any patent applications we intend to file. We may, over time, increase our investment in protecting our innovations through increased patent filings that are expensive and time-consuming and may not result in issued patents that can be effectively enforced. Failure to maintain or protect these rights could harm our business. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications owned by others exist in the fields in which we have developed and are developing our technology. These patents and patent applications might have priority over our patent applications and could subject our patent applications to invalidation. Finally, in addition to those who may claim priority, any of our pending patent and trademark applications may also be challenged by others on the basis that they are otherwise invalid or unenforceable.
Patent, trademark, and trade secret laws vary significantly throughout the world. Some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. Further, policing the unauthorized use of our intellectual property in foreign jurisdictions may be difficult. Therefore, our intellectual property rights may not be as strong or as easily enforced outside of the United States.
In addition, any unauthorized use of our intellectual property by third parties may adversely affect our current and future revenues and our reputation. Policing unauthorized use of proprietary technology is difficult and expensive. Others may attempt to copy or otherwise obtain and use our intellectual property or seek court declarations that they do not infringe upon our intellectual property rights. Monitoring unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and costly, and we cannot assure you that the steps we have taken will prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property. From time to time, we may have to resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources. Any litigation of this nature, regardless of outcome or merit, could result in substantial costs, adverse publicity or diversion of management and technical resources, any of which could adversely affect our business and operating results. If we fail to maintain, protect and enhance our intellectual property rights, our business and operating results may be harmed.
We may be subject to legal liability for information or content displayed on, retrieved from or linked to our online gaming platform, or distributed to our users.
Our interactive live streaming platform enables gamers and creators to exchange information and engage in various other online activities. Although content on our online gaming platform is typically generated by third parties, and not by us, we may be sued or face regulatory liability for claims relating to content or information that is made available on our service, including claims of defamation, disparagement, intellectual property infringement, or other alleged damages could be asserted against us. We may be subject to claims by virtue of our involvement in hosting, transmitting, marketing, branding, or providing access to content created by third parties. Further, although we require our gamers and creators to register their real name, we do not require user identifications used and displayed during gameplay to contain any real-name information, and hence we are unable to verify the sources of all the information posted by our gamers and creators. In addition, because a majority of the communications on our online and in-person gaming platform is conducted in real-time, we are unable to examine the content generated by gamers and creators before they are posted or streamed. Therefore, it is possible that gamers and creators may engage in illegal, obscene
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or incendiary conversations or activities, including publishing inappropriate or illegal content that may be deemed unlawful. Our systems, tools and personnel that help us to proactively detect potentially policy-violating or otherwise inappropriate content cannot identify all such content on our online gaming platform.
If any content on our platform is deemed illegal, obscene or incendiary, or if appropriate licenses and third-party consents have not been obtained, claims may be brought against us for defamation, libel, negligence, breaches of contract, copyright, patent or trademark infringement, unfair competition, other unlawful activities or other theories and claims based on the nature and content of the information delivered on or otherwise accessed through our platform. We may be subject to claims by virtue of our involvement in hosting, transmitting, marketing, branding, or providing access to content created by third parties.
The law relating to the liability of online service providers for others’ activities on their services is still somewhat unsettled around the world. We rely on a variety of statutory and common-law frameworks for the content we host and provide our users, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or the DMCA, the Communications Decency Act, or the CDA, and the fair-use doctrine. However, each of these statutes and doctrines is subject to uncertain judicial interpretation and regulatory and legislative amendments. For example, the U.S. Congress amended the CDA in 2018 in ways that could expose some Internet platforms to an increased risk of litigation. In addition, the U.S. Congress and the Executive branch have proposed further changes or amendments each year since 2019 including, among other things, proposals that would narrow the CDA immunity, expand government enforcement power relating to content moderation concerns, or repeal the CDA altogether. Some U.S. states have also enacted or proposed legislation that would undercut, or conflict with, the CDA’s protections. If these state laws were upheld in a challenge in court or if additional similar laws or the changes or amendments to the CDA proposed by the U.S. Congress and the Executive branch were enacted, such changes may decrease the protections provided by the CDA and expose us to lawsuits, penalties, and additional compliance obligations. Moreover, some of these statutes and doctrines that we rely on provide protection only or primarily in the United States. If the rules around these doctrines change, if international jurisdictions refuse to apply similar protections, or if a court were to disagree with our application of those rules to our service, we could incur liability or be required to make significant changes to our online gaming platform, business practices, or operations, and our business could be seriously harmed. Defense of any such actions could be costly and involve significant time and attention of our management and other resources, may result in monetary liabilities or penalties, and may require us to change our business in an adverse manner. Moreover, the costs of compliance may continue to increase when more content is made available on our platform as a result of our growing base of gamers and creators, which may adversely affect our results of operations.
Intensified government regulation of the Internet industry could restrict our ability to maintain or increase the level of traffic to our gaming platform as well as our ability to capture other market opportunities.
The Internet industry is increasingly subject to strict scrutiny. New laws and regulations may be adopted from time to time to address new issues that come to the authorities’ attention. We may not timely obtain or maintain all the required licenses or approvals or make all the necessary filings in the future. We also cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain the required licenses or approvals if we plan to expand into other Internet businesses. If we fail to obtain or maintain any of the required licenses or approvals or make the necessary filings, we may be subject to various penalties, which may disrupt our business operations or derail our business strategy, and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Changes in intellectual property laws and governmental regulations regarding the internet that are applied adversely to us or our members may have a material adverse effect on our business operations, financial condition and results of operations.
New intellectual property laws, statutes, rules and regulations could be enacted at any time, which may affect our business and financial performance. Further, the applicability and scope of these laws as interpreted by the courts, remain uncertain and could harm our business. To date, laws, regulations and enforcement actions by governments have not materially restricted use of the internet in most parts of the world. However, the legal and regulatory environment relating to the internet is uncertain, and governments may impose regulation in the future. New laws may be passed, courts may issue decisions affecting the internet, existing but previously inapplicable or unenforced laws may be deemed to apply to the internet or regulatory agencies may begin to more rigorously enforce such formerly unenforced laws, or existing legal safe harbors may be narrowed, both by U.S. federal or state governments and by governments of
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foreign jurisdictions. The adoption of any new laws or regulations, or the narrowing of any safe harbors, could hinder growth in the use of the internet and online services generally, and decrease acceptance of the internet and online services as a means of communications, e-commerce and advertising.
In addition, such changes in laws could increase our costs of doing business or prevent us from delivering our online gaming platform over the internet or in specific jurisdictions, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, we rely on a variety of statutory and common-law frameworks and defenses relevant to the content available on our platform, including the DMCA, the CDA, and the fair-use doctrine in the United States and the Electronic Commerce Directive in the European Union.
Each of these statutes and doctrines are subject to uncertain or evolving judicial interpretation and regulatory and legislative amendments, and we cannot guarantee that such frameworks and defenses will be available. Regulators in the United States and in other countries may introduce new regulatory regimes that increase potential liability for content available on our platform, including liability for misleading, false or manipulative information, hate speech, privacy violations, copyrighted content and other types of online harm. For example, there have been various legislative and executive efforts to restrict the scope of the protections available to online platforms under Section 230 of the CDA, and current protections from liability for third-party content in the United States could decrease or change. There are also a number of legislative proposals in the United States, at both the federal and state level, and in the European Union and the United Kingdom, that could impose new obligations in areas affecting our business, such as liability for copyright infringement and other online harm. Any new legislation may be difficult to comply with in a timely and comprehensive manner and may expose our business or users to increased costs. If the rules, doctrines or currently available defenses change, if international jurisdictions refuse to apply protections similar to those that are currently available in the United States or the European Union or if a court were to disagree with our application of those rules to our solutions, our potential liability for information or content created by third parties and posted to our platform could require us to expend significant resources to try to comply with the new rules and implement additional measures to reduce our exposure to such liability or we could incur liability and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed.
From time to time we may become involved in legal proceedings.
From time to time we may become subject to legal proceedings, claims, litigation and government investigations or inquiries, which could be expensive, lengthy, disruptive to normal business operations and occupy a significant amount of our employees’ time and attention. In addition, the outcome of any legal proceedings, claims, litigation, investigations or inquiries may be difficult to predict and could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, or financial condition.
Risks Relating to This Offering and Ownership of Our Common Stock
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, and we may not be able to successfully implement remedial measures.
We have identified control deficiencies in our financial reporting process that constitute material weaknesses in our consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2024 and 2023 and December 31, 2023 and 2022, which are primarily due to the fact that we were a private company prior to this offering. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. We have a material weakness related to the review and approval of cash disbursements and related journal entries for operating and payroll-related expenses incurred, including the failure to maintain readily accessible executed versions of significant agreements entered into by the Company. Due to the lack of formal documentation maintained around the review and approval of these types of transactions, it was determined that we did not adhere to established controls around our cash disbursement process, nor the review and approval of related journal entries recorded. Additionally, we have a material weakness related to the lack of controls over our income tax related accounts and disclosures. In the absence of such formal documentation related to our management’s review and approval of such processes, potential material misstatements may go undetected. Additionally, the Company has a material weakness related to the lack of cybersecurity policies and procedures in place. In the absence of cybersecurity controls, Company operations may be negatively impacted, as all Company activities take place online.
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We have already taken a number of measures to address the material weaknesses that have been identified. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.” However, we cannot assure you that these measures may fully address the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting or that we may conclude that they have been fully remediated.
We expect to complete our remediation plan within the next 12 months. However, we have not tested the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully remediate these material weaknesses and, even if we do, we cannot assure you that we will not suffer from other material weaknesses in the future. Except for additional personnel costs, we do not expect to incur any material costs related to our remediation plan.
Further, there can be no assurance that we will not suffer from other material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in the future. If we fail to remediate these material weaknesses or fail to otherwise maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting in the future, such failure could result in loss of investors’ confidence in our financial statements, limit our ability to raise capital and have a negative effect on the trading price of our Common Stock. Additionally, failure to remediate the material weakness or otherwise maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting may also negatively impact our operating results and financial condition, impair our ability to timely file our periodic and other reports with the SEC, subject us to additional litigation and regulatory actions and cause us to incur substantial additional costs in future periods relating to the implementation of remedial measures.
Once our Common Stock is listed on Nasdaq, there can be no assurance that an active market in which investors can resell their shares of our Common Stock will develop.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for shares of our Common Stock. As a condition to consummating this offering, our Common Stock offered in this prospectus must be listed on Nasdaq or another national securities exchange. Accordingly, we have applied to list our Common Stock on Nasdaq. Assuming that our Common Stock is listed and after the consummation of this offering, there can be no assurance that an active and liquid trading market for our Common Stock will develop or be maintained after this offering. Liquid and active trading markets usually result in less price volatility and more efficiency in carrying out investors’ purchase and sale orders. The market price of our Common Stock could vary significantly as a result of a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control. In the event of a drop in the market price of our Common Stock, you could lose a substantial part or all of your investment in our Common Stock. The initial public offering price will be negotiated between us and representatives of the underwriters and may not be indicative of the market price of our Common Stock after this offering. Consequently, you may not be able to sell our Common Stock at prices equal to or greater than the price paid by you in the offering.
Our share price may be volatile, and purchasers of our Common Stock could incur substantial losses.
Our share price may be volatile. The stock market in general has experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility, investors may not be able to sell their Common Stock at or above the initial public offering price. The market price for our Common Stock may be influenced by many factors, including, but not limited to:
• overall strength and stability of general economic conditions, and of the esports industry, both in the United States and globally;
• changes in consumer demand for, and acceptance of, the game titles that we offer for our tournaments and activities, as well as online multiplayer competitive amateur gaming in general;
• changes in the competitive environment, including new entrants in the market for online amateur competitive gaming;
• the recruitment or departure of key personnel;
• quarterly or annual variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;
• market conditions in the industries in which we compete and issuance of new or changed securities;
• analysts’ reports or recommendations;
• the failure of securities analysts to cover our Common Stock after this offering or changes in financial estimates by analysts;
• the inability to meet the financial estimates of analysts who follow our Common Stock;
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• the issuance of any additional securities of ours;
• investor perception of our company and of the industry in which we compete; and
• general economic, political and market conditions.
If our listing application for our Common Stock is not approved by Nasdaq, we will not be able to consummate the offering and will terminate this offering.
We have applied to have our Common Stock listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “TBH,” which listing is a condition to this offering. No assurance can be given that our application will be approved and that our Common Stock will ever be listed on Nasdaq. If our listing application is not approved by Nasdaq, we will not be able to consummate the offering and will terminate this offering. Failure to have our Common Stock listed on Nasdaq would make it more difficult for our stockholders to dispose of our Common Stock and more difficult to obtain accurate price quotations on our Common Stock. Our ability to issue additional securities for financing or other purposes, or otherwise to arrange for any financing we may need in the future, may also be materially and adversely affected if our Common Stock is not traded on a national securities exchange.
We may not be able to maintain a listing of our Common Stock on Nasdaq.
If our Common Stock is listed on Nasdaq, we must meet certain financial and liquidity criteria to maintain such listing. If we fail to meet any of Nasdaq’s continued listing standards or we violate Nasdaq listing requirements, our Common Stock may be delisted. In addition, our board of directors may determine that the cost of maintaining our listing on a national securities exchange outweighs the benefits of such listing. A delisting of our Common Stock from Nasdaq may materially impair our stockholders’ ability to buy and sell our Common Stock and could have an adverse effect on the market price of, and the efficiency of the trading market for, our Common Stock. The delisting of our Common Stock could significantly impair our ability to raise capital and the value of your investment.
Our management team has limited experience managing a public company.
The members of our management team have limited experience managing a publicly traded company, interacting with public company investors, and complying with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies. Our management team may not successfully or efficiently manage our transition to being a public company subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under the federal securities laws and the continuous scrutiny of securities analysts and investors. These new obligations and constituents will require significant attention from our senior management and could divert their attention away from the day-to-day management of our business, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and operating results.
As a result of becoming a public company, we will be obligated to report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. These internal controls may not be effective and our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to certify as to their effectiveness, which could have a significant and adverse effect on our business and reputation.
We are not currently required to comply with 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. However, at such time as Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is applicable to us, which we expect to occur immediately following effectiveness of this registration statement, we will be required to evaluate our internal controls over financial reporting. Furthermore, at such time as we cease to be an “emerging growth company” and a “Smaller Reporting Company,” as more fully described in “Prospectus Summary — Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Smaller Reporting Company,” we will also be required to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. At such time, we may identify material weaknesses that we may not be able to remediate in time to meet the applicable deadline imposed upon us for compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In addition, if we fail to achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, as such standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to ensure that we can conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We cannot be certain as to the timing of completion of our evaluation, testing and any remediation actions or the impact of the same on our operations. If we are not able to implement the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner or with adequate compliance, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue an adverse opinion due to ineffective internal controls over financial reporting, and we may be subject to sanctions or investigation
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by regulatory authorities, such as the SEC. Moreover, any material weakness or other deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting may impede our ability to file timely and accurate reports with the SEC. Any of the above could cause a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements. In addition, we may be required to incur costs in improving our internal control system and the hiring of additional personnel. Any such action could negatively affect our results of operations and cash flows.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and distract our management, which could make it difficult to manage our business, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act. Following the completion of this offering, we will be required to comply with various regulatory and reporting requirements, including those required by the SEC. Complying with these reporting and other regulatory requirements will be time-consuming and will result in increased costs to us and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
As a public company, we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, and requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These requirements may place a strain on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting. To maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, we will need to commit significant resources, hire additional staff and provide additional management oversight. We will be implementing additional procedures and processes for the purpose of addressing the standards and requirements applicable to public companies. Sustaining our growth also will require us to commit additional management, operational and financial resources to identify new professionals to join our firm and to maintain appropriate operational and financial systems to adequately support expansion. These activities may divert management’s attention from other business concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We also expect that operating as a public company will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. This could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified people to serve on our board of directors, our board committees, or as executive officers.
Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be subject to delisting of our Common Stock, fines, sanctions, and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
As an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act, we are permitted to, and intend to, take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements. When these exemptions cease to apply, we expect to incur additional expenses and devote increased management effort toward ensuring compliance with them. We will remain an “emerging growth company” for up to five years, although we may cease to be an emerging growth company earlier under certain circumstances. See “Prospectus Summary — Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Smaller Reporting Company,” for additional information on when we may cease to be an emerging growth company. We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur as a result of becoming a public company or the timing of such costs.
A substantial portion of our total issued and outstanding shares may be sold into the market at any time. This could cause the market price of our Common Stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
All of the shares being sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restrictions or further registration under the federal securities laws, unless purchased by our “affiliates” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. Of the remaining Common Stock issued and outstanding upon the closing of this offering, approximately 65% are restricted securities as defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. Restricted securities may be sold in the United States public market only if registered or if they qualify for an exemption from registration, including by reason of Rules 144 or 701 under the Securities Act. All of our restricted shares will be eligible for sale in the public market beginning 180 days after the completion of this offering, subject in certain circumstances to the volume, manner of sale and other limitations under Rule 144. Additionally, we intend to register all our Common Stock that we may issue under our employee benefit plans. Once we register these shares, they can be freely sold in the public market
32
upon issuance, unless pursuant to their terms these share awards have transfer restrictions attached to them. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our Common Stock, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell Common Stock, could reduce the market price of our Common Stock.
If you purchase our Common Stock in this offering, you will suffer immediate and substantial dilution of your investment.
The initial public offering price of our Common Stock is substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share. Therefore, if you purchase our Common Stock in this offering, your interest will be diluted immediately to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share and the net tangible book value per share after this offering. See “Dilution.”
You may experience further dilution as a result of the automatic conversion of our Series A Preferred Stock. Please see “Description of Capital Stock — Preferred Stock” for more information. In addition, you may experience further dilution as a result of the conversion of our Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes into shares of Common Stock. Please see Note 7 — Debt for more information. To the extent that we experience dilution from the issuance of the additional securities noted above, it may negatively impact the trading price of our Common Stock and your investment.
If we issue shares of preferred stock your rights as a holder of our Common Stock may be materially adversely affected.
Our Board is authorized to issue up to 25,000,000 shares of “blank check” preferred stock. The designations, rights and preferences of our preferred stock may be determined from time to time by our Board. Accordingly, our Board is empowered, without stockholder approval, to issue one or more series of preferred stock with dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting or other rights superior to those of the holders of our Common Stock. For example, an issuance of shares of preferred stock could:
• adversely affect the voting power of the holders of our Common Stock;
• dilute the value of holders’ investment in our Common Stock;
• make it more difficult for a third party to gain control of us;
• discourage bids for our Common Stock;
• limit or eliminate any payments that the holders of our Common Stock could expect to receive upon our liquidation; or
• adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock.
We have broad discretion in the use of our net proceeds from this offering and may not use them effectively.
Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering and could spend the proceeds in ways that do not improve our operating results or enhance the value of our Common Stock. Our stockholders may not agree with the manner in which our management chooses to allocate and spend the net proceeds. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could result in financial losses that could have a material adverse effect on our business and cause the price of our Common Stock to decline. Pending their use, we may invest our net proceeds from this offering in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value. See “Use of Proceeds” in this prospectus.
We do not intend to pay dividends on our Common Stock and, consequently, your only opportunity to achieve a return on your investment is if the price of our shares appreciates.
We do not plan to declare dividends on shares of our Common Stock in the foreseeable future. Consequently, your only opportunity to achieve a return on your investment in us will be if the market price of our Common Stock appreciates, which may not occur, and you sell your shares at a profit. There is no guarantee that the price of our Common Stock that will prevail in the market after this offering will ever exceed the price that you pay.
33
We will be subject to ongoing public reporting requirements that are less rigorous than Exchange Act rules for companies that are not emerging growth companies and our stockholders could receive less information than they might expect to receive from more mature public companies.
Upon the completion of this offering, we will be required to publicly report on an ongoing basis as an “emerging growth company” (as defined in the JOBS Act) under the reporting rules set forth under the Exchange Act. For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other Exchange Act reporting companies that are not emerging growth companies, including but not limited to:
• the option to present only two years of audited financial statements and only two years of related “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements;
• not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;
• not being required to comply with any requirements that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (i.e., an auditor discussion and analysis);
• reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements; and
• exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period. Our financial statements may therefore not be comparable to those of companies that comply with such new or revised accounting standards.
We may take advantage of these provisions until the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering. However, we will cease to be an emerging growth company if any of the following events occur prior to the end of such five-year period: (i) our annual gross revenue exceeds $1.235 billion, (ii) we issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt in any three-year period, or (iii) we become a “large accelerated filer,” (as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act). We will be deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” at such time that we (a) have an aggregate worldwide market value of common equity securities held by non-affiliates of $700 million or more as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, (b) have been required to file annual and quarterly reports under the Exchange Act for a period of at least 12 months and (c) have filed at least one annual report pursuant to the Exchange Act. Even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we may still qualify as a “smaller reporting company,” which would allow us to take advantage of many of the same exemptions from disclosure requirements including reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in this prospectus and our periodic reports and proxy statements.
We have elected to take advantage of certain of the reduced disclosure obligations in the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and may elect to take advantage of other reduced reporting requirements in future filings. As a result, the information that we provide to our stockholders may be different than you might receive from other public reporting companies in which you hold equity interests. We cannot predict if investors will find our Common Stock less attractive if we elect to rely on these exemptions, or if taking advantage of these exemptions would result in less active trading or more volatility in the price of our Common Stock.
34
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of the Company more difficult, and limit attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control or changes in our management. Our certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws include provisions that:
• permit the board of directors to establish the number of directors and fill any vacancies and newly created directorships;
• provide that directors may only be removed by the majority of the shares of voting stock then outstanding;
• establish advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at annual stockholder meetings; and
• prohibit our stockholders from acting by written consent in lieu of a meeting.
These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees giving rise to such claim.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for the following types of actions, suits or proceedings (“Proceedings”):
• any derivative Proceeding brought on our behalf;
• any Proceeding asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty or other wrongdoing by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents to us or our stockholders;
• any Proceeding asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or the DGCL, or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware;
• any Proceeding to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws; and
• any Proceeding asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine.
For the avoidance of doubt, this provision is intended to benefit and may be enforced by us, our officers and directors. However, this choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a Proceeding in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders. Further, this choice of forum provision may increase the costs for a stockholder to bring such a Proceeding and may discourage them from doing so.
While the Delaware courts have determined that such choice of forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a Proceeding in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions, and there can be no assurance that such provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions. If a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such Proceeding in other jurisdictions. For example, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware recently determined that the exclusive forum provisions of federal district courts of the United States of America for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act is not enforceable. We note that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
35
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that can involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy, prospective products, product approvals, research and development costs, future revenue, timing and likelihood of success, plans and objectives of management for future operations, future results of anticipated products and prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” or “would” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus include, but are not limited to, statements about:
• overall strength and stability of general economic conditions and of the esports industry in the United States and globally;
• changes in consumer demand for, and acceptance of, our services and the games that we make available for our tournaments and other experiences, as well as online gaming in general;
• changes in the competitive environment, including adoption of technologies, services and products that compete with our own;
• our ability to generate consistent revenue;
• our ability to effectively execute our business plan;
• changes in the price of streaming services, licensing fees, network infrastructure, hosting and maintenance;
• changes in laws or regulations governing our business and operations;
• our ability to maintain proper and effective internal controls;
• our ability to maintain adequate liquidity and financing sources and an appropriate level of debt on terms favorable to us;
• our ability to effectively market our services;
• costs and risks associated with, and the outcome of any known or unknown litigation;
• our ability to obtain and protect our existing intellectual property protections, including patents, trademarks and copyrights;
• our ability to obtain and enter into new licensing agreements with game publishers and owners;
• changes in accounting principles, or their application or interpretation, and our ability to make estimates and the assumptions underlying the estimates, which could have an effect on earnings;
• risks associated with public health crises;
• interest rates and the credit markets; and
• other risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.
We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about our business, the industry in which we operate and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, and these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or development. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere
36
in this prospectus. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise.
In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this prospectus, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and you are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.
37
This prospectus contains industry, market and competitive position data from our own internal estimates and research as well as industry and general publications and research surveys and studies conducted by third parties. We did not commission any of the third-party data identified throughout this prospectus. Industry publications, studies and surveys generally state that they have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, although they do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information. Our internal data and estimates are based upon information obtained from trade and business organizations and other contacts in the markets in which we operate and our management’s understanding of industry conditions. While we believe that each of these studies and publications is reliable, we have not independently verified market and industry data from third-party sources. While we believe our internal company research is reliable and the market definitions are appropriate, neither such research nor definitions have been verified by an independent source.
The industry in which we operate is subject to risks and uncertainties due to a variety of factors, including those described in the section titled “Risk Factors.” These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the estimates made by the independent parties and by us.
38
We estimate that the net proceeds to us from this offering will be approximately $6.21 million, assuming an initial public offering price of $5.00 per share, which is the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. If the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares from us is exercised in full, we estimate that our net proceeds will be approximately $7.3 million. Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering by approximately $1.456 million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Each increase (decrease) of 100,000 in the number of shares we are offering would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us from this offering, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, by $0.455 million, assuming the assumed initial public offering price stays the same.
As of the date of this prospectus, we cannot specify with certainty all of the particular uses for the net proceeds we receive from this offering. Generally, we intend to use the net proceeds of this offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, including sales and marketing activities, product development and capital expenditures. The principal purposes of this offering are to increase our capitalization and financial flexibility, to create a public market for our Common Stock and to facilitate our future access to the capital markets.
We will have broad discretion over how to use the net proceeds we receive from this offering. We intend to invest the net proceeds we receive from this offering that are not used as described above in a variety of capital preservation investments, including short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing instruments and U.S. government securities.
This expected use of the net proceeds from this offering represents our intentions based upon our current plans and business conditions, which could change in the future as our plans and business conditions evolve. As of the date of this prospectus, we cannot predict with certainty all of the particular uses for the net proceeds to be received upon the closing of this offering or the amounts that we will actually spend on the uses set forth above. We therefore cannot estimate the amount of net proceeds to be used for the purposes described above. As a result, we may find it necessary or advisable to use the net proceeds for other purposes. Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds, and investors will be relying on our judgment regarding the application of the net proceeds from this offering. Investors will not have an opportunity to evaluate the economic, financial or other information on which we base our decisions regarding the use of these proceeds. See also “Risk Factors — Risks Relating to This Offering and Ownership of Our Common Stock — We have broad discretion in the use of our net proceeds from this offering and may not use them effectively”.
We believe that the net proceeds from this offering, together with our existing cash and cash equivalents, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements through fiscal year 2024. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. We may satisfy our future cash needs through the sale of equity securities, debt financings, working capital lines of credit, corporate collaborations, grant funding, interest income earned on invested cash balances or a combination of one or more of these sources.
39
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock. We intend to retain future earnings, if any, to finance the operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination related to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors after considering our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, business prospects and other factors the board of directors deems relevant, and subject to the restrictions contained in any future financing instruments. See also “Risk Factors — Risks Relating to This Offering and Ownership of Our Common Stock — We do not intend to pay dividends on our Common Stock and, consequently, your only opportunity to achieve a return on your investment is if the price of our shares appreciates.”
40
The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of March 31, 2024 as follows:
• on an actual basis;
• on a pro forma basis to give effect to;
• the conversion of 38,996 shares of Series A Preferred Stock into shares of Common Stock on a one-for-one basis upon consummation of this offering (as adjusted for the Reverse Split);
• the conversion of Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes into an aggregate of 1,252,552 shares of Common Stock upon consummation of this offering (as adjusted for the Reverse Split); and
• on an pro forma as adjusted basis to give further effect to our issuance and sale of shares of our Common Stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share, which is the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us and therefore providing net proceeds of approximately $6.21 million.
Information below on a pro forma as adjusted basis is illustrative only, and our capitalization following the closing of this offering will be adjusted based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. You should read this information in conjunction with our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus and the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” section and other financial information contained in this prospectus.
As of March 31, 2024 |
||||||||||||
Actual |
Pro Forma |
Pro Forma |
||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ |
163,081 |
|
$ |
163,081 |
|
$ |
6,370,344 |
|
|||
Short-Term Indebtedness: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
Accrued interest |
|
470,853 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|||
Share payable |
|
358,416 |
|
|
358,416 |
|
|
358,416 |
|
|||
Convertible debt, net of discount and issuance costs |
|
5,294,492 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|||
Total Short-Term Indebtedness |
$ |
6,123,761 |
|
$ |
358,416 |
|
$ |
358,416 |
|
|||
Stockholders’ equity |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
Common stock, par value $0.0001 per share: 250,000,000 shares authorized; 2,728,874 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2024, actual; 3,995,570 shares issued and outstanding, pro forma; and 5,595,570 shares issued and outstanding, as adjusted |
|
14,794 |
|
|
14,794 |
|
|
15,489 |
|
|||
Stock subscription receivable |
|
(4,276 |
) |
|
(4,276 |
) |
|
(4,276 |
) |
|||
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value – 25,000,000 shares authorized, 38,996 issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2024 |
|
420 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|||
Additional paid-in capital, Net of Offering Costs |
|
5,330,378 |
|
|
11,095,608 |
|
|
17,493,334 |
|
|||
Accumulated deficit |
|
(12,393,344 |
) |
|
(12,393,344 |
) |
|
(12,393,344 |
) |
|||
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss |
|
(15,179 |
) |
|
(15,179 |
) |
|
(15,179 |
) |
|||
Total equity (deficit) |
$ |
(7,067,207 |
) |
$ |
(1,302,397 |
) |
$ |
5,096,024 |
|
|||
Total capitalization |
$ |
(943,446 |
) |
$ |
(943,981 |
) |
$ |
5,454,440 |
|
__________
(1) Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share, which is the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) the pro forma as adjusted amount of each of cash and cash equivalents, total equity and total capitalization by $1.6 million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Similarly, each increase (decrease) of 100,000 shares in the number of shares offered by us at the assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share, which is the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) the pro forma as adjusted amount of each of cash and cash equivalents, total equity and total capitalization by approximately $0.455 million.
41
The number of shares of our Common Stock set forth in the table above excludes:
• the 600,000 shares reserved for issuance pursuant to the Stock Incentive Plan (as adjusted for the Reverse Split); and
• the number of shares of Common Stock totalling $200,000 to Outside The Box Capital, Inc. for marketing services upon consummation of this offering, based on an assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share, which is the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus (as adjusted for the Reverse Split).
• up to 48,000 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the representative’s warrants issued in connection with this offering (as adjusted for the Reverse Split).
42
If you invest in our Common Stock in this offering, your ownership interest will be immediately diluted to the extent of the difference between the assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share (the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our Common Stock immediately upon the consummation of this offering.
Our historical net tangible book value (deficit) as of March 31, 2024 was approximately ($7,067,207), or approximately ($2.59) per share (as adjusted for the Reverse Split). Our historical net tangible book value represents the book value of our tangible assets less the book value of our total liabilities. Historical net tangible book value per share represents historical net tangible book value (deficit) divided by the number of shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2024 (as adjusted for the Reverse Split).
The pro forma data in the table below is derived from our balance sheet as of March 31, 2024 and is presented on a pro forma basis after giving effect to the conversion of 38,996 shares of Series A Preferred Stock into shares of Common Stock on a one-for-one basis upon consummation of this offering (as adjusted for the Reverse Split) and the conversion of Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes into 1,252,552 shares of Common Stock upon consummation of this offering (as adjusted for the Reverse Split).
The pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) of our Common Stock as of March 31, 2024 is approximately ($1,301,862), or approximately ($0.33) per share (as adjusted for the Reverse Split).
After giving effect to our sale of 1,600,000 shares of Common Stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share, which is the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of March 31, 2024 would have been approximately $5,828,138, or approximately $1.06 per share (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of our Common Stock). This amount represents an immediate increase in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of $1.39 to existing stockholders and an immediate and substantial dilution of $3.94 per share to new investors purchasing Common Stock in this offering. The following table illustrates this dilution per share:
Assumed initial public offering price per unit |
|
|
$ |
5.00 |
|||
Historical net tangible book value (deficit) per share as of March 31, 2024 |
$ |
(2.59 |
) |
|
|||
Increase per share attributable to the pro forma adjustments described above |
|
2.26 |
|
|
|||
Pro forma net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2024 |
|
(0.33 |
) |
|
|||
Increase in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share attributable to new investors purchasing shares in this offering |
|
1.39 |
|
|
|||
Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering |
|
|
|
1.06 |
|||
Dilution per share to new investors purchasing shares in this offering |
|
|
$ |
3.94 |
A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share (the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) would increase (decrease) the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value by approximately $1.456 million, or approximately $0.26 per share, and increase (decrease) the dilution per share to new investors by approximately $4.68 per share, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us. We may also increase or decrease the number of shares we are offering. An increase of 100,000 shares in the number of shares offered by us would increase our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value by approximately $0.455 million, or $0.06 per share and the dilution per share to investors purchasing Common Stock in this offering would be $3.88 per share, assuming the assumed initial public offering price remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us. Similarly, a decrease of 100,000 shares in the number of shares offered by us would decrease our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value by approximately $0.455 million, or $0.07 per share and the dilution per share to investors purchasing Common Stock in this offering would be $4.01 per share, assuming the assumed initial public offering price remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us. The adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will change based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.
43
If the underwriters exercise their option in full to purchase 240,000 additional shares of our Common Stock in this offering, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering would be $1.20 per share, and the pro forma as adjusted dilution to new investors would be $3.80 per share, in each case assuming an initial public offering price of $5.00 per share, which is the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated offering expenses payable by us.
The following table summarizes, on a pro forma as adjusted basis described above, as of March 31, 2024, the differences between the number of shares of Common Stock purchased from us, the total consideration paid and the average price per share paid by existing stockholders and by new investors participating in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share, which is the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, before deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. As the table shows, new investors purchasing Common Stock in this offering will pay an average price per share substantially higher than our existing stockholders paid.
Shares Purchased |
Total Consideration |
Average |
||||||||||||
Number |
Percent |
Amount |
Percent |
|||||||||||
Existing stockholders |
4,000,000 |
71.4 |
% |
$ |
5,965,001 |
42.7 |
% |
$ |
1.49 |
|||||
New investors |
1,600,000 |
28.6 |
% |
|
8,000,000 |
57.3 |
% |
|
5.00 |
|||||
Total |
5,600,000 |
100.0 |
% |
$ |
13,965,001 |
100.0 |
% |
$ |
2.49 |
If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of our Common Stock in full, the percentage of shares of Common Stock held by existing stockholders will decrease to approximately 68.5% of the total number of shares of our Common Stock outstanding after this offering, and the number of shares held by new investors will increase to 1,840,000, or approximately 31.5% of the total number of shares of our Common Stock outstanding after this offering.
The foregoing tables and calculations are based on 5,600,000 shares of our Common Stock outstanding (as adjusted for the Reverse Split), which includes 2,728,874 shares of our Common Stock outstanding as of March 31, 2024, adjusted for new shares issuances and returned shares occurring after March 31, 2024 resulting in a net decrease of 20,422 shares of our Common Stock, plus 38,996 shares of our Common Stock issued upon the conversion of our Series A Preferred Stock, and 1,252,552 shares of our Common Stock that would be issued on the conversion of Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes and an assumed amount of accrued interest at conversion prices of $5.00 per share, and excludes:
• the 600,000 shares reserved for issuance pursuant to the Stock Incentive Plan (as adjusted for the Reverse Split); and
• the number of shares of Common Stock totalling $200,000 to Outside The Box Capital, Inc. for marketing services upon consummation of this offering, based on an assumed initial public offering price of $5.00 per share, which is the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus (as adjusted for the Reverse Split); and
• up to 48,000 shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the representative’s warrants issued in connection with this offering (as adjusted to the Reverse Split).
Unless otherwise indicated, all information contained in this prospectus assumes no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares.
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
You should read the following discussion and analysis of financial condition and operating results together with our financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth in the section of the prospectus captioned “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. For convenience of presentation some of the numbers have been rounded in the text below.
Business Overview
Brag House is a mission-driven organization that utilizes a diversified business strategy to offer a premier electronic esports platform designed specifically for casual gamers and their friends to experience the fun, passion, intensity and excitement of college and college sports rivalries in an organic, inclusive, personalized gaming environment, while creating authentic pathway for brands to connect with our Gen Z audience.
Brag House is a Delaware corporation formed in December 2021. Our founders developed the idea for the Brag House platform in 2018, when our chief executive officer Lavell Juan Malloy, II and his co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer Daniel Leibovich, recognized a need in the gaming industry for an esports platform focused specifically on the casual college gamer, and formed our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, BHI. At that time, our co-founders believed that a significant amount of industry resources were focused predominantly on competitive and professional gamers, much to the detriment of casual gamers, generally, and casual college gamers, specifically. In the years ensuing, we have maintained our focus on the casual college gaming segment and believe we have developed the first vertically integrated social network for casual college gamers to compete, support their team, banter in a safe environment and win prizes. Our vertically integrated approach combines gamer recruitment, facilitation of community engagement and content creation, live-stream production and tournament host activities.
We believe our platform can be a go-to destination for esports gamers at all skill levels as well as esports spectators of all types. The growth of our platform since our inception is encouraging, and we believe we are strongly positioned to capitalize on a large portion of the available gaming market. We experienced strong community growth in 2023, reaching nearly 940,000 video views of our Brag House content through December 31, 2023 on video platforms including X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, Meta, Twitch and YouTube, compared to nearly 420,000 video views through 2021 and 2022, which represent a 236% increase in views year-over-year from 2020 to 2023. We have also generated nearly 8 million impressions and video views since inception, which represents approximately a 83% increase, or nearly 2X growth, year-over-year from 2020 to 2023. Additionally, since 2022, Brag House spectators who viewed live streams remained on the platform for 19 minutes per stream across over 290,000 live views, which represents nearly a 1.75X increase compared to the industry benchmark of 11 minutes.
We are focused on creating an organic and inclusive community which facilitates personalized experiences. We believe our experiential framework offers a more authentic and differentiated channel for advertisers to utilize, making the otherwise elusive demographic of gamers and streamers accessible at scale to ourselves and our partners. We do this by offering brand sponsors and advertisers an exclusive marketing channel to reach elusive Gen Z and Millennial gamers and creators, while offering players ways to access exclusive tournaments and programming.
Organization
We were formed as a Delaware corporation in December 2021.
BHI, our wholly-owned indirect subsidiary and the entity through which our operations are primarily conducted, was formed as a Delaware corporation in February 2018.
BHL, our direct subsidiary and intermediate parent company of BHI, is a company organized under the laws of England & Wales and was incorporated in June 2021.
Prior to July 2021, our shareholders directly held shares of common stock of our subsidiary, BHI. In August 2021, in anticipation of a potential listing on the London Stock Exchange, the shareholders of BHI exchanged all 10,000,000 shares of BHI common stock on a one for 14.07 basis in exchange for 140,700,000 ordinary shares of BHL, and BHI became a wholly-owned subsidiary of BHL, or the UK Reorganization.
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Following the UK Reorganization, the board of directors of BHL determined that it was in the best interests of BHL and its shareholders that an initial public offering in the United States and concurrent listing on Nasdaq be pursued. To effect that proposed initial public offering and listing on Nasdaq, in December 2021, the Company was formed. In connection with this offering, prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement, on February 8, 2022 the Company approved a reorganization, in which the shareholders of BHL would exchange their ordinary shares and preference shares of BHL for a proportionate number of common and preferred shares in the Company on a 21 to 1 basis (the “U.S. Reorganization”). Immediately following the U.S. Reorganization, BHL became the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and BHI became the indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.
We anticipate that BHL will be wound down and dissolved as soon as reasonably practicable following the consummation of this offering.
Emerging Growth Company Status
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Results of Operations
Year Ended December 31, 2023 as Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2022
Revenue
Revenue for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $366,438 and $250,305 respectively. Revenues for the periods presented consisted of the following: Tournament revenue and other revenue. This increase in revenue was mainly attributable to increased tournament activity in the year 2023. Tournament revenue comprises 99% of the Company’s revenue for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. The other revenue referenced above represents an insignificant source of revenue for the Company.
Tournament Revenue consists of money earned from tournament sponsors. The Company’s other revenue comes from revenue earned on the Twitch streaming platform through the Company’s enrollment in the Twitch Affiliate Program. The affiliate program allows the Company to earn revenue from advertising provided to viewers on the channel. The Company streams live events, and their channel may also include past tournaments that can be watched as a Video on Demand (“VOD”). Additionally, the Company generates subscription revenue for users who subscribe to Brag House’s Twitch live-streaming channel. Live-streaming service revenue is not considered tournament revenue since it is not directly attributed to money earned from tournament sponsors and is not received from such sources. This revenue is tracked, determined, and disbursed to the Company directly by Twitch.
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Operating Expenses
Operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $2,313,856 and $3,280,741, respectively, and in calendar year ended December 31, 2023, consisted mainly of selling, general and administrative expenses of $1,099,576, legal and professional fees of $321,506, stock-based compensation of $556,222 and advertising and marketing costs of $311,364. In calendar year ended December 31, 2022, the Company’s operating expenses consisted mainly of selling, general and administrative expenses of $1,594,612, legal and professional fees of $784,226, stock-based compensation of $593,145 and advertising and marketing costs of $128,819. This represents a decrease of $495,036 in selling, general and administrative expenses, a decrease of $462,720 legal and professional fees, a decrease of $36,923 in stock-based compensation and an increase of $182,545 in advertising and marketing costs. The decrease in operating expenses during 2023 was mainly attributed to the Company raising limited operating capital from investors during 2023 which caused it to reduce its workforce spending, overhead expenses, and investment into the Company. There were also significant legal expenses as a result of the Company pursuing a key component of its corporate strategy, which includes a future IPO.
Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 as Compared to the Three Months Ended March 31, 2023
Revenue
Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 was $55 and $54 respectively, and is comprised of Live-streaming services revenue.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 were $232,014 and $560,865, respectively, and in the three months ended March 31, 2024, consisted mainly of selling, general and administrative expenses of $122,561, legal and professional fees of $52,458, and stock-based compensation of $46,016. In the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company’s operating expenses consisted mainly of selling, general and administrative expenses of $322,481, legal and professional fees of $106,606 and stock-based compensation of $122,744. This represents a decrease of $199,920 in selling, general and administrative expenses, a decrease of $54,148 legal and professional fees and a decrease of $76,728 in stock-based compensation. The decrease in operating expenses during 2024 was mainly attributed to the Company raising limited operating capital from investors which caused it to reduce its workforce spending, overhead expenses, and investment into the Company. There were also significant legal expenses as a result of the Company pursuing a key component of its corporate strategy, which includes a future IPO.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 the Company had $163,081 and $33,889 in cash, respectively, and working capital deficit of $7,807,960 and $6,698,536, respectively. The Company’s liquidity needs up to March 31, 2024 were satisfied through proceeds from the issuance of equity and convertible debt.
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on the basis that the Company will continue as a going concern, which contemplates realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. At March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 the Company had an accumulated deficit of $12,393,344 and $11,359,183, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2024 and the year ended December 31, 2023 the Company had a loss from operations of $1,034,161 and $4,672,348, respectively, and positive and negative cash flows from operations of $56,348 and $776,996, respectively. The Company’s operating activities consume the majority of its cash resources. The Company will continue to promote its services to existing and potential customers, but it anticipates that it will continue to incur operating losses as it executes its development plans through 2024, as well as other potential strategic and business development initiatives. In addition, the Company has had and expects to have negative cash flows from operations, at least into the near future. The company previously funded and plans to continue funding these losses primarily through the sale of equity and infusions of cash from advances from its Chief Executive Officer. The accompanying financial statements do not include any adjustments that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.
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Pursuant to our agreement with Moroch, we held the “Texas Loyalty Cup”, a Brag House tournament, in 2021 in collaboration with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. The success of the tournament led to a continued and stronger relationship with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola as we had held two tournaments in 2022: “SoCal FIFA 23 Tournament” which was a direct contract with Coca-Cola and collaborated with McDonald’s through their marketing agency of the Southern California Region, DE, and “Black and Positively Golden Gamers HBCU Tournament Featuring Fortnite” which was a contract with McDonald’s through their agency, WI, in collaboration with Coca-Cola. Due to the success Brag House was able to achieve, the partnership with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola grew stronger as Brag House was contracted by Coca-Cola, in collaboration with McDonald’s, for the third consecutive year to host a nationwide Fortnite tournament with student gamers from five states (Washington, Oregon, California, Oklahoma and Kansas). The tournament is known as the Golden Royale Cup, and took place over the course of three weeks in November, with three qualifying matches, followed by a grand finale match. The Golden Royale Cup amassed nearly 20,000 total hours of aggregate live streaming content watched. And garnered nearly 300,000 views from gamers watching the tournament in real-time. Furthermore, the event received nearly 1 million impressions across Brag House’s social media platforms.
In addition to the Golden Royale Cup from November 2023, Brag House has finalized two major partnerships agreements; the first with the FWSC, a division of The City of Fort Worth, to host a cutting edge in-person esports event, which will be streamed live digitally as well, in September 2024 at the FWCC focused on college students for the State of Texas where Brag House is anticipating over 80 Texas colleges and Universities to take part in the event and have over 20,000 visitors attend the event in-person and over 500,000 spectators through the live streaming; the second with the Denver Broncos, a world-renowned American Football franchise that competes in the NFL to be a gaming partner for in-person and digital gaming activations (i.e. gaming events) for, at minimum, the 2023-2025 NFL seasons.
Brag House is also currently negotiating terms for tournament and promotional events in 2024 with other companies, such as Learfield Communications, LLC, formerly Learfield IMG College, a billion dollar media company that holds the media rights to hundreds of colleges in the US, including collegiate properties as the NCAA and its 89 championships and NCAA Football. There are no definitive agreements with these entities currently in place.
Management believes this is a strong indicator of continued growth in the coming years for tournament revenue. Until revenue from such tournaments provides sufficient and steady cash flow, management intends to raise funds through this Initial Public Offering and believes that the actions presently being taken to further implement its business plan will enable the Company to continue as a going concern. While the Company believes in its viability to raise additional funds, there can be no assurances to that effect. The ability of the Company to continue as a going concern is dependent upon the Company’s ability to further implement its business plan and raise additional funds through the Initial Public Offering or otherwise.
Although no assurances can be given as to the Company’s ability to deliver on its revenue plans or that unforeseen expenses may arise, management believes that the revenue to be generated from operations, together with equity and debt financing, will provide the necessary funding for the Company to continue as a going concern. However, the Company has earned minimal revenue through the year ended December 31, 2023, and there are currently no arrangements or agreements for such financing and management cannot guarantee any potential debt or equity financing will be available, or if available, on favorable terms. As such, these matters raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months from the issuance of the accompanying consolidated financial statements. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, or at all, the Company will need to curtail operations or cease operations completely.
Cash Flows:
March 31, |
March 31, |
December 31, |
December 31, |
||||||||||||
Cash Flows Provided by (Used In) Operating Activities |
$ |
56,348 |
$ |
(372,633 |
) |
$ |
(776,996 |
) |
$ |
(2,120,346 |
) |
||||
Cash Flows Provided By Financing Activities |
|
72,844 |
|
— |
|
|
250,506 |
|
|
2,296,083 |
|
||||
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents |
$ |
129,192 |
$ |
(372,633 |
) |
$ |
(526,490 |
) |
$ |
175,737 |
|
Cash Flows Provided by (Used In) Operating Activities
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we used $776,996 of cash in our operating activities, which was mainly attributable to our net loss during the year. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we used $2,120,346 of cash in our operating activities, which was mainly attributable to our net loss during the year.
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For the three months ended March 31, 2024, we had cash provided of $56,348, which was mainly attributable to an increase in accounts payable of $91,615 and accrued payroll of $54,553 during the three months ended. The Company also incurred loan extension fees in the amount of $689,364 to extend the maturity date of its convertible debt, which had an original principal amount of $2,663,075. For the three months ended March 31, 2023, we used $372,633 cash in our operating activities, which was mainly attributable to our net loss during the three months ended.
Cash Flows Provided By Financing Activities
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we received $252,506 from the issuance of convertible debt, net of debt discounts and debt issuance costs. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we received $1,483,583 from the issuance of convertible debt, $864,375 from the sale of Common Stock, and $165,000 from the issuance of bridge loans which were repaid during the year.
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, we received $72,844 from the issuance of convertible debt.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Exchange Act.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
Convertible Instruments
During the year ended December 31, 2020 we entered into a Simple Agreement for Future Equity Agreement, or SAFE, with one accredited investor resulting in us receiving cash proceeds in an aggregate amount of $20,000. During the first quarter of 2021, we entered into three additional SAFE agreements with various accredited investors for an aggregate cash amount of $115,000. The SAFE is automatically convertible into shares of Common Stock upon the closing of an equity financing at a conversion price equal to the lesser of the SAFE Price or the Discount Price. The SAFE Price is equal to the post-money valuation cap divided by the Company’s capitalization. The Discount Price is equal to the price per share offered in the equity financing multiplied by SAFE discount rate of 80%. There is no interest or maturity date related to the SAFE and the SAFE investor has no voting rights prior to conversion. The SAFE will automatically terminate immediately upon the earliest to occur of (i) the issuance of Common Stock to the SAFE investor pursuant to the automatic conversion of the SAFE or (ii) the payment of amounts due to the investor as a result of a liquidation or a dissolution event. In the event of a liquidation event before the termination of the SAFE, the SAFE investor will automatically be entitled to receive a portion of the proceeds equal to the greater of (i) the purchase amount of the SAFE or (ii) the amount payable on the number of shares of Common Stock equal to the purchase amount divided by the liquidity price. In the event of a dissolution before the termination of the SAFE, the SAFE investor will automatically be entitled to receive a portion of proceeds equal to the cash out amount.
In July and August of 2021, resulting from the change of control associated with the UK Reorganization, we canceled all four SAFE agreements in exchange for an aggregate of 3,255,000 ordinary shares in BHL and 4,200,000 preferred ordinary shares in BHL.
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Prior to our initial public offering, we have been a private company with limited accounting and financial reporting personnel and other resources to address our internal controls and procedures. In connection with the audits of our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2022 and 2023, we identified control deficiencies in our financial reporting process that constitute material weaknesses for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023. We have a material weakness related to the review and approval of cash disbursements and related journal entries for operating and payroll-related expenses incurred, including the failure to maintain readily accessible executed versions of significant agreements entered into by the Company. Due to the lack of formal documentation maintained around the review and approval of these types of transactions, it was determined that we did not adhere to established controls around our cash disbursement process, nor the review and approval of related journal entries recorded. Additionally, we have a material weakness related to the lack of controls over our income tax related accounts and disclosures. In the absence of such formal documentation related to our management’s review and approval of such processes, potential
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material misstatements may go undetected. Additionally, the Company has a material weakness related to the lack of cybersecurity policies and procedures in place. In the absence of cybersecurity controls, Company operations may be negatively impacted, as all Company activities take place online.
As defined in the standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, of the United States, 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 the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
We have already taken a number of measures to address the internal control deficiencies that have been identified including, hiring a full-time chief financial officer upon the closing of this offering with extensive public-company reporting and technical accounting experience to provide additional financial reporting oversight and review, expanding our existing accounting and financial reporting personnel, as well as establishing effective monitoring and oversight controls. We believe these measures will assist us with meeting the Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirements and improving our overall internal controls. However, we cannot assure you that these measures may fully address the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting or that we may conclude that they have been fully remediated.
We expect to complete our remediation plan within the next 12 months. However, we have not tested the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully remediate this material weakness and, even if we do, we cannot assure you that we will not suffer from other material weaknesses in the future. Except for additional personnel costs, we do not expect to incur any material costs related to our remediation plan.
The process of designing and implementing an effective financial reporting system is a continuous effort that requires us to anticipate and react to changes in our business and the economic and regulatory environments and to expend significant resources to maintain a financial reporting system that is adequate to satisfy our reporting obligation. See “Risk Factors — Risks Relating to this Offering and Ownership of our Ordinary Shares — We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, and we may not be able to successfully implement remedial measures.”
As a company with less than US $1.235 billion in revenue for our last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, in the assessment of the emerging growth company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Critical Accounting Estimates
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, which require our management to make estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the balance sheet dates, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our financial condition or results of operations would be affected. We base our estimates on our own historical experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable after taking account of our circumstances and expectations for the future based on available information. We evaluate these estimates on an ongoing basis.
We consider an accounting estimate to be critical if: (i) the accounting estimate requires us to make assumptions about matters that were highly uncertain at the time the accounting estimate was made, and (ii) changes in the estimate that are reasonably likely to occur from period to period or use of different estimates that we reasonably could have used in the current period, would have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. There are items within our financial statement that require estimation but are not deemed critical, as defined above.
For a detailed discussion of our significant accounting policies and related judgments, see Note 2 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this report.
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Going Concern and Management’s Liquidity Plans
As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 the Company had $163,081 and $33,889 in cash and a working capital deficit of $7,807,960 and $6,698,536, respectively. The Company’s liquidity needs up to December 31, 2023 were satisfied through proceeds from the issuance of equity and convertible debt.
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on the basis that the Company will continue as a going concern, which assumes the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company has an accumulated deficit of $12,393,344 and $11,359,183, respectively, and has experienced losses from continuing operations. Based on the Company’s cash balance as of March 31, 2024, and projected cash needs for 2024, management estimates that it will need to increase sales revenue and/or raise additional capital to cover operating and capital requirements. Management will need to raise the additional funds through issuing additional shares of Common Stock or other equity securities or obtaining debt financing. Although management has been successful to date in raising necessary funding, there can be no assurance that there will be sales revenue or that any required future financing can be successfully completed on a timely basis, or on terms acceptable to the Company. Based on these circumstances, management has determined that these conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months from the issuance of the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
Accordingly, the accompanying financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP, which contemplates continuation of the Company as a going concern and the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
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Business Overview
Brag House is a mission-driven organization that utilizes a diversified business strategy to offer a premier electronic esports platform designed specifically for casual gamers and their friends to experience the fun, passion, intensity and excitement of college and college sports rivalries in an organic, inclusive, personalized gaming environment, while creating authentic pathway for brands to connect with our Gen Z audience.
Brag House is a Delaware corporation formed in December 2021. Our founders developed the idea for the Brag House platform in 2018, when our chief executive officer Lavell Juan Malloy, II and co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer Daniel Leibovich recognized a need in the gaming industry for an esports platform focused specifically on the casual college gamer, and formed our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, BHI. At that time, our co-founders believed that a significant amount of industry resources were focused predominantly on competitive and professional gamers, much to the detriment of casual gamers, generally, and casual college gamers, specifically. In the years ensuing, we have maintained our focus on the casual college gaming segment and believe we have developed the first vertically integrated social network for casual college gamers to compete, support their team, banter in a safe environment and win prizes. Our vertically integrated approach combines gamer recruitment, facilitation of community engagement and content creation, live-stream production and tournament host activities.
We believe our platform can be a go-to destination for esports gamers at all skill levels. The growth of our platform since our inception is encouraging, and we believe we are strongly positioned to capitalize on a large portion of the available gaming market. We experienced strong community growth in 2023, reaching nearly 940,000 video views of our Brag House Content through December 31, 2023 on video platforms including X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, Meta, Twitch and YouTube, compared to nearly 420,000 video views through 2021 and 2022, which represent a 236% increase in views year-over-year from 2020 to 2023. We have also generated nearly 8 million impressions and video views since inception, which represents approximately a 83% increase, or nearly 2X growth, year-over-year from 2020 to 2023. Additionally, since 2022, Brag House spectators who viewed live streams remained on the platform for 19 minutes per live stream across over 290,000 live views, which represents nearly a 1.75X increase compared to the industry benchmark of 11 minutes. This growth suggests that Brag House has the potential to become an important component of the infrastructure for everyday gamers which, in turn, will lead to accretive synergies in the greater esports ecosystem. In addition, our digital properties, including our mobile application and website, provide a level of scale which brings players and spectators together across the United States, both digitally and physically. As the world works to return to a state of normalcy from the impact of COVID-19, we believe live experiences will provide another source of connection to augment our digital experience. We believe this dynamic, coupled with our personalized experiential framework, offers a uniquely authentic and differentiated channel for advertisers to utilize, making the otherwise elusive demographic of Gen Z and Millennial gamers and streamers accessible at scale.
We are focused on creating an organic and inclusive community which facilitates personalized experiences. We believe our experiential framework offers a more authentic and differentiated channel for advertisers to utilize, making the otherwise elusive demographic of gamers and streamers accessible at scale to ourselves and our partners. We do this by offering brand sponsors and advertisers an exclusive marketing channel to reach elusive Gen Z and Millennial gamers and creators, while offering players ways to access exclusive tournaments and programming.
Our Mission and Approach
Our mission is to empower individuals to interact and to facilitate an organic and inclusive community in which casual gamers, streamers, fans and friends can compete, enjoy friendly bragging (i.e., banter) in a safe environment, support their players and teams and win prizes. In order to accomplish our mission, we are focused on creating unique, exciting and personalized experiences for our users. We accomplish this through our vertically integrated Brag House Platform that incorporates features for social media interaction, live streaming and gamification through both web and mobile offerings to provide gamers, streamers and their friends the opportunity to celebrate their love of gaming and competition.
We leverage existing college sports rivalries by hosting tournaments with a top-tier production experience, including game commentary, in-game interviews, post-game analysis, live broadcast digital visuals, tournament bracket(s) and our Bragging Functionality, which we describe below in greater detail under the heading “Our B2C Strategy — Leveraging Bragging Functionality”. Whether through gameplay highlights, live-streamed esports competitions or custom designed digital gameplay environments, the Brag House audience is regularly watching and engaging.
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The Esports Industry
Esports is a general label that comprises a diverse offering of competitive electronic games that gamers play against each other. Some of the popular esports games currently being played include Fortnite, League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, Overwatch and FIFA. Although you can play games on your own against the computer or console, one of the ways esports is different than video games of old is the community and spectator nature of esports — competitive play against another person — either one-on-one or in teams — that is viewed by an online and in-person audience, is a central feature of esports. Since players play against each other online, a global network has developed as these players compete against each other worldwide. Additionally, game developers have greatly increased the watchability of games, which has made the spectator aspect of gaming much more prevalent and further drives expansion of the gaming market. The expanded reach of high-speed Internet service and the computer technology advances in the last decade have also greatly accelerated the growth of esports. Esports has now become so popular that many schools offer scholarships in esports; the best-known esports teams are getting mainstream sponsorship and are being bought or invested in by celebrities, athletes and professional sports teams. The highest-profile esports gamers have significant online audiences as they stream themselves playing against other players online, and potentially can generate millions of dollars in sponsorship money and subscription fees to their online streaming channels. According to the South African Journal of Sports Medicine, an estimated 645 million people watched esports globally in 2022.
As competitive video gaming continues to infiltrate popular culture, we believe esports is becoming increasingly visible to global investors, brands, media outlets and consumers. According to FinancesOnline, there are approximately 3.0 billion esports gamers worldwide; and according to Limelight Networks, it is estimated that approximately 79% (or 2.4 billion) of those gamers are “casual” or “novice” gamers.
Although sponsorships and advertising historically have represented the majority of the revenue generated annually through esports, given the proliferation of the “casual” or “novice” gamers, media rights, live event ticket sales, merchandise sales and in-game purchases are growing increasingly important. According to Statista, in 2021, the global esports industry generated more than $1 billion in annual revenue for the first time. This growth is expected to continue, as Activate Consulting, leading management consulting firm for technology, internet, media and entertainment industries, suggests that revenues may reach $6.1 billion in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 10.8% from 2022-2026.
According to Activate Consulting, the global esports audience will grow to surpass 700 million viewers by 2026.
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In the U.S., esports viewership has grown to over 60 million, with the core demographic of U.S. esports viewers being young, affluent, educated and male.
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The importance of esports goes well beyond its direct financial potential. Esports impacts a broad set of other technology and media experiences, as demonstrated by the graphic below.
Women are a driving force within the esports industry, particularly in the United States. Women comprise 45% of all U.S. gamers, 60% of all U.S. women gamers play daily, and as such, represent a key demographic among gamers. Competitive platforms, which commonly are referred to as esports communities, play an important role in the esports ecosystem. However, of the more-than 145 organizations currently focused on esports communities, less than 7% focus specifically on casual gamers, let alone women.
We believe there is a clear gap in the market that is specific to casual and underrepresented gamers, such as women, who we believe are a primary driver in the rapidly growing esports industry. We believe we are uniquely situated to address that gap and have made meaningful inroads into this market segment through connecting players and giving them a safe environment in which to game. We accomplish this by facilitating an organic community for casual gamers, casual leagues, global tournaments and participants, as well as strengthening existing communities and creating new ones.
Our Diversified Business Model and Monetizing Our Platform
We are leveraging our vertically integrated Brag House Platform to execute on our diversified business model focused on business-to-consumer, or B2C, and business-to-business, or B2B, revenue channels. The fundamental drivers of our business model and monetization strategy are creating exciting experiences and community engagement through our esports platform, while generating opportunities to monetize off in-game transactions, Brag House tournaments, and advertising partnerships with corporate sponsors. Additionally, we aim to gain deep insights into Gen Z preferences and behaviors to help brands tailor their offerings, which will in turn enhance community engagement.
Our B2B Strategy
Through our B2B strategy, we focus on developing marketing and advertising solutions for corporate sponsors in various industries. Our B2B revenue streams include tournament tertiary fees and advertising and marketing fees. To date, all of our current revenue has been generated through B2B from Tournaments and Tertiary Fees. Our other intended revenue sources we discuss in this prospectus have not generated meaningful revenue as of yet.
• Tournament Tertiary Fees. We are able to leverage our esports tournaments to enhance and monetize our B2B partnerships. We contract with corporate partners for our tournaments either on a one-off basis or under a batch contract. Through these arrangements, we provide white-labeled tournament planning, marketing, gamer recruiting and onboarding services to our sponsor partners. We perform all publicity and marketing for the
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tournament and host its production, including the streaming and live broadcast of the tournament. We then conduct an after-action analysis to provide a report on viewership, along with other additional services, including customized recap highlight videos, audience exposure data for a sponsor’s brand and words association as its appears during our live broadcasts, social media graphics and video and custom smart links to measure engagement key performance indicators (KPIs), which, altogether, can be seen as equivalent to Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI) and/or Return on Ads Spend (ROAS), depending on how the funds were utilized.
Through December 31, 2023, we have held 23 major tournaments, and seven of those tournaments were sponsored by corporate entities including Fortune 500 companies that have generated approximately $667,000 in revenue. Additionally, we have an active presence at more than 50 of the largest universities in the United States. Based on the growing popularity of our esports competitions, we expect to consistently increase the number of Brag House tournaments each year.
We anticipate that for 2024, tournaments and sponsorships with major sports enterprises and corporate entities will constitute approximately 99% of our revenue, while subscriptions, merchandise and other forms of revenue will constitute approximately 1%. As we continue to grow our user base during 2024 to 2025 and beyond, we will aim to increase our B2C revenue channels, explained in further detail below, such that they will constitute approximately 50-55% of our revenue.
• Advertising and Marketing Fees. We aim to connect with advertisers looking to reach college-aged gamers, consumers and esports fans. This involves soliciting advertisers to promote their products through digital channels (such as on our social media accounts and in our Brag House Platform), and also in physical channels (such as by advertising with billboards or signs at our live events). In growing the network of Brag House Platform users, we will continue to make ourselves and our events an appealing destination for advertisers to promote their products.
• Data Insights: We believe that understanding Gen Z is crucial for brands to build sustainable models that cater to this demographic. Our future revenue model, which we plan to implement in Q1 2025, will offer brands the option to pay for accessing insights derived from anonymized and aggregated user data. This data will help brands tailor their marketing efforts, improving campaign effectiveness as measured by metrics such as CPM and CPC (each as defined below). By collecting anonymized and aggregated data on the habits, values, and social media use of our casual college gamer audience, who are primarily Gen Z, we hope to offer valuable insights into this generation while keeping their PII safe and private. We anticipate this data will be beneficial in two ways:
• Help brands develop effective marketing strategies: By understanding Gen Z’s preferences and behaviors, brands can create more targeted and engaging campaigns.
• Provide our consumers with ads for products and services they want and need: By analyzing user data, we can continuously improve our platform to better serve the needs and interests of our Gen Z audience.
Our B2C Strategy
Through our B2C strategy, we focus on a variety of products and services aimed at enhancing our users’ experience, reinforcing our organic, inclusive, personalized gaming environment and developing a recurring revenue model to generate sufficient returns and support our continued organic and strategic growth. Our B2C revenue streams that we will utilize under our B2C strategy will include paid user subscriptions (memberships) to the Brag House platform (application and website), in-application purchases for digital products, tournament fees and branded merchandise sales. To date, all of our current revenue has been generated through B2B from Tournaments and Tertiary Fees. Our B2C strategy has not yet generated meaningful revenue.
As we continue to add improvements to our technology platform, strengthen our community, and create meaningful content for users to engage, we anticipate our user growth rate to be even higher in 2024 – 2025. As we generate additional views for our content, we anticipate that we will be able to convert viewers into subscribers and consumers, ultimately leading to an increase in revenue generated from subscriptions, in-app purchases and merchandise.
Leveraging Bragging Functionality. We leverage our Bragging Functionality to incentivize user participation, to facilitate the formation of communities and to enhance the competitive spirit of our platform. Our Bragging Functionality utilizes Brag Bucks, which is in-application currency (i.e., no monetary value). A Brag is an
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in-game stat-based prediction that can be created by the Brag House team members and Brag House users for upcoming streams and tournaments. When a Brag House user places a Brag and predicts the outcome of a stream or tournament correctly, the user will win Brag Bucks and may move up the Brag House leaderboards, which are specifically correlated to the successful Brags that the user has placed. By placing successful Brags and moving up the leaderboards, the user effectively earns bragging rights over other users and friends who participated in the same Brag but were not successful in their predictions. This creates additional user engagement with the Brag House platform by giving casual gamers the opportunity to place Brags, engage with Brag House streams and tournaments and earn the right to banter with other users and friends in a friendly manner. The Bragging Functionality of the Brag House platform is something that we believe makes us unique in the gaming industry and is a distinctive feature that connects with the casual college gamer.
Each Brag has its own Brag Bucks pot that users have the opportunity to win. The total pot of each Brag is determined by the number of Brag Bucks that are placed by users who entered the specific Brag. Each Brag is a unique in-game stat-based prediction that has at least two possible outcomes from which users may choose. To enter a specific Brag, users select their predicted outcome and decide how many Brag Bucks they want to submit. Once users submit their prediction, their Brag Bucks are added to the total Brag Bucks pot for that specific Brag. The number of Brag Bucks that a user will win for a correct prediction is calculated based on the following three factors:
• the total Brag Bucks that were entered in the specific Brag;
• the total number of users that predicted the outcome of the Brag correctly; and
• the proportional weight of the amount of Brag Bucks each user entered in the specific Brag.
In addition to winning Brag Bucks through correct Brag predictions, users can earn Brag Bucks by:
• Inviting new users to join the Brag House community through the Brag House application’s “Invite Friends” feature;
• Claiming the free daily chest spin that will award users a random number of Brag Bucks (within a specific range); and
• Purchasing Brag Bucks chest spin packages in which each spin will award users a random number of Brag Bucks (within a specific range).
Brag Bucks that are awarded when a Brag House user invites friends or utilizes chest spins will be reflected in the user’s balance, however they will not affect the user’s leaderboard position. The Brag House leaderboards are Brag-specific, and they reflect the position of users who have predicted Brags correctly. A user’s position on a leaderboard is determined based on the number of Brag Bucks won on a particular Brag, minus the number of Brag Bucks that user placed in order to enter the Brag. The more net Brag Bucks a user wins, the higher they will appear on the leaderboard. The Brag House leaderboards are an important feature of the platform in that a user’s position on the leaderboards gives them the opportunity to win daily, weekly and monthly prizes.
A Brag House user’s total net Brag Bucks will be reflected in their balance. However, the user’s balance is dynamic in that it reflects all movement in the user’s total Brag Bucks. It does not present the amount of Brag Bucks each user has won in total or been awarded since joining the Brag House community. We believe our Brag Bucks system motivates casual college gamers to join our platform and presents them with a unique opportunity in the esports and gaming industry. By giving users the opportunity to place Brags, win Brag Bucks and move up our leaderboards, we believe that we have created a gaming platform that will continue to attract users looking to compete with their friends and other casual gamers.
Our Brag Bucks do not constitute property and cannot be sold, bartered or otherwise transferred to other users. Brag Bucks are only redeemable to unlock access to items within the Brag House Platform, including Loyalty Tokens. To date, Brag Bucks have not generated any meaningful revenue for the Company. Neither Brag Bucks nor Loyalty Tokens utilize blockchain technology. Please see “Providing In-Application Digital Product Purchase Opportunities” below for more information.
Providing Our Users Multiple Subscription (Membership) Options. We have made major investments in the Brag House application, and one of our central revenue drivers will be our auto-renewable subscription model, which will focus on a series of regular payments that our users make in order to access Brag House premium content and
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additional features and benefits. Currently, we only offer Bragger, our entry-level freemium membership. Our paid subscription service which we expect to launch in the fourth quarter of 2024, will allow users to select from four membership tiers — Bragger Plus, Gamer, Streamer and Ultimate.
• Bragger: This is our entry-level freemium membership. Braggers are video game and esports enthusiasts who consider gaming a hobby and view esports as a source of digital entertainment. Braggers can create a member-specific profile, create live-streams, watch streams on the Brag House application and place Brags using Brag Bucks, our in-application currency that accrues as users correctly predict Brags and allows Braggers the opportunity to move up on the Brag House leaderboard. The higher the user moves up on the leaderboard, the more opportunities they will have to win daily, weekly and monthly prizes. Each Bragger is given a free daily chest spin, which grants the user a randomly generated number of Brag Bucks. Additionally, Braggers have the opportunity to register for upcoming tournaments through the Brag House application. As of December 31, 2023, we had 1,568 Bragger members, representing an approximate 35% increase year-over-year since 2021.
• Bragger Plus: This is our first level of paid membership. We believe Bragger Plus members spend more time per week watching video game streams and tournaments and we believe have a stronger interest in participating in the Bragging Functionality and enjoying the premium Brag House features. By interacting more with the Brag House platform, Bragger Plus members will have the ability to earn larger Brag House prizes. In addition to the Bragger membership features, our Bragger Plus members will receive additional perks and features, including access to the Brag House multiplier, which apply to Bragger Plus members’ daily chest spins and purchased Brag Bucks chest packages, increasing the potential number of Brag Bucks generated and increasing the daily, weekly and monthly prizes based on where the user ends up on the various Brag House leaderboards. Bragger Plus members will also benefit from a 10% exclusive membership discount on all Brag House merchandise and have access to all token-specific Brags, which can be redeemed for sponsor-specific prizes and merchandise. Bragger Plus subscriptions will be eligible for monthly, quarterly or annual renewal cycles. Our Bragger Plus membership will have a monthly fee of $2.99.
• Gamer: Gamer members typically focus on one or two esports or video games, striving to outperform their competitors and enjoy the Brag House competitions and challenges. Gamer members will have access to the perks and features of the Bragger Plus membership, along with early registration and a 50% discount on entry fees for all Brag House tournaments. Gamer members will also have access to private Brag House community channels, a 15% exclusive membership discount on all Brag House merchandise, and assistance in building their gamer portfolio, which includes a monthly ten- to fifteen-second highlight clip created by the Brag House team. Gamer subscriptions will be eligible for monthly, quarterly or annual renewal cycles. Our Gamer membership will have a monthly fee of $4.99.
• Streamer: We believe Streamers are motivated by the opportunity to interact with other gamers and contribute to the growth of the esports community, deriving personal benefit from the social aspects of the Brag House platform. Streamer members will have access to the perks and features of the Bragger Plus membership. In addition, Streamers will be eligible for early tournament registration, the opportunity to feature the user’s live stream on the Brag House application, a 15% exclusive membership discount on Brag House merchandise, access to private Brag House community channels and a monthly ten- to fifteen-second highlight clip created by the Brag House team. Unique to this membership level, Streamers will be granted access to educational sessions hosted by experienced Brag House streamers, which we believe are an excellent opportunity for Streamer-level gamers to distill insights on how to develop their streams to fit their personal brand, how to interact with their audience, how to create more engaging content and market their stream, form overlays and more. Streamers will also earn Brag Bucks based on various key performance indicators that they can achieve, including number of hours they streamed, number of consecutive days they streamed live on the Brag House application, number of Brags they created and audience interaction (specifically, the number of users that placed Brag Bucks on the Streamer’s Brags). Streamer subscriptions will be eligible for monthly, quarterly or annual renewal cycles. Our Streamer membership will have a monthly fee of $4.99.
• Ultimate: The Ultimate membership will be our most premium paid membership and provides the best opportunity for users to fully immerse themselves into the Brag House platform. Ultimate members will have access to all perks and features of the Gamer and Streamer memberships, along with more features specific to the Ultimate membership. These additional perks and features will include the opportunity to
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be the first Brag House users to register for Brag House tournaments, access to two entry-free tournaments per month and 50% discount thereafter on tournaments’ entry fee, access to private Brag House community channels, a monthly ten- to fifteen-second highlight clip created by the Brag House team, the option to feature their streams on the Brag House application and access to the Streamers package providing seminars for users on how to develop their streams to fit their personal brand, interact with their audience, create more engaging content, market their stream, form overlays and more. Additionally, Ultimate members will be given a 25% exclusive membership discount on Brag House merchandise, a five-times multiplier on the Brag House daily chest spin and a two-times multiplier on earned Brag Bucks, which are based on the various key performance indicators in the Streamer membership. Ultimate subscriptions will be eligible for monthly, quarterly or annual renewal cycles. Our Streamer membership will have a monthly fee of $7.99.
User Retention. We are committed to continuously updating the Brag House platform and entering into esports partnerships with corporations, professional sports teams and universities. We believe our unique approach to the gaming industry, notably our targeting of the casual gamer, coupled with our exciting partnerships and continuous development of new Brag House offerings, will be influential in our drive to retain Brag House users. Our current efforts to retain our subscription-based members include, but is not limited to:
• improving the breadth and depth of the Brag House platform’s functionality;
• placing an emphasis on keeping user data secure;
• maintaining availability and reliability of the Brag House application;
• focusing on user ease of the Brag House platform;
• continuously adding user value through Brag House offerings;
• advancing brand awareness and reputation; and
• addressing legal, regulatory and cultural matters.
Providing In-Application Digital Product Purchase Opportunities. We offer our users the opportunity to purchase various items through the Brag House application that we generally categorize as consumable items and non-consumable items. We believe these digital products will present a meaningful revenue opportunity for us.
• Consumable Items. This is the most common type of in-application purchases in mobile games. Most commonly, consumable items refer to in-game currency such as health bonuses and power-ups. Brag House users will have the option to purchase $1, $2.50 or $5 Brag Bucks chest packages. Each chest package will contain a random amount of in-application Brag Bucks within a specific range. Based on the randomization process, users will receive the amount of Brag Bucks that each purchased chest contains. Brag House users can utilize their Brag Bucks to unlock access to items with no real-world monetary value. Users may utilize Brag Bucks to unlock items such as access to Brags, access to exclusive Brag House content and access to non-sponsored Brag House tournaments. Certain Brags will give users access to another in-application point accrual mechanic, Loyalty Tokens. Loyalty Tokens cannot be used in Brags, traded with other users or sold for cash value. Users can redeem their Loyalty Tokens in our Brag House store, for an assortment of prizes. The Loyalty Tokens include custom tournament sponsor tokens and brand partner tokens which can only be redeemed for specific prizes relating to the tournament or brand sponsor in our Brag House store. In addition, Loyalty Tokens include our main in-house Loyalty Token, our Brag Tokens, which users can redeem for all other open-access (i.e. non-sponsored) prizes in our Brag House store. Once the user earns and consumes their Brag Bucks and Loyalty Tokens, the consumable items will disappear. Brag Bucks have no time limit for use, but certain Loyalty Tokens have expiration dates associated with them. Specifically, the expiration dates apply to custom tournament sponsor tokens and brand partner tokens. Certain tokens are only available through a limited number of Brags or particular leaderboards, which creates a perceived rarity feature to particular Loyalty Tokens. In order for gameplay to continue, every Brag allows a user to win a certain number of Brag Bucks. Additionally, unlike the Brag Bucks chest packages that users may repurchase at any time to gain more Brag Bucks, Loyalty Tokens cannot be purchased. Rather, users can only earn Loyalty Tokens through token-specific Brags that Brag House makes available in addition to the Loyalty Tokens users can earn through placement on particular leaderboards.
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Brag Bucks and Loyalty Tokens do not constitute property and cannot be sold, bartered or otherwise transferred to other users. Brag Bucks and Loyalty tokens are only redeemable to unlock the consumable items mentioned above and otherwise have no real-world value. Neither Brag Bucks nor Loyalty Tokens utilize blockchain technology.
• Non-Consumable Items. Our non-consumable items, which are commonly referred to as “unlockable items” among members of the gaming community, include digital overlays, graphics, instructional videos and additional items that are currently under development, such as social media posts, video editing, highlighted streams, Brag House branding and marketing via discord and bulk package options. Unlike consumables, once a member gains access to non-consumable items by utilizing their Brag Bucks, they will have permanent access to those items. Once launched, we will offer non-consumable items only to Gamer, Streamer and Ultimate-level members, thus offering an additional incentive for Brag House users to upgrade their subscription (membership) level from the Bragger freemium level.
Tournament Fees. To facilitate and enhance social engagement on our gaming platform beyond our recurring subscriber base, we offer tournaments to provide casual college gamers a chance to compete and fully immerse themselves in the Brag House community. Through December 31, 2023, we have held 23 major tournaments which saw more than 710 participants in the aggregate from nearly 250 colleges and universities across the United States, and which have generated an aggregate of approximately $667,000 of revenue for us.
Merchandise. We intend to sell company-branded Brag House merchandise through our website (www.thebraghouse.com) and our application. Brag House users and non-user fans can purchase items such as customized Brag House long sleeve shirts, T-shirts, standard and zip up hoodies, beanies and snapback hats.
Key Performance Indicators
We focus on several key performance indicators, as discussed below, to assess our progress and drive revenue growth. We believe that by focusing on users and followers, engagement, and views and impressions, we can best measure our growth, the adoption of the Brag House platform and the overall impact that Brag House is having on the esports and gaming industry.
1. Views and Viewership. We experienced strong community growth in 2023, reaching nearly 940,000 video views of our Brag House Content through December 31, 2023 on video platforms, compared to 420,000 video views through 2021 and 2022, which represent a 236% increase in views year-over-year from 2020 to 2023. Additionally, in 2023, Brag House spectators who viewed live streams remained on the platform for 19 minutes per live stream across over 290,000 live views, which represents nearly a 1.75X increase compared to the industry benchmark of 11 minutes. This continued growth in views results in the exponential growth of our monetizable advertising inventory. Additionally, we believe our growth in views will be achieved largely via user generated content submitted to us by our community, significantly limiting the production cost and overall investment required to achieve the continued growth in our viewership. We define “views” as the number of people who watch either live content (broadcasts) or VODs that are available across Brag House’s digital presence on platforms such as the Brag House website, app, social media channels (Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), LinkedIn, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and Reddit) as well as streaming services channels (Twitch, YouTube).
2. Impressions and Reach. We have generated nearly 8 million impressions since inception, which represents approximately a 83% increase, or nearly 2X growth, year-over-year from 2020 to 2023. In 2023 alone, we have had over 2 million impressions and an aggregate reach of nearly 1 million people. We define “impressions” as the aggregate number of times any pieces of our content have been viewed by brag house users across all social media platforms, regardless of if the specific content was interacted with or not. We define “reach” as the number of unique users that view our content across all social media platforms.
3. Engagement. As of December 31, 2023, we had an average engagement rate of 7.76% across our marketing platforms, which is above the industry average of 1.5% according to Social Insider. This includes nearly 50,000 chat messages being sent during our gaming live streams. We continue to focus on ways we can repackage and distribute this significant derivative content library for further monetization. We define “engagement” as all digital interaction between the Brag House brand and our followers and users as well as interaction between followers and users on the Brag House platform and social media channels. These engagements can be measured by comments, chatting, likes, shares, posting, signing up for tournaments
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and events, interacting with polls on social media, placing Brags on the Brag House platform, placing Bracket predictions on the Brag House platform, and other similar actions. We calculate “engagement rate” by dividing the amount of engagement on a piece of our content by the overall reach of that piece of content.
4. Cost per Thousand Impressions and Cost per Click. As of December 31, 2023 Cost per Thousand Impressions, or Cost per Mille (“CPM”) was $3.10, which represents approximately 2X more cost effective compared to average CPM of $5.64 in the gaming industry. In addition, in 2023 alone, our Cost per Click (“CPC”) was $0.24, which represents approximately 3X more cost effective compared to average CPC of $0.70 in the gaming industry. We believe that a lower CPM and CPC will attract sponsors and increase our revenues from advertising on our platform as we offer brands a more cost effective route to advertise to Gen Z in a manner that would result in higher value from a return on investment (ROI) point of view. We believe a lower CPM and CPC will attract sponsors and increase overall marketing spend on our platform which will result in increased revenues for the Company. We define CPM as the average cost a company pays for 1,000 advertisement impressions. Impressions occur when a user sees the advertisement. We define CPC as the cost a company pays for the number of times users click on a display ad attached to their sites. We believe that once our data insights services are made available in Q1 2025, both CPM and CPC will decrease for sponsors that purchase such services.
Partnerships
In May of 2021, we entered into an agency supplier agreement with Moroch, a marketing and communications agency, through which we hosted tournaments sponsored by McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. Under this agreement, we contracted for advertising and marketing services as well as the development of promotional materials bearing the trademarks of McDonald’s and Coca-Cola.
Pursuant to our agreement with Moroch, we held the “Texas Loyalty Cup”, a Brag House tournament, in 2021 in collaboration with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, where college students from various universities across the State of Texas competed against each other playing Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Brag House put on a full production for the tournament including, in-game commentary, pre and post interviews, and created original graphics to promote the McDonald’s and Coca-Cola brands, as well as their products. The 18-hour live stream event reached 660,000 people with gender demographics of 66.60% men and 33.40% women.
The success of the tournament led to a continued and stronger relationship with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola as we had held two tournaments in 2022: “SoCal FIFA 23 Tournament” which was a direct contract with Coca-Cola and collaborated with McDonald’s through their marketing agency of the Southern California Region, DE, and “Black and Positively Golden Gamers HBCU Tournament Featuring Fortnite” which was a contract with McDonald’s through their agency, WI, in collaboration with Coca-Cola. Due to the success Brag House was able to achieve, the partnership with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola grew stronger as Brag House was contracted by Coca-Cola, in collaboration with McDonald’s, for the third consecutive year to host a nationwide Fortnite tournament with student gamers from five states (Washington, Oregon, California, Oklahoma and Kansas). The tournament is known as the Golden Royale Cup, and took place over the course of three weeks in November, with three qualifying matches, followed by a grand finale match. The Golden Royale Cup amassed nearly 20,000 total hours of aggregate live streaming content watched. And garnered nearly 300,000 views from gamers watching the tournament in real time. Furthermore, the event received nearly 1 million impressions across Brag House’s social media platforms.
In addition to the Golden Royale Cup from November 2023, Brag House has finalized two major partnerships agreements; the first with the FWSC, a division of The City of Fort Worth, to host a cutting edge in-person esports event, which will be streamed live digitally as well, in September 2024 at the FWCC focused on college students for the State of Texas where Brag House is anticipating over 80 Texas colleges and Universities to take part in the event and have over 20,000 visitors attend the event in-person and over 500,000 spectators through the live streaming; the second with the Denver Broncos, a world-renowned American Football franchise that competes in the NFL to be a gaming partner for in-person and digital gaming activations (i.e. gaming events) for, at minimum, the 2023-2025 NFL seasons. Brag House is also currently negotiating terms for tournament and promotional events in 2024 with other companies, such as Learfield Communications, LLC, formerly Learfield IMG College, a billion dollar media company that holds the media rights to hundreds of colleges in the US, including collegiate properties as the NCAA and its 89 championships and NCAA Football. There are no definitive agreements with these entities currently in place. As of December 31, 2023, our partnerships have accounted for 99% of our revenue.
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While engaging with corporate sponsors is important to ensure we have the proper funding and infrastructure to host our popular tournaments, our college-level collaboration with organizations such as the Black Collegiate Gaming Association helps us to continue to drive grassroots adoption of our esports platform at the college level. In total we have hosted three events through these organizations (all in 2021), and such events were sponsored by LA Sparks, PlayStation, GameStop, NASCAR and NBA2K. In addition to the full production described above, the Brag House hosted panel presentations, which included individuals such as Brittney Sykes, professional WNBA player at the LA Sparks, Jacqueline Beacucamp, Chairwoman & CEO of Engaged Media, and others.
Web hosting Services with Amazon
We currently host our esports platform and support our operations using AWS, a third-party provider of cloud infrastructure services, along with other service providers traditionally used by AWS. Our commercial agreement with AWS will remain in effect until terminated by AWS or us. Either party may terminate this Agreement for cause if the other party is in material breach of this Agreement and the material breach remains uncured for a period of 30 days from receipt of notice by the other party. No later than the Termination Date, we must close our account. AWS may also terminate this Agreement immediately upon notice (A) for cause if AWS has the right to suspend under certain circumstances as set forth in the AWS customer agreement, (B) if AWS’ relationship with a third-party partner who provides software or other technology AWS uses to provide the Service Offerings expires, terminates or requires us to change the way AWS provides the software or other technology as part of the Services, or (C) in order to comply with the law or requests of governmental entities.
Third Party Payment Processors
Sales and Marketing
Prospective members and subscribers are introduced to Brag House through eight primary marketing channels, consisting of:
1. our Collegiate Leads Program that amplifies our grassroot approach, through which we continuously increase brand awareness around campuses of colleges and universities across the United States as well as drive new traffic of users to our platform (application and website) with higher focus on college students and alumni of those schools;
2. our in-application referral program that incentivizes users to invite their friends and acquaintances to join our platform by providing bonus Brag Bucks for each new user that joined (monthly bonus limitation may apply in certain cases) and the ability to compete with them in a social manner over bragging rights and other prizes;
3. professionally produced Esports tournaments of popular video games, with higher focus on video games classified as esports games, that are streamed live on our platform (application and website), including our Twitch and YouTube channels as well as our Facebook Page;
4. content library on our Twitch and YouTube channels that can be found through organic searches and through shared links by hundreds of millions;
5. Brag House social media channels on Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, SnapChat, LinkedIn and Reddit, which enables us to organically reach hundreds of thousands of users that continuously drives traffic to our platform (application and website);
6. Ad campaigns on advertising platforms such as Snapchat Ads, TikTok Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, X (formerly known as Twitter) Ads, LinkedIn Ads and Google Ads, which all help increase our organic reach to potentially hundreds of millions primarily in the United States, but in the rest of the world as well; and
7. continued press, press releases and public relations that drives brand awareness to our platform.
In addition to these channels, we also market our community and platform through in-app and in-live broadcasts/streams promotions, search engine optimization, online advertising as well as aim to engage with various social influencers ranging from Nano- to Macro-influencers to achieve multiple marketing strategies and build email marketing campaigns.
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Users typically begin their relationship with Brag House by viewing content on the Brag House platform, which includes our website, Twitch and YouTube channels as well as our Facebook Page, registering an email address, and/or by participating in our entry-free esports tournaments. As discussed in ‘Our B2C Strategy’ section, users become more engaged by creating a profile on our platform where they can become a Bragger, our freemium entry-level membership, and enjoy the benefits of the Bragger. Following the freemium Bragger membership, users can enhance their experience and engagement opportunities by upgrading their memberships from our freemium Bragger membership to one of our paid-membership levels, where they have access to premium Brag House features that are not available at the freemium Bragger membership level. While initial membership at the Bragger level is free, we do monetize all members as activity grows with one-off paid experiences, in-app purchases, merchandise sales and through brand and media sponsorship revenues.
We plan to drive deeper user engagement by continuously enabling the freemium entry-level Bragger membership, which provides users the ability to experience our platform and community, increasing the number of tournaments we produce weekly, expanding our Collegiate Leads Program and reach across the nation, simplifying the Brags creation process on the platform to induce more streamers to create Brags, which drives user engagement, and/or acquiring content creators and talent to produce more captivating and engaging in-house content. We estimate that our monthly paid members can generate between $25 and $95 in annual revenue per member (excluding one-off purchases, as described above), and content from these experiences is broadcasted on our platform, including our Twitch and YouTube channels, as well as our Facebook page, which drives deeper user engagement and serves as a channel to attract new members.
Competition
Given that we operate in the global entertainment and esports industry, we consider any type of discretionary leisure and entertainment provider to be a competitor with respect to our consumers’ time and disposable income. Competition in the amateur esports gaming industry generally is intense. Our competitors range from established leagues and championships owned directly, as well as leagues franchised by, well known and capitalized game publishers and developers, interactive entertainment companies and diversified media companies to emerging start-ups, and we expect new competitors to continue to emerge throughout the amateur esports gaming ecosystem.
In the esports industry, our competitors fall into several categories: esports platforms (Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive Software, Amazon.com), Gen Z-focused social platforms (Snap, Meta, Roblox), and companies with sophisticated data-valuation capabilities (Alphabet). Additionally, we expect competition from new entrants and adjacent competitors as esports and gaming continue to expand.
We differentiate ourselves from potential competition through our organic community and partnerships that enable experiences, community, content and commerce. Our core strengths include our ability to leverage our vertically integrated Brag House Platform to create economies of scale around esports tournaments as well as facilitate significant user engagement through our dominance of the college market and exclusive corporate partnerships.
Our Competitive Strengths
Based on management’s experience in the industry, we believe we have the following competitive strengths which enable us to compete effectively.
• Brag House has a first to market grassroots approach to reaching its community.
• Our focus on casual games has allowed us to create an inclusive environment that promotes not only casual gamer experiences, but also provides a venue for gamers to improve their skills and brand as the endeavor to become competitive or professional gamers and streamers.
• Our vertically integrated Brag House Platform has allowed us to concurrently develop what we believe are compelling B2C and B2B product and service offerings.
• Our proprietary or other attributes regarding our development and delivery model.
• Our platform not only facilitates discoverability but also paves the way for aspiring professional gamers and streamers to reach their goals.
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Growth Prospects
As we continue to invest in creating inclusive, exciting and personalized experiences for our users through our Brag House Platform, we will strive to build a leadership position within the growing esports gaming industry. We have established key areas of strategic focus that will guide the way we think about our future B2C and B2B growth prospects:
Expanding our community of casual gamers and fans is our top priority. Non-professional gamers represent more than 99% of all gamers globally according to Cyber Athletiks, presenting what we believe is a robust market segment that presents meaningful opportunity for growth. We will continue to invest in, and further enhance, our mobile and web platforms by (i) implementing a live-streaming functionality where our users can watch gaming streams live and chat, (ii) setting up separate subcommunities on our platform broken down by similar gaming interest, geographic location or college affiliation, (iii) promoting engagement that fosters a competitive and safe atmosphere among players who wish to compete against one another, and (iv) adding virtual and physical prizes that our users can win through engaging with our platform. We feel that the above measures will foster a positive relationship with our current userbase and foster community growth.
Strengthen and grow our B2B Partnerships. Given the potential reach of our tournaments, we believe we have the ability to reach, connect with, and influence a significant segment of casual gamers and spectators in a direct and authentic way. B2B partnerships represent a key part of our financial strategy, and because our target demographic represents such a large segment of the gaming market, we believe we can be a bridge between our users and tournament participants and our B2B partners. We further believe that as we continue to organically grow our community we will learn valuable insights about our core demographics, Gen Z. We feel that these insights will be invaluable to both the core demographics as well as our brand partners because we will be able to empower our community to receive products and services of value to them, while providing brands more cost efficient strategies to market to them effectively. In the future, we aim to expand our current sponsorship model and create a data insight model that will empower our B2B partners to utilize data insights we will choose to share with them to improve their success metrics, and therefore enhance the value and depth of our partnerships.
Organic Growth through Additional Offerings. Though Brag House was founded for casual gamers, and providing a home for casual gamers will continue to be our mission, we believe we can attract professional streamers and gamers by facilitating discoverability within our platform. We believe we can help casual gamers grow their following and create original content through our Brag House Platform for fans and followers through access to our library resources and services. In addition, we believe we can establish relationships with esports agencies and professional gaming organizations, and then connect these organizations to the gamers who build their profile using our platform. While we currently have no plans to become an in-person events company, we believe there is demand for in-person esports events. Our first in-person event hosted at the University of Dallas in October 2021 drew more than 2,500 students and faculty; our aim is to replicate and increase this turnout in future in-person events.
We encourage content creation by our users as part of our effort to help casual gamers interested in pursuing professional gaming, as a result, content creation may become one of our sources of revenue in the future.
Human Capital Strategy
A healthy culture and engaged workforce are essential to our ability to execute our strategic plan and build ongoing and meaningful relationships with our communities. As a knowledge-based business, our ability to attract, train, motivate and retain qualified employees is a critical factor in the successful development of our products and services. Our future success will remain dependent, in large measure, on our ability to continue attracting, training, motivating and retaining qualified employees.
Our talent acquisition planning and hiring strategies are aligned with our strategic vision and where we need to invest and develop as a business. We target talented individuals who possess skills that are critical to the future of our business, and we are committed to investing in the development and growth of diverse talent through community outreach and other social initiatives.
We are focused on promoting the total wellness of our people and maintaining resources, programs and services to support employees’ physical, mental, familial and financial health. We offer a wide range of benefits, such as comprehensive health insurance and time-off and leave programs.
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Intellectual Property
Our business relies significantly on the creation, acquisition, use and protection of intellectual property. Some of this intellectual property is in the form of software code, patented technology and trade secrets that we use to develop and properly run our interactive online gaming platform and service. Other intellectual property we create includes gaming-related technology and content, audio-visual elements, including graphics, music, story lines and interface design.
We strive to protect our intellectual property rights by relying on federal, state and common law rights, as well as contractual restrictions. We control access to our technology by entering into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and contractors, and confidentiality agreements with third parties. We also actively engage in monitoring and enforcement activities with respect to potential infringing uses of our intellectual property by third parties.
In addition to these contractual arrangements, we also rely on a combination of trade secret, copyright, trademark, trade dress, domain name and patents to protect our interactive online gaming platform and service and other intellectual property. We typically own the copyright to the software code to our content, as well as the brand or title name trademark under which our online gaming platform and related services are marketed. We pursue the registration of our domain names, trademarks, and service marks in the United States and in locations outside the United States. We have one registered trademark for “Brag House,” Reg. No. 6676655.
We may seek patent protection covering inventions originating from us and, from time to time, review opportunities to acquire patents we believe may be useful or relevant to our business.
Circumstances outside our control could pose a threat to our intellectual property rights. For example, effective intellectual property protection may not be available in the United States or other countries in which our gaming platform is marketed and used. Any significant impairment of our intellectual property rights could harm our business or our ability to compete. Also, protecting our intellectual property rights is costly and time-consuming. Any unauthorized disclosure or use of our intellectual property could make it more expensive to do business, thereby harming our operating results.
Companies on the Internet, gaming products and services, social media, technology and other industries may own large numbers of patents, copyrights and trademarks and may frequently request license agreements, threaten litigation or file suit against us based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. From time to time, we may face in the future, allegations by third parties, including our competitors and non-practicing entities, that we have infringed their trademarks, copyrights, patents and other intellectual property rights. As our business grows, we will likely face more claims of infringement.
Facilities
Our corporate headquarters is located at 25 Pompton Avenue, Suite 101, Verona, NJ 07044. The office is a virtual office for purposes of consistent point of contact and for communications with the public and the shareholders of the Company. Day to day operations are performed by our team via the internet and other means of mobile communication tools which allows us to limit the need for formal space. We have no intention of finding, in the near future, another office space to rent during the development stage of the company. We believe that our facilities are adequate to meet our needs for the immediate future and that suitable additional space will be available to accommodate any expansion of our operations as needed.
Governmental Regulations
There are a variety of laws and regulations governing individual privacy and the protection and use of information collected from individuals, particularly in relation to an individual’s personally identifiable information (e.g., credit card numbers). We employ a kick-out procedure during member registration whereby anyone identifying themselves as being under the age of 18 during the process is not allowed to register for a player account on our website or participate in any of our online experiences or tournaments.
In addition, as a part of our experiences, we offer prizes and/or gifts as incentives to play. The federal Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act and certain state prize, gift or sweepstakes statutes may apply to certain experiences we run from time to time, and other federal and state consumer protection laws applicable to online collection, use
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and dissemination of data, and the presentation of website or other electronic content, may require us to comply with certain standards for notice, choice, security and access. We believe that we are in compliance with any applicable law or regulation when we run these experiences.
Environmental Matters
We have not incurred any costs associated with compliance with environmental regulations, nor do we anticipate any future costs associated with environmental compliance; however, no assurances can be given that we will not incur such costs in the future.
Environmental, Social and Governance Strategy
As noted above, our mission is to empower individuals to interact and facilitate an organic and inclusive community in which casual gamers, streamers, fans and friends can compete, enjoy friendly bragging (i.e., banter) in a safe environment, support their players and teams and win prizes. Early data suggests that approximately 30% of our member users are women (who account for nearly 40% of our reach and views), which we believe is higher than other esports platforms. We are working to instill and reinforce diversity and inclusivity across our systems, processes and culture to attract, develop and retain great talent, to develop relatable content and engagement, to expand into new and diverse markets and to ensure that our users authentically reflect gamers around the United States.
Employees
As of December 31, 2023, we subcontracted work to four organizations as independent contractors, had ten part-time employees and four full-time employees. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We consider our relationship with our employees to be good.
We plan to increase the number of Brag House employees, and over the next 12 months, we are particularly focused on building our development, marketing, production and sales teams.
Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings which arise in the ordinary course of business. However, litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm our business. We are currently not aware of any such legal proceedings or claims that we believe will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or operating results.
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Executive Officers and Directors
The following table sets forth the name, age (as of March 31, 2024) and position of the individuals who are anticipated to serve as directors and executive officers of the Company after giving effect to the consummation of the U.S. Reorganization. The following also includes certain information regarding the individual experience, qualifications, attributes and skills of our directors and executive officers as well as brief statements of those aspects of our directors’ backgrounds that led us to conclude that they are qualified to serve as directors.
Name |
Age |
Position |
||
Lavell Juan Malloy, II |
48 |
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman |
||
Daniel Leibovich |
35 |
Chief Operating Officer, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Director |
||
Scott Kaufman |
52 |
Chief Financial Officer (after the closing of the offering) |
||
Kevin Foster(1) |
61 |
Director Nominee |
||
DeLu Jackson(1) |
51 |
Director Nominee |
||
Michele Morrow(1) |
46 |
Director Nominee |
||
Daniel Fidrya(1) |
32 |
Director Nominee |
____________
(1) Appointed to our board of directors automatically upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Promptly following the closing of this offering, Scott Kaufman will begin serving as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Mr. Kaufman’s biographical information is disclosed below.
Lavell Juan Malloy, II, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. Mr. Malloy has served as our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman since he co-founded our company on February 23, 2018. Prior to founding Brag House, from February 2014 to June 2017, Mr. Malloy was the CEO of WollerMalloy Management Group, a financial platform for NFL rookie athletes. Prior to that, between 2003 and 2012, Mr. Malloy worked as a securities lawyer at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where he represented and counseled major corporations. Mr. Malloy holds a full stack developer certificate from Columbia School of Engineering, a B.S. from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers University School of Law.
Daniel Leibovich, Chief Operating Officer, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Director. Mr. Leibovich is our co-founder and has served as our Chief Operating Officer since December 2019. Mr. Leibovich has served as our Interim Chief Financial Officer since May 2022 and as a director on our board since January 2022. Mr. Leibovich has co-founded and held senior operational roles in numerous startups in the United States, including Colu Technologies as a Senior City Launcher, Project Manager, Customer Success Manager and Operations Manager (December 2020 to June 2021), Darktrace as an Account Executive (January 2019 to December 2019), Cayenne Realty Group as a Co-Founder and Team Leader (June 2015 to November 2016) and Caliber Associates as a Marketing Manager with operational responsibilities (November 2012 to May 2015). Mr. Leibovich served at a lieutenant rank in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) from January 2007 to January 2011. He operated in a highly classified division in the IDF Operations Branch, working on high-profile projects, such as the Iron Dome. Mr. Leibovich holds a B.A. in Financial Economics from Columbia University.
Scott Kaufman. Mr. Kaufman will begin serving as our Chief Financial Officer promptly following the closing of this offering. Mr. Kaufman has over twenty years of experience of sourcing, financing and restructuring private and publicly traded companies, working with executives and boards of companies to manage their corporate growth initiatives and managing and trading a portfolio of debt and equity securities. Mr. Kaufman has served as a founding member of Barlock Capital Management, LLC since 2018 and Hillair Capital Management LLC since 2009. Both are investment entity that finances, invests in and/or restructures emerging companies that are seeking transformative capital through debt and/ or preferred instruments. Mr. Kaufman leads the sourcing, due diligence, structuring and negotiating activities for Hillair with a constant focus on capital preservation. Mr. Kaufman has spearheaded changes within investments by acting as a “C” level officer, board member and a restructuring officer. Previously, Mr. Kaufman served as the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Wizard Brands Inc. from 2020 until 2022. Wizard produced live pop culture conventions across the United States providing a social networking and entertainment venue for enthusiasts of movies, TV shows, video games, technology, toys, social networking, gaming, comic books, and graphic novels. Mr. Kaufman received both a BA and a EMBA from Columbia University.
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Kevin Foster, Director. Mr. Foster will serve on our board following, and subject to, this offering. Mr. Foster leads internal, external, digital, brand, and corporate affairs communications for the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and has been in this role since 2019. He is a member of PIF’s Management Committee. Prior to PIF, Mr. Foster held the position of Chief Brand and Communications Officer at McDonald’s Corporation’s Ronald McDonald House Foundation where he was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors (October 2016 to September 2019). Prior to his time at Ronald McDonald House Mr. Foster spent 12 years at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), from 2005 until 2016, where he held various senior roles including Managing Director and Global Head of Communications, managing communications across diverse financial services. He was also a member of the firm’s operating committee. Mr. Foster holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, two Master’s degrees in Journalism from Northwestern University, an MBA from Boston College, and a certificate in Foundations of Financial Management from the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School.
DeLu Jackson, Director. Mr. Jackson will serve on our board following, and subject to, this offering. Since February 2023, Mr. Jackson has worked as the Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer Head of Inside Sales and Member of the Executive Management team at ADT. Prior to his current role, Mr. Jackson served as Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer and Member of the Executive Management team at ADT, where he demonstrated a strong ability to lead customer acquisition, marketing, advertising and sales strategies. Before his time with ADT, Mr. Jackson served as the Vice President of Precision Marketing at Conagra Brands, Inc. (August 2017 to September 2021), the Vice President of Digital Acceleration at the Kellogg Company (February 2017 to August 2017) and the Corporate Vice President of Marketing at the McDonald’s Corp. (November 2015 to February 2017). Since March 2023, Mr. Jackson has served as an Independent Director for Latham Group (Nasdaq: SWIM), where he serves as a member of the company’s Audit and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. Mr. Jackson holds a Master of Business Administration from the NYU Stern School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in Arts from Princeton University.
Michele Morrow, Director. Ms. Morrow will serve on our board following, and subject to, this offering. Ms. Morrow is an American television presenter, actress, writer, videogame journalist and producer. Since 2012, Ms. Morrow has hosted several gaming entertainment shows at some of the most well-known media brands in the sports and video game industries, including ESPN2, Bleacher Report, TBS, Take-Two and Blizzard Entertainment. In 2017, Ms. Morrow co-created and executive produced a scripted esports comedy series for YouTube Red called “Good Game”, where she joined the main cast in the role of a professional gamer. Since June 2018, Ms. Morrow has served on the Advisory Board for Esports Business Summit. Ms. Morrow holds a B.A. in Drama from University of Washington.
Daniel Fidrya, Director. Mr. Fidrya will serve on our board following, and subject to, this offering. Mr. Fidrya brings more than 10 years of experience from multiple facets of the financial sector. Beginning in July 2019, Mr. Fidrya has worked at Citibank where he first held the position of Vice President of the Internal Audit division where he oversaw Citibank teams around the world from July 2019 to March 2023. From April 2023 to May 2024, Mr. Fidrya’s role at Citibank was Vice President of Independent Compliance Risk Management. Since May 2024, Mr. Fidrya’s role has been Senior Vice President, performing transformation program management within the Chief Operating Office of Citibank. Prior to joining Citibank, from November 2015 to June 2019, Mr. Fidrya was a Senior Financial Analyst at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, where he skillfully navigated the New York tax code while representing top financial institutions. Mr. Fidrya holds an MBA from the University of Florida and a B.S. in Finance from Yeshiva University.
Board Composition
In accordance with our bylaws, our stockholders shall elect the directors at our annual meeting of stockholders (except as otherwise provided therein for the filling of vacancies). Each director shall hold office until his death, resignation, retirement, removal, or disqualification, or until his successor shall have been elected and qualified.
Nasdaq’s rules generally require that a majority of an issuer’s board of directors must consist of independent directors. Our board of directors currently consists of 2 directors. We have entered into independent director agreements with four individuals, pursuant to which they have been appointed to serve as independent directors effective automatically upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. As a result of these appointments, we anticipate that our board of directors upon closing of this offering will consist of 6 directors, 4 of whom will be independent within the meaning of Nasdaq’s rules.
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Board Leadership Structure
Our corporate governance guidelines provide that, if the chairman of the board is a member of management or does not otherwise qualify as independent, the independent directors of the board may elect a lead director. The lead director’s responsibilities would include, but would not be limited to: presiding over all meetings of the board of directors at which the chairman is not present; separately conduct executive sessions of the independent directors; approving board meeting schedules and agendas; and acting as the liaison between the independent directors and the chief executive officer and chairman of the board. Our corporate governance guidelines further provide the flexibility for our board of directors to modify our leadership structure in the future as it deems appropriate.
Role of the Board in Risk Oversight
One of the key functions of our board of directors is informed oversight of our risk management process. Our board of directors will not have a standing risk management committee, but will rather administer this oversight function directly through our board of directors as a whole, as well as through various standing committees of our board of directors that address risks inherent in their respective areas of oversight. In particular, our board of directors is responsible for monitoring and assessing strategic risk exposure and our audit committee has the responsibility to consider and discuss our major financial risk exposures and the steps our management has taken to monitor and control these exposures, including guidelines and policies to govern the process by which risk assessment and management is undertaken. Our audit committee will also monitor compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Our nominating and corporate governance committee will monitor the effectiveness of our corporate governance practices, including whether they are successful in preventing illegal or improper liability-creating conduct. Our compensation committee will assess and monitor whether any of our compensation policies and programs has the potential to encourage excessive risk-taking. While each committee will be responsible for evaluating certain risks and overseeing the management of such risks, our entire board of directors will be regularly informed through committee reports about such risks.
Family Relationships
There are no family relationships among our directors and executive officers. There is no arrangement or understanding between or among our executive officers and directors pursuant to which any director or officer was or is to be selected as a director or officer.
Board Committees
Our board intends to establish an audit committee, a compensation and nominating and corporate governance committee, each with its own charter to be approved by the board. The anticipated composition and responsibilities of each committee are described below. Members will serve on these committees until their resignation or until otherwise determined by our board of directors. Upon our listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market, each committee’s charter will be available under the Corporate Governance section of our website at thebraghousecorp.com. The reference to our website address does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained at or available through our website, and you should not consider it to be a part of this prospectus.
Until such committees are established, our entire board of directors will undertake the functions that would otherwise be undertaken by the committees. In addition, our board of directors may, from time to time, designate one or more additional committees, which shall have the duties and powers granted to it by our board of directors.
Audit Committee
We expect that the initial members of our audit committee will be Daniel Fidrya (chairperson), DeLu Jackson and Kevin Foster. All members of our audit committee will satisfy the “independence” requirements of Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act and Nasdaq’s rules and meet the requirements for financial literacy under the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and Nasdaq. Our board has determined that Daniel Fidrya is an audit committee financial expert as defined under the applicable rules of the SEC and has the requisite financial sophistication as defined under the applicable rules and regulations of Nasdaq.
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The audit committee will operate under a written charter that satisfies the applicable standards of the SEC and Nasdaq. The audit committee’s responsibilities will include:
• appointing, approving the compensation of, and assessing the independence of our registered public accounting firm;
• overseeing the work of our registered public accounting firm, including through the receipt and consideration of reports from such firm;
• reviewing and discussing with management and the registered public accounting firm our annual and quarterly financial statements and related disclosures;
• coordinating our board of directors’ oversight of our internal control over financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures and code of business conduct and ethics;
• discussing our risk management policies;
• meeting independently with our internal auditing staff, if any, registered public accounting firm and management;
• reviewing and approving or ratifying any related person transactions; and
• preparing the audit committee report required by SEC rules.
Compensation Committee
We expect that the members of our compensation committee will be DeLu Jackson (chairperson), Kevin Foster and Daniel Fidrya. Each of the members of our compensation committee will be independent under the applicable rules and regulations of Nasdaq and a “non-employee director” as defined in Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act.
The compensation committee will operate under a written charter that satisfies the applicable standards of the SEC and Nasdaq. The compensation committee’s responsibilities will include:
• reviewing and approving, or recommending for approval by the board of directors, the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer and our other executive officers;
• overseeing and administering the Stock Incentive Plan;
• reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to director compensation;
• reviewing and discussing annually with management our “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” to the extent required; and
• preparing the annual compensation committee report required by SEC rules, to the extent required.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
We expect that the members of our nominating and corporate governance committee will be Kevin Foster (chairperson), DeLu Jackson and Michele Morrow. Each of the members of our nominating and corporate governance committee will be an independent director under the applicable rules and regulations of Nasdaq.
The nominating and corporate governance committee will operate under a written charter that satisfies the applicable standards of the SEC and Nasdaq. The nominating and corporate governance committee’s responsibilities will include:
• identifying individuals qualified to become board members;
• recommending to our board of directors the persons to be nominated for election as directors and to each board committee;
• developing and recommending to our board of directors corporate governance guidelines, and reviewing and recommending to our board of directors proposed changes to our corporate governance guidelines from time to time; and
• overseeing a periodic evaluation of our board of directors.
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The nominating and corporate governance committee’s methods for identifying candidates for election to our board of directors (other than those proposed by our stockholders, as discussed below) will include the solicitation of ideas for possible candidates from a number of sources — members of our board of directors, our executives, individuals personally known to the members of our board of directors, and other research. The nominating and corporate governance committee may also, from time-to-time, retain one or more third-party search firms to identify suitable candidates.
In making director recommendations, the nominating and corporate governance committee may consider some or all of the following factors: (i) the candidate’s judgment, skill, experience with other organizations of comparable purpose, complexity and size, and subject to similar legal restrictions and oversight; (ii) the interplay of the candidate’s experience with the experience of other board members; (iii) the extent to which the candidate would be a desirable addition to the board and any committee thereof; (iv) whether or not the person has any relationships that might impair his or her independence; and (v) the candidate’s ability to contribute to the effective management of our company, taking into account the needs of our company and such factors as the individual’s experience, perspective, skills and knowledge of the industry in which we operate.
A stockholder may nominate one or more persons for election as a director at an annual meeting of stockholders if the stockholder complies with the notice and information provisions contained in our bylaws. Such notice must be in writing to our company not less than 120 days and not more than 150 days prior to the anniversary date of the preceding year’s annual meeting of stockholders or as otherwise required by requirements of the Exchange Act. In addition, stockholders furnishing such notice must be a holder of record on both (i) the date of delivering such notice and (ii) the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting. The stockholder nomination procedure described here is only a summary and qualified in its entirety by the detailed requirements set forth in our Bylaws.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
No member of our compensation committee will have been a current or former officer or employee. None of our executive officers served as a director or a member of a compensation committee (or other committee serving an equivalent function) of any other entity, one of whose executive officers served as a director or member of our compensation committee during the last completed fiscal year.
Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct
We have adopted a written code of business conduct and ethics that applies to our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions. Upon our listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market, our code of business conduct and ethics will be available under the Corporate Governance section of our website at corp.braghouse.com. In addition, we intend to post on our website all disclosures that are required by law or the Nasdaq rules concerning any amendments to, or waivers from, any provision of the code. The reference to our website address does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained at or available through our website, and you should not consider it to be a part of this prospectus.
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EXECUTIVE AND DIRECTOR COMPENSATION
Our named executive officers, or NEOs, for the year ended December 31, 2023, which consist of each person who served as our principal executive officer during 2023 and the next two most highly compensated executive officers, are:
• Lavell Juan Malloy, II, Chief Executive Officer;
• Daniel Leibovich, Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer; and
• William Simpson, former Chief Technology Officer
Summary Compensation
Our named executive officers received the following compensation during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023:
Name and Principal Position |
Year |
Salary |
Bonus |
Stock |
Option |
All Other |
Total |
|||||||
Lavell Juan Malloy, II, |
2023 |
150,000 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
150,000 |
|||||||
Daniel Leibovich, |
2023 |
150,000 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
150,000 |
|||||||
William Simpson, |
2023 |
62,500 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
62,500 |
Employment Agreements
We have entered into employment agreements with the following named executive officers:
Lavell Juan Malloy, II
We entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Malloy on June 15, 2024 (the “CEO Agreement”), in connection with Mr. Malloy’s appointment as our Chief Executive Officer. The CEO Agreement provides, among other things, that Mr. Malloy will receive: (i) an annual base salary of $250,000; (ii) an annual cash bonus equaling no less than 75% of Mr. Malloy’s base salary (“CEO Target Bonus”), subject to reduction by the Compensation Committee if it determines that the Company’s financial performance during the prior year does not warrant a bonus in the amount of or exceeding the CEO Target Bonus; (iii) unlimited paid vacation days per year; (iv) an initial equity award of stock options to acquire the greater of 40,000 shares of our Common Stock or shares of Common Stock valued at a total of $200,000 (based upon the fair market value on the date of the award), contingent upon the effectiveness of the initial public offering of our Common Stock and subject to the terms of the applicable award agreement; (v) eligibility for annual equity awards valued at no less than 200% of Mr. Malloy’s annual base salary, subject to our good-faith discretion based upon the Compensation Committee’s evaluation of Mr. Malloy’s performance; and (vi) eligibility for employee benefits that may be established by us for similarly-situated employees from time to time. In addition, although the CEO Agreement provides that Mr. Malloy’s employment is for an initial term of three (3) years, the CEO Agreement may be terminated by us or by Mr. Malloy for any reason at any time. Moreover, unless otherwise terminated, the initial term automatically extends for unlimited additional one (1)-year terms unless either party elects not to renew the CEO Agreement at the end of the then-current term. If we terminate the CEO Agreement without “Cause,” as defined in the CEO Agreement, or do not renew the initial term or any subsequent term of the CEO Agreement, or if Mr. Malloy terminates the CEO Agreement for “Good Reason,” as defined in the CEO Agreement, then Mr. Malloy will be eligible for certain compensation and benefits set forth in the CEO Agreement. Pursuant to the CEO Agreement, Mr. Malloy is also subject to certain confidentiality and non-disclosure obligations with respect to our “Confidential Information,” as defined in the CEO Agreement. These confidentiality and non-disclosure obligations apply both during and after the term of the CEO Agreement. Mr. Malloy is also subjected to non-competition and non-solicitation restrictive covenants set forth in the CEO Agreement, which remain effective during Mr. Malloy’s employment and for a period of six (6) months following termination of employment for any reason.
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Daniel Leibovich
We entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Leibovich on June 15, 2024 (the “COO Agreement”), in connection with Mr. Leibovich’s appointment as our Chief Operating Officer. The COO Agreement provides, among other things, that Mr. Leibovich will receive: (i) an annual base salary of $250,000; (ii) an annual cash bonus equaling no less than 75% of Mr. Leibovich’s base salary (“COO Target Bonus”), subject to reduction by the Compensation Committee if it determines that the Company’s financial performance during the prior year does not warrant a bonus in the amount of or exceeding the COO Target Bonus; (iii) unlimited paid vacation days per year; (iv) an initial equity award of stock options to acquire the greater of 40,000 shares of our Common Stock or shares of Common Stock valued at a total of $200,000 (based upon the fair market value on the date of the award), contingent upon the effectiveness of the initial public offering of our Common Stock and subject to the terms of the applicable award agreement; (v) eligibility for annual equity awards valued at no less than 200% of Mr. Leibovich’s annual base salary, subject to our good-faith discretion based upon the Compensation Committee’s evaluation of Mr. Leibovich’s performance; and (vi) eligibility for employee benefits that may be established by us for similarly-situated employees from time to time. In addition, although the COO Agreement provides that Mr. Leibovich’s employment is for an initial term of three (3) years, the COO Agreement may be terminated by us or by Mr. Leibovich for any reason at any time. Moreover, unless otherwise terminated, the initial term automatically extends for unlimited additional one (1)-year terms unless either party elects not to renew the COO Agreement at the end of the then-current term. If we terminate the COO Agreement without “Cause,” as defined in the COO Agreement, or do not renew the initial term or any subsequent term of the COO Agreement, or if Mr. Leibovich terminates the COO Agreement for “Good Reason,” as defined in the COO Agreement, then Mr. Leibovich will be eligible for certain compensation and benefits set forth in the COO Agreement. Pursuant to the COO Agreement, Mr. Leibovich is also subject to certain confidentiality and non-disclosure obligations with respect to our “Confidential Information,” as defined in the COO Agreement. These confidentiality and non-disclosure obligations apply both during and after the term of the COO Agreement. Mr. Leibovich is also subjected to non-competition and non-solicitation restrictive covenants set forth in the COO Agreement, which remain effective during Mr. Leibovich’s employment and for a period of six (6) months following termination of employment for any reason.
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End
No equity awards were held by any of our NEOs as of the year ended December 31, 2023.
Retirement Benefits
We have not maintained, and do not currently maintain, a defined benefit pension plan or nonqualified deferred compensation plan. We do not currently make available a retirement plan intended to provide benefits under Section 401(k) of the Code, pursuant to which employees, including the executive officers named above, can make voluntary pre-tax contributions, but plan to implement such a plan in fiscal year 2024.
Director Compensation
No compensation was paid to non-employee directors for services rendered during the year ended December 31, 2023.
Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy
Upon the completion of our initial public offering, each non-employee director (“NED”) will be paid an annual cash retainer of $60,000. Additionally, each NED will receive a grant ranging from 13,500 to 55,000 options to purchase shares of our Common Stock. The options will vest over a four-year period with a 1-year cliff, such that one year after the grant date, 25% of the option grant will vest, followed by a pro-rata vesting on a monthly basis thereafter.
Each NED will receive an additional compensation per attendant meeting ranging from $750 to $1,500 for each Board meeting and committee meeting they attend.
In addition, our policy is to reimburse board members for reasonable and necessary out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attending board and committee meetings or performing other services in their capacities as board members.
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Incentive Award Plan
On June 11, 2024, our Board of Directors adopted the Stock Incentive Plan, which was approved by our stockholders on June 13, 2024. The Stock Incentive Plan will be effective on the business day immediately prior to the effective date of our registration statement related to this offering. The principal purpose of the Stock Incentive Plan is to promote the success and enhance the value of the Company by linking the individual interests of its directors, employees, and consultants to those of its stockholders and by providing such individuals with an incentive for outstanding performance to generate superior returns to stockholders.
The Stock Incentive Plan will provide for the grant of incentive stock options, within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code to our employees, and for the grant of nonstatutory stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), and other stock-based performance awards to our employees, directors, and consultants (collectively, “Awards”). The material terms of the Stock Incentive Plan are summarized below.
Share Reserve. A total of 600,000 shares of our Common Stock will be reserved for issuance pursuant to our Stock Incentive Plan (“Plan Share Reserve”). The Plan Share Reserve shall be increased on the first day of each fiscal year beginning with the 2025 fiscal year, in an amount equal to the lesser of (i) five percent (5.0%) of the outstanding shares of Common Stock on the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year and (ii) an amount determined by the Board of Directors.
Shares with respect to which options or SARs are not exercised prior to termination of the option or SAR, shares that are subject to restricted stock units which expire without converting to Common Stock, and shares of restricted stock which are forfeited before the restrictions lapse, shall be available for grants of new Awards under the Stock Incentive Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither (i) shares accepted by the Company in payment of the exercise price of any option, if permitted under the terms of such option, (ii) any shares withheld from a participant, or delivered to the Company in satisfaction of required withholding taxes arising from Awards, nor (iii) the difference between the total number of shares with respect to SAR, shall be available for reissuance under the Stock Incentive Plan.
Awards granted under the Stock Incentive Plan upon the assumption of, or in substitution for, awards authorized or outstanding under a qualifying equity plan maintained by an entity directly or indirectly acquired by the Company will not reduce the shares available for grant under the Stock Incentive Plan. However, any such shares issued in connection with the assumption of, or in substitution for, outstanding options intended to qualify as incentive stock options shall be counted against the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock available for Awards of incentive stock options under the Plan. Subject to applicable stock exchange requirements, available shares under a stockholder-approved plan of an entity directly or indirectly acquired by the Company may be used for Awards under the Stock Incentive Plan and shall not reduce the number of shares of Common Stock available for issuance under the Stock Incentive Plan.
Administration. The Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors will administer the Stock Incentive Plan (the “Administrator”). To the extent required to comply with the provisions of Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act, it is intended that each member of the Administrator shall, at the time such member takes any action with respect to an Award under the Stock Incentive Plan that is intended to qualify for the exemptions provided by Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act, be an “outside director,” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code, a “non-employee director” within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act, and an “independent director” within the meaning of the rules of the applicable stock exchange on which shares of Common Stock are traded. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Stock Incentive Plan and applicable law, the Administrator has the authority to, among other things, select the persons to whom Awards are to be granted, determine the number of shares to be subject to Awards and the terms and conditions of Awards, and make all other determinations and to take all other actions necessary or advisable for the administration of the Stock Incentive Plan. The Administrator is also authorized to adopt, amend, or rescind rules relating to administration of the Stock Incentive Plan.
Eligibility. Options, SARs, restricted stock, restricted stock units, and all other stock-based and cash-based Awards under the Stock Incentive Plan may be granted to officers, directors, employees and consultants of the Company and certain of its subsidiaries. Only employees of the Company or certain of its subsidiaries may be granted incentive stock options.
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Awards. The Stock Incentive Plan provides for the grant of stock options (including incentive stock options (“ISOs”) and non-qualified stock options (“NSOs”)), SARs, restricted stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), and other stock-based and cash-based incentive Awards. No determination has been made as to the types or amounts of Awards that will be granted to specific individuals pursuant to the Stock Incentive Plan. Each Award will be set forth in a separate agreement and will indicate the type and terms and conditions of the Award.
• Stock Options. Stock options provide for the right to purchase shares of Common Stock in the future at a specified price that is established on the date of grant. ISOs, by contrast to NSOs, may provide tax deferral beyond exercise and favorable capital gains tax treatment to their holders if certain holding period and other requirements of the Code are satisfied. The exercise price of a stock option may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of the underlying share on the date of grant (or 110% in the case of ISOs granted to certain significant stockholders), except with respect to certain substitute options granted in connection with a corporate transaction. The term of a stock option may not be longer than ten years (or five years in the case of ISOs granted to certain significant stockholders). Vesting conditions determined by the Administrator may apply to stock options and may include continued service, performance and/or other conditions.
• Restricted Stock. Restricted stock is an award of nontransferable shares of Common Stock that remains forfeitable unless and until specified vesting conditions are met. In general, restricted stock may not be sold or otherwise transferred until restrictions are removed or expire. Holders of restricted stock will have voting rights and, except with respect to performance vesting awards, will have the right to receive dividends, if any, prior to the time when the restrictions lapse.
• Restricted Stock Units. RSUs are contractual promises to deliver shares of Common Stock (or the fair market value of such shares in cash) in the future, which may also remain forfeitable unless and until specified vesting conditions are met. RSUs generally may not be sold or transferred until vesting conditions are removed or expire. The shares underlying RSUs will not be issued until the RSUs have vested, and recipients of RSUs will have no voting or dividend rights prior to the time when the RSUs are settled in shares, unless the RSU includes a dividend equivalent right (in which case the holder may be entitled to dividend equivalent payments under certain circumstances). Delivery of the shares underlying RSUs may be deferred under the terms of the Award or at the election of the participant, if the Administrator permits such a deferral.
• Stock Appreciation Rights. SARs entitle their holder, upon exercise, to receive an amount equal to the appreciation of the shares subject to the Award between the grant date and the exercise date. The exercise price of any SAR granted under the Stock Incentive Plan must be at least 100% of the fair market value of a share of Company Common Stock on the date of grant (except with respect to certain substitute SARs granted in connection with a corporate transaction) and the term of a SAR may not be longer than ten years. Vesting conditions determined by the Administrator may apply to SARs and may include continued service, performance and/or other conditions. SARs under the Stock Incentive Plan will be settled in cash or shares of Company Common Stock, or in a combination of both, as determined by the Administrator.
Certain Transactions. The Administrator has broad discretion to take action under the Stock Incentive Plan, as well as make adjustments to the terms and conditions of existing and future Awards, to prevent the dilution or enlargement of intended benefits and facilitate necessary or desirable changes in the event of certain transactions and events affecting the Company’s Common Stock, such as stock dividends, stock splits, mergers, acquisitions, consolidations and other corporate transactions. Any fractional shares resulting from such adjustment shall be eliminated. In the event of a change in control of the Company (as defined in the Stock Incentive Plan), to the extent that the surviving entity declines to assume or substitute for outstanding Awards or it is otherwise determined that Awards will not be assumed or substituted, the Awards will become fully vested and exercisable in connection with the transaction. If an Award vests and, as applicable, is exercised in lieu of assumption or substitution in connection with a change in control, the Award will terminate upon the change in control.
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Foreign Participants, Claw-Back Provisions, Transferability, and Participant Payments. The Administrator may modify Award terms, establish subplans and/or adjust other terms and conditions of Awards, subject to the share limits described above, in order to facilitate grants of Awards subject to the laws and/or stock exchange rules of countries outside of the United States. All Awards will be subject to the provisions of any claw-back policy implemented by the Company to the extent set forth in such claw-back policy and/or in the applicable Award agreement. With limited exceptions for estate planning, domestic relations orders, certain beneficiary designations and the laws of descent and distribution, Awards under the Stock Incentive Plan are generally non-transferable prior to vesting unless otherwise determined by the Administrator, and are exercisable only by the participant. With regard to tax withholding, exercise price, and purchase price obligations arising in connection with Awards under the Stock Incentive Plan, the Administrator may, in its discretion, accept cash or check, shares of Common Stock that meet specified conditions, a market sell order or such other consideration as it deems suitable.
Amendment and Termination. The Company’s Board of Directors may discontinue, amend or modify the Stock Incentive Plan at any time. However, the Company must generally obtain stockholder approval to increase the number of shares available under the Stock Incentive Plan (other than the automatic increases or in connection with certain corporate events as described above), to reprice options or SARs, or to cancel any stock option or SAR in exchange for cash or another Award when the option or SAR price per share exceeds the fair market value of the underlying shares. In addition, no amendment, suspension or termination of the Stock Incentive Plan may, without the consent of the holder, materially and adversely affect any rights or obligations under any Award previously granted, unless the Award agreement with respect to such Award itself otherwise expressly so provides. No Award may be granted pursuant to the Stock Incentive Plan after the tenth anniversary of the effective date of the Stock Incentive Plan. Any Award that is outstanding on the termination date of the Stock Incentive Plan will remain in force according to the terms of the Stock Incentive Plan and the applicable Award agreement.
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Related Party Transactions
The following includes a summary of transactions since January 1, 2021, or any currently proposed transaction, in which we were or are to be a participant and the amount involved the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of our total year-end assets for the last two completed fiscal years, and in which any related person had or will have a direct or indirect material interest (other than compensation described under “Executive Compensation” above). We believe the terms obtained or consideration that we paid or received, as applicable, in connection with the transactions described below were comparable to terms available or the amounts that would be paid or received, as applicable, in arm’s-length transactions.
Related Party Payable to Chief Executive Officer
During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, Lavell Malloy, our co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, on an as needed basis, paid operational expenses on behalf of the Company. This payable bears no interest rate and is due upon demand. During 2021, the Company repaid $26,887 of the outstanding balance in cash and adjusted $7,623 to reduce the balance. At December 31, 2022 and 2021, we had an outstanding balance due to Lavell Malloy of $45,563 for both years. In January of 2023, the Board of Directors approved the full repayment of the account balance and this was settled in full for the remaining balance of $45,563.
As of December 31, 2023, the Company also had payables to Mr. Malloy for reimbursable expenses totaling $1,125.
Related Party Payable to Chief Operating Officer
As of December 31, 2023, the Company also had payables to Mr. Leibovich for reimbursable expenses totaling $8,486.
Indemnification Agreements
We intend to enter into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers. These agreements, among other things, require us or will require us to indemnify each director and executive officer to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law, including indemnification of expenses such as attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by the director or executive officer in any action or proceeding, including any action or proceeding by or in right of us, arising out of the person’s services as a director or executive officer. For further information, see “Description of Capital Stock — Limitations on Liability and Indemnification Matters.”
Promoters and Controls Persons
Each of Lavell Juan Malloy, II, our co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Daniel Leibovich, our co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer, may be deemed a “promoter” as defined by Rule 405 of the Securities Act. For information regarding compensation, including items of value, that have been provided or that may be provided to these individuals, please refer to “Executive and Director Compensation” above.
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The following table shows information regarding the beneficial ownership of our Common Stock as adjusted to give effect to the U.S. Reorganization by (i) each of our named executive officers, directors and director nominees; (ii) all of our executive officers, directors and director nominees as a group; and (iii) each other stockholder known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding Common Stock. The following table assumes that the underwriters have not exercised the over-allotment option.
The number of shares beneficially owned by each stockholder is determined in accordance with the rules issued by the SEC, and the information is not necessarily indicative of beneficial ownership for any other purpose. Under these rules, beneficial ownership includes any shares as to which the individual or entity has sole or shared voting power or investment power, which includes the power to dispose of or to direct the disposition of such security. Except as indicated in the footnotes below, we believe, based on the information furnished to us, that the individuals and entities named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by them, subject to any community property laws. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by an individual or entity and the percentage ownership of that person, shares of Common Stock subject to options, restricted units, warrants or other rights held by such person that are currently exercisable or will become exercisable within 60 days from the date of this prospectus are considered outstanding, although these shares are not considered outstanding for purposes of computing the percentage ownership of any other person. The number of shares beneficially owned and percentages of beneficial ownership before this offering that are set forth below are based on 4,000,000 shares outstanding (as adjusted for the Reverse Split) calculated as follows: 2,708,452 shares of our Common Stock outstanding as of June 30, 2024, plus 38,996 shares of our Common Stock to be issued upon the conversion of our Series A Preferred Stock, and 1,252,552 shares of our Common Stock to be issued on the conversion of Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes and an assumed amount of accrued interest at conversion prices of $5.00 per share. The number of shares of our Common Stock outstanding and percentages of beneficial ownership after this offering that are set forth below includes 1,600,000 shares of Common Stock being offered for sale by us in this offering.
Unless otherwise indicated, the address of each beneficial owner listed below is c/o Brag House, Inc., 25 Pompton Avenue, Suite 101, Verona, NJ 07044. To our knowledge, there is no arrangement, including any pledge by any person of securities of the Company, the operation of which may at a subsequent date result in a change in control of the Company.
Shares |
Percentage of Shares |
||||||
Name of beneficial owner |
Before Offering |
After offering |
|||||
Directors and Named Executive Officers |
|
||||||
Lavell Juan Malloy, II, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer |
387,164 |
9.68 |
% |
6.91% |
|||
Daniel Leibovich, Chief Operating Officer, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Director |
271,223 |
6.78 |
% |
4.84% |
|||
William Simpson, Former Chief Technology Officer |
233,798 |
5.84 |
% |
4.17% |
|||
DeLu Jackson, Director Nominee |
13,064 |
* |
% |
*% |
|||
Michele Morrow, Director Nominee |
— |
— |
|
—% |
|||
Daniel Fidrya, Director Nominee |
— |
— |
|
—% |
|||
Kevin Foster, Director Nominee |
— |
— |
|
—% |
|||
All executive officers, directors and director nominees as a group (6 persons) |
671,451 |
16.79 |
% |
11.99% |
|||
5% or Greater Shareholder |
|
||||||
Breakspear Ventures PLC(1) |
254,476 |
6.36 |
% |
4.54% |
|||
Aasim Khan(2) |
233,670 |
5.84 |
% |
4.17% |
|||
DSN Ventures LLC(3) |
299,262 |
7.48 |
% |
5.34% |
|||
Vertical Holdings, LLC(4) |
299,262 |
7.48 |
% |
5.34% |
____________
* less than 1%
(1) Breakspear Ventures PLC is an English company for which Colin Locke holds investment and voting control interests over. The address of Breakspear Ventures PLC is Suite 1, 15 Ingestre Place, London W1F0DU, United Kingdom.
(2) The address of Aasim Khan is 48 Lyford Avenue, Slough, Berkshire, SL2 1NL, United Kingdom.
(3) DSN Ventures LLC is a Delaware limited liability company, for which David Nagelberg holds investment and voting control interests over. The address of DSN Ventures LLC is 132 Lakeshore Drive, Apt.1118, North Palm Beach, FL 33408.
(4) Vertical Holdings, LLC is a Colorado limited liability company, for which Kevan Casey holds investment and voting control interests over. The address of Vertical Holdings, LLC is 9337b Katy Freeway, #296, Houston, TX 77024.
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The following description summarizes the material terms of our capital stock and certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws. Copies of these documents are filed with the SEC as exhibits to our registration statement, of which this prospectus forms a part.
General
The Company does not have a classified Board of Directors. The Company is authorized to issue an aggregate of 275,000,000 shares of capital stock. The authorized capital stock is divided into 250,000,000 shares of Common Stock having a par value of $0.0001 per share and 25,000,000 shares of preferred stock having a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of immediately before the completion of this offering, after giving effect to the conversion of 38,996 shares of our Series A Preferred Stock into 38,996 shares of our Common Stock and the conversion of convertible notes into an aggregate of 1,252,552 shares of our Common Stock, there were 4,000,000 shares of our Common Stock outstanding (as adjusted for the Reverse Split), held by approximately 131 stockholders of record.
Common Stock
All shares of Common Stock of the Company are one and the same class, identical in all respects and have equal rights, powers and privileges.
Voting. Except as otherwise provided for by resolution of the board of directors, the holders of outstanding shares of Common Stock have the exclusive right to vote on all matters requiring stockholder action. On each matter on which holders of Common Stock are entitled to vote, each outstanding share of such Common Stock is entitled to one vote. Under our amended and restated bylaws, any corporate action to be taken by vote of stockholders other than for election of directors shall be authorized by the affirmative vote of the majority of votes cast. Directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast, which means the nominees receiving the highest number of “for” votes will be elected. Stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights.
Dividends. Subject to the rights of holders of any series of outstanding preferred stock, holders of shares of Common Stock have equal rights of participation in the dividends and other distributions in cash, stock or property of the Company when, as and if declared thereon by the board of directors from time to time out of assets or funds of the Company legally available therefor.
Liquidation. Subject to the rights of holders of any series of outstanding preferred stock, holders of shares of Common Stock have equal rights to receive the assets and funds of the Company available for distribution to stockholders in the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the Company, whether voluntary or involuntary.
Rights and Preferences. Holders of our Common Stock will have no preemptive, conversion or subscription rights, and there will be no redemption or sinking funds provisions applicable to our Common Stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of our Common Stock will be subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of share of any series of our preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.
Fully Paid and Nonassessable. All of our outstanding shares of Common Stock are, and the shares of Common Stock to be issued in this offering will be, fully paid and nonassessable.
Preferred Stock
Shares of preferred stock of the Company may be issued from time to time in one or more series, the shares of each series to have such voting powers, full or limited, if any, and such designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, and qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, as are stated and expressed in the resolution or resolutions providing for the issue of such series, adopted by the board of directors. The resolutions providing for issuance of any series of preferred stock may provide that such series shall be superior to, rank equally with or be junior to any other series of preferred stock to the extent permitted by law and the terms of any other series of preferred stock.
In connection with the U.S. Reorganization, our board of directors authorized, and we issued, 38,996 shares of our Series A Preferred Stock (as adjusted for the Reverse Split). Each share of Series A Preferred Stock has a liquidation preference of $2.56. Each is entitled to one vote on each matter presented to our stockholders for approval, and, except
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as described in the immediately following sentence, vote together as a single class with shares of our Common Stock. So long as any shares of Series A Preferred Stock remain outstanding, then unless a greater percentage is required by law, the affirmative vote or written consent of holders of at least a majority of our outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be required to amend, alter or repeal or otherwise change the terms of the Series A Preferred Stock if any such amendment, alteration, repeal or change would materially and adversely affect the rights, preference, powers or privileges of our Series A Preferred Stock.
Pursuant to the terms of the Series A Preferred Stock, each share of Series A Preferred Stock will convert automatically and without any action on behalf of the holder thereof into one share of our Common Stock concurrent with the consummation of this offering.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
Some provisions of Delaware law and our certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws could make the following transactions more difficult: an acquisition of us by means of a tender offer; an acquisition of us by means of a proxy contest or otherwise; or the removal of our incumbent officers and directors. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish or could deter transactions that stockholders may otherwise consider to be in their best interests or in our best interests, including transactions that provide for payment of a premium over the market price for our shares.
These provisions, summarized below, are intended to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of the increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure us outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging these proposals because negotiation of these proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.
Undesignated Preferred Stock. The ability of our board of directors, without action by our stockholders, to issue up to 25,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences as designated by our board of directors could impede the success of any attempt to effect a change in control of our company. These and other provisions may have the effect of deferring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in control or management of our company.
Stockholder Meetings. Our amended and restated bylaws provide that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by the majority of our board of directors, the Chairman of our board of directors, or the Chief Executive Officer of the Company.
Requirements for Advance Notification of Stockholder Nominations and Proposals. Our amended and restated bylaws establish advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder proposals to be brought before a stockholder meeting and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of our board of directors of a committee of our board of directors.
No Stockholder Action by Written Consent. Any action to be taken by our stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders and may not be taken by written consent.
Removal of Directors. Our bylaws provides that, except as prohibited by applicable law, our stockholders holding a majority of our shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors may remove any director from office, with or without cause.
Stockholders Not Entitled to Cumulative Voting. Our certificate of incorporation does not permit stockholders to cumulate their votes in the election of directors. Accordingly, directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on the election of directors.
Choice of Forum. Our certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty or other wrongdoing by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents to us or our stockholders, (3) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware,
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or the DGCL, or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, (4) any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws, or (5) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine.
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which prohibits persons deemed to be “interested stockholders” from engaging in a “business combination” with a publicly held Delaware corporation for three years following the date these persons become interested stockholders unless the business combination is, or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder was, approved in a prescribed manner or another prescribed exception applies. Generally, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of a corporation’s voting stock. Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. The existence of this provision may have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by our board of directors.
Limitations on Liability and Indemnification Matters
Our certificate of incorporation limits our directors’ liability to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law, which prohibits our certificate of incorporation from limiting the liability of our directors for the following:
• Any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;
• Acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;
• Unlawful payment of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions; or
• Any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.
If Delaware law is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of a director, then the liability of our directors will be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law, as so amended.
Our amended and restated bylaws provide that we will indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law and that we shall have the power to indemnify our employees and agents to the fullest extent permitted by law. Our amended and restated bylaws also permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions in this capacity, regardless of whether we would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the DGCL.
We also intend to enter into separate indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers, in addition to indemnification provided for in our amended and restated bylaws. These agreements, among other things, will provide for indemnification of our directors and executive officers for expenses, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by such persons in any action or proceeding arising out of this person’s services as a director or executive officer or at our request. We believe that these provisions in our certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and indemnification agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors and executive officers.
The above description of the limitation of liability and indemnification provisions of our certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws and our indemnification agreements is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to these documents, each of which will be filed as an exhibit to this registration statement to which this prospectus forms a part.
The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duties. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and our stockholders. A stockholder’s investment may be harmed to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable. There is no
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pending litigation or proceeding naming any of our directors or officers as to which indemnification is being sought, nor are we aware of any pending or threatened litigation that may result in claims for indemnification by any director or officer.
Listing
We have applied to list our Common Stock on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “TBH”. The closing of this offering is contingent upon such listing. However, no assurance can be given that our application will be approved and that our Common Stock will ever be listed on Nasdaq. If our listing application is not approved by Nasdaq, we will not be able to consummate the offering and will terminate the offering.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our Common Stock will be VStock Transfer, LLC.
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SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE
Immediately prior to this offering, there was no public market for our Common Stock, and no predictions can be made about the effect, if any, that market sales of our Common Stock or the availability of such shares for sale will have on the market price prevailing from time to time. Nevertheless, future sales of our Common Stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales may occur, could adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through future sales of our securities. See “Risk Factors — Risks Relating to this Offering and Ownership of Our Common Stock — Sales of a substantial number of shares of our Common Stock in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.” Furthermore, although we have applied to list our Common Stock listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, we cannot assure you that there will be an active public trading market for our Common Stock.
Upon the closing of this offering, based on the number of shares of our Common Stock outstanding as of June 30, 2024, we will have an aggregate of 5,600,000 shares of our Common Stock outstanding (or 5,840,000 shares if the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares). Of these shares of our Common Stock, all of the shares sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by our “affiliates,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act, whose sales would be subject to the Rule 144 resale restrictions described below, other than the holding period requirement.
Previously issued shares of Common Stock that were not offered and sold in this offering, as well as shares issuable upon the conversion of convertible notes, are or will be upon issuance “restricted securities,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. These restricted securities are eligible for public sale only if such public resale is registered under the Securities Act or if the resale qualifies for an exemption from registration under Rules 144 or 701 under the Securities Act, which are summarized below. We expect that approximately 65% all of these shares will be subject to a lock-up period of either 30 days or 180 days under the lock-up agreements described below. Please see “Underwriting” for more information. Upon expiration of the lock-up period, we estimate that approximately 5,600,000 shares of our Common Stock will be available for sale in the public market, subject in some cases to applicable volume limitations under Rule 144.
Rule 144
In general, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares of our Common Stock for at least twelve months, or at least six months in the event we have been a reporting company under the Exchange Act for at least ninety (90) days before the sale, would be entitled to sell such securities, provided that such person is not deemed to be an affiliate of ours at the time of sale or to have been an affiliate of ours at any time during the ninety (90) days preceding the sale. A person who is an affiliate of ours at such time would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of the following:
• 1% of the number of our Common Stock then outstanding, which will equal approximately 56,000 shares of our Common Stock immediately after this offering; or
• 1% of the average weekly reported trading volume in shares of our Common Stock on The Nasdaq Capital Market during the four calendar weeks preceding the date on which a notice of the sale on Form 144 is filed with the SEC with respect to such sale.
Provided that, in each case, we will have been subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act for at least 90 days before the sale. Further, any, Rule 144 trades must comply with the manner of sale, notice and other provisions of Rule 144, to the extent applicable.
Rule 701
In general, Rule 701 allows a stockholder who purchased shares of our capital stock pursuant to a written compensatory plan or contract and who is not deemed to have been an affiliate of ours during the immediately preceding 90 days to sell those shares in reliance upon Rule 144, but without being required to comply with the public information, holding period, volume limitation or notice provisions of Rule 144. All holders of Rule 701 shares, however, are required to wait until ninety (90) days after the date of this prospectus before selling shares pursuant to Rule 701.
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Stock Incentive Plan
We intend to file with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act covering the shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance under our Stock Incentive Plan. The registration statement is expected to be filed and become effective as soon as practicable after the closing of this offering. Accordingly, shares registered under the Form S-8 registration statement will be available for sale in the open market following the registration statement’s effective date, subject to Rule 144 volume limitations and lock-up restrictions, if applicable. For a description of the material terms of our Stock Incentive Plan, see “EXECUTIVE AND DIRECTOR COMPENSATION — Incentive Award Plan.”
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES TO
NON-U.S. HOLDERS OF OUR COMMON STOCK
The following discussion is a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences to non-U.S. holders (as defined below) of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our Common Stock issued pursuant to this offering, but does not purport to be a complete analysis of all potential tax effects. The effects of other U.S. federal tax laws, such as estate and gift tax laws, and any applicable state, local or foreign tax laws are not addressed herein. This discussion is based on the Code, Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder, judicial decisions, and published rulings and administrative pronouncements of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, in effect as of the date of this offering. These authorities may change or be subject to differing interpretations. Any such change or differing interpretation may be applied retroactively in a manner that could adversely affect a non-U.S. holder of our Common Stock. We have not sought and will not seek any rulings from the IRS regarding the matters discussed below. There can be no assurance the IRS or a court will not take a contrary position regarding the tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our Common Stock.
This discussion is limited to non-U.S. holders that hold our Common Stock as a “capital asset” within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code (generally, property held for investment). This discussion does not address all U.S. federal income tax consequences relevant to a non-U.S. holder’s particular circumstances, including the impact of the alternative minimum tax or the unearned income Medicare contribution tax. In addition, it does not address consequences relevant to holders subject to particular rules, including, without limitation:
• U.S. expatriates and certain former citizens or long-term residents of the United States;
• persons holding our Common Stock as part of a hedge, straddle or other risk reduction strategy or as part of a conversion transaction or other integrated investment;
• banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions;
• brokers, dealers or traders in securities or currencies;
• persons that hold more than 5% of our Common Stock, directly or indirectly;
• “controlled foreign corporations,” “passive foreign investment companies,” and corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax;
• corporations organized outside of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia that are nonetheless treated as U.S. taxpayers for U.S. federal income tax purposes;
• partnerships or other entities or arrangements treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes (and investors therein);
• tax-exempt organizations or governmental organizations;
• persons deemed to sell our Common Stock under the constructive sale provisions of the Code;
• persons for whom our Common Stock constitutes “qualified small business stock” within the meaning of Section 1202 of the Code;
• persons who hold or receive our Common Stock pursuant to the exercise of any employee stock option or otherwise as compensation;
• qualified foreign pension funds as defined in Section 897(l)(2) of the Code and entities all of the interests of which are held by qualified foreign pension funds;
• persons whose “functional currency” is not the U.S. dollar;
• persons subject to special tax accounting rules as a result of any item of gross income with respect to our Common Stock being taken into account in an applicable financial statement; and
• tax-qualified retirement plans.
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If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds our Common Stock, the tax treatment of a partner (or person or entity treated as a partner) in the partnership will depend on the status of the partner, the activities of the partnership and certain determinations made at the partner level. Accordingly, partnerships holding our Common Stock and the partners in such partnerships should consult their tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences to them.
THIS DISCUSSION IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED AS LEGAL OR TAX ADVICE. INVESTORS SHOULD CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS WITH RESPECT TO THE APPLICATION OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAWS TO THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATIONS AS WELL AS ANY TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE PURCHASE, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR COMMON STOCK ARISING UNDER THE U.S. FEDERAL ESTATE OR GIFT TAX LAWS OR UNDER THE LAWS OF ANY STATE, LOCAL OR NON-U.S. TAXING JURISDICTION OR UNDER ANY APPLICABLE INCOME TAX TREATY.
Definition of a Non-U.S. Holder
For purposes of this discussion, a “non-U.S. holder” is any beneficial owner of our Common Stock that is neither a “U.S. person,” nor an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its place of organization or formation. A U.S. person is any person that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is or is treated as any of the following:
• an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;
• a corporation or other entity created or organized under the laws of the United States, any state thereof, or the District of Columbia and treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes;
• an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or
• a trust that (1) is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and which has one or more U.S. persons (within the meaning of Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code) who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (2) has a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury Regulations to be treated as a U.S. person.
An individual non-U.S. citizen may, in some cases, be deemed to be a resident alien (as opposed to a nonresident alien) by virtue of being present in the United States for at least 31 days in the calendar year and for an aggregate of at least 183 days during a three-year period ending in the current calendar year. Generally, for this purpose, all the days present in the current year, one-third of the days present in the immediately preceding year, and one-sixth of the days present in the second preceding year, are counted.
Resident aliens are generally subject to U.S. federal income tax as if they were U.S. citizens. Individuals who are uncertain of their status as resident or nonresident aliens for U.S. federal income tax purposes are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the ownership or disposition of our Common Stock.
Distributions
As described in the section titled “Dividend Policy,” we do not anticipate declaring or paying distributions to holders of our Common Stock in the foreseeable future. However, if we do make distributions on our Common Stock, such distributions of cash or property on our Common Stock will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Amounts not treated as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes will first constitute a return of capital and be applied against and reduce a non-U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Common Stock, but not below zero. Any excess will be treated as capital gain and will be treated as described below under “— Sale or Other Disposition of Common Stock.”
Subject to the discussion below on effectively connected income, backup withholding and foreign accounts, dividends paid to a non-U.S. holder of our Common Stock that are not effectively connected with the non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States will be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax at a rate of 30% of the gross amount of the dividends (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty).
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Non-U.S. holders may be entitled to a reduction in or an exemption from withholding on dividends as a result of either (a) an applicable income tax treaty or (b) the non-U.S. holder holding our Common Stock in connection with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States and dividends being effectively connected with that trade or business. To claim such a reduction in or exemption from withholding, the non-U.S. holder must provide the applicable withholding agent with a properly executed (a) IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or other applicable documentation) claiming an exemption from or reduction of the withholding tax under the benefit of an income tax treaty between the United States and the country in which the non-U.S. holder resides or is established, or (b) IRS Form W-8ECI stating that the dividends are not subject to withholding tax because they are effectively connected with the conduct by the non-U.S. holder of a trade or business within the United States, as may be applicable. These certifications must be provided to the applicable withholding agent prior to the payment of dividends and must be updated periodically. If a non-U.S. holder holds stock through a financial institution or other agent acting on the holder’s behalf, the holder will be required to provide appropriate documentation to such agent. The holder’s agent will then be required to provide certification to us or our paying agent, either directly or through other intermediaries. Non-U.S. holders that do not timely provide the applicable withholding agent with the required certification, but that qualify for a reduced rate under an applicable income tax treaty, may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by timely filing an appropriate claim for refund with the IRS.
Subject to the discussions below regarding backup withholding and the FATCA, if dividends paid to a non-U.S. holder are effectively connected with the non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, the non-U.S. holder maintains a permanent establishment in the United States to which such dividends are attributable), then, although exempt from U.S. federal withholding tax (provided the non-U.S. holder provides appropriate certification, as described above), the non-U.S. holder will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on such dividends on a net income basis at the regular U.S. federal income tax rates. In addition, a non-U.S. holder that is a corporation may be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on its effectively connected earnings and profits for the taxable year that are attributable to such dividends, as adjusted for certain items. Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding their entitlement to benefits under any applicable income tax treaty.
Sale or Other Disposition of Common Stock
Subject to the discussions below on backup withholding and FATCA, a non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain realized upon the sale or other disposition of our Common Stock (including a redemption, but only if the redemption would be treated as a sale or exchange rather than as a distribution for U.S. federal income tax purposes) unless:
• the gain is effectively connected with the non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, the non-U.S. holder maintains a permanent establishment in the United States to which such gain is attributable);
• the non-U.S. holder is a nonresident alien individual present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year of the disposition and certain other requirements are met; or
• our Common Stock constitute U.S. real property interests, or USRPIs, by reason of our status as a U.S. real property holding corporation, or USRPHC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Gain described in the first bullet point above will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at the regular U.S. federal income tax rates. A non-U.S. holder that is a foreign corporation also may be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on its effectively connected earnings and profits, as adjusted for certain items, which will include such effectively connected gain.
A non-U.S. holder described in the second bullet point above will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty) on any gain derived from the disposition, which may be offset by certain U.S. source capital losses of the non-U.S. holder (even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States) provided the non-U.S. holder has timely filed U.S. federal income tax returns with respect to such losses.
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With respect to the third bullet point above, we would be a USRPHC if our USRPIs comprise (by fair market value) at least 50 percent of our business assets. We believe we are not currently and do not anticipate becoming a USRPHC. Because the determination of whether we are a USRPHC depends on the fair market value of our USRPIs relative to the fair market value of our other business assets and our non-U.S. real property interests, however, there can be no assurance we are not a USRPHC or will not become one in the future. Even if we are or were to become a USRPHC, gain arising from the sale or other taxable disposition by a non-U.S. holder of our Common Stock will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax if our Common Stock is “regularly traded,” as defined by applicable Treasury Regulations, on an established securities market, and such non-U.S. holder owned, actually and constructively, 5% or less of our Common Stock throughout the shorter of the five-year period ending on the date of the sale or other taxable disposition or the non-U.S. holder’s holding period. There can be no assurance that our Common Stock will continue to qualify as regularly traded on an established securities market. If any gain on your disposition is taxable because we are a United States real property holding corporation and your ownership of our Common Stock exceeds 5%, you will be taxed on such disposition generally in the manner as gain that is effectively connected with the conduct of a U.S. trade or business (subject to the provisions under an applicable income tax treaty), except that the branch profits tax generally will not apply.
Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding potentially applicable income tax treaties that may provide for different rules.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Subject to the discussion below on FATCA, a non-U.S. holder will not be subject to backup withholding with respect to distributions on our Common Stock we make to the non-U.S. holder, provided the applicable withholding agent does not have actual knowledge or reason to know such holder is a U.S. person and the holder certifies its non-U.S. status, such as by providing a valid IRS Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or W-8ECI, or other applicable certification. However, information returns generally will be filed with the IRS in connection with any distributions (including deemed distributions) made on our Common Stock to the non-U.S. holder, regardless of whether any tax was actually withheld. Such information returns generally include the amount of any such dividends, the name and address of the recipient, and the amount, if any, of tax withheld. A similar report is sent to the holder to whom any such dividends are paid. Copies of these information returns may also be made available under the provisions of a specific treaty or agreement to the tax authorities of the country in which the non-U.S. holder resides or is established.
Information reporting and backup withholding may apply to the proceeds of a sale or other taxable disposition of our Common Stock within the United States, and information reporting may (although backup withholding generally will not) apply to the proceeds of a sale or other taxable disposition of our Common Stock outside the United States conducted through certain U.S.-related financial intermediaries, in each case, unless the beneficial owner certifies under penalty of perjury that it is a non-U.S. holder on IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E, or other applicable form (and the payor does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that the beneficial owner is a U.S. person) or such owner otherwise establishes an exemption. Proceeds of a disposition of our Common Stock conducted through a non-U.S. office of a non-U.S. broker generally will not be subject to backup withholding or information reporting.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules may be allowed as a refund or a credit against a non-U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
Additional Withholding Tax on Payments Made to Foreign Accounts
Withholding taxes may be imposed under Sections 1471 to 1474 of the Code and applicable Treasury Regulations (commonly referred to as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA), on certain types of payments made to non-U.S. financial institutions and certain other non-U.S. entities. Specifically, a 30% withholding tax may be imposed on dividends paid on our Common Stock, or (subject to the proposed Treasury Regulations discussed below) gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our Common Stock paid to a “foreign financial institution” or a “non-financial foreign entity” (each as defined in the Code) (including, in some cases, when such foreign financial institution or non-financial foreign entity is acting as an intermediary), unless (1) the foreign financial institution undertakes certain diligence and reporting obligations, (2) the non-financial foreign entity either certifies it does not have any “substantial United States owners” (as defined in the Code) or furnishes identifying information regarding each substantial United States owner, or (3) the foreign financial institution or non-financial foreign entity otherwise
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qualifies for an exemption from these rules. If the payee is a foreign financial institution and is subject to the diligence and reporting requirements in (1) above, it must enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury requiring, among other things, that it undertake to identify accounts held by certain “specified United States persons” or “United States-owned foreign entities” (each as defined in the Code), annually report certain information about such accounts, and withhold 30% on certain payments to non-compliant foreign financial institutions and certain other account holders. Foreign financial institutions located in jurisdictions that have an intergovernmental agreement with the United States governing FATCA may be subject to different rules.
The withholding provisions under FATCA generally apply to payments of dividends paid on our Common Stock. Further, current provisions of the Code and Treasury Regulations treat gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of Common Stock as subject to FATCA withholding after December 31, 2018. However, recently proposed Treasury Regulations, if finalized in their present form, would eliminate FATCA withholding on payments of gross proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our Common Stock. In its preamble to such proposed regulations, the U.S. Treasury Department stated that taxpayers generally may rely on these proposed Treasury Regulations until final Treasury Regulations are issued. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the potential application of FATCA.
EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR SHOULD CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE TAX CONSEQUENCES OF PURCHASING, HOLDING AND DISPOSING OF OUR COMMON STOCK, INCLUDING THE CONSEQUENCES OF ANY RECENT OR PROPOSED CHANGE IN APPLICABLE LAW.
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We are offering the shares of Common Stock described in this prospectus through Kingswood Capital Partners, LLC, which is acting as representative of the underwriters of the offering. The underwriting agreement that we intend to enter into with the representative will provide that the obligations of the underwriters are subject to representations, warranties and conditions contained therein. The underwriters will agree to buy, subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement, the number of shares of Common Stock listed opposite their names below. Pursuant to the underwriting agreement, the underwriters will be committed to purchase and pay for all of the shares if any are purchased, other than those shares covered by the over-allotment option described below.
Underwriter |
Number of |
|
Kingswood Capital Partners, LLC |
||
Total |
The underwriters have advised us that they propose to offer the shares of Common Stock directly to the public at the public offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus. The underwriters propose to offer shares of Common Stock to certain dealers at the same less a concession not in excess of $0.40 per share under the public offering price. After the initial offering of the shares of Common Stock, the offering price and other selling terms may from time to time be varied by the representative.
A copy of the form of underwriting agreement will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
The shares sold in this offering are expected to be ready for delivery on or about , 2024, against payment in immediately available funds. The underwriters may reject all or part of any order.
Over-Allotment Option
Pursuant to the underwriting agreement, we will grant to the underwriters an option to purchase up to 240,000 additional shares of Common Stock, representing 15% of the Common Stock sold in this offering, solely to cover over-allotments, at the public offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters may exercise this option at any time during the 45-day period after the closing of the offering, but solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments, if any. To the extent the underwriters exercise the option, the underwriters will become obligated, subject to certain conditions, to purchase the shares for which they exercise the option.
Discounts, Commissions, and Reimbursement
We have agreed to pay the underwriters a cash fee equal to eight percent (8%) of the aggregate gross proceeds received by us from the securities sold in this offering. We have further agreed to pay a non-accountable expense allowance to the representative of the underwriters equal to 1.0% of the gross proceeds received by us at the closing of the offering and an accountable expense allowance equal to $150,000.
Total |
|||||||||
Per Share |
No Exercise |
Full Exercise |
|||||||
Initial public offering price |
$ |
$ |
$ |
||||||
Underwriting discounts and commissions (8%) |
|
|
|
||||||
Non-accountable expense allowance (1.0%) |
|
|
|
||||||
Accountable expense allowance |
|
|
|
||||||
Proceeds, before expenses, to us |
$ |
$ |
$ |
We estimate that our total expenses of this offering, exclusive of the underwriting discounts and commissions and the non-accountable and accountable expense allowance, will be approximately $1,792,748. We have also agreed to reimburse the underwriters, subject to compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(g).
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Representative’s Warrants
We have agreed to issue to Kingswood Capital Partners, LLC, as representative of the underwriters, warrants to purchase a number of shares of Common Stock equal to 3% of the total number of shares of Common Stock sold in this offering. The representative’s warrants will be exercisable at any time and from time to time, in whole or in part, during the four and one-half year period commencing six months from the date of commencement of the sales of the Common Stock in connection with this offering, at a price per share equal to 100% of the initial public offering price per share of Common Stock. The representative’s warrants will provide for registration rights (including a one-time demand registration right and unlimited piggyback rights) and customary anti-dilution provisions (for stock dividends and splits and recapitalizations) and anti-dilution protection (adjustment in the number and price of such warrants and the shares underlying such warrants) resulting from corporate events (which would include dividends, reorganizations, mergers, etc.) and future issuance of Common Stock or Common Stock equivalents at prices (or with exercise and/or conversion prices) below the offering price as permitted under FINRA Rule 5110(f)(2)(G). The representative’s warrants and the shares of Common Stock underlying the warrants will be subject to FINRA lock-up restrictions for a period of 180 days beginning on the date of commencement of sales of the public offering pursuant to Rule 5110(e)(1) of FINRA, do not have a demand registration right with a duration of more than five years from the commencement of sales of the offering pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8)(C), and do not have piggyback registration rights with a duration of more than seven years from the commencement of sales of the offering pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8)(D).
Indemnification
Pursuant to the underwriting agreement, we also intend to agree to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including civil liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
Lock-Up Agreements
Our officers, directors and certain shareholders of our Common Stock have entered into lock-up agreements with the underwriters, pursuant to which each of these persons or entities, subject to certain limited exceptions, for a period of either 30 days or 180 days after the date of this prospectus, agree that they will not, and shall not cause or direct any of their respective affiliates to (1) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of capital stock of the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock of the Company, now owned by the undersigned or any affiliate of the undersigned or with respect to which the undersigned or any affiliate of the undersigned has acquired the power of disposition (the shares of Common Stock owned by the undersigned are hereinafter referred to as the “Lock-Up Securities”); (2) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of Lock-Up Securities, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of shares of Lock-Up Securities, in cash or otherwise; (3) except as otherwise permissible under the Underwriting Agreement, make any demand for or exercise any right with respect to the registration of any Lock-Up Securities; or (4) publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge or disposition, or to enter into any transaction, swap, hedge or other arrangement relating to any Lock-Up Securities.
Approximately 28% of our shares will be locked up for 30 days and 37% of our shares will be locked up for 180 days. The remaining approximately 35% will be unrestricted.
The representative has no present intention to waive or shorten the lock-up period; however, the terms of the lock-up agreements may be waived at its discretion. In determining whether to waive the terms of the lock-up agreements, the representative may base its decision on its assessment of the relative strengths of the securities markets and companies similar to ours in general, and the trading pattern of, and demand for, our securities in general.
No Sales of Similar Securities
We have agreed that, subject to certain limited exceptions, we will not (i) offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of capital stock of the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock of the Company; (ii) file or caused to be filed any registration statement with the Commission relating to the offering of any shares of capital stock of the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of capital stock of the Company, in each case without the prior written consent of the representative for a period through and including the date that is one hundred and eighty days (180 days) after the date of this prospectus.
91
Offering Information
No action has been taken by us or the underwriters that would permit a public offering of the securities offered by this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. None of the securities included in this offering may be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the offer and sales of any of the securities being offered hereby be distributed or published in any jurisdiction, except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of that jurisdiction. Persons who receive this prospectus are advised to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to this offering of securities and the distribution of this prospectus. This prospectus is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of any offer to buy our securities in any jurisdiction where that would not be permitted or legal.
Tail Period
If, during the six (6) month period following the closing of this Offering, we consummate a financing with investors who Kingswood Capital Partners, LLC, had contacted or introduced to us, we will pay Kingswood a fee equal to 8% of the proceeds of such financing and warrants to purchase a number of shares of our Common Stock equal to 3% of the aggregate number of shares of our Common Stock sold in such offering at an exercise price equal to 100% of the offering price of the shares of our Common Stock sold in such offering.
Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids
To facilitate this offering, the underwriters may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of our securities during and after the offering. Specifically, the underwriters may over-allot or otherwise create a short position in our securities for their own account by selling more securities than we have sold to the underwriters. The underwriters may close out any short position by either exercising its option to purchase additional securities or purchasing securities in the open market.
In addition, the underwriters may stabilize or maintain the price of our securities by bidding for or purchasing securities in the open market and may impose penalty bids. If penalty bids are imposed, selling concessions allowed to broker-dealers participating in this offering are reclaimed if securities previously distributed in this offering are repurchased, whether in connection with stabilization transactions or otherwise. The effect of these transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the market price of our securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. The imposition of a penalty bid may also affect the price of our securities to the extent that it discourages resales of our securities. The magnitude or effect of any stabilization or other transactions is uncertain. These transactions may be effected on the Nasdaq Capital Market or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
In connection with this offering, the underwriters and selling group members, if any, may also engage in passive market making transactions in our securities on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Passive market making consists of displaying bids on the Nasdaq Capital Market by the prices of independent market makers and effecting purchases limited by those prices in response to order flow. Rule 103 of Regulation M promulgated by the SEC limits the amount of net purchases that each passive market maker may make and the displayed size of each bid. Passive market making may stabilize the market price of our securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
Neither we nor the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our securities. In addition, neither we nor the underwriters make any representation that the underwriters will engage in these transactions or that any transaction, if commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
Affiliations
Each underwriter and its respective affiliates are full-service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The underwriters may in the future engage in investment banking and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates. The underwriters may in the future receive customary fees and commissions for these transactions. We have not engaged the underwriters to perform any services for us in the previous 180 days, nor do we have any agreement to engage the underwriters to perform any services for us in the future, subject to the right to act as an advisor as described above.
92
In the ordinary course of its various business activities, each underwriter and its respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for its own account and for the accounts of its customers, and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of the Company. Each underwriter and its respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution
In connection with this offering, the underwriters or certain of the securities dealers may distribute prospectuses by electronic means, such as e-mail.
Offer Restrictions Outside the United States
Australia
This prospectus is not a disclosure document under Chapter 6D of the Australian Corporations Act, has not been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and does not purport to include the information required of a disclosure document under Chapter 6D of the Australian Corporations Act. Accordingly, (i) the offer of the securities under this prospectus is only made to persons to whom it is lawful to offer the securities without disclosure under Chapter 6D of the Australian Corporations Act under one or more exemptions set out in section 708 of the Australian Corporations Act, (ii) this prospectus is made available in Australia only to those persons as set forth in clause (i) above, and (iii) the offeree must be sent a notice stating in substance that by accepting this offer, the offeree represents that the offeree is such a person as set forth in clause (i) above, and, unless permitted under the Australian Corporations Act, agrees not to sell or offer for sale within Australia any of the securities sold to the offeree within 12 months after its transfer to the offeree under this prospectus.
Canada
The securities may be sold in Canada only to purchasers purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. Any resale of the securities must be made in accordance with an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws.
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if this prospectus (including any amendment thereto) contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Pursuant to section 3A.3 of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts (NI 33-105), the underwriters are not required to comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 33-105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.
China
The information in this document does not constitute a public offer of the securities, whether by way of sale or subscription, in the People’s Republic of China, or the PRC, (excluding, for purposes of this paragraph, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macau Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan). The securities may not be offered or sold directly or indirectly in the PRC to legal or natural persons other than directly to “qualified domestic institutional investors.”
European Economic Area — Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Netherlands
The information in this document has been prepared on the basis that all offers of securities will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Directive 2003/71/EC, or Prospectus Directive, as implemented in Member States of the European Economic Area, each, a Relevant Member State, from the requirement to produce a prospectus for offers of securities.
93
An offer to the public of securities has not been made, and may not be made, in a Relevant Member State except pursuant to one of the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive as implemented in that Relevant Member State:
• to legal entities that are authorized or regulated to operate in the financial markets or, if not so authorized or regulated, whose corporate purpose is solely to invest in securities;
• to any legal entity that has two or more of (i) an average of at least 250 employees during its last fiscal year; (ii) a total balance sheet of more than €43,000,000 (as shown on its last annual financial statements), and (iii) an annual net turnover of more than €50,000,000 (as shown on its last annual financial statements);
• to fewer than 100 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive) subject to obtaining the prior consent of our Company or any underwriter for any such offer; or
• in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, provided that no such offer of securities shall result in a requirement for the publication by our Company of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.
France
This document is not being distributed in the context of a public offering of financial securities (offre au public de titres financiers) in France within the meaning of Article L.411-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code (Code monétaire et financier) and Articles 211-1, et seq. of the General Regulation of the French Autorité des marchés financiers, or AMF. The securities have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in France.
This document and any other offering material relating to the securities have not been, and will not be, submitted to the AMF for approval in France and, accordingly, may not be distributed or caused to be distributed, directly or indirectly, to the public in France.
Such offers, sales, and distributions have been and shall only be made in France to (i) qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) acting for their own account, as defined in and in accordance with Articles L.411-2-II-2° and D.411-1 to D.411-3, D.744-1, D.754-1 and D.764-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code and any implementing regulation and/or (ii) a restricted number of non-qualified investors (cercle restreint d’investisseurs non-qualifiés) acting for their own account, as defined in and in accordance with Articles L.411-2-II-2° and D.411-4, D.744-1, D.754-1 and D.764-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code and any implementing regulation.
Pursuant to Article 211-3 of the General Regulation of the AMF, investors in France are informed that the securities cannot be distributed (directly or indirectly) to the public by the investors otherwise than in accordance with Articles L.411-1, L.411-2, L.412-1 and L.621-8 to L.621-8-3 of the French Monetary and Financial Code.
Ireland
The information in this document does not constitute a prospectus under any Irish laws or regulations and this document has not been filed with or approved by any Irish regulatory authority as the information has not been prepared in the context of a public offering of securities in Ireland within the meaning of the Irish Prospectus (Directive 2003/71/EC) Regulations 2005, or the Prospectus Regulations. The securities have not been offered or sold, and will not be offered, sold or delivered directly or indirectly in Ireland by way of a public offering, except to (i) qualified investors as defined in Regulation 2(l) of the Prospectus Regulations and (ii) fewer than 100 natural or legal persons who are not qualified investors.
Israel
The securities offered by this prospectus have not been approved or disapproved by the Israeli Securities Authority, or the ISA, nor have such securities been registered for sale in Israel. The shares may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in Israel, absent the publication of a prospectus. The ISA has not issued permits, approvals or licenses in connection with the offering or publishing the prospectus; nor has it authenticated the details included herein, confirmed their reliability or completeness, or rendered an opinion as to the quality of the securities being offered. Any resale in Israel, directly or indirectly, to the public of the securities offered by this prospectus is subject to restrictions on transferability and must be effected only in compliance with the Israeli securities laws and regulations.
94
Italy
The offering of the securities in the Republic of Italy has not been authorized by the Italian Securities and Exchange Commission (Commissione Nazionale per le Societá e la Borsa, or CONSOB) pursuant to the Italian securities legislation and, accordingly, no offering material relating to the securities may be distributed in Italy and such securities may not be offered or sold in Italy in a public offer within the meaning of Article 1.1(t) of Legislative Decree No. 58 of 24 February 1998, or Decree No. 58, other than:
• to Italian qualified investors, as defined in Article 100 of Decree No. 58 by reference to Article 34-ter of CONSOB Regulation no. 11971 of 14 May 1999, or Regulation no. 11971, as amended, or Qualified Investors; and
• in other circumstances that are exempt from the rules on public offer pursuant to Article 100 of Decree No. 58 and Article 34-ter of Regulation No. 11971 as amended.
Any offer, sale or delivery of the securities or distribution of any offer document relating to the securities in Italy (excluding placements where a Qualified Investor solicits an offer from the issuer) under the paragraphs above must be:
• made by investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in Italy in accordance with Legislative Decree No. 385 of 1 September 1993 (as amended), Decree No. 58, CONSOB Regulation No. 16190 of 29 October 2007, and any other applicable laws; and
• in compliance with all relevant Italian securities, tax and exchange controls and any other applicable laws.
Any subsequent distribution of the securities in Italy must be made in compliance with the public offer and prospectus requirement rules provided under Decree No. 58 and the Regulation No. 11971 as amended unless an exception from those rules applies. Failure to comply with such rules may result in the sale of such securities being declared null and void and in the liability of the entity transferring the securities for any damages suffered by the investors.
Japan
The securities have not been and will not be registered under Article 4, paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948), as amended, or the FIEL, pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements applicable to a private placement of securities to Qualified Institutional Investors (as defined in and in accordance with Article 2, paragraph 3 of the FIEL and the regulations promulgated thereunder). Accordingly, the securities may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan other than Qualified Institutional Investors. Any Qualified Institutional Investor who acquires securities may not resell them to any person in Japan that is not a Qualified Institutional Investor, and acquisition by any such person of securities is conditional upon the execution of an agreement to that effect.
Portugal
This document is not being distributed in the context of a public offer of financial securities (oferta pública de valores mobiliários) in Portugal, within the meaning of Article 109 of the Portuguese Securities Code (Código dos Valores Mobiliários). The securities have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in Portugal. This document and any other offering material relating to the securities have not been, and will not be, submitted to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários) for approval in Portugal and, accordingly, may not be distributed or caused to be distributed, directly or indirectly, to the public in Portugal, other than under circumstances that are deemed not to qualify as a public offer under the Portuguese Securities Code. Such offers, sales, and distributions of securities in Portugal are limited to persons who are “qualified investors” (as defined in the Portuguese Securities Code). Only such investors may receive this document and they may not distribute it or the information contained in it to any other person.
Sweden
This document has not been, and will not be, registered with or approved by Finansinspektionen (the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority). Accordingly, this document may not be made available, nor may the securities be offered for sale in Sweden, other than under circumstances that are deemed not to require a prospectus under the
95
Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act (1991:980) (Sw. lag (1991:980) om handel med finansiella instrument). Any offering of securities in Sweden is limited to persons who are “qualified investors” (as defined in the Financial Instruments Trading Act). Only such investors may receive this document and they may not distribute it or the information contained in it to any other person.
Switzerland
The securities may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, or SIX, or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This document has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this document nor any other offering material relating to the securities may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.
Neither this document nor any other offering material relating to the securities have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this document will not be filed with, and the offer of securities will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.
This document is personal to the recipient only and not for general circulation in Switzerland.
United Arab Emirates
Neither this document nor the securities have been approved, disapproved or passed on in any way by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates or any other governmental authority in the United Arab Emirates, nor have we received authorization or licensing from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates or any other governmental authority in the United Arab Emirates to market or sell the securities within the United Arab Emirates. This document does not constitute and may not be used for the purpose of an offer or invitation. No services relating to the securities, including the receipt of applications and/or the allotment or redemption of such shares, may be rendered within the United Arab Emirates by our Company.
No offer or invitation to subscribe for securities is valid or permitted in the Dubai International Financial Centre.
United Kingdom
Neither the information in this document nor any other document relating to the offer has been delivered for approval to the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom and no prospectus (within the meaning of section 85 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended, or FSMA) has been published or is intended to be published in respect of the securities. This document is issued on a confidential basis to “qualified investors” (within the meaning of section 86(7) of FSMA) in the United Kingdom, and the securities may not be offered or sold in the United Kingdom by means of this document, any accompanying letter or any other document, except in circumstances which do not require the publication of a prospectus pursuant to section 86(1) FSMA. This document should not be distributed, published or reproduced, in whole or in part, nor may its contents be disclosed by recipients to any other person in the United Kingdom.
Any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of FSMA) received in connection with the issue or sale of the securities has only been communicated or caused to be communicated and will only be communicated or caused to be communicated in the United Kingdom in circumstances in which section 21(1) of FSMA does not apply to the Company.
In the United Kingdom, this document is being distributed only to, and is directed at, persons (i) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) (investment professionals) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotions) Order 2005, or FPO, (ii) who fall within the categories of persons referred to in Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) of the FPO or (iii) to whom it may otherwise be lawfully communicated (together “relevant persons”). The investments to which this document relates are available only to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to purchase will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.
96
The validity of the shares of Common Stock offered hereby and certain other legal matters will be passed upon for us by McDermott Will & Emery LLP. The underwriters have been represented in connection with this offering by Dickinson Wright PLLC.
Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 for the years then ended, as set forth in their report, which includes an explanatory paragraph as to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. We have included our financial statements in the prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement in reliance on Marcum LLP’s report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of Common Stock offered hereby. This prospectus, which constitutes a part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement or the exhibits and schedules filed therewith. For further information about us and the shares of Common Stock offered hereby, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed thereto. Statements contained in this prospectus regarding the contents of any contract or any other document that is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement are not necessarily complete, and each such statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the full text of such contract or other document filed as an exhibit to the registration statement. The SEC also maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information about registrants, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. The website address is http://www.sec.gov.
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement, we will be subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act, and, in accordance with the Exchange Act, will file reports, proxy and information statements and other information with the SEC. Such annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy and information statements and other information can be inspected and copied at the locations set forth above. We also anticipate making these documents publicly available, free of charge, on our website at www.thebraghousecorp.com as soon as reasonably practicable after filing such documents with the SEC. Information on, or accessible through, our website is not part of this prospectus.
97
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of Brag House Holdings, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Brag House Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, changes in stockholders’ equity (deficit) and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2023, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explanatory Paragraph — Going Concern
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1, the Company has a significant working capital deficiency, has incurred significant losses and needs to raise additional funds to meet its obligations and sustain its operations. The Company’s ability to execute its business plan is dependent upon its completion of the proposed initial public offering described in the financial statements, other issuances of equity securities, obtaining debt financing, or increasing sales. The Company lacks the financial resources it needs to sustain operations for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance date of the consolidated financial statements. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB and in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum llp
Marcum llp
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
New Haven, CT
June 17, 2024
F-2
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
December 31, |
December 31, |
|||||||
Assets |
|
|
|
|
||||
Current Assets: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Cash and Cash Equivalents |
$ |
33,889 |
|
$ |
560,379 |
|
||
Accounts Receivable, Net of Allowance for Credit Losses |
|
— |
|
|
100,000 |
|
||
Other Receivable |
|
34,667 |
|
|
— |
|
||
Other Current Assets |
|
30,560 |
|
|
1,901 |
|
||
Total Current Assets |
|
99,116 |
|
|
662,280 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Other Assets: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Deferred Offering Costs |
|
610,835 |
|
|
— |
|
||
Other Assets |
|
8,639 |
|
|
8,639 |
|
||
Total Other Assets |
|
619,474 |
|
|
8,639 |
|
||
Total Assets |
$ |
718,590 |
|
$ |
670,919 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
|
|
|
|
||||
Liabilities |
|
|
|
|
||||
Current Liabilities: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Accounts Payable |
$ |
953,198 |
|
$ |
195,383 |
|
||
Due to Officer – Related Party |
|
9,611 |
|
|
43,563 |
|
||
Accrued Interest |
|
363,120 |
|
|
64,141 |
|
||
Accrued Payroll |
|
47,310 |
|
|
50,649 |
|
||
Accrued Liabilities |
|
645,891 |
|
|
304,026 |
|
||
Share Payable |
|
251,056 |
|
|
169,362 |
|
||
Other Current Liabilities |
|
238 |
|
|
238 |
|
||
Convertible Debt, net of discount and issuance costs |
|
4,527,228 |
|
|
1,804,493 |
|
||
Total Current Liabilities |
|
6,797,652 |
|
|
2,631,855 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 4) |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
|
|
|
|
||||
Common Stock, $0.0001 Par Value – 250,000,000 Shares Authorized, 2,728,874 Issued and Outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 |
|
14,794 |
|
|
14,794 |
|
||
Stock Subscription Receivable |
|
(4,276 |
) |
|
(4,276 |
) |
||
Preferred Stock, $0.0001 Par Value – 25,000,000 Shares Authorized, 38,996 Issued and Outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 |
|
420 |
|
|
420 |
|
||
Additional Paid In Capital, Net of Offering Costs |
|
5,284,362 |
|
|
4,730,140 |
|
||
Accumulated Deficit |
|
(11,359,183 |
) |
|
(6,686,835 |
) |
||
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss |
|
(15,179 |
) |
|
(15,179 |
) |
||
Total Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
|
(6,079,062 |
) |
|
(1,960,936 |
) |
||
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
$ |
718,590 |
|
$ |
670,919 |
|
F-3
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
For the Years Ended |
||||||||
December 31, |
December 31, |
|||||||
Revenues: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Tournament Revenues |
$ |
366,333 |
|
$ |
250,000 |
|
||
Live-streaming Services |
|
105 |
|
|
305 |
|
||
Total Revenues |
$ |
366,438 |
|
$ |
250,305 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cost of Sales |
|
|
|
|
||||
Cost of Sales |
$ |
34,835 |
|
$ |
104,270 |
|
||
Total Cost of Sales |
$ |
34,835 |
|
$ |
104,270 |
|
||
Gross Profit |
$ |
331,603 |
|
$ |
146,035 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Operating Expenses: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Advertising and Marketing |
$ |
311,364 |
|
$ |
128,819 |
|
||
Legal and Professional |
|
321,506 |
|
|
784,226 |
|
||
Selling, General and Administrative |
|
1,099,576 |
|
|
1,594,612 |
|
||
Software Development |
|
24,074 |
|
|
27,558 |
|
||
Stock-Based Compensation |
|
556,222 |
|
|
593,145 |
|
||
Rent Expense |
|
1,114 |
|
|
152,381 |
|
||
Total Operating Expenses |
$ |
2,313,856 |
|
$ |
3,280,741 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Other (Income) Expense: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Interest Expense and Amortization of Debt Discount |
$ |
2,769,208 |
|
$ |
396,327 |
|
||
Other Income |
|
(79,113 |
) |
|
(2,955 |
) |
||
Foreign Currency Loss |
|
— |
|
|
421 |
|
||
Total Other (Income) Expense |
$ |
2,690,095 |
|
$ |
393,793 |
|
||
Loss from Continuing Operations Before Income Taxes |
$ |
(4,672,348 |
) |
$ |
(3,528,499 |
) |
||
Provision for Income Taxes |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
||
Net Loss |
$ |
(4,672,348 |
) |
$ |
(3,528,499 |
) |
||
Other Comprehensive Loss, Net of Tax |
|
|
|
|
||||
Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
(694 |
) |
||
Total Other Comprehensive Loss |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
(694 |
) |
||
Total Comprehensive Loss |
$ |
(4,672,348 |
) |
$ |
(3,529,193 |
) |
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net Loss per Common Share – Basic and Diluted |
$ |
(1.76 |
) |
$ |
(1.48 |
) |
||
Weighted Average Shares Outstanding – Basic and Diluted |
|
2,657,477 |
|
|
2,387,967 |
|
F-4
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023 AND 2022
Common Stock |
Preferred Stock |
Ordinary Shares |
Preference Shares |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares |
Amount |
Shares |
Amount |
Shares |
Amount |
Shares |
Amount |
|||||||||||||||||||
Balance on December 31, 2021 |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
— |
$ |
— |
267,505,100 |
|
$ |
13,681 |
|
4,200,000 |
|
$ |
420 |
|
||||||||
Shares Issued Per Restricted Stock |
132,588 |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||||||||
Forfeiture of Restricted Stock |
(56,610 |
) |
|
(30 |
) |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||||||||
Stock-Based Compensation |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||||||||
Ordinary Shares Issued for Cash |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
11,107,096 |
|
|
1,111 |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||||||||
Common Stock Issued for Cash |
62,816 |
|
|
32 |
|
— |
|
— |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||||||||
Offering Costs |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
345,000 |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||||||||
Share Exchange – U.S. Reorganization |
2,590,080 |
|
|
14,792 |
|
38,996 |
|
420 |
(278,957,196 |
) |
|
(14,792 |
) |
(4,200,000 |
) |
|
(420 |
) |
||||||||
Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||||||||
Net Loss |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||||||||
Balance on December 31, 2022 |
2,728,874 |
|
$ |
14,794 |
|
38,996 |
$ |
420 |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
||||||||
Stock-Based Compensation |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||||||||
Offering Costs |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||||||||
Net Loss |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
— |
— |
|
|
— |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
||||||||
Balance on December 31, 2023 |
2,728,874 |
|
$ |
14,794 |
|
38,996 |
$ |
420 |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
F-5
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(DEFICIT) — (CONTINUED)
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023 AND 2022
Subscription |
Additional |
Accumulated |
Accumulated |
Total |
||||||||||||||||
Balance on December 31, 2021 |
$ |
(3,729 |
) |
$ |
3,333,973 |
|
$ |
(3,158,336 |
) |
$ |
(14,485 |
) |
$ |
171,524 |
|
|||||
Shares Issued Per Restricted Stock |
|
— |
|
|
170,000 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
170,000 |
|
|||||
Forfeiture of Restricted Stock |
|
30 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|||||
Stock-Based Compensation |
|
— |
|
|
423,145 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
423,145 |
|
|||||
Ordinary Shares Issued for Cash |
|
(577 |
) |
|
504,018 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
504,552 |
|
|||||
Common Stock Issued for Cash |
|
— |
|
|
322,132 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
322,164 |
|
|||||
Offering Costs |
|
— |
|
|
(23,128 |
) |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
(23,128 |
) |
|||||
Share Exchange – U.S. Reorganization |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|||||
Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
(694 |
) |
|
(694 |
) |
|||||
Net Loss |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
(3,528,499 |
) |
|
— |
|
|
(3,528,499 |
) |
|||||
Balance on December 31, 2022 |
$ |
(4,276 |
) |
$ |
4,730,140 |
|
$ |
(6,686,835 |
) |
$ |
(15,179 |
) |
$ |
(1,960,936 |
) |
|||||
Stock-Based Compensation |
|
— |
|
|
556,222 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
556,222 |
|
|||||
Offering Costs |
|
— |
|
|
(2,000 |
) |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
(2,000 |
) |
|||||
Net Loss |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
(4,672,348 |
) |
|
— |
|
|
(4,672,348 |
) |
|||||
Balance on December 31, 2023 |
$ |
(4,276 |
) |
$ |
5,284,362 |
|
$ |
(11,359,183 |
) |
$ |
(15,179 |
) |
$ |
(6,079,062 |
) |
F-6
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASHFLOWS
For the Years Ended |
||||||||
December 31, |
December 31, |
|||||||
OPERATING ACTIVITIES |
|
|
|
|
||||
Net Loss |
$ |
(4,672,348 |
) |
$ |
(3,528,499 |
) |
||
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Accrued Interest |
$ |
298,979 |
|
$ |
64,141 |
|
||
Share Payable |
|
81,694 |
|
|
169,362 |
|
||
Stock-Based Compensation |
|
556,222 |
|
|
593,145 |
|
||
Amortization of Debt Discount |
|
462,170 |
|
|
250,400 |
|
||
Amortization of Debt Issue Costs |
|
143,906 |
|
|
70,510 |
|
||
Loan Extension Fees |
|
1,864,153 |
|
|
— |
|
||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Accounts Receivable |
|
100,000 |
|
|
(100,000 |
) |
||
Other Receivable |
|
(34,667 |
) |
|
— |
|
||
Other Current Assets |
|
(28,659 |
) |
|
46,797 |
|
||
Other Assets |
|
— |
|
|
(3,226 |
) |
||
Accounts Payable |
|
451,339 |
|
|
80,942 |
|
||
Related Party Payable |
|
(33,952 |
) |
|
— |
|
||
Accrued Payroll |
|
(3,339 |
) |
|
(64,054 |
) |
||
Accrued Liabilities |
|
37,506 |
|
|
304,026 |
|
||
Other Current Liabilities |
|
— |
|
|
(3,890 |
) |
||
Net Cash Flows Provided by (Used in) Operating Activities |
$ |
(776,996 |
) |
$ |
(2,120,346 |
) |
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
FINANCING ACTIVITIES |
|
|
|
|
||||
Proceeds from Bridge Loans |
|
— |
|
|
165,000 |
|
||
Repayment of Bridge Loans |
|
— |
|
|
(165,000 |
) |
||
Proceeds from OID Convertible Loans, net |
|
252,506 |
|
|
1,483,583 |
|
||
Proceeds from the sale of Common Stock |
|
— |
|
|
864,375 |
|
||
Offering Costs |
|
(2,000 |
) |
|
(51,181 |
) |
||
Foreign Currency Translation |
|
— |
|
|
(694 |
) |
||
Net Cash Flows from Financing Activities |
$ |
250,506 |
|
$ |
2,296,083 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net change in cash |
$ |
(526,490 |
) |
$ |
175,737 |
|
||
Cash and Equivalents at the beginning of the year |
|
560,379 |
|
|
384,642 |
|
||
Cash and Equivalents at the end of the year |
$ |
33,889 |
|
$ |
560,379 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION |
|
|
|
|
||||
Cash paid during the year for interest |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
11,276 |
|
||
Cash paid during the year for income taxes |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
F-7
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTE 1 — NATURE OF THE ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS
Corporate History
Brag House Holdings, Inc. (“Brag House” or “BHHI” or the “Company”) was formed as a Delaware corporation on December 3, 2021. Our principal executive offices are located at 25 Pompton Avenue, Suite 101, Verona, NJ 07044.
Brag House, Inc. (“BHI”), our wholly owned indirect subsidiary, was formed as a Delaware corporation in February 2018. Their principal offices are located at 25 Pompton Avenue, Suite 101, Verona, NJ 07044.
On June 11, 2021, Brag House, Ltd. (“BHL”) was registered in the United Kingdom. Their principal offices are located at 7 – 9 Swallow Street, London W1B 4DE, United Kingdom.
On August 16, 2021, BHL acquired all of the 10,000,000 issued and outstanding BHI shares held by BHI shareholders on a one for 14.07 basis (rounded to the nearest whole number) in exchange for 140,700,000 ordinary shares of £0.0001 in BHL, making BHI a wholly owned subsidiary of BHL (“UK Reorganization”).
Following the UK Reorganization, the board of directors of BHL determined that it was in the best interests of BHL and its shareholders that an initial public offering in the United States and concurrent listing on Nasdaq be pursued. To effect that proposed initial public offering and listing on Nasdaq, in December 2021, the Company was formed. In connection with this offering, prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement, on February 8, 2022, the Company approved a reorganization, in which the shareholders of BHL would exchange their ordinary shares and preference shares of BHL for a proportionate number of common and preferred shares in the Company on a 21 to 1 basis (“U.S. Reorganization”). Immediately following the U.S. Reorganization, BHL became the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and BHI became the indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Management anticipates that BHL will be wound down and dissolved as soon as reasonably practicable following the consummation of this offering.
On June 14, 2024, the Company effected a 1 for 5.1287 reverse stock split (“Reverse Stock Split”). All owners of record as of June 14, 2024 received 1 issued and outstanding share of the Company’s Common Stock in exchange for 5.1287 outstanding shares of the Company’s Common Stock. All fractional shares created by the 1 for 5.1287 exchange will be paid in cash. The Reverse Stock Split had no impact on the par value per share of the Company’s Common Stock and Series A Preferred Stock, all of which remain at $0.0001. All current and prior period amounts related to shares, share prices and loss per share, presented in the Company’s financial statements and the accompanying Notes have been restated for the Reverse Stock Split.
Nature of the Business
Brag House is a vertically integrated social network for college esports. The Company’s mission is to create a community which empowers gamers, streamers, and fans to interact with one another. The Company’s platform, which focuses on building a centralized esports experience for non-professional college gamers and their fans, achieves this by allowing college students to compete against one another, support their favorite gamers and teams, and win prizes.
Liquidity and Going Concern
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the basis that the Company will continue as a going concern, which contemplates realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. At December 31, 2023, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $11,359,183. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company had a loss from operations of $4,672,348 and negative cash flows from operations of $776,996. The Company’s operating activities consume the majority of its cash resources. The Company will continue to promote its services to existing and potential customers, but it anticipates that it will continue to incur operating losses as it executes its development plans through 2024, as well as other potential strategic and business development initiatives. In addition, the Company has had, and expects to have, negative cash flows from operations, at least into the near future. The Company previously funded these losses primarily through the sale of equity and infusions of cash from advances by its Chief Executive Officer, and plans to continue funding operations through the sale of equity or issuance of debt instruments. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months from the issuance of these consolidated financial statements.
F-8
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1 — NATURE OF THE ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS (cont.)
The Company is also currently negotiating terms for tournament and promotional events in 2024 with companies, such as Learfield Communications, LLC, formerly Learfield IMG College, a billion dollar media company that holds the media rights to hundreds of colleges in the US, including collegiate properties as the NCAA and its 89 championships and NCAA Football. There are no definitive agreements with these entities currently in place.
Management believes this is a strong indicator of continued growth in the coming years for tournament revenue. Until revenue from such tournaments provides sufficient and steady cash flow, management intends to raise funds through this Initial Public Offering and believes that the actions presently being taken to further implement its business plan will enable the Company to continue as a going concern. While the Company believes in its viability to raise additional funds, there can be no assurances to that effect. The ability of the Company to continue as a going concern is dependent upon the Company’s ability to further implement its business plan and raise additional funds through the Initial Public Offering or otherwise.
Although no assurances can be given as to the Company’s ability to deliver on its revenue plans or that unforeseen expenses may arise, management believes that the revenue to be generated from operations, together with equity and debt financing, will provide the necessary funding for the Company to continue as a going concern. However, the Company has earned minimal revenue through the year ended December 31, 2023, and there are currently no arrangements or agreements for such financing and management cannot guarantee any potential debt or equity financing will be available, or if available, on favorable terms. As such, these matters raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months from the issuance of the accompanying consolidated financial statements. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, or at all, the Company will need to curtail operations or cease operations completely.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (“JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non binding advisory vote on executive compensation and approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s consolidated financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying audited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). The summary of significant accounting policies presented below are designed to assist in understanding the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Such consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are the representations of the Company’s management, who is responsible for their integrity and objectivity.
F-9
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, equity-based transactions and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statement and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
The Company bases its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors, known or expected trends and various other assumptions that it believes to be reasonable. As future events and their effects cannot be determined with precision, actual results could differ from these estimates, which may cause the Company’s future results to be affected.
Cash and cash equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents. There were no cash equivalents as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.
Allowance for Credit Losses
Trade accounts receivable are stated net of an allowance for credit losses. The Company estimates the credit losses using historical information, current economic conditions and reasonable and supportable forecast information for a reasonable period of time. The Company starts by determining expected credit losses by using historical loss information based on the aging of receivables. An analysis of the current economic conditions along with forecast information is then used to determine any adjustment to the historical loss rates to determine the appropriate rates for future losses and the Company’s current expected credit losses for trade receivables. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, accounts receivable were $0 and $100,000, respectively. The Company received payment for the outstanding receivable in 2022 during 2023. As such, an allowance for credit losses was $0 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.
Deferred Offering Costs
Deferred offering costs represent legal, accounting and other direct costs related to the IPO, which has not closed. These direct offering costs will remain classed as a non-current asset and will be reclassified to additional paid-in capital once the IPO has closed. These amounts will then be shown, along with underwriters’ fees paid, net against IPO proceeds received. The Company recorded $610,835 and $0 of deferred offering costs as a non-current asset in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Subscription Receivable
The Company records share issuances at the effective date. If the subscription is not funded upon issuance, the Company records a subscription receivable as an asset on the consolidated balance sheet. When subscription receivables are not received prior to the issuance of financial statements at a reporting date in satisfaction of the requirements under FASB ASC 505-10-45-2, the subscription receivable is reclassified as a contra account to stockholders’ equity on the consolidated balance sheet.
Employee Retention Tax Credit
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) provided an employee retention credit which was a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes. The Consolidated Appropriations Act (the “Appropriations Act”) extended and expanded the availability of the employee retention credit through December 31, 2021. The Appropriations Act amended the employee retention credit to be equal to 70% of qualified wages paid to employees during the 2021 fiscal year. The Company qualified for the employee retention credit beginning in October 2021 for qualified wages through December 2021 and filed a cash refund claim during the year ended December 31, 2023. The employee retention credit totaling $50,000 was recognized as other income on the
F-10
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
consolidated statements of operations during the year ended December 31, 2023 and the cash that is receivable is net of the $5,000 fee that the Company paid for the processing service. As of December 31, 2023, $15,333 of the tax credit receivable has been received and the $5,000 fee was paid for the processing service. The remaining receivable of $34,667 is included as an other receivable in the current assets section of the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2023.
Software Development Costs
We incur costs to develop computer software to be sold, leased, or otherwise marketed. Our research and development expenses consist principally of salaries and benefits, costs of computer equipment, and facility expenses. Per ASC 985, “Software — Costs of Software to Be Sold, Leased, or Marketed,” all costs incurred to establish the technological feasibility of a computer software product to be sold, leased, or otherwise marketed are research and development costs. Those costs shall be charged to expense as incurred. The technological feasibility of a computer software product is established when the entity has completed all planning, designing, coding, and testing activities that are necessary to establish that the product can be produced to meet its design specifications including functions, features, and technical performance requirements. Development costs for software incurred subsequent to the establishment of technological feasibility, but prior to the general release of the product, are capitalized and, upon general release, are amortized using the greater of either the straight-line method over the expected life of the related products or based upon the pattern in which economic benefits related to such assets are realized. No development costs for software were capitalized in 2023 or in prior years.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial Instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. As of December 31, 2023, management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Sales and Marketing
The Company expenses advertising and marketing costs as they are incurred. Advertising and marketing expenses were $311,364 and $128,819 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Fair Value Measurements
As defined in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures”, fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price). The Company utilizes market data or assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk and the risks inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. These inputs can be readily observable, market corroborated, or generally unobservable. ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (level 1 measurement) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (level 3 measurement). This fair value measurement framework applies at both initial and subsequent measurement.
Level 1: |
Quoted prices are available in active markets for identical assets or liabilities as of the reporting date. |
|
Level 2: |
Pricing inputs are other than quoted prices in active markets included in Level 1, which are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reported date. Level 2 includes those financial instruments that are valued using models or other valuation methodologies. |
|
Level 3: |
Pricing inputs include significant inputs that are generally less observable from objective sources. These inputs may be used with internally developed methodologies that result in management’s best estimate of fair value. The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement for nonrecurring fair value measurements of long-lived assets include pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies and similar techniques. |
F-11
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
The Company did not have any financial liabilities that were subject to fair value measurement.
Derivatives
The Company evaluates its convertible instruments to determine if those contracts or embedded components of those contracts qualify as derivative financial instruments. In August 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2017-12, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The standard requires that the Company record embedded conversion options (“ECOs”) and any related freestanding instruments at their fair values as of the inception date of the agreement and at fair value as of each subsequent balance sheet date. Any change in fair value is recorded as non-operating, non-cash income or expense for each reporting period at each balance sheet date. Conversion options are recorded as a discount to the host instrument and are amortized as amortization of debt discount on the financial statements over the life of the underlying instrument. The Company reassesses the classification of its derivative instruments at each balance sheet date. If the classification changes as a result of events during the period, the contract is reclassified as of the date of the event that caused the reclassification.
Convertible Debt
In August 2020, FASB issued ASU 2020-06, “Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options” (Subtopic 470-20) and “Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity” (“ASU 2020-06”), as part of its overall simplification initiative to reduce costs and complexity of applying accounting standards while maintaining or improving the usefulness of the information provided to users of financial statements. Among other changes, the new guidance removes from GAAP separation models for convertible debt that require the convertible debt to be separated into a debt and equity component, unless the conversion feature is required to be bifurcated and accounted for as a derivative or the debt is issued at a substantial premium. As a result, after adopting the guidance, entities will no longer separately present such embedded conversion features in equity, and will instead account for the convertible debt wholly as debt. The new guidance also requires use of the “if-converted” method when calculating the dilutive impact of convertible debt on earnings per share, which is consistent with the Company’s current accounting treatment under the current guidance. The guidance is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted, but only at the beginning of the fiscal year. The Company entered into convertible debt from 2022 to 2023 and, therefore, adopted this guidance in 2022. The Company elected the modified retrospective method of adoption and, since there was no convertible debt issued and outstanding in periods prior to 2022, there was no impact recorded to the financial statements.
Shares Payable
The Company has incurred obligations that are payable in shares of the Company’s equity. If shares are not issued to satisfy those obligations, a short-term liability is recognized as a share payable and the corresponding expense is recorded in the appropriate account.
During 2023, the Company entered into several agreements with contractors to pay them for services with shares of the Company’s common stock. These shares of stock are valued at fair market value as of the date the services were provided. All shares payable to contractors were valued at $5.13 and a total of 13,863 shares were due as of December 31, 2023 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split) for a total increase to the share payable balance of $71,100. These have not been issued as of December 31, 2023 and are included in the share payable liability balance as of year-end.
Additionally, upon issuing convertible debt, the Company is required to concurrently issue equity kicker shares to investors in accordance with the terms of the convertible debt agreement. These shares have not been issued as of December 31, 2023 or 2022. As such, the corresponding balances for shares payable in connection with the issuance of convertible debt are $179,956 and $169,362 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Refer to Note 7, Debt, for more detail.
F-12
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
The total combined share payable balance as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 are $251,056 and $169,362, respectively.
Revenue Recognition
The Company recognizes revenue from the sale of products and services in accordance with ASC 606, “Revenue Recognition” following the five steps procedure:
Step 1: Identify the contract(s) with customers
Step 2: Identify the performance obligations in the contract
Step 3: Determine the transaction price
Step 4: Allocate the transaction price to performance obligations
Step 5: Recognize revenue when or as performance obligations are satisfied
The Company generates revenues mainly from advertising, sponsorship and league tournaments. An insignificant amount of revenue is generated through the operation of its live streaming platform using a revenue model whereby gamers and creators can get free access to certain live streaming of amateur tournaments, and gamers and creators pay fees or subscriptions to compete in league competitions. Streaming revenue amounts are recognized as live-streaming services on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Leases
In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases” (“ASC 842”). The standard requires all leases that have a term of over 12 months to be recognized on the balance sheet with the liability for lease payments and the corresponding right-of-use asset initially measured at the present value of amounts expected to be paid over the term. Recognition of the costs of these leases on the income statement will be dependent upon their classification as either an operating or a financing lease. Costs of an operating lease will continue to be recognized as a single operating expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Costs for a financing lease will be disaggregated and recognized as both an operating expense (for the amortization of the right-of-use asset) and interest expense (for interest on the lease liability).
Right of use (“ROU”) assets include any prepaid lease payments and exclude any lease incentive and initial direct costs incurred; a corresponding lease liability will be recorded for future lease payments using an incremental borrowing rate. Lease expense for minimum lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over a lease term. The lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease if it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option.
In September 2021, BHI, and therefore, the Company, entered into four separate lease agreements for office locations in the U.S. The agreements have lease terms covering periods from October 1, 2021 through October 31, 2022 and are considered short-term operating leases. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company did not have any lease agreements outstanding.
Foreign Currency Translation
For our non-U.S. operations where the functional currency is the local currency, we translate assets and liabilities at exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date and record translation adjustments in stockholders’ equity. We translate income statement amounts at average rates for the period. Transaction gains and losses are recorded in other (income) expense, net in the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Loss.
Net Loss per Common Share
Net loss per common share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. All outstanding convertible promissory notes are considered common stock at the
F-13
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
beginning of the period or at the time of issuance, if later, pursuant to the if-converted method. Since the effect of common stock equivalents is anti-dilutive with respect to losses, the shares issuable upon conversion have been excluded from the Company’s computation of net loss per common share for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.
The following table summarizes the securities that would be excluded from the diluted per share calculation because the effect of including these potential shares was antidilutive due to the Company’s net loss. In accordance with the Reverse Stock Split on June 14, 2024 (see Note 1 – Nature of The Organization and Business), the number of shares of common stock underlying the Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes, the Convertible Series A Preferred Stock, Shares Payable, and Unvested Restricted Stock are now 1 for 5.1287, and the below information gives effect to the Reverse Split:
Years Ended December 31, |
||||
2023 |
2022 |
|||
Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes |
682,207 |
123,219 |
||
Unvested Restricted Stock |
71,397 |
306,365 |
||
Shares Payable |
13,863 |
— |
||
Convertible Preferred Stock |
38,996 |
38,996 |
||
Total |
806,463 |
468,580 |
As of the date of these financial statements, no dividends have been declared in any year since inception and all classes of BHHI’s stock do not have cumulative dividend features. As such, we did not include any adjustment to the net loss for dividends. Ultimately, there was no adjustment needed to determine dilutive loss per share and only basic loss per share was calculated.
The table below represents the calculation for both basic and diluted net loss per share (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split):
Years Ended December 31, |
||||||||
2023 |
2022 |
|||||||
Net loss |
$ |
(4,672,348 |
) |
$ |
(3,528,499 |
) |
||
Weighted-average shares outstanding – Basic |
|
2,657,477 |
|
|
2,387,967 |
|
||
Loss per share – Basic and Diluted |
$ |
(1.76 |
) |
$ |
(1.48 |
) |
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, Income Taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The Company’s temporary differences result primarily from capitalization of certain qualifying research and development expenses, stock based compensation, and net operating loss carryovers. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is recorded for deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
The Company recognizes the effect of income tax positions only if those positions are more likely than not to be sustained. Recognized income tax positions are measured at the largest amount that is greater than 50% of likely being realized. Changes in recognition or measurement are reflected in the period in which the change in judgment occurs.
The Company records interest related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest expense and penalties in general and administrative expenses or income tax expense.
F-14
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company measures and records the expense related to stock-based payment awards based on the fair value of those awards as determined on the date of grant. The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense over the requisite service period of the grant, generally equal to the vesting period, and uses the straight-line method to recognize stock-based compensation. For stock options with performance conditions, the Company records compensation expense when it is deemed probable that the performance condition will be met. Companies typically use the Black-Scholes-Merton (“Black-Scholes”) option-pricing model to determine the fair value of stock awards. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the use of highly subjective and complex assumptions, which determine the fair value of share-based awards, including the option’s expected term and the price volatility of the underlying stock. However, as ascertaining certain assumptions for the Black-Scholes option-pricing model is not possible due to the Company’s current nonpublic status, it has opted to determine the fair value of stock awards using the intrinsic value of the award on the date of grant. No stock options have been issued by the Company through December 31, 2023. Restricted stock awards are valued based on the fair value on the date of grant and amortized ratably over the estimated life of the award. Restricted stock may vest based on the passage of time, or upon occurrence of a specific event or achievement of goals as defined in the grant agreements. In such cases, we record compensation expenses related to grants of restricted stock based on management’s estimates of the probable dates of the vesting events. Stock-based awards that do not vest because the requisite service period is not met prior to termination result in reversal of previously recognized compensation cost.
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
The FASB issues ASUs to amend the authoritative literature in ASC. There have been a number of ASUs to date that amend the original text of ASC.
In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, Financial Instruments — Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. This ASU and its related amendments (collectively, the “Credit Loss Standard”) modifies the impairment model to utilize an expected loss methodology in place of the incurred loss methodology for financial instruments, including trade receivables, contract assets and off-balance sheet credit exposures. The Credit Loss Standard requires consideration of a broader range of information to estimate expected credit losses, including historical information, current economic conditions and a reasonable forecast period. This Credit Loss Standard requires that the statement of operations reflect estimates of expected credit losses for newly recognized financial assets as well as changes in the estimate of expected credit losses that have taken place during the period, which may result in earlier recognition of certain losses. We adopted this standard effective January 1, 2023, and this standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
NOTE 3 — RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
The Company follows ASC 850, “Related Party Disclosures,” for the identification of related parties and disclosure of related party transactions.
During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, Lavell Malloy, the Company’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, on an as needed basis, paid operational expenses on behalf of the Company. This payable bears no interest rate and is due upon demand. At December 31, 2022, the Company had an outstanding balance due to Lavell Malloy of $43,563. In January of 2023, the Board of Directors approved the full repayment of the account balance and this was settled in full for the remaining balance of $43,563. Concurrently, an approval was made to pay deferred compensation that was due to the COO and CTO. A total payment of $50,649 was made in cash, which includes deferred compensation of $46,811, plus employer taxes, workers compensation and service fees. These payments were all made on January 4, 2023.
BHI, and therefore the Company, has entered into restricted stock purchase agreements with certain related parties, including Lavell Malloy, the Company’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Leibovich, the Company’s co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer, and William Simpson, the Company’s co-founder and Former Chief Technology Officer. For additional retail, refer to Note 5 — Stockholders’ Deficit.
As of December 31, 2023, the Company also had payables to Mr. Malloy and Mr. Leibovich for reimbursable expenses totaling $9,611.
F-15
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 4 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
The Company evaluates its business transactions and agreements during the course of business to identify whether any contingencies or commitments exist which would give rise to the recognition of a loss or liability. We are currently not involved with or know of any pending or threatening litigation against the Company or any of its officers. Further, the Company is currently complying with all relevant laws and regulations and does not have any long-term commitments or guarantees.
NOTE 5 — STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Capital Structure
On June 11, 2021, BHL was incorporated in the United Kingdom and authorized ordinary shares with a par value of £0.0001 ($0.0001386) per share. On August 12, 2021, BHL amended the articles of association and authorized preference shares with a par value of £0.0001 ($0.0001386) per share. Both, ordinary and preference shares are entitled to one vote per share and preference shares have priority in the event of a liquidation of BHL. In the event of an admission to the public stock market and listing of BHL shares, all preference shares will immediately convert to ordinary shares. There was a total of 267,505,100 shares of BHL ordinary shares and 4,200,000 shares of preference shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021.
On December 3, 2021, BHHI was incorporated and the Company authorized 50,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. On February 22, 2022, the certificate of incorporation was amended and the Company authorized 250,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share and 25,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Further, the Company designated 200,000 shares of preferred stock as Series A preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Shares of Series A preferred stock and common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. In order of liquidation rights, distributions will be made to the Series A preferred stock, non-series preferred stock, and common stock. Series A preferred stock has a liquidation preference of $0.50 per share in the event of a liquidation and distribution. Further, each share of Series A preferred stock shall automatically convert into one share of common stock upon consummation of an underwritten public offering of common stock. The Company is preparing to complete an initial public offering during 2024. There was a total of 2,728,874 shares of BHHI common stock, 38,996 shares of BHHI preferred stock and no shares of Series A preferred stock issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
On June 14, 2024, the Company effected a 1 for 5.1287 reverse stock split. All owners of record as of June 14, 2024 received 1 issued and outstanding share of the Company’s Common Stock in exchange for 5.1287 outstanding shares of the Company’s Common Stock. All fractional shares created by the 1 for 5.1287 exchange will be paid in cash. The Reverse Stock Split had no impact on the par value per share of the Company’s Common Stock and Series A convertible preferred stock, all of which remain at $0.0001. All current and prior period amounts related to shares, share prices and loss per share, presented in the Company’s financial statements and the accompanying Notes have been restated for the Reverse Stock Split.
Stock Issuances
During January and February of 2022, BHL sold 11,107,096 shares of BHL ordinary shares for total cash proceeds of $505,129. As of December 31, 2022, a total of $577 was not yet received from investors and, therefore, recorded as a subscription receivable. Additionally, 14,484,858 ordinary shares that were previously issued at a cost of £0.0001 per share to several investors in 2021 were transferred to individuals designated by our underwriters, pursuant to an adviser’s agreement.
On February 8, 2022, BHL approved the US Reorganization, in which the shareholders of BHL would exchange their ordinary shares and preference shares of BHL for a proportionate number of common and preferred shares in the Company. This was done with a 21:1 exchange ratio and the exchange was effectuated subsequent to the investment round for ordinary shares in January and February of 2021. A total of 278,957,196 shares of BHL ordinary shares were exchanged for 2,590,080 shares of BHHI common stock and 4,200,000 shares of BHL preference shares were exchanged for 38,996 shares of BHHI preferred stock (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
F-16
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 5 — STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT (cont.)
From April to June of 2022, the Company sold 62,816 shares of BHHI common stock for total cash proceeds of $322,164 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
During 2023 and 2022, the Company incurred a total of $2,000 and $51,181, respectively, in costs connected with the offering of equity securities and recorded this amount in the respective contra-equity account for additional paid-in capital offering costs. Those balances are added to the balance as of December 31, 2021 of $254,115 for total ending balances of $307,296 and $305,296 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. These amounts were netted against the additional paid in capital balances in each year presented on the consolidated balance sheets. During 2022, $28,052 of those costs were incurred by the issuance of 345,000 shares of ordinary shares at a fair market value of £0.06 as a commission payment for broker services, and the remaining $23,129 in offering costs are in connection with professional fees in connection with equity offerings. During 2023, the $2,000 in offering costs is in connection with professional fees in connection with equity offerings.
Restricted Stock Agreements
BHI, and therefore the Company, has entered into restricted stock purchase agreements with various employees and advisors. The share exchanges that occurred during 2021 and 2022 have an effect on the number of restricted shares that are vested and unvested as of the end of each respective year end.
On February 24, 2018, BHI entered into a Founder Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement (“Malloy FRSPA”) with Lavell Malloy, the Company’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, pursuant to which BHI sold 4,008,417 shares of restricted common stock in BHI, par value of $0.0001 per share, for cash proceeds of $401. The restricted stock vests at 25% on the one-year anniversary of the date of the Malloy FRSA and then monthly during the subsequent thirty-six months. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has not received the proceeds from Mr. Malloy and the $401 is recorded as contra equity on the December 31, 2023 and 2022 balance sheets. During the year ended December 31, 2022, after the effect of the share exchanges, all 523,652 shares of common stock were considered vested, and the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $41,754 for the restricted shares that vested during 2022, with no unamortized stock compensation remaining (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
On December 21, 2019, BHI entered into a Founder Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement (“Leibovich FRSPA”) with Daniel Leibovich, the Company’s co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer, pursuant to which BHI sold 3,120,917 shares of restricted common stock in BHI, par value of $0.0001 per share, for cash proceeds of $312. The restricted stock vests at 25% on the one-year anniversary of the date of the Leibovich FRSA and then monthly during the subsequent thirty-six months. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has yet to receive the proceeds from Mr. Leibovich and the $312 is recorded as contra equity on the December 31, 2023 and 2022 consolidated balance sheets. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, after the effect of the share exchanges, 407,710 and 305,783 shares of common stock were considered vested, respectively, and the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $195,057 in each year, 2023 and 2022, for the restricted shares that vested during each of those years with no unamortized stock compensation remaining at December 31, 2023 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
On July 7, 2020, BHI entered into a Founder Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement (“Simpson FRSPA”) with William Simpson, the Company’s co-founder and Former Chief Technology Officer, pursuant to which BHI sold 1,789,666 shares of restricted common stock in BHI, par value of $0.0001 per share, for cash proceeds of $179. The restricted stock vests at 25% on the one-year anniversary of the date of the Simpson FRSA and then monthly during the subsequent thirty-six months. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has yet to receive the proceeds from Mr. Simpson and the $179 is recorded as contra equity on the December 31, 2023 and 2022 consolidated balance sheets. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, after the effect of the share exchanges, 233,798 and 141,253 shares of common stock were considered vested, respectively, and the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $177,102 and $111,854 for the restricted shares that vested during 2023 and 2022, respectively with no unamortized stock compensation remaining at December 31, 2023 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
During the year ended December 31, 2020, BHI also entered into various Restricted Stock Purchase Agreements (“RSPAs”) with an employee and two advisers, pursuant to which BHI sold 225,000 shares of restricted common stock in BHI at par value of $0.0001 per share for cash proceeds of $22. The restricted stock vests at varying rates. As of December 31, 2023,
F-17
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 5 — STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT (cont.)
the Company has yet to receive proceeds for the restricted common stock issuances, and the $22 is recorded as contra equity on the December 31, 2023 and 2022 consolidated balance sheets. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, after the effect of the share exchanges, 24,290 and 16,942 shares of common stock were considered vested, respectively, and the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $14,063 per year for the restricted shares that vested during 2023 and 2022, respectively (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split). As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, unamortized stock compensation of $9,765 and $23,828 remained, respectively.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, BHI also entered into various Restricted Stock Purchase Agreements (“RSPAs”) with an employee and two advisers, pursuant to which BHI sold 756,000 shares of restricted common stock in BHI at par value of $0.0001 per share for cash proceeds of $76. The restricted stock vests at varying rates. As of December 31, 2022, the Company has yet to receive proceeds for the restricted common stock issuances, and the $76 is recorded as contra equity on the December 31, 2023 and 2022 consolidated balance sheets. After the effect of the share exchanges, a total of 98,762 shares were deemed to have been granted. In May of 2022, the Company terminated the employment of the employee, and, therefore, the employee forfeited 56,610 unvested shares of common stock. During the year ended December 31, 2022, all remaining 42,153 shares of common stock were considered vested, and the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $60,417 for the restricted shares that vested during 2022 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split). At December 31, 2023 and 2022, there were no unamortized stock compensation expenses remaining.
On February 10, 2022, the Company issued a Restricted Stock Award to its outside legal counsel for 132,588 shares of common stock. The restricted stock vests 25% immediately and 25% over the next three years at each anniversary. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, 66,294 and 33,147 shares of common stock were considered vested, and the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $170,000 per year for the restricted shares that vested during 2023 and 2022 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split). At December 31, 2023 and 2022, unamortized stock compensation of $340,001 and $510,001 remained.
The following is an analysis of BHI and BHHI shares of common stock issued as compensation subsequent to the US Reorganization (21:1 exchange rate) and presented entirely as BHHI common stock (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split):
Nonvested |
Weighted |
|||||
Nonvested shares, December 31, 2021 |
484,649 |
|
$ |
1.28 |
||
Granted |
132,588 |
|
$ |
5.13 |
||
Vested |
(254,262 |
) |
$ |
3.59 |
||
Forfeited |
(56,610 |
) |
$ |
1.28 |
||
Nonvested shares, December 31, 2022 |
306,365 |
|
$ |
2.97 |
||
Granted |
— |
|
$ |
— |
||
Vested |
(234,968 |
) |
$ |
2.56 |
||
Forfeited |
— |
|
$ |
— |
||
Nonvested shares, December 31, 2023 |
71,397 |
|
$ |
4.92 |
NOTE 6 — INCOME TAXES
The Company, with stockholder’s consent, elected to be taxed as an “S Corporation” during the years prior to 2021 under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code under Section 1362(a) and comparable state income tax law. As an S Corporation, the Company is generally not subject to corporate income taxes and the Company’s net income or loss is reported on the individual tax return of the stockholders of the Company. As a result of the UK Reorganization, the Company was no longer eligible to elect an S Corporation status for tax purposes and was subject to tax filings as a C-Corporation for the years ending 2021 through 2023. The Company is in the process of filing all necessary Federal and State tax returns as a C-Corporation for the years ending 2021 through 2023, and has not accrued for any potential non-compliance penalties that may be incurred.
F-18
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 6 — INCOME TAXES (cont.)
The Company identified its federal, New York state, and the United Kingdom tax returns as its “major” tax jurisdictions. The period for income tax returns that are subject to examination for the United Kingdom jurisdiction is 2021. All other periods for income tax returns are subject to examination for the federal and New York state jurisdictions. The Company believes its income tax filing positions and deductions will be sustained on audit, and management does not anticipate any adjustments that would result in a material change to its financial position. Therefore, no liabilities for uncertain tax positions have been recorded.
At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had approximately $7,210,359 and $3,950,988 in gross federal net operating loss carry-forwards, respectively. The Company also had approximately $8,133,984 and $4,345,904 in gross state net operating loss carry-forwards, respectively. As a result of the Tax Cuts Job Act 2017 (the “Act”), certain future federal carry-forwards do not expire. Beginning in 2018, under the TCJ Act, federal loss carryforwards have an unlimited carryforward period, however such losses can only offset 80% of taxable income in any one year. The Company has not performed a formal analysis, but believes its ability to use such net operating losses and tax credit carry-forwards in the future is subject to annual limitations due to change of control provisions under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code, which will significantly impact its ability to realize these deferred tax assets. For net loss carryforwards in the State of New York, the Company is able to carry it back three tax years preceding the tax year of the loss (the loss year). However, a loss cannot be carried back to a tax year beginning before January 1, 2015. The loss is first carried to the earliest of the three tax years. If it is not entirely used in that year, the remainder is carried to the second tax year preceding the loss year, and any remaining amount is carried to the tax year immediately preceding the loss year. Any unused amount of loss then remaining may be carried forward for as many as 20 tax years following the loss year. Losses carried forward are carried forward first to the tax year immediately following the loss year, then to the second tax year following the loss year, and then to the next immediately subsequent tax year or years until the loss is used up or the 20th tax year following the loss year, whichever comes first.
The Company’s net deferred tax assets, liabilities and valuation allowance as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 are summarized as follows:
Year Ended December 31, |
||||||||
2023 |
2022 |
|||||||
Deferred tax assets: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Net operating loss carryforwards |
$ |
2,042,884 |
|
$ |
1,112,191 |
|
||
Stock-based compensation |
|
635,864 |
|
|
519,715 |
|
||
Total deferred assets |
|
2,678,748 |
|
|
1,631,906 |
|
||
Valuation allowance |
|
(2,678,748 |
) |
|
(1,631,906 |
) |
||
Net deferred tax assets |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
The Company recorded a valuation allowance in the full amount of its net deferred tax assets since realization of such tax benefits has been determined by the Company’s management to be less likely than not. The valuation allowance increased $1,046,842 and $826,725, respectively, during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.
A reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax benefit to actual tax benefit for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 is as follows:
2023 |
2022 |
|||||
Federal statutory blended income tax rates |
(21 |
)% |
(21 |
)% |
||
State statutory income tax rate, net of federal benefit |
(5 |
) |
(5 |
) |
||
Change in valuation allowance |
26 |
|
26 |
|
||
Other |
(— |
) |
(— |
) |
||
Effective tax rate |
— |
% |
— |
% |
F-19
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 7 — DEBT
Bridge Loans
In 2022, Company entered into two separate unsecured promissory notes for a total of $165,000. These notes had an effective date in April of 2022 and carried a fixed interest fee of 7% on the outstanding principal balance. The maturity date for these loans was December 23, 2022. All accrued interest and unpaid principal was due at maturity. The Company repaid these loans and the total incurred interest expense of $11,550 by the maturity date.
Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes
During 2023 and 2022, the Company issued convertible debt in the form of original issue discount convertible promissory notes. These notes provide investors with a 20% discount on their investment amount. To determine the principal amount of the notes, the investment amount is divided by 0.80, reflecting that 20% original issue discount. A total addition to debt discount in the amount of $72,500 and $460,114 was recognized as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Concurrent with the issue and sale of the notes, each holder was entitled to receive a number of shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share equal to: (i) in the case of a holder that is a Lead Investor, the quotient resulting when 20% of the Holder’s purchase price is divided by a price per share equal to the Valuation Cap divided by the Company Capitalization, (ii) In the case of all other holders, the quotient resulting when 5% of the Holder’s purchase price is divided by a price per share equal to the Valuation Cap divided by the Company Capitalization. The purchase price means the product of the principal amount of the note multiplied by 0.80. The Valuation Cap is set at $20,000,000 and the Company Capitalization means the sum of all equity securities (on an as-converted basis) issued and outstanding, assuming exercise or conversion of all outstanding vested and unvested options, warrants and other convertible securities, but excluding the notes and all equity securities reserved and available for future grant under any equity incentive or similar plan of the Company. Company capitalization was determined to be 2,728,874 as of the date of issuance of the notes and increased with each instance of shares payable to each new investor. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the total number of shares payable to investors was determined to be 35,088 and 33,023 shares of common stock, respectively, at calculated prices per share between $7.23 and $7.33 per share (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split). As of December 31, 2023, these shares were not yet issued to investors and, therefore, recognized as a share payable liability with a share fair market value of $5.13 for a total liability and additional debt discount of $179,956 and $169,362 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The Company recorded debt discount for these shares in the amount of $10,594 and $169,362 as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
The Company recorded $462,170 and $250,400 in interest expense and amortization of debt discount on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. This amount was expected to be amortized through the original maturity date in June of 2023.
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had total debt issuance costs of $214,416 and $187,517, respectively, of which $26,899 and $187,517 were added during the year, respectively. During 2023 and 2022, $143,906 and $70,510 was recognized in amortization on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, as a result of the amortization of those costs. This amount is expected to be amortized through the maturity date. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, net unamortized debt issuance costs totaled $0 and $117,006, respectively.
These notes had an original maturity date of June 5, 2023 and carried the option to extend the maturity date on two occasions for 45-day periods. If the option to extend the maturity is exercised, a 10% increase in the outstanding principal amount will be applied at the start of each extension period. These notes pay simple interest at a rate of 10% per annum on the original outstanding principal amount and all accrued interest and unpaid principal amounts are due at maturity. The notes matured on June 5, 2023 and were extended on two occasions in accordance with the applicable terms of the notes, for an additional 45 days on each extension, and a revised maturity date of September 3, 2023. This resulted in an additional principal amount of $532,615 added to the original outstanding principal amount at the date of maturity, which was $2,663,075.
During September 2023 and November 2023, the Company obtained the written consent of required noteholders on both occasions to amend the terms of the notes and add four additional 45-day extension periods to the loan’s maturity
F-20
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 7 — DEBT (cont.)
date, for a total of six extension periods from the original maturity date. The terms for each extension remain the same and a 10% increase in the original outstanding principal amount was applied at the start of each extension period. In addition to this fee, and as consideration for amending the note accordingly as of September 2023, on the maturity date, in addition to the unpaid interest and principal amount due and payable, the Company was required to pay to each holder of notes an amount equal to 15% of the original principal amount of such holder’s note. The 15% fee was amended and increased to 20% as consideration for amending the note in November 2023. As of December 31, 2023, the Company extended the maturity on three additional occasions from the revised maturity date of September 3, 2023. This resulted in an additional principal amount of $266,308 added to the original outstanding principal amount at the start of each extension period, which resulted in an additional $798,923 in principal amount. In addition to this fee, the 20% due at maturity resulted in an additional $532,615 in principal amount. The outstanding balance remains unpaid as of the date of these financial statements.
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, total accrued interest on the notes equal $363,120 and $64,141, respectively. During January 2024, the Company obtained the written consent of required noteholders to amend the terms of the notes and add two additional 45-day extension periods to the loan’s maturity date, for a total of eight extension periods from the original maturity date. Please refer to Note 9 for a detailed description of this subsequent event.
The terms of the note establish a conversion either upon a qualified financing, change of control, or voluntary conversion on the maturity date. Qualified financing means a transaction or series of transactions completed after the date of the note pursuant to which the Company issues and sells equity securities with the principal purpose of raising capital. Upon a qualified financing, then at the option of the holder in its sole discretion, the entire outstanding principal amount of the note and all accrued and unpaid interest shall automatically and simultaneously with the closing thereof convert (which such conversion shall be mandatory as to all notes outstanding at the time of such qualified financing) into the equity securities issued in such qualified financing at the conversion price. The issuance of such equity securities pursuant to the conversion of these notes shall be upon and subject to the same terms and conditions applicable to the Equity Securities sold in the Qualified Financing. The conversion price means, with respect to a qualified financing, a price per share equal to the cash price per share paid by the other purchasers of the equity securities sold in the qualified financing.
A change of control means (i) a consolidation or merger of the Company with or into any other corporation or other entity or person; (ii) any transaction or series of related transactions to which the Company is a party in which in excess of 50% of the Company’s voting power is transferred; (iii) the sale or transfer of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets, or the exclusive license of all or substantially all of the Company’s material intellectual property; provided that a Change of Control shall not include any transaction or series of transactions principally for bona fide equity financing purposes in which cash is received by the Company or any successor, indebtedness of the Company is canceled, converted or a combination thereof.
If the outstanding principal amount of the note and all accrued and unpaid interest is not converted or repaid on or prior to the maturity date pursuant to a Qualified Financing or a Change of Control or otherwise, then, on the maturity date, at the option of the required holders in their sole discretion, all, but not less than all, of the outstanding principal amount of the note and all accrued and unpaid interest shall either be (x) repaid, or (y) converted into Equity Securities of the Company at a price per Equity Security equal to the Valuation Cap divided by Company’s Capitalization.
As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the convertible debt had the following balances:
12/31/2023 |
12/31/2022 |
||||||
Outstanding Principal |
$ |
4,527,228 |
$ |
2,300,575 |
|
||
Unamortized Debt Issuance Costs |
$ |
— |
$ |
(117,006 |
) |
||
Unamortized Debt Discount – Shares Payable |
$ |
— |
$ |
(169,362 |
) |
||
Unamortized Debt Discount – Original Issue Discount |
$ |
— |
$ |
(209,714 |
) |
||
Convertible Debt, Net |
$ |
4,527,228 |
$ |
1,804,493 |
|
F-21
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 8 — REVENUE RECOGNITION
The Company recognizes revenue from the sale of products and services in accordance with ASC 606, “Revenue from contracts with Customers”. Under this guidance, we contemplate and account for the five different steps that are necessary to analyze and account for revenue. Those are the following:
Step 1: Identify the contract(s) with customers
Step 2: Identify the performance obligations in the contract
Step 3: Determine the transaction price
Step 4: Allocate the transaction price to performance obligations
Step 5: Recognize revenue when or as performance obligations are satisfied
The Company generates revenues from advertising, sponsorship and league tournaments, and through the operation of its live streaming platform using a revenue model whereby gamers and creators can get free access to certain live streaming of amateur tournaments, and gamers and creators pay fees or subscriptions to compete in league competitions. We enter into contracts which may include combinations of products, support and professional services, which may be accounted for as separate performance obligations with differing revenue recognition patterns.
At the end of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company did not have any contract assets or liabilities arising from contracts with customers. This was due to the fact that all service agreements for tournaments were entered into and completed in the same year. At the end of 2022, there was a receivable from a completed tournament in the amount of $100,000 and this amount was later collected by Company in 2023.
Performance Obligations
The Company earns the majority of its revenue from hosting esports tournaments. The main performance obligation has been organizing and executing these tournaments. There are many different deliverables that are noted or implied in these contracts with customers including but not limited to, planning the event, identifying vendors and locations, completing administrative tasks, managing the event staff, coordinating the tournaments, and executing sponsorship advertisement. Contracts vary in length and extent of deliverables. Some tournaments are single events, while others require the Company to have qualifiers leading up to a championship event. In the case of contracts for longer tournament deliverables, the Company has identified each qualifier and each championship event as performance obligations. For single event contracts, the performance obligation is the execution of the event. These performance obligations are met once the tournaments are hosted and completed.
In the case of revenue earned from the Twitch Affiliate Program, the Company’s performance obligations is to create content and maintain a channel to which (i) customers can subscribe, (ii) ads can be played to viewers by Twitch to generate revenue and (iii) customers can use bits. These performance obligations are monitored by Twitch and the Company receives the revenue from those obligations. On a monthly basis, the Company receives from Twitch its respective portion of the revenue generated by its content. This source of revenue is insignificant and not a main source of income for the Company.
Judgments and Estimates
The Company’s contracts include commitments to transfer tournament hosting and a gaming community platform service that customers can subscribe to. Judgment is required to allocate the transaction price to each performance obligation. The Company has carefully evaluated the timing of when the completion of performance obligations occurs for tournament hosting revenue and has determined that it occurs at the point in time in which the event has been completed. For single event tournaments, the Company determines the transaction price to be the contracted amount and allocates that price to the single performance obligation. In the case of tournaments with multiple events and performance obligations, the Company evaluates the magnitude of the performance obligations to make an estimate of the allocation of the transaction price (total contract amount) to the multiple performance obligations. It is our judgment that the transaction price for multiple event tournaments is allocated evenly throughout each of the
F-22
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 8 — REVENUE RECOGNITION (cont.)
total qualifier and championship match events. The reasoning is because at each event, there is no distinguishable difference in the amount of advertising and/or other obligations that are performed and thus, service that is provided for the customer.
In the case of subscription revenue, which is recognized over time, the Company has determined that the revenue is earned ratably over the period of the subscription. Revenue is recognized evenly over the subscription period because there is no discernable difference in the amount of service that is provided in each of the days within the subscription period.
Costs to Obtain or Fulfill a Contract
The new revenue recognition standard requires the capitalization of certain incremental costs of obtaining a contract. These typically are represented by commission expenses. Prior to our adoption of the new revenue standard, commission expenses would be recognized in the period incurred. Under the new revenue recognition standard, we are required to recognize these expenses over the period of benefit associated with these costs. This results in a deferral of certain commission expenses each period. There were no deferred commissions related to contracts that were or were not completed prior to December 31, 2023 and 2022. We recognize an asset for the incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer if the benefit of those costs is expected to be longer than one year.
NOTE 9 — SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company has evaluated events and transactions subsequent to December 31, 2023 through the date these consolidated financial statements were included on Form S-1 and filed with the SEC. Other than the matters described below, there are no additional subsequent events identified that would require disclosure in the consolidated financial statements.
Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes
During 2024, the Company raised a total of $158,424 in additional operating capital through the issuance of additional original issue discount convertible promissory notes, all of which carry the same terms as those described in Note 7 above. The issuance of these notes resulted in an additional debt discount totaling $39,606 for a total principal amount of $198,030. In addition, note holders were entitled to an issuance of common stock. The beginning Company capitalization was determined to be 2,763,963 as of the date of issuance of the notes. The total number of shares payable to investors was determined to be 1,093 shares of common stock at a calculated price per share between $7.23 and $7.28. As of the date of these financial statements, these shares were not yet issued to investors and, therefore, recognized as a share payable liability with a share fair market value price range of $5.13 through $7.23 for a total liability and additional debt discount of $6,811 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split). These costs will be amortized through the maturity date of the notes, which is May 30, 2024.
In January of 2024, the Company obtained the written consent of required noteholders to amend the terms of the notes and add two additional 45-day extension periods to the loan’s amended maturity date of March 1, 2024, for a total of eight extension periods from the original maturity date. The terms for each extension remain the same and a 10% increase in the outstanding principal amount, based on the original outstanding principal amount, will be applied at the start of each extension period. This resulted in an additional principal amount of $266,308 as of January 16, 2024 and March 1, 2024 and $281,977 as of April 15, 2024 added to the outstanding principal amount at the start of each extension period. In addition to this fee, and as consideration for amending the note accordingly, on the maturity date, in addition to the unpaid interest and principal amount the due and payable, the Company shall pay to each holder of notes an amount equal to 25% of the original principal amount of such holder’s note, which replaces the 20% that was due as a result of the second amendment in November 2023. The 20% replaced the 15% that was due as a result of the first amendment in September 2023. The outstanding balance remains unpaid as of the date of these financial statements. The outstanding balance remains unpaid as of the date of these financial statements.
F-23
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 9 — SUBSEQUENT EVENTS (cont.)
The notes matured on March 1, 2024 and were extended two additional times in accordance with the applicable terms of the notes, for an additional 45 days on each extension, and a revised maturity date of May 30, 2024. This resulted in an additional principal amount of $548,285 added to the principal amount at the date of maturity, including prior extension fees, which was $4,417,619.
On May 30, 2024, the convertible debt balance plus accrued interest became due. Holders of a majority of the outstanding principal, or required holders, prior to May 30, 2024, elected to sign a conversion notice agreement (“Conversion Notice”) that will convert all of the notes to shares of common stock of the Company subject to the completion of the IPO, which must be completed by July 15, 2024. This election triggers a conversion for all investors of the notes, including those who did not sign the Conversion Notice. For those investors that agreed, the conversion price will be set at the lower of the IPO price or based on a pre-IPO valuation of $20 million divided by the outstanding Company capitalization. For those which did not sign the Conversion Notice, the conversion price will be based on a pre-IPO valuation of $20 million divided by the outstanding Company capitalization.
Stock Issuances
In March of 2024, the Company sold 13,820 shares of BHHI common stock for total proceeds of $100,000 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
Marketing Agreement
In March of 2024, the Company also entered into a marketing agreement with Outside the Box Capital, Inc. for marketing services to be provided from May 2024, the effective date of the agreement. Compensation for these services will be $100,000 in cash and due upon either the successful completion of the Company’s IPO or within six months from the effective date of the agreement, the earlier of the two dates. Additionally, the Company will issue shares of BHHI common stock, priced at the IPO, totaling $200,000. The shares will be due upon the successful completion of the Company’s IPO. Lastly, if the Company achieves a $50 million market cap for a minimum of seven days during the period of services, the Company will issue an additional 50,000 shares.
Stock Incentive Plan
On June 11, 2024, the Company’s Board of Directors adopted the Stock Incentive Plan, which was approved by the Company’s stockholders on June 13, 2024. The Stock Incentive Plan will be effective on the business day immediately prior to the effective date of the Company’s registration statement related to its initial public offering. The principal purpose of the Stock Incentive Plan is to promote the success and enhance the value of the Company by linking the individual interests of its directors, employees, and consultants to those of its stockholders and by providing such individuals with an incentive for outstanding performance to generate superior returns to stockholders.
A total of 600,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock will be reserved for issuance pursuant to our Stock Incentive Plan (“Plan Share Reserve”). The Plan Share Reserve shall be increased on the first day of each fiscal year beginning with the 2025 fiscal year, in an amount equal to the lesser of (i) five percent (5.0%) of the outstanding shares of Common Stock on the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year and (ii) an amount determined by the Board of Directors.
F-24
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
March 31, |
December 31, |
|||||||
Assets |
|
|
|
|
||||
Current Assets: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Cash and Cash Equivalents |
$ |
163,081 |
|
$ |
33,889 |
|
||
Other Receivable |
|
34,667 |
|
|
34,667 |
|
||
Other Current Assets |
|
30,560 |
|
|
30,560 |
|
||
Total Current Assets |
|
228,308 |
|
|
99,116 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Other Assets: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Deferred Offering Costs |
|
732,114 |
|
|
610,835 |
|
||
Other Assets |
|
8,639 |
|
|
8,639 |
|
||
Total Other Assets |
|
740,753 |
|
|
619,474 |
|
||
Total Assets |
$ |
969,061 |
|
$ |
718,590 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
|
|
|
|
||||
Liabilities |
|
|
|
|
||||
Current Liabilities: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Accounts Payable |
$ |
1,072,107 |
|
$ |
953,198 |
|
||
Due to Officer – Related Party |
|
16,231 |
|
|
9,611 |
|
||
Accrued Interest |
|
470,853 |
|
|
363,120 |
|
||
Accrued Payroll |
|
101,863 |
|
|
47,310 |
|
||
Accrued Liabilities |
|
722,068 |
|
|
645,891 |
|
||
Share Payable |
|
358,416 |
|
|
251,056 |
|
||
Other Current Liabilities |
|
238 |
|
|
238 |
|
||
Convertible Debt, net of discount and issuance costs |
|
5,294,492 |
|
|
4,527,228 |
|
||
Total Current Liabilities |
|
8,036,268 |
|
|
6,797,652 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 4) |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
|
|
|
|
||||
Common Stock, $0.0001 Par Value – 250,000,000 Shares Authorized, 2,728,874 Issued and Outstanding as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 |
|
14,794 |
|
|
14,794 |
|
||
Stock Subscription Receivable |
|
(4,276 |
) |
|
(4,276 |
) |
||
Preferred Stock, $0.0001 Par Value – 25,000,000 Shares Authorized, 38,996 Issued and Outstanding as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 |
|
420 |
|
|
420 |
|
||
Additional Paid In Capital, Net of Offering Costs |
|
5,330,378 |
|
|
5,284,362 |
|
||
Accumulated Deficit |
|
(12,393,344 |
) |
|
(11,359,183 |
) |
||
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss |
|
(15,179 |
) |
|
(15,179 |
) |
||
Total Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
|
(7,067,207 |
) |
|
(6,079,062 |
) |
||
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
$ |
969,061 |
|
$ |
718,590 |
|
F-25
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
(UNAUDITED)
For the Three Months Ended |
||||||||
March 31, |
March 31, |
|||||||
Revenues: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Tournament Revenues |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
||
Live-streaming Services |
|
55 |
|
|
54 |
|
||
Total Revenues. |
$ |
55 |
|
$ |
54 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cost of Sales |
|
|
|
|
||||
Cost of Sales |
$ |
464 |
|
$ |
127 |
|
||
Total Cost of Sales |
$ |
464 |
|
$ |
127 |
|
||
Gross Profit (Loss) |
$ |
(409 |
) |
$ |
(73 |
) |
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Operating Expenses: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Legal and Professional |
$ |
52,458 |
|
$ |
106,606 |
|
||
Selling, General and Administrative |
|
122,561 |
|
|
322,481 |
|
||
Software Development |
|
10,887 |
|
|
8,744 |
|
||
Stock-Based Compensation |
|
46,016 |
|
|
122,744 |
|
||
Rent Expense |
|
92 |
|
|
290 |
|
||
Total Operating Expenses |
$ |
232,014 |
|
$ |
560,865 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Other (Income) Expense: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Interest Expense and Amortization of Debt Discount |
$ |
802,153 |
|
$ |
343,310 |
|
||
Other Income |
|
(567 |
) |
|
(27,616 |
) |
||
Foreign Currency Loss |
|
152 |
|
|
— |
|
||
Total Other (Income) Expense |
$ |
801,738 |
|
$ |
315,694 |
|
||
Loss from Continuing Operations Before Income Taxes |
$ |
(1,034,161 |
) |
$ |
(876,632 |
) |
||
Provision for Income Taxes |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
||
Net Loss |
$ |
(1,034,161 |
) |
$ |
(876,632 |
) |
||
Other Comprehensive Loss, Net of Tax |
|
|
|
|
||||
Foreign Currency Translation Adjustment |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
(694 |
) |
||
Total Other Comprehensive Loss |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
(694 |
) |
||
Total Comprehensive Loss |
$ |
(1,034,161 |
) |
$ |
(877,326 |
) |
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net Loss per Common Share – Basic and Diluted |
$ |
(0.39 |
) |
$ |
(0.36 |
) |
||
Weighted Average Shares Outstanding – Basic and Diluted |
|
2,667,601 |
|
|
2,462,741 |
|
F-26
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(DEFICIT) (UNAUDITED)
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2024 AND 2023
Common Stock |
Preferred Stock |
Ordinary Shares |
Preference Shares |
|||||||||||||||||
Shares |
Amount |
Shares |
Amount |
Shares |
Amount |
Shares |
Amount |
|||||||||||||
Balance on December 31, 2022 |
2,728,874 |
$ |
14,794 |
38,996 |
$ |
420 |
— |
$ |
— |
— |
$ |
— |
||||||||
Stock-Based Compensation |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
— |
||||||||
Net Loss |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
— |
||||||||
Balance on March 31, 2023 |
2,728,874 |
$ |
14,794 |
38,996 |
$ |
420 |
— |
$ |
— |
— |
$ |
— |
Balance on December 31, 2023 |
2,728,874 |
$ |
14,794 |
38,996 |
$ |
420 |
— |
$ |
— |
— |
$ |
— |
||||||||
Stock-Based Compensation |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
— |
||||||||
Net Loss |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
— |
— |
|
— |
||||||||
Balance on March 31, 2024 |
2,728,874 |
$ |
14,794 |
38,996 |
$ |
420 |
— |
$ |
— |
— |
$ |
— |
F-27
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(DEFICIT) (UNAUDITED) — (CONTINUED)
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2024 AND 2023
Subscription |
Additional |
Accumulated |
Accumulated |
Total |
|||||||||||||||
Balance on December 31, 2022 |
$ |
(4,276 |
) |
$ |
4,730,140 |
$ |
(6,686,835 |
) |
$ |
(15,179 |
) |
$ |
(1,960,936 |
) |
|||||
Stock-Based Compensation |
|
— |
|
|
122,744 |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
122,744 |
|
|||||
Net Loss |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
(876,632 |
) |
|
— |
|
|
(876,632 |
) |
|||||
Balance on March 31, 2023 |
$ |
(4,276 |
) |
$ |
4,852,884 |
$ |
(7,563,467 |
) |
$ |
(15,179 |
) |
$ |
(2,714,824 |
) |
|||||
Balance on December 31, 2023 |
$ |
(4,276 |
) |
$ |
5,284,362 |
$ |
(11,359,183 |
) |
$ |
(15,179 |
) |
$ |
(6,079,062 |
) |
|||||
Stock-Based Compensation |
|
— |
|
|
46,016 |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
46,016 |
|
|||||
Net Loss |
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
(1,034,161 |
) |
|
— |
|
|
(1,034,161 |
) |
|||||
Balance on March 31, 2024 |
$ |
(4,276 |
) |
$ |
5,330,378 |
$ |
(12,393,344 |
) |
$ |
(15,179 |
) |
$ |
(7,067,207 |
) |
F-28
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASHFLOWS (UNAUDITED)
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2024 AND 2023
For the Three Months Ended |
||||||||
March 31, |
March 31, |
|||||||
OPERATING ACTIVITIES |
|
|
|
|
||||
Net Loss |
$ |
(1,034,161 |
) |
$ |
(876,632 |
) |
||
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Accrued Interest |
$ |
107,733 |
|
$ |
56,740 |
|
||
Share Payable |
|
107,360 |
|
|
— |
|
||
Stock-Based Compensation |
|
46,016 |
|
|
122,744 |
|
||
Amortization of Debt Discount |
|
5,056 |
|
|
218,962 |
|
||
Amortization of Debt Issue Costs |
|
— |
|
|
67,608 |
|
||
Loan Extension Fees |
|
689,364 |
|
|
— |
|
||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
|
|
|
|
||||
Accounts Receivable |
|
— |
|
|
100,000 |
|
||
Accounts Payable |
|
91,615 |
|
|
29,969 |
|
||
Related Party Payable |
|
6,620 |
|
|
(43,563 |
) |
||
Accrued Payroll |
|
54,553 |
|
|
(50,649 |
) |
||
Accrued Liabilities |
|
(17,808 |
) |
|
2,117 |
|
||
Other Current Liabilities |
|
— |
|
|
71 |
|
||
Net Cash Flows Provided by (Used in) Operating Activities |
$ |
56,348 |
|
$ |
(372,633 |
) |
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
FINANCING ACTIVITIES |
|
|
|
|
||||
Proceeds from OID Convertible Loans, net |
|
72,844 |
|
|
— |
|
||
Net Cash Flows from Financing Activities |
$ |
72,844 |
|
$ |
— |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net change in cash |
$ |
129,192 |
|
$ |
(372,633 |
) |
||
Cash and Equivalents at the beginning of the year |
|
33,889 |
|
|
560,379 |
|
||
Cash and Equivalents at the end of the year |
$ |
163,081 |
|
$ |
187,746 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
|||||
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION |
|
|
|
|
||||
Cash paid during the year for interest |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
11,276 |
|
||
Cash paid during the year for income taxes |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
— |
|
||
|
|
|
|
F-29
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 1 — NATURE OF THE ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS
Corporate History
Brag House Holdings, Inc. (“Brag House” or “BHHI” or the “Company”) was formed as a Delaware corporation on December 3, 2021. Our principal executive offices are located at 25 Pompton Avenue, Suite 101, Verona, NJ 07044.
Brag House, Inc. (“BHI”), our wholly owned indirect subsidiary, was formed as a Delaware corporation in February 2018. Their principal offices are located at 25 Pompton Avenue, Suite 101, Verona, NJ 07044.
On June 11, 2021, Brag House, Ltd. (“BHL”) was registered in the United Kingdom. Their principal offices are located at 7 – 9 Swallow Street, London W1B 4DE, United Kingdom.
On August 16, 2021, BHL acquired all of the 10,000,000 issued and outstanding BHI shares held by BHI shareholders on a one for 14.07 basis (rounded to the nearest whole number) in exchange for 140,700,000 ordinary shares of £0.0001 in BHL, making BHI a wholly owned subsidiary of BHL (“UK Reorganization”).
Following the UK Reorganization, the board of directors of BHL determined that it was in the best interests of BHL and its shareholders that an initial public offering in the United States and concurrent listing on Nasdaq be pursued. To effect that proposed initial public offering and listing on Nasdaq, in December 2021, the Company was formed. In connection with this offering, prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement, on February 8, 2022, the Company approved a reorganization, in which the shareholders of BHL would exchange their ordinary shares and preference shares of BHL for a proportionate number of common and preferred shares in the Company on a 21 to 1 basis (“U.S. Reorganization”). Immediately following the U.S. Reorganization, BHL became the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and BHI became the indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Management anticipates that BHL will be wound down and dissolved as soon as reasonably practicable following the consummation of this offering.
On June 14, 2024, the Company effected a 1 for 5.1287 reverse stock split (“Reverse Stock Split”). All owners of record as of June 14, 2024 received 1 issued and outstanding share of the Company’s Common Stock in exchange for 5.1287 outstanding shares of the Company’s Common Stock. All fractional shares created by the 1 for 5.1287 exchange will be paid in cash. The Reverse Stock Split had no impact on the par value per share of the Company’s Common Stock and Series A Preferred Stock, all of which remain at $0.0001. All current and prior period amounts related to shares, share prices and loss per share, presented in the Company’s financial statements and the accompanying Notes have been restated for the Reverse Stock Split.
Nature of the Business
Brag House is a vertically integrated social network for college esports. The Company’s mission is to create a community which empowers gamers, streamers, and fans to interact with one another. The Company’s platform, which focuses on building a centralized esports experience for non-professional college gamers and their fans, achieves this by allowing college students to compete against one another, support their favorite gamers and teams, and win prizes.
Liquidity and Going Concern
The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the basis that the Company will continue as a going concern, which contemplates realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. At March 31, 2024, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $12,393,344. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company had a loss from operations of $1,034,161 and positive cash flows from operations of $56,348. The Company’s operating activities consume the majority of its cash resources. The Company will continue to promote its services to existing and potential customers, but it anticipates that it will continue to incur operating losses as it executes its development plans through 2024, as well as other potential strategic and business development initiatives. In addition, the Company has had, and expects to have, negative cash flows from operations, at least into the near future. The Company previously funded these losses primarily through the sale of equity and infusions of cash from advances by its Chief Executive Officer, and plans to continue funding operations
F-30
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 1 — NATURE OF THE ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS (cont.)
through the sale of equity or issuance of debt instruments. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months from the issuance of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
The Company is also currently negotiating terms for tournament and promotional events in 2024 with companies, such as Learfield Communications, LLC, formerly Learfield IMG College, a billion dollar media company that holds the media rights to hundreds of colleges in the US, including collegiate properties as the NCAA and its 89 championships and NCAA Football. There are no definitive agreements with these entities currently in place.
Management believes this is a strong indicator of continued growth in the coming years for tournament revenue. Until revenue from such tournaments provides sufficient and steady cash flow, management intends to raise funds through this Initial Public Offering and believes that the actions presently being taken to further implement its business plan will enable the Company to continue as a going concern. While the Company believes in its viability to raise additional funds, there can be no assurances to that effect. The ability of the Company to continue as a going concern is dependent upon the Company’s ability to further implement its business plan and raise additional funds through the Initial Public Offering or otherwise.
Although no assurances can be given as to the Company’s ability to deliver on its revenue plans or that unforeseen expenses may arise, management believes that the revenue to be generated from operations, together with equity and debt financing, will provide the necessary funding for the Company to continue as a going concern. However, the Company has earned minimal revenue through the quarter ended March 31, 2024, and there are currently no arrangements or agreements for such financing and management cannot guarantee any potential debt or equity financing will be available, or if available, on favorable terms. As such, these matters raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months from the issuance of the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, or at all, the Company will need to curtail operations or cease operations completely.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (“JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non binding advisory vote on executive compensation and approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
F-31
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying unaudited interim condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair statement of the results for interim periods have been included. Results for interim periods should not be considered indicative of results for a full year. These interim condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto contained in the company’s Annual Report within this S-1 filing. Interim disclosures generally do not repeat those in the annual statements.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, equity-based transactions and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statement and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
The Company bases its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors, known or expected trends and various other assumptions that it believes to be reasonable. As future events and their effects cannot be determined with precision, actual results could differ from these estimates, which may cause the Company’s future results to be affected.
Cash and cash equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents. There were no cash equivalents as of March 31, 2024 and 2023.
Allowance for Credit Losses
Trade accounts receivable are stated net of an allowance for credit losses. The Company estimates the credit losses using historical information, current economic conditions and reasonable and supportable forecast information for a reasonable period of time. The Company starts by determining expected credit losses by using historical loss information based on the aging of receivables. An analysis of the current economic conditions along with forecast information is then used to determine any adjustment to the historical loss rates to determine the appropriate rates for future losses and the Company’s current expected credit losses for trade receivables. As of March 31, 2024 and 2023, there were no accounts receivable balances. As such, an allowance was not necessary.
Deferred Offering Costs
Deferred offering costs represent legal, accounting and other direct costs related to the IPO, which has not closed. These direct offering costs will remain classed as a non-current asset and will be reclassified to additional paid-in capital once the IPO has closed. These amounts will then be shown, along with underwriters’ fees paid, net against IPO proceeds received. During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company incurred a total of $121,279 and $125,758, respectively, in additional deferred costs in connection with the offering of equity securities. The Company recorded $732,114 and $610,835 of deferred offering costs as a non-current asset in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.
Subscription Receivable
The Company records share issuances at the effective date. If the subscription is not funded upon issuance, the Company records a subscription receivable as an asset on a balance sheet. When subscription receivables are not received prior to the issuance of financial statements at a reporting date in satisfaction of the requirements under FASB ASC 505-10-45-2, the subscription receivable is reclassified as a contra account to stockholders’ deficit on the condensed consolidated balance sheet.
F-32
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Employee Retention Tax Credit
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) provided an employee retention credit which was a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes. The Consolidated Appropriations Act (the “Appropriations Act”) extended and expanded the availability of the employee retention credit through December 31, 2021. The Appropriations Act amended the employee retention credit to be equal to 70% of qualified wages paid to employees during the 2021 fiscal year. The Company qualified for the employee retention credit beginning in October 2021 for qualified wages through December 2021 and filed a cash refund claim during year ended December 31, 2023. The employee retention credit totaling $50,000 was recognized as other income on the consolidated statements of operations during the year ended December 31, 2023.
As of March 31, 2024, $15,333 of the tax credit receivable has been received and the $5,000 fee was paid for the processing service. The remaining receivable of $34,667 is included as an other receivable in the current assets section of the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2024.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial Instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. As of March 31, 2024, management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Sales and Marketing
The Company expenses advertising and marketing costs as they are incurred. Advertising and marketing expenses were $0 for both quarters ended March 31, 2024 and 2023.
Fair Value Measurements
As defined in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures”, fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price). The Company utilizes market data or assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk and the risks inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. These inputs can be readily observable, market corroborated, or generally unobservable. ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (level 1 measurement) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (level 3 measurement). This fair value measurement framework applies at both initial and subsequent measurement.
Level 1: |
Quoted prices are available in active markets for identical assets or liabilities as of the reporting date. |
|||
Level 2: |
Pricing inputs are other than quoted prices in active markets included in Level 1, which are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reported date. Level 2 includes those financial instruments that are valued using models or other valuation methodologies. |
|||
Level 3: |
Pricing inputs include significant inputs that are generally less observable from objective sources. These inputs may be used with internally developed methodologies that result in management’s best estimate of fair value. The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement for nonrecurring fair value measurements of long-lived assets include pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies and similar techniques. |
The Company did not have any financial liabilities that were subject to fair value measurement.
F-33
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Convertible Debt
In August 2020, FASB issued ASU 2020-06, “Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options” (Subtopic 470-20) and “Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity” (“ASU 2020-06”), as part of its overall simplification initiative to reduce costs and complexity of applying accounting standards while maintaining or improving the usefulness of the information provided to users of financial statements. Among other changes, the new guidance removes from GAAP separation models for convertible debt that require the convertible debt to be separated into a debt and equity component, unless the conversion feature is required to be bifurcated and accounted for as a derivative or the debt is issued at a substantial premium. As a result, after adopting the guidance, entities will no longer separately present such embedded conversion features in equity, and will instead account for the convertible debt wholly as debt. The new guidance also requires use of the “if-converted” method when calculating the dilutive impact of convertible debt on earnings per share, which is consistent with the Company’s current accounting treatment under the current guidance. The guidance is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted, but only at the beginning of the fiscal year. The Company entered into convertible debt from 2022 to 2023 and, therefore, adopted this guidance in 2022. The Company elected the modified retrospective method of adoption and, since there was no convertible debt issued and outstanding in periods prior to 2022, there was no impact recorded to the financial statements.
Shares Payable
The Company has incurred obligations that are payable in shares of the Company’s equity. If shares are not issued to satisfy those obligations, a short-term liability is recognized as a share payable and the corresponding expense is recorded in the appropriate account.
During 2023, the Company entered into several agreements with contractors to pay them for services with shares of the Company’s common stock. These shares of stock are valued at fair market value as of the date the services were provided. All shares payable to contractors were either valued at the fair market value of the stock as of the grant date or at the fair market value of the services provided and a total of 27,381 and 13,863 shares were due as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split), for a total share balance of $175,800 and $71,100, respectively. These have not been issued as of March 31, 2024 and are included in the share payable liability balance as of year-end.
Additionally, upon issuing convertible debt, the Company is required to concurrently issue equity kicker shares to investors in accordance with the terms of the convertible debt agreement. These shares have not been issued as of March 31, 2024 or 2023. As such, the corresponding balances for shares payable in connection with the issuance of convertible debt are $182,616 and $179,956 as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. Refer to Note 7, Debt, for more detail.
Revenue Recognition
The Company recognizes revenue from the sale of products and services in accordance with ASC 606, “Revenue Recognition” following the five steps procedure:
Step 1: Identify the contract(s) with customers
Step 2: Identify the performance obligations in the contract
Step 3: Determine the transaction price
Step 4: Allocate the transaction price to performance obligations
Step 5: Recognize revenue when or as performance obligations are satisfied
F-34
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
The Company generates revenues mainly from advertising, sponsorship and league tournaments. An insignificant amount of revenue is generated through the operation of its live streaming platform using a revenue model whereby gamers and creators can get free access to certain live streaming of amateur tournaments, and gamers and creators pay fees or subscriptions to compete in league competitions. Streaming revenue amounts are recognized as live-streaming services on the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Foreign Currency Translation
For our non-U.S. operations where the functional currency is the local currency, we translate assets and liabilities at exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date and record translation adjustments in stockholders’ equity. We translate income statement amounts at average rates for the period. Transaction gains and losses are recorded in other (income) expense, net in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Loss.
Net Loss per Common Share
Net loss per common share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. All outstanding convertible promissory notes are considered common stock at the beginning of the period or at the time of issuance, if later, pursuant to the if-converted method. Since the effect of common stock equivalents is anti-dilutive with respect to losses, the shares issuable upon conversion have been excluded from the Company’s computation of net loss per common share for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023.
The following table summarizes the securities that would be excluded from the diluted per share calculation because the effect of including these potential shares was antidilutive due to the Company’s net loss. In accordance with the Reverse Stock Split on June 14, 2024 (see Note 1 — Nature of The Organization and Business), the number of shares of common stock underlying the Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes, the Convertible Series A Preferred Stock, Shares Payable and Unvested Restricted Stock are now 1 for 5.1287, and the below information gives effect to the Reverse Split:
Three Months Ended |
||||
2024 |
2023 |
|||
Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes |
761,789 |
202,463 |
||
Unvested Restricted Stock |
61,273 |
256,147 |
||
Shares Payable |
27,381 |
— |
||
Convertible Preferred Stock |
38,996 |
38,996 |
||
Total |
889,439 |
497,606 |
As of the date of these financial statements, no dividends have been declared in any year since inception and all classes of BHHI’s stock do not have cumulative dividend features. As such, we did not include any adjustment to the net loss for dividends. Ultimately, there was no adjustment needed to determine dilutive loss per share and only basic loss per share was calculated.
The table below represents the calculation for both basic and diluted net loss per share (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split):
Three Months Ended |
||||||||
2024 |
2023 |
|||||||
Net loss |
$ |
(1,034,161 |
) |
$ |
(876,632 |
) |
||
Weighted-average shares outstanding – Basic |
|
2,667,601 |
|
|
2,462,741 |
|
||
Loss per share – Basic and Diluted |
$ |
(0.39 |
) |
$ |
(0.36 |
) |
F-35
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, Income Taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The Company’s temporary differences result primarily from capitalization of certain qualifying research and development expenses, stock based compensation, and net operating loss carryovers. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is recorded for deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
The Company recognizes the effect of income tax positions only if those positions are more likely than not to be sustained. Recognized income tax positions are measured at the largest amount that is greater than 50% of likely being realized. Changes in recognition or measurement are reflected in the period in which the change in judgment occurs.
The Company records interest related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest expense and penalties in general and administrative expenses or income tax expense.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company measures and records the expense related to stock-based payment awards based on the fair value of those awards as determined on the date of grant. The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense over the requisite service period of the grant, generally equal to the vesting period, and uses the straight-line method to recognize stock-based compensation. For stock options with performance conditions, the Company records compensation expense when it is deemed probable that the performance condition will be met. Companies typically use the Black-Scholes-Merton (“Black-Scholes”) option-pricing model to determine the fair value of stock awards. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the use of highly subjective and complex assumptions, which determine the fair value of share-based awards, including the option’s expected term and the price volatility of the underlying stock. However, as ascertaining certain assumptions for the Black-Scholes option-pricing model is not possible due to the Company’s current nonpublic status, it has opted to determine the fair value of stock awards using the intrinsic value of the award on the date of grant. No stock options have been issued by the Company through March 31, 2024. Restricted stock awards are valued based on the fair value on the date of grant and amortized ratably over the estimated life of the award. Restricted stock may vest based on the passage of time, or upon occurrence of a specific event or achievement of goals as defined in the grant agreements. In such cases, we record compensation expenses related to grants of restricted stock based on management’s estimates of the probable dates of the vesting events. Stock-based awards that do not vest because the requisite service period is not met prior to termination result in the reversal of previously recognized compensation cost.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 3 — RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
The Company follows ASC 850, “Related Party Disclosures,” for the identification of related parties and disclosure of related party transactions.
During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, Lavell Malloy, the Company’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, on an as needed basis, paid operational expenses on behalf of the Company. This payable bears no interest rate and is due upon demand. At December 31, 2022, the Company had an outstanding balance due to Lavell Malloy
F-36
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 3 — RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (cont.)
of $43,563. In January of 2023, the Board of Directors approved the full repayment of the account balance and this was settled in full for the remaining balance of $43,563. Concurrently, an approval was made to pay deferred compensation that was due to the COO and CTO. A total payment of $50,649 was made in cash, which includes deferred compensation of $46,811, plus employer taxes, workers compensation and service fees. These payments were all made on January 4, 2023.
BHI, and therefore the Company, has entered into restricted stock purchase agreements with certain related parties, including Lavell Malloy, the Company’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Leibovich, the Company’s co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer, and William Simpson, the Company’s co-founder and Former Chief Technology Officer. For additional detail, refer to Note 5 — Stockholders’ Deficit.
As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company also had payables to Mr. Malloy and Mr. Leibovich for reimbursable expenses totaling $16,231 and $9,611, respectively.
NOTE 4 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
The Company evaluates its business transactions and agreements during the course of business to identify whether any contingencies or commitments exist which would give rise to the recognition of a loss or liability. We are currently not involved with or know of any pending or threatening litigation against the Company or any of its officers. Further, the Company is currently complying with all relevant laws and regulations and does not have any long-term commitments or guarantees.
Marketing Agreement
In March of 2024, the Company also entered into a marketing agreement with Outside the Box Capital, Inc. for marketing services to be provided from May 2024, the effective date of the agreement. Compensation for these services will be $100,000 in cash and due upon either the successful completion of the Company’s IPO or within six months from the effective date of the agreement, the earlier of the two dates. Additionally, the Company will issue shares of BHHI common stock, priced at the IPO, totaling $200,000. The shares will be due upon the successful completion of the Company’s IPO. Lastly, if the Company achieves a $50 million market cap for a minimum of seven days during the period of services, the Company will issue an additional 50,000 shares.
NOTE 5 — STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Capital Structure
On June 11, 2021, BHL was incorporated in the United Kingdom and authorized ordinary shares with a par value of £0.0001 ($0.0001386) per share. On August 12, 2021, BHL amended the articles of association and authorized preference shares with a par value of £0.0001 ($0.0001386) per share. Both, ordinary and preference shares are entitled to one vote per share and preference shares have priority in the event of a liquidation of BHL. In the event of an admission to the public stock market and listing of BHL shares, all preference shares will immediately convert to ordinary shares. There was a total of 267,505,100 shares of BHL ordinary shares and 4,200,000 shares of preference shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021.
On December 3, 2021, BHHI was incorporated and the Company authorized 50,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. On February 22, 2022, the certificate of incorporation was amended and the Company authorized 250,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share and 25,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Further, the Company designated 200,000 shares of preferred stock as Series A preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Shares of Series A preferred stock and common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. In order of liquidation rights, distributions will be made to the Series A preferred stock, non-series preferred stock, and common stock. Series A preferred stock has a liquidation preference of $0.50 per share in the
F-37
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 5 — STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT (cont.)
event of a liquidation and distribution. Further, each share of Series A preferred stock shall automatically convert into one share of common stock upon consummation of an underwritten public offering of common stock. The Company is preparing to complete an initial public offering during 2024. There was a total of 2,728,874 shares of BHHI common stock, 38,996 shares of BHHI preferred stock and no shares of Series A preferred stock issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
On June 14, 2024, the Company effected a 1 for 5.1287 reverse stock split. All owners of record as of June 14, 2024 received 1 issued and outstanding share of the Company’s Common Stock in exchange for 5.1287 outstanding shares of the Company’s Common Stock. All fractional shares created by the 1 or 5.1287 exchange will be paid in cash. The Reverse Stock Split had no impact on the par value per share of the Company’s Common Stock and Series A Preferred Stock, all of which remain at $0.0001. All current and prior period amounts related to shares, share prices and loss per share, presented in the Company’s financial statements and the accompanying Notes have been restated for the Reverse Stock Split.
Stock Issuances
During January and February of 2022, BHL sold 11,107,096 shares of BHL ordinary shares for total cash proceeds of $505,129. As of December 31, 2022, a total of $577 was not yet received from investors and, therefore, recorded as a subscription receivable. Additionally, 14,484,858 ordinary shares that were previously issued at a cost of £0.0001 per share to several investors in 2021 were transferred to individuals designated by our underwriters, pursuant to an adviser’s agreement.
On February 8, 2022, BHL approved the US Reorganization, in which the shareholders of BHL would exchange their ordinary shares and preference shares of BHL for a proportionate number of common and preferred shares in the Company. This was done with a 21:1 exchange ratio and the exchange was effectuated subsequent to the investment round for ordinary shares in January and February of 2021. A total of 278,957,196 shares of BHL ordinary shares were exchanged for 2,590,080 shares of BHHI common stock and 4,200,000 shares of BHL preference shares were exchanged for 38,996 shares of BHHI preferred stock (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
From April to June of 2022, the Company sold 62,816 shares of BHHI common stock for total cash proceeds of $322,164 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
In March of 2024, the Company sold 13,820 shares of BHHI common stock for total proceeds of $100,000. These were unissued as of March 31, 2024 and are, therefore, included in the balance for shares payable (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company did not incur any additional costs connected with the offering of equity securities. The balance was $307,296 at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023. These amounts were netted against the additional paid in capital balances in each year presented on the consolidated balance sheets.
Restricted Stock Agreements
BHI, and therefore the Company, has entered into restricted stock purchase agreements with various employees and advisors. The share exchanges that occurred during 2021 and 2022 have an effect on the number of restricted shares that are vested and unvested as of the end of each respective year end.
On February 24, 2018, BHI entered into a Founder Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement (“Malloy FRSPA”) with Lavell Malloy, the Company’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, pursuant to which BHI sold 4,008,417 shares of restricted common stock in BHI, par value of $0.0001 per share, for cash proceeds of $401. The restricted stock vests at 25% on the one-year anniversary of the date of the Malloy FRSA and then monthly during the subsequent thirty-six months. As of March 31, 2024, the Company has not received the proceeds from Mr. Malloy and the $401 is recorded as contra equity on the March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 consolidated balance sheets. During the
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BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 5 — STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT (cont.)
year ended December 31, 2022, after the effect of the share exchanges, all 523,652 shares of common stock were considered vested, and the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $41,754 for the restricted shares that vested during 2022, with no unamortized stock compensation remaining (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
On December 21, 2019, BHI entered into a Founder Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement (“Leibovich FRSPA”) with Daniel Leibovich, the Company’s co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer, pursuant to which BHI sold 3,120,917 shares of restricted common stock in BHI, par value of $0.0001 per share, for cash proceeds of $312. The restricted stock vests at 25% on the one-year anniversary of the date of the Leibovich FRSA and then monthly during the subsequent thirty-six months. As of March 31, 2024, the Company has yet to receive the proceeds from Mr. Leibovich and the $312 is recorded as contra equity on the March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 consolidated balance sheets. During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, after the effect of the share exchanges, 407,710 and 331,265 shares of common stock were considered vested, respectively, and the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $0 and $48,764 in each interim period ending March 31, 2024 and 2023, for the restricted shares that vested during each of those years with no unamortized stock compensation remaining at March 31, 2024 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
On July 7, 2020, BHI entered into a Founder Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement (“Simpson FRSPA”) with William Simpson, the Company’s co-founder and Former Chief Technology Officer, pursuant to which BHI sold 1,789,666 shares of restricted common stock in BHI, par value of $0.0001 per share, for cash proceeds of $179. The restricted stock vests at 25% on the one-year anniversary of the date of the Simpson FRSA and then monthly during the subsequent thirty-six months. As of March 31, 2024, the Company has yet to receive the proceeds from Mr. Simpson and the $179 is recorded as contra equity on the March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 consolidated balance sheets. During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, after the effect of the share exchanges, 233,798 and 164,389 shares of common stock were considered vested, respectively, and the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $0 and $27,964 for the restricted shares that vested during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively with no unamortized stock compensation remaining at March 31, 2024 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
During the year ended December 31, 2020, BHI also entered into various Restricted Stock Purchase Agreements (“RSPAs”) with an employee and two advisers, pursuant to which BHI sold 225,000 shares of restricted common stock in BHI at par value of $0.0001 per share for cash proceeds of $22. The restricted stock vests at varying rates. As of March 31, 2024, the Company has yet to receive proceeds for the restricted common stock issuances, and the $22 is recorded as contra equity on the March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 consolidated balance sheets. During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, after the effect of the share exchanges, 25,566 and 18,777 shares of common stock were considered vested, respectively, and the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $3,516 per quarter for the restricted shares that vested during 2024 and 2023, respectively (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split). As of March 31, 2024 and 2023, unamortized stock compensation of $6,250 and $20,313 remained, respectively.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, BHI also entered into various Restricted Stock Purchase Agreements (“RSPAs”) with an employee and two advisers, pursuant to which BHI sold 756,000 shares of restricted common stock in BHI at par value of $0.0001 per share for cash proceeds of $76. The restricted stock vests at varying rates. As of December 31, 2022, the Company has yet to receive proceeds for the restricted common stock issuances, and the $76 is recorded as contra equity on the March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 consolidated balance sheets. After the effect of the share exchanges, a total of 98,762 shares were deemed to have been granted. In May of 2022, the Company terminated the employment of the employee, and, therefore, the employee forfeited 56,610 unvested shares of common stock. During the year ended December 31, 2022, all remaining 42,153 shares of common stock
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BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 5 — STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT (cont.)
were considered vested, and the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $60,417 for the restricted shares that vested during 2022 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split). At March 31, 2024 and 2023, there were no unamortized stock compensation expenses remaining.
On February 10, 2022, the Company issued a Restricted Stock Award to its outside legal counsel for 132,588 shares of common stock. The restricted stock vests 25% immediately and 25% over the next three years at each anniversary. During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, 74,581 and 41,434 shares of common stock were considered vested, and the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense of $42,500 per quarter for the restricted shares that vested during 2024 and 2023 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split). At March 31, 2024 and 2023, unamortized stock compensation of $297,500 and $467,501 remained.
NOTE 6 — INCOME TAXES
The Company, with stockholder’s consent, elected to be taxed as an “S Corporation” during the years prior to 2021 under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code under Section 1362(a) and comparable state income tax law. As an S Corporation, the Company is generally not subject to corporate income taxes and the Company’s net income or loss is reported on the individual tax return of the stockholders of the Company. As a result of the UK Reorganization, the Company was no longer eligible to elect an S Corporation status for tax purposes and was subject to tax filings as a C-Corporation for the years ending 2021 through 2023. The Company is in the process of filing all necessary Federal and State tax returns as a C-Corporation for the years ending 2021 through 2023, and has not accrued for any potential non-compliance penalties that may be incurred.
The Company identified its federal, New York state, and the United Kingdom tax returns as its “major” tax jurisdictions. The period for income tax returns that are subject to examination for the United Kingdom jurisdiction is 2021. All other periods for income tax returns are subject to examination for the federal and New York state jurisdictions. The Company believes its income tax filing positions and deductions will be sustained on audit, and management does not anticipate any adjustments that would result in a material change to its financial position. Therefore, no liabilities for uncertain tax positions have been recorded.
At March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company had approximately $7,596,404 and $4,269,076 in gross federal net operating loss carry-forwards, respectively. The Company also had approximately $9,112,331 and $4,988,227 in gross state net operating loss carry-forwards, respectively. As a result of the Tax Cuts Job Act 2017 (the “Act”), certain future federal carry-forwards do not expire. Beginning in 2018, under the TCJ Act, federal loss carryforwards have an unlimited carryforward period, however such losses can only offset 80% of taxable income in any one year. The Company has not performed a formal analysis, but believes its ability to use such net operating losses and tax credit carry-forwards in the future is subject to annual limitations due to change of control provisions under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code, which will significantly impact its ability to realize these deferred tax assets. For net loss carryforwards in the State of New York, the Company is able to carry it back three tax years preceding the tax year of the loss (the loss year). However, a loss cannot be carried back to a tax year beginning before January 1, 2015. The loss is first carried to the earliest of the three tax years. If it is not entirely used in that year, the remainder is carried to the second tax year preceding the loss year, and any remaining amount is carried to the tax year immediately preceding the loss year. Any unused amount of loss then remaining may be carried forward for as many as 20 tax years following the loss year. Losses carried forward are carried forward first to the tax year immediately following the loss year, then to the second tax year following the loss year, and then to the next immediately subsequent tax year or years until the loss is used up or the 20th tax year following the loss year, whichever comes first.
The Company recorded a valuation allowance in the full amount of its net deferred tax assets since realization of such tax benefits has been determined by the Company’s management to be less likely than not.
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BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 7 — DEBT
Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes
During 2024 and 2023, the Company issued convertible debt in the form of original issue discount convertible promissory notes. These notes provide investors with a 20% discount on their investment amount. To determine the principal amount of the notes, the investment amount is divided by 0.80, reflecting that 20% original issue discount. A total addition to debt discount in the amount of $18,876 and $0 was recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, for note issued during those periods.
Concurrent with the issue and sale of the notes, each holder was entitled to receive a number of shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share equal to: (i) in the case of a holder that is a Lead Investor, the quotient resulting when 20% of the Holder’s purchase price is divided by a price per share equal to the Valuation Cap divided by the Company Capitalization, (ii) In the case of all other holders, the quotient resulting when 5% of the Holder’s purchase price is divided by a price per share equal to the Valuation Cap divided by the Company Capitalization. The purchase price means the product of the principal amount of the note multiplied by 0.80. The Valuation Cap is set at $20,000,000 and the Company Capitalization means the sum of all equity securities (on an as-converted basis) issued and outstanding, assuming exercise or conversion of all outstanding vested and unvested options, warrants and other convertible securities, but excluding the notes and all equity securities reserved and available for future grant under any equity incentive or similar plan of the Company. Company capitalization was determined to be 2,728,874 as of the date of issuance of the notes and increased with each instance of shares payable to each new investor. As of March 31, 2024 and 2023, the total number of shares payable to investors was determined to be 35,607 and 33,023 shares of common stock, respectively, at calculated prices per share between $7.23 and $7.33 per share. As of March 31, 2024, these shares were not yet issued to investors and, therefore, recognized as a share payable liability with a share fair market value of $5.13 for a total liability and debt discount additions of $182,616 and $179,956 as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split). The Company recorded incremental debt discount for these shares in the amount of $2,660 and $0 during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
The Company recorded $5,056 and $218,962 in interest expense and amortization of debt discount on the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company had unamortized balances of $0 and $49,397 in debt issuance costs, of which $0 and $67,608 was recognized in amortization on the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, as a result of the amortization of those costs. This amount is expected to be amortized through the maturity date.
These notes had an original maturity date of June 5, 2023 and carried the option to extend the maturity date on two occasions for 45-day periods. If the option to extend the maturity is exercised, a 10% increase in the outstanding principal amount will be applied at the start of each extension period. These notes pay simple interest at a rate of 10% per annum on the original outstanding principal amount and all accrued interest and unpaid principal amounts are due at maturity. The notes matured on June 5, 2023 and were extended on two occasions in accordance with the applicable terms of the notes, for an additional 45 days on each extension, and a revised maturity date of September 3, 2023. This resulted in an additional principal amount of $532,615 added to the original outstanding principal amount at the date of maturity, which was $2,663,075.
During September 2023 and November 2023, the Company obtained the written consent of required noteholders on both occasions to amend the terms of the notes and add four additional 45-day extension periods to the loan’s maturity date, for a total of six extension periods from the original maturity date. The terms for each extension remain the same and a 10% increase in the original outstanding principal amount was applied at the start of each extension period. In addition to this fee, and as consideration for amending the note accordingly as of September 2023, on the maturity date, in addition to the unpaid interest and principal amount due and payable, the Company was required to pay to
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BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 7 — DEBT (cont.)
each holder of notes an amount equal to 15% of the original principal amount of such holder’s note. The 15% fee was amended and increased to 20% as consideration for amending the note in November 2023. As of December 31, 2023, the Company extended the maturity on three additional occasions from the revised maturity date of September 3, 2023. This resulted in an additional principal amount of $266,308 added to the original outstanding principal amount at the start of each extension period, which resulted in an additional $798,923 in principal amount. In addition to this fee, the 20% due at maturity resulted in an additional $532,615 in principal amount. The outstanding balance remains unpaid as of the date of these financial statements.
As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, total accrued interest on the notes equal $470,853 and $363,120, respectively.
During January 2024, the Company obtained the written consent of required noteholders to amend the terms of the notes and add two additional 45-day extension periods to the loan’s maturity date, for a total of eight extension periods from the original maturity date. The terms for each extension remain the same and a 10% increase in the outstanding principal amount, based on the original outstanding principal amount, will be applied at the start of each extension period. This resulted in an additional principal amount of $266,308 as of January 16, 2024 added to the outstanding principal amount at the start of the extension period for a total additional principal amount of $266,308. In addition to this fee, and as consideration for amending the note accordingly, on the maturity date, in addition to the unpaid interest and principal amount the due and payable, the Company shall pay to each holder of notes an amount equal to 25% of the original principal amount of such holder’s note, which replaces the 20% that was due as a result of the second amendment in November 2023. This resulted in an additional principal amount of $156,749 added to the outstanding principal amount. The outstanding balance remains unpaid as of the date of these financial statements. The notes matured on March 1, 2024 and were extended an additional time in accordance with the applicable terms of the notes, for an additional 45 days on each extension, and a revised maturity date of May 30, 2024. This resulted in an additional principal amount of $266,307 as of March 1, 2024 added to the outstanding principal amount at the start of the extension period for a total additional principal amount of $266,307.
The terms of the note establish a conversion either upon a qualified financing, change of control, or voluntary conversion on the maturity date. Qualified financing means a transaction or series of transactions completed after the date of the note pursuant to which the Company issues and sells equity securities with the principal purpose of raising capital. Upon a qualified financing, then at the option of the holder in its sole discretion, the entire outstanding principal amount of the note and all accrued and unpaid interest shall automatically and simultaneously with the closing thereof convert (which such conversion shall be mandatory as to all notes outstanding at the time of such qualified financing) into the equity securities issued in such qualified financing at the conversion price. The issuance of such equity securities pursuant to the conversion of these notes shall be upon and subject to the same terms and conditions applicable to the Equity Securities sold in the Qualified Financing. The conversion price means, with respect to a qualified financing, a price per share equal to the cash price per share paid by the other purchasers of the equity securities sold in the qualified financing.
A change of control means (i) a consolidation or merger of the Company with or into any other corporation or other entity or person; (ii) any transaction or series of related transactions to which the Company is a party in which in excess of 50% of the Company’s voting power is transferred; (iii) the sale or transfer of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets, or the exclusive license of all or substantially all of the Company’s material intellectual property; provided that a Change of Control shall not include any transaction or series of transactions principally for bona fide equity financing purposes in which cash is received by the Company or any successor, indebtedness of the Company is canceled, converted or a combination thereof.
If the outstanding principal amount of the note and all accrued and unpaid interest is not converted or repaid on or prior to the maturity date pursuant to a Qualified Financing or a Change of Control or otherwise, then, on the maturity date, at the option of the required holders in their sole discretion, all, but not less than all, of the outstanding principal amount of the note and all accrued and unpaid interest shall either be (x) repaid, or (y) converted into Equity Securities of the Company at a price per Equity Security equal to the Valuation Cap divided by Company’s Capitalization.
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BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 7 — DEBT (cont.)
As of March 31, 2024 and 2023, the convertible debt had the following balances:
3/31/2024 |
12/31/2023 |
||||||
Outstanding Principal |
$ |
5,310,972 |
|
$ |
4,527,228 |
||
Unamortized Debt Issuance Costs |
$ |
— |
|
$ |
— |
||
Unamortized Debt Discount – Shares Payable |
$ |
(2,035 |
) |
$ |
— |
||
Unamortized Debt Discount – Original Issue Discount |
$ |
(14,445 |
) |
$ |
— |
||
Convertible Debt, Net |
$ |
5,294,492 |
|
$ |
4,527,228 |
NOTE 8 — REVENUE RECOGNITION
The Company recognizes revenue from the sale of products and services in accordance with ASC 606, “Revenue from contracts with Customers”. Under this guidance, we contemplate and account for the five different steps that are necessary to analyze and account for revenue. Those are the following:
Step 1: Identify the contract(s) with customers
Step 2: Identify the performance obligations in the contract
Step 3: Determine the transaction price
Step 4: Allocate the transaction price to performance obligations
Step 5: Recognize revenue when or as performance obligations are satisfied
The Company generates revenues from advertising, sponsorship and league tournaments, and through the operation of its live streaming platform using a revenue model whereby gamers and creators can get free access to certain live streaming of amateur tournaments, and gamers and creators pay fees or subscriptions to compete in league competitions. We enter into contracts which may include combinations of products, support and professional services, which may be accounted for as separate performance obligations with differing revenue recognition patterns.
At the end of March 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company did not have any contract assets or liabilities arising from contracts with customers. This was due to the fact that all service agreements for tournaments were entered into and completed in the same year.
Performance Obligations
The Company earns the majority of its revenue from hosting esports tournaments. The main performance obligation has been organizing and executing these tournaments. There are many different deliverables that are noted or implied in these contracts with customers including but not limited to, planning the event, identifying vendors and locations, completing administrative tasks, managing the event staff, coordinating the tournaments, and executing sponsorship advertisement. Contracts vary in length and extent of deliverables. Some tournaments are single events, while others require the Company to have qualifiers leading up to a championship event. In the case of contracts for longer tournament deliverables, the Company has identified each qualifier and each championship event as performance obligations. For single event contracts, the performance obligation is the execution of the event. These performance obligations are met once the tournaments are hosted and completed.
In the case of revenue earned from the Twitch Affiliate Program, the Company’s performance obligations is to create content and maintain a channel to which (i) customers can subscribe, (ii) ads can be played to viewers by Twitch to generate revenue and (iii) customers can use bits. These performance obligations are monitored by Twitch and the
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BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 8 — REVENUE RECOGNITION (cont.)
Company receives the revenue from those obligations. On a monthly basis, the Company receives from Twitch its respective portion of the revenue generated by its content. This source of revenue is insignificant and not a main source of income for the Company.
Judgments and Estimates
The Company’s contracts include commitments to transfer tournament hosting and a gaming community platform service that customers can subscribe to. Judgment is required to allocate the transaction price to each performance obligation. The Company has carefully evaluated the timing of when the completion of performance obligations occurs for tournament hosting revenue and has determined that it occurs at the point in time in which the event has been completed. For single event tournaments, the Company determines the transaction price to be the contracted amount and allocates that price to the single performance obligation. In the case of tournaments with multiple events and performance obligations, the Company evaluates the magnitude of the performance obligations to make an estimate of the allocation of the transaction price (total contract amount) to the multiple performance obligations. It is our judgment that the transaction price for multiple event tournaments is allocated evenly throughout each of the total qualifier and championship match events. The reasoning is because at each event, there is no distinguishable difference in the amount of advertising and/or other obligations that are performed and thus, service that is provided for the customer.
In the case of subscription revenue, which is recognized over time, the Company has determined that the revenue is earned ratably over the period of the subscription. Revenue is recognized evenly over the subscription period because there is no discernable difference in the amount of service that is provided in each of the days within the subscription period.
Costs to Obtain or Fulfill a Contract
The new revenue recognition standard requires the capitalization of certain incremental costs of obtaining a contract. These typically are represented by commission expenses. Prior to our adoption of the new revenue standard, commission expenses would be recognized in the period incurred. Under the new revenue recognition standard, we are required to recognize these expenses over the period of benefit associated with these costs. This results in a deferral of certain commission expenses each period. There were no deferred commissions related to contracts that were or were not completed prior to March 31, 2024 and 2023. We recognize an asset for the incremental costs of obtaining a contract with a customer if the benefit of those costs is expected to be longer than one year.
NOTE 9 — SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company has evaluated events and transactions subsequent to March 31, 2024 through the date these condensed consolidated financial statements were included on Form S-1 and filed with the SEC. Other than the matters described below, there are no additional subsequent events identified that would require disclosure in the condensed consolidated financial statements.
Original Issue Discount Convertible Promissory Notes
During April and May of 2024, the Company raised a total of $82,920 in additional operating capital through the issuance of additional original issue discount convertible promissory notes, all of which carry the same terms as those described in Note 7 above. The issuance of these notes resulted in an additional debt discount totaling $20,730 for a total principal amount of $103,650. In addition, note holders were entitled to an issuance of common stock. The beginning Company capitalization was determined to be 2,764,484 as of the date of issuance of the notes. The total number of shares payable to investors was determined to be 572 shares of common stock at a calculated price range per share of $7.23 through $7.28. As of the date of these financial statements, these shares were not yet issued to investors
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BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
NOTE 9 — SUBSEQUENT EVENTS (cont.)
and, therefore, recognized as a share payable liability with a share fair market value of $7.23 for a total liability and additional debt discount of $4,136 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split). These costs will be amortized through the maturity date of the notes, which is May 30, 2024.
The notes were extended an additional time on April 15, 2024 in accordance with the applicable terms of the notes, for an additional 45 days. This resulted in an additional principal amount of $281,977.
On May 30, 2024, the convertible debt balance plus accrued interest became due. Holders of a majority of the outstanding principal, or required holders, prior to May 30, 2024, elected to sign a conversion notice agreement (“Conversion Notice”) that will convert all of the notes to shares of common stock of the Company subject to the completion of the IPO, which must be completed by July 15, 2024. This election triggers a conversion for all investors of the notes, including those who did not sign the Conversion Notice. For those investors that agreed, the conversion price will be set at the lower of the IPO price or based on a pre-IPO valuation of $20 million divided by the outstanding Company capitalization. For those which did not sign the Conversion Notice, the conversion price will be based on a pre-IPO valuation of $20 million divided by the outstanding Company capitalization.
Stock Incentive Plan
On June 11, 2024, the Company’s Board of Directors adopted the Stock Incentive Plan, which was approved by the Company’s stockholders on June 13, 2024. The Stock Incentive Plan will be effective on the business day immediately prior to the effective date of the Company’s registration statement related to its initial public offering. The principal purpose of the Stock Incentive Plan is to promote the success and enhance the value of the Company by linking the individual interests of its directors, employees, and consultants to those of its stockholders and by providing such individuals with an incentive for outstanding performance to generate superior returns to stockholders.
A total of 600,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock will be reserved for issuance pursuant to our Stock Incentive Plan (“Plan Share Reserve”). The Plan Share Reserve shall be increased on the first day of each fiscal year beginning with the 2025 fiscal year, in an amount equal to the lesser of (i) five percent (5.0%) of the outstanding shares of Common Stock on the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year and (ii) an amount determined by the Board of Directors.
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Brag House Holdings, Inc.
SHARES OF COMMON STOCK
________________________
PROSPECTUS
________________________
KINGSWOOD CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC
, 2024
Through and including (the 25th day after the date of this offering), all dealers effecting transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to a dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to an unsold allotment or subscription.
Part II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with this offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions) are as follows:
Amount |
|||
SEC registration fee |
$ |
1,393 |
|
FINRA filing fee |
|
2,000 |
|
Initial listing fee |
|
85,000 |
|
Accountants’ fees and expenses |
$ |
507,000 |
|
Legal fees and expenses |
$ |
940,000 |
|
Transfer Agent’s fees and expenses |
|
5,500 |
|
Printing expenses |
$ |
44,000 |
|
Miscellaneous |
$ |
207,855 |
|
Total expenses |
$ |
1,792,748 |
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware provides that a corporation may indemnify directors and officers as well as other employees and individuals against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement in connection with specified actions, suits and proceedings whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative, other than a derivative action by or in the right of the corporation, if they acted in good faith and in a manner they reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful. A similar standard is applicable in the case of derivative actions, except that indemnification extends only to expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred in connection with the defense or settlement of such action and the statute requires court approval before there can be any indemnification where the person seeking indemnification has been found liable to the corporation. The statute provides that it is not exclusive of other indemnification that may be granted by a corporation’s certificate of incorporation, bylaws, disinterested director vote, stockholder vote, agreement or otherwise.
Our certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide for indemnification of directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by law, including payment of expenses in advance of resolution of any such matter.
We intend to enter into separate indemnification agreements with our directors and officers. Each indemnification agreement will provide, among other things, for indemnification to the fullest extent permitted by law and our certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws against any and all expenses, judgments, fines, penalties and amounts paid in settlement of any claim. The indemnification agreements will provide for the advancement or payment of all expenses to the indemnitee and for reimbursement to us if it is found that such indemnitee is not entitled to such indemnification under applicable law and our certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws.
We are in the process of obtaining standard policies of insurance under which coverage is provided (a) to our directors and officers against loss rising from claims made by reason of breach of duty or other wrongful act, and (b) to us with respect to payments which we may make to such officers and directors pursuant to the above indemnification provision or otherwise as a matter of law.
The underwriting agreement, filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this registration statement, will provide for indemnification, under certain circumstances, by the underwriter of us and our officers and directors for certain liabilities arising under the Securities Act or otherwise.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us under the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
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Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
During the past three years, we issued the following securities, which were not registered under the Securities Act.
2021 Stock Issuances
On April 1, 2021, pursuant to an Advisor Agreement, BHI issued 6,000 shares of restricted common stock, at $0.0001 per share, that vest monthly over a six-month period after a two-month cliff, in lieu of cash. In the event of the sale of the Company 100% of the unvested shares shall vest.
On June 11, 2021, BHL was registered in the United Kingdom. As part of the formation of BHL, an accredited investor was issued 100 ordinary shares of £0.0001 BHL stock.
SAFE Agreements
During the year ended December 31, 2020 we entered into a Simple Agreement for Future Equity Agreement, or SAFE, with one accredited investor resulting in us receiving cash proceeds in an aggregate amount of $20,000. During the first quarter of 2021, BHI entered into three additional SAFE agreements with various accredited investors for an aggregate cash amount of $115,000. In July and August 2021, as a part of the UK Reorganization, BHI canceled all four SAFE agreements in exchange for 3,255,000 ordinary shares of £0.0001 in BHL and 4,200,000 preferred ordinary shares of £0.0001 in BHL.
BHL Sales of Stock
During 2021, BHL sold 34,250,000 ordinary shares at a cost of £0.04 per share, and 89,300,000 ordinary shares at a cost of £0.0001 per share to multiple investors, for a total funding amount of £1,378,930.
During January and February 2022, BHL issued 5,000,007 ordinary shares at a cost of £0.06 per share and 1,850,517 ordinary shares at a cost of £0.04 per share to multiple investors, for a total funding amount of £374,021. BHL also issued 345,000 ordinary shares at a cost of £0.06 per share to a consultant for services rendered, and issued 4,256,573 ordinary shares at a cost of £0.0001 per share to individuals designated by our underwriters, pursuant to an adviser’s agreement. Additionally, 14,484,858 shares that were previously issued at a cost of £0.0001 per share to several investors in 2021 were transferred to individuals designated by our underwriters, pursuant to an adviser’s agreement.
Advisory Fee
In January 2022, in connection with certain advisory services provided to BHL by E.F. Hutton, BHL issued 10,641,430 of its ordinary shares to affiliates of E.F. Hutton that are accredited investors.
U.S. Reorganization
On February 8, 2022, the Company consummated the U.S. Reorganization, in which the shareholders of BHL exchanged their ordinary and preference shares of BHL for a proportionate number of shares of our common stock and Series A Preferred Stock on a 21 to 1 basis. We issued an aggregate of 2,590,080 shares of our common stock and 38,996 shares of our Series A Preferred Stock in connection with the U.S. Reorganization (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split). The exchange was affected pursuant to the Rule 506(b) Regulation D “safe harbor” for the private offering exemption of Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
2024 Stock Issuances
On March 22 of 2024, the Company sold 13,820 shares of BHHI common stock for total proceeds of $100,000 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
Company 2022 Sales of Stock
From April to June of 2022, we sold 62,816 shares of common stock for total cash proceeds of $322,164 (as adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split).
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The offer and sale of all securities listed in this item 15 was made to a limited number of accredited investors and qualified institutional buyers in reliance upon exemptions from the registration requirements pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) under the Securities Act and Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act. Individuals who purchased securities as described above represented their intention to acquire the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof, and appropriate legends were affixed to the share certificates issued in such transactions.
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) Exhibits.
EXHIBIT |
DESCRIPTION |
|
1.1* |
||
3.1* |
||
3.2 |
Certificate of Designation of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock |
|
3.3* |
Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation of Brag House Holdings, Inc. |
|
3.4* |
Second Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation of Brag House Holdings, Inc. |
|
3.5* |
||
3.6 |
||
4.1* |
||
5.1 |
||
10.1* |
||
10.2* |
||
10.3* |
||
10.4* |
||
10.5* |
||
10.6* |
||
10.7* |
||
10.8 |
||
10.9 |
||
10.10†* |
||
10.11† |
||
10.12† |
||
21.1 |
||
23.1 |
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (Marcum LLP) |
|
23.2 |
Consent of McDermott Will & Emery LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1) |
|
24.1* |
||
99.1* |
||
99.2* |
||
99.3 |
||
99.4* |
||
107* |
____________
* Previously filed
† Includes management contracts and compensation plans and arrangements
(b) Financial Statement Schedules.
All financial statement schedules are omitted because the information called for is not required or is shown either in the financial statements or in the notes thereto.
(c) Filing Fee Table.
The Filing Fee Table and related disclosure is filed herewith as Exhibit 107.
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Item 17. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
(b) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(c) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.
(2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) For the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser, if the registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.
(4) For the purpose of determining liability of a registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of an undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by an undersigned registrant;
(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized in the City of Brooklyn, State of New York, on this 10th day of July, 2024.
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC. |
||||
By: |
/s/ Lavell Juan Malloy, II |
|||
Lavell Juan Malloy, II |
||||
Chief Executive Officer |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities held on the dates indicated.
Signature |
Title |
Date |
||
/s/ Lavell Juan Malloy, II |
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman |
July 10, 2024 |
||
Lavell Juan Malloy, II |
(principal executive officer) |
|||
/s/ Daniel Leibovich |
Chief Operating Officer, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Director |
July 10, 2024 |
||
Daniel Leibovich |
(principal financial and accounting officer) |
II-5
Exhibit 3.2
State of Delaware Secretary of State Division of Corporations Delivered 01:48 PM 02/22/2022 FILED 01:48 PM 02122no22 |
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.
CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATION |
OF
SERIES A CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK
Brag House Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Corporation”), does hereby certify, in accordance with Section 151 of Title 8 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, that the following resolutions were duly adopted pursuant to the authority of the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of the Corporation under the Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation, as amended.
RESOLVED, There shall be created from the 25,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Preferred Stock”), of the Corporation authorized by Article IV of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation, as amended (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), a series of Preferred Stock, designated as the “Series A Convertible Preferred Stock” (the “Series A Preferred Stock”), and the number of shares of such series shall be 200,000; and
RESOLVED, Such number of shares may be decreased by resolution of the Board of Directors; provided, however, that no such decrease shall reduce the number of authorized shares of the Series A Preferred Stock to a number less than the number of shares of the Series A Preferred Stock then issued and outstanding plus the number of shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding options, rights or warrants, if any, to purchase the shares of Series A Preferred Stock, or upon the conversion of any outstanding securities issued by the Corporation that are convertible into shares of Series A Preferred Stock.
Section 1. Definitions. As used herein, in addition to those terms otherwise defined in the Certificate of Incorporation, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) “Capital Stock” shall mean the Series A Preferred Stock, any other series of Preferred Stock, Common Stock of any class, and any class or series of capital stock or other equity securities of the Corporation, whether authorized as of or after the date hereof
(b) “Certificate of Designation” shall mean this Certificate of Designation relating to the Series A Preferred Stock, as it may be amended from time to time.
(c) “Common Stock” shall mean the common stock of the Corporation authorized by Article IV of the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation. For purposes of this Certificate of Designation, Common Stock shall also mean any other class of stock resulting from successive changes or reclassifications of such Common Stock, consisting solely of changes as a result of a subdivision, combination, or merger, consolidation or similar transaction in which the Corporation is a constituent association.
(d) “Holder” shall mean a holder of record of an outstanding share or shares of the Series A Preferred Stock.
(e) “Issue Date” shall mean the original date of issuance of shares of the Series A Preferred Stock.
(f) “Junior Securities” shall mean the Common Stock, Series A Preferred Stock and each other class of capital stock or series of Preferred Stock of the Corporation established by the Board of Directors after the Issue Date, the terms of which do not expressly provide that such class or series ranks senior to or on parity with the Series A Preferred Stock as to dividend rights or rights upon the liquidation, winding-up or dissolution of the Corporation.
(g) “Liquidation Preference” shall mean, with respect to each share of the Series A Preferred Stock, an amount per share of Series A Preferred Stock equal to $0.50, per share.
(h) “Parity Stock” shall mean any other class of capital stock or series of Preferred Stock established by the Board of Directors after the Issue Date, the terms of which expressly provide that such class or series will rank on parity with the Series A Preferred Stock as to dividend rights or rights upon the liquidation, winding-up or dissolution of the Corporation.
(i) “Person” shall mean an individual, partnership, association, limited liability company, trust, unincorporated organization, government or agency or political subdivision thereof, or any other legal entity.
(j) “Preferred Stock” means, collectively, (i) the Series A Preferred Stock, and (ii) any other class of preferred stock of the Corporation and any securities issued in respect thereof, or in substitution therefor, in connection with any stock split, dividend or combination, or any reclassification, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, exchange or similar reorganization.
(k) “Senior Stock” shall mean each class of capital stock or series of Preferred Stock established by the Board of Directors after the Issue Date, the terms of which expressly provide that such class or series will rank senior to the Series A Preferred Stock as to dividend rights or rights upon the liquidation, winding-up or dissolution of the Corporation.
(1) “Series A Preferred Stock” shall mean the Corporation’s Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share.
(m) “Transfer Agent” shall mean the Corporation’s duly appointed transfer agent, registrar, redemption, conversion and dividend disbursing agent for the Series A Preferred Stock, or any successor duly appointed by the Corporation, provided that nothing herein restricts the Corporation from serving as its own transfer agent, registrar, conversion and dividend disbursing agent for the Series A Preferred Stock.
Section 2. Ranking. The Series A Preferred Stock will, with respect to dividend rights and rights upon the liquidation, winding-up or dissolution of the Corporation, rank (a) senior to all Junior Securities, (b) on parity with all Parity Stock and (c) junior to all Senior Stock.
2
Section 3. Liquidation Rights.
(a) In the event the Corporation liquidates, winds up or dissolves, whether voluntary or involuntary, each Holder shall, subject to the prior rights of any holders of Senior Stock, be entitled to receive and to be paid out of the assets of the Corporation available for distribution to its shareholders the Liquidation Preference, in preference to the holders of, and before any payment or distribution is made on (or any setting apart for any payment or distribution), any Junior Securities, including, without limitation, on any Common Stock. After the payment to the Holders of the Liquidation Preference for each outstanding share of the Series A Preferred Stock, the Holders shall not be entitled to any further participation in distributions of, and shall have no right or claim to, any of the remaining assets of the Corporation in respect of the shares of the Series A Preferred Stock.
(b) Neither the sale, conveyance, exchange or transfer (for cash, shares of stock, other securities or other consideration) of all or substantially all the assets or business of the Corporation (other than in connection with the voluntary or involuntary liquidation, winding-up or dissolution of the Corporation) nor the merger or consolidation of the Corporation into or with any other Person shall be deemed to be a liquidation, winding-up or dissolution, voluntary or involuntary, for the purposes of this Section 3 of this Certificate of Designation.
(c) All distributions made with respect to the Series A Preferred Stock in connection with any liquidation, winding-up or dissolution shall be made pro rata to the Holders based on the number of shares of Series A Preferred Stock held by such Holders.
(d) In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, the Corporation shall, within ten (10) days after the date the Board of Directors approves such action, or at least twenty (20) days prior to any shareholder’s meeting called to approve such action, if applicable, or within twenty (20) days after the commencement of any involuntary proceeding, whichever is earlier, give each Holder initial written notice of the proposed action. Such initial written notice shall describe the material terms and conditions of such proposed action.
Section 4. Voting; Amendments.
(a) Each share of the Series A Preferred Stock shall be entitled to one vote and, except as provided in the immediately following paragraph, shall vote together as a single class with shares of Common Stock on all matters presented to the Corporation’s stockholders for approval.
(b) So long as any shares of the Series A Preferred Stock remain outstanding, unless a greater percentage shall then be required by law, the Corporation shall not, without the affirmative vote or written consent of the Holders (voting or consenting separately as one class) of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of the Series A Preferred Stock, amend, alter or repeal or otherwise change (including in connection with any merger, consolidation or other similar transaction) any provision of this Certificate of Designation or the Certificate of Incorporation, if the amendment, authorization or repeal would materially and adversely affect the rights, preferences, powers or privileges of the Series A Preferred Stock. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Corporation may, without the consent of any Holder, authorize, increase the authorized amount of, or issue additional shares of, Senior Stock or Parity Stock, and in taking such actions, the Corporation shall not be deemed to have materially and adversely affected the existing terms of the Series A Preferred Stock.
3
Section 5. Dividends. From and after the Issue Date, Holders shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if authorized and declared by the Board of Directors, out of legally available funds, dividends to the same extent as holders of shares of Common Stock.
Section 6. Automatic Conversion. Each share of Series A Preferred Stock Shall automatically convert, without any action on the part of a Holder, into one share of Common Stock upon consummation of an underwritten public offering of Common Stock.
Section 7. Pre-Emptive Rights. The holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock will have no preemptive rights with respect to any shares of the Corporation’s Capital Stock or any of its other securities convertible into or having rights or options to purchase any such Capital Stock.
Section 8. Certificates.
(a) The Series A Preferred Stock certificate or book-entry issuance may have notations, legends or endorsements required by law, stock exchange rule, agreements to which the Corporation is subject, if any, or usage (provided that any such notation, legend or endorsement is in a form acceptable to the Corporation).
(b) If any Series A Preferred Stock certificate shall be mutilated, lost, stolen or destroyed, the Corporation shall, at the expense of the Holder, issue, in exchange and in substitution for and upon cancellation of the mutilated Series A Preferred Stock certificate, or in lieu of and substitution for the Series A Preferred Stock certificate lost, stolen or destroyed, a new Series A Preferred Stock certificate of like tenor and representing an equivalent amount of shares of the Series A Preferred Stock, but only upon receipt of evidence of such loss, theft or destruction of such Series A Preferred Stock certificate and indemnity, if requested, satisfactory to the Corporation and the Transfer Agent.
Section 9. Other Provisions.
(a) With respect to any notice to a Holder required to be provided hereunder, such notice shall be mailed to the registered address of such Holder, and neither failure to mail such notice, nor any defect therein or in the mailing thereof, to any particular Holder shall affect the sufficiency of the notice or the validity of the proceedings referred to in such notice with respect to the other Holders or affect the legality or validity of any redemption, conversion, distribution, rights, warrant, reclassification, consolidation, merger, conveyance, transfer, dissolution, liquidation, winding-up or other action, or the vote upon any action with respect to which the Holders are entitled to vote. All notice periods referred to herein shall commence on the date of the mailing of the applicable notice. Any notice which was mailed in the manner herein provided shall be conclusively presumed to have been duly given whether or not the Holder receives the notice.
(b) Shares of the Series A Preferred Stock issued and reacquired shall be retired and canceled promptly after reacquisition thereof and, upon compliance with the applicable requirements of Delaware law, have the status of authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock of the Corporation undesignated as to series and may with any and all other authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock of the Corporation be designated or redesignated and issued or reissued, as the case may be, as part of any series of Preferred Stock of the Corporation.
4
(c) The headings of the various paragraphs and subparagraphs of this Certificate of Designation are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the interpretation of any of the provisions of this Certificate of Designation.
(d) Whenever possible, each provision of this Certificate of Designation shall be interpreted in a manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law and public policy. If any provision set forth herein is held to be invalid, unlawful or incapable of being enforced by reason of any rule of law or public policy, such provision shall be ineffective only to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating or otherwise adversely affecting the remaining provisions of this Certificate of Designation. No provision herein set forth shall be deemed dependent upon any other provision unless so expressed herein. If a court of competent jurisdiction should determine that a provision of this Certificate of Designation would be valid or enforceable if a period of time were extended or shortened, then such court may make such change as shall be necessary to render the provision in question effective and valid under applicable law.
(e) Except as may otherwise be required by law, the shares of the Series A Preferred Stock shall not have any powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, other than those specifically set forth in this Certificate of Designation.
The date of this designation’s adoption was February 22, 2022.
The designation was duly adopted by the Corporation’s Board of Directors.
[Signature Page Follows]
5
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Certificate of Designation of Series A Preferred Stock has been duly executed by a duly authorized officer of the Corporation.
Dated: February 22, 2022 | BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC. | ||
By: | /s/ Lavell Juan Malloy, II | ||
Lavell Juan
Malloy, II, President and Chief Executive Officer |
[Signature Page to Certificate of Designation of Brag House Holdings, Inc.]
Exhibit 3.6
Amended and Restated Bylaws of
Brag House Holdings, Inc.
(a Delaware corporation)
Table of Contents
Page | ||
Article I - Corporate Offices | 1 | |
1.1 | Registered Office | 1 |
1.2 | Other Offices | 1 |
Article II - Meetings of Stockholders | 1 | |
2.1 | Place of Meetings | 1 |
2.2 | Annual Meeting | 1 |
2.3 | Special Meeting | 1 |
2.4 | Notice of Business to be Brought before a Meeting | 1 |
2.5 | Notice of Nominations for Election to the Board | 4 |
2.6 | Notice of Stockholders’ Meetings | 7 |
2.7 | Quorum | 7 |
2.8 | Adjourned Meeting; Notice | 7 |
2.9 | Conduct of Business | 8 |
2.10 | Voting | 8 |
2.11 | Record Date for Stockholder Meetings and Other Purposes | 8 |
2.12 | Proxies | 9 |
2.13 | List of Stockholders Entitled to Vote | 9 |
2.14 | Inspectors of Election | 9 |
2.15 | Delivery to the Corporation | 10 |
2.16 | Stockholder Action by Written Consent Without a Meeting | 10 |
Article III - Directors | 10 | |
3.1 | Powers | 10 |
3.2 | Number of Directors | 10 |
3.3 | Election, Qualification and Term of Office of Directors | 11 |
3.4 | Resignation and Vacancies | 11 |
3.5 | Place of Meetings; Meetings by Telephone | 11 |
3.6 | Regular Meetings | 11 |
3.7 | Special Meetings; Notice | 11 |
3.8 | Quorum | 12 |
3.9 | Board Action without a Meeting | 12 |
3.10 | Fees and Compensation of Directors | 12 |
3.11 | Removal of Directors | 12 |
Article IV - Committees | 12 | |
4.1 | Committees of Directors | 12 |
4.2 | Committee Minutes | 13 |
4.3 | Meetings and Actions of Committees | 13 |
4.4 | Subcommittees | 13 |
i
Article V - Officers | 13 | |
5.1 | Officers | 13 |
5.2 | Appointment of Officers | 14 |
5.3 | Subordinate Officers | 14 |
5.4 | Removal and Resignation of Officers | 14 |
5.5 | Vacancies in Offices | 14 |
5.6 | Representation of Shares of Other Corporations | 14 |
5.7 | Authority and Duties of Officers | 14 |
5.8 | Compensation | 14 |
Article VI - Records | 14 | |
Article VII - General Matters | 15 | |
7.1 | Execution of Corporate Contracts and Instruments | 15 |
7.2 | Stock Certificates | 15 |
7.3 | Special Designation of Certificates | 15 |
7.4 | Lost Certificates | 15 |
7.5 | Shares Without Certificates | 15 |
7.6 | Construction; Definitions | 15 |
7.7 | Dividends | 16 |
7.8 | Fiscal Year | 16 |
7.9 | Seal | 16 |
7.10 | Transfer of Stock | 16 |
7.11 | Stock Transfer Agreements | 16 |
7.12 | Registered Stockholders | 16 |
7.13 | Waiver of Notice | 17 |
Article VIII - Notice | 17 | |
8.1 | Delivery of Notice; Notice by Electronic Transmission | 17 |
Article IX - Indemnification | 18 | |
9.1 | Indemnification of Directors and Officers | 18 |
9.2 | Indemnification of Others | 18 |
9.3 | Prepayment of Expenses | 18 |
9.4 | Determination; Claim | 18 |
9.5 | Non-Exclusivity of Rights | 18 |
9.6 | Insurance | 19 |
9.7 | Other Indemnification | 19 |
9.8 | Continuation of Indemnification | 19 |
9.9 | Amendment or Repeal; Interpretation | 19 |
Article X - Amendments | 20 | |
Article XI - Definitions | 20 |
ii
Amended and Restated Bylaws of
Brag House Holdings, Inc.
ARTICLE I - Corporate Offices
1.1 Registered Office.
The address of the registered office of Brag House Holdings, Inc. (the “Corporation”) in the State of Delaware, and the name of its registered agent at such address, shall be as set forth in the Corporation’s certificate of incorporation, as the same may be amended and/or restated from time to time (the “Certificate of Incorporation”).
1.2 Other Offices.
The Corporation may have additional offices at any place or places, within or outside the State of Delaware, as the Corporation’s board of directors (the “Board”) may from time to time establish or as the business of the Corporation may require.
ARTICLE II - Meetings of Stockholders
2.1 Place of Meetings.
Meetings of stockholders shall be held at any place, within or outside the State of Delaware, designated by the Board. The Board may, in its sole discretion, determine that a meeting of stockholders shall not be held at any place, but may instead be held solely by means of remote communication as authorized by Section 211(a) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”). In the absence of any such designation or determination, stockholders’ meetings shall be held at the Corporation’s principal executive office.
2.2 Annual Meeting.
The Board shall designate the date and time of the annual meeting. At the annual meeting, directors shall be elected and other proper business properly brought before the meeting in accordance with Section 2.4 may be transacted. The Board may postpone, reschedule or cancel any previously scheduled annual meeting of stockholders.
2.3 Special Meeting.
Special meetings of stockholders for any purpose or purposes may be called at any time by the majority of the Whole Board, the Chairman of the Board or the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, and may not be called by another person or persons. Business transacted at any special meeting of stockholders shall be limited to matters relating to the purpose or purposes stated in the notice of meeting. The Board may postpone, reschedule or cancel any previously scheduled special meeting of stockholders.
2.4 Notice of Business to be Brought before a Meeting.
(a) At an annual meeting of the stockholders, only such business shall be conducted as shall have been properly brought before the meeting. To be properly brought before an annual meeting, business must be (i) specified in a notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the Board, (ii) if not specified in a notice of meeting, otherwise brought before the meeting by the Board or the Chairperson of the Board or (iii) otherwise properly brought before the meeting by a stockholder present in person who (A) (1) was a record owner of shares of the Corporation both at the time of giving the notice provided for in this Section 2.4 and at the time of the meeting, (2) is entitled to vote at the meeting and (3) has complied with this Section 2.4 in all applicable respects or (B) properly made such proposal in accordance with Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (as so amended and inclusive of such rules and regulations, the “Exchange Act”). The foregoing clause (iii) shall be the exclusive means for a stockholder to propose business to be brought before an annual meeting of the stockholders. The only matters that may be brought before a special meeting are the matters specified in the notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the person calling the meeting pursuant to Section 2.3, and stockholders shall not be permitted to propose business to be brought before a special meeting of the stockholders. For purposes of this Section 2.4, “present in person” shall mean that the stockholder proposing that the business be brought before the annual meeting of the Corporation, or a qualified representative of such proposing stockholder, appear at such annual meeting in person, or by remote communication, if applicable. A “qualified representative” of such proposing stockholder shall be a duly authorized officer, manager or partner of such stockholder or any other person authorized by a writing executed by such stockholder or an electronic transmission delivered by such stockholder to act for such stockholder as proxy at the meeting of stockholders and such person must produce such writing or electronic transmission, or a reliable reproduction of the writing or electronic transmission, at the meeting of stockholders. Stockholders seeking to nominate persons for election to the Board must comply with Section 2.5, and this Section 2.4 shall not be applicable to nominations except as expressly provided in Section 2.5.
(b) Without qualification, for business to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a stockholder, the stockholder must (i) provide Timely Notice (as defined below) thereof in writing and in proper form to the Secretary of the Corporation and (ii) provide any updates or supplements to such notice at the times and in the forms required by this Section 2.4. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, the principal executive offices of the Corporation not less than ninety (90) days nor more than one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the one-year anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting; provided, however, that if no annual meeting was held in the preceding year, to be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be so delivered, or mailed and received, not earlier than the close of business on the one hundred and twentieth (120th) day prior to such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the ninetieth (90th) day prior to such annual meeting or, if later, the tenth (10th) day following the day on which public disclosure of the date of such annual meeting was first made by the Corporation; provided, further, that if the date of the annual meeting is more than thirty (30) days before or more than sixty (60) days after such anniversary date, to be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be so delivered, or mailed and received, not later than the ninetieth (90th) day prior to such annual meeting or, if later, the tenth (10th) day following the day on which public disclosure of the date of such annual meeting was first made by the Corporation (such notice within such time periods, “Timely Notice”). In no event shall any adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of Timely Notice as described above.
(c) To be in proper form for purposes of this Section 2.4, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary of the Corporation shall set forth:
(i) As to each Proposing Person (as defined below), (A) the name and address of such Proposing Person (including, if applicable, the name and address that appear on the Corporation’s books and records); and (B) the class or series and number of shares of the Corporation that are, directly or indirectly, owned of record or beneficially owned (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) by such Proposing Person, except that such Proposing Person shall in all events be deemed to beneficially own any shares of any class or series of the Corporation as to which such Proposing Person has a right to acquire beneficial ownership at any time in the future (the disclosures to be made pursuant to the foregoing clauses (A) and (B) are referred to as “Stockholder Information”);
(ii) As to each Proposing Person, (A) the full notional amount of any securities that, directly or indirectly, underlie any “derivative security” (as such term is defined in Rule 16a-1(c) under the Exchange Act) that constitutes a “call equivalent position” (as such term is defined in Rule 16a-1(b) under the Exchange Act) (“Synthetic Equity Position”) and that is, directly or indirectly, held or maintained by such Proposing Person with respect to any shares of any class or series of shares of the Corporation; provided that, for the purposes of the definition of “Synthetic Equity Position,” the term “derivative security” shall also include any security or instrument that would not otherwise constitute a “derivative security” as a result of any feature that would make any conversion, exercise or similar right or privilege of such security or instrument becoming determinable only at some future date or upon the happening of a future occurrence, in which case the determination of the amount of securities into which such security or instrument would be convertible or exercisable shall be made assuming that such security or instrument is immediately convertible or exercisable at the time of such determination; and, provided, further, that any Proposing Person satisfying the requirements of Rule 13d-1(b)(1) under the Exchange Act (other than a Proposing Person that so satisfies Rule 13d-1(b)(1) under the Exchange Act solely by reason of Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(E)) shall not be deemed to hold or maintain the notional amount of any securities that underlie a Synthetic Equity Position held by such Proposing Person as a hedge with respect to a bona fide derivatives trade or position of such Proposing Person arising in the ordinary course of such Proposing Person’s business as a derivatives dealer, (B) any rights to dividends on the shares of any class or series of shares of the Corporation owned beneficially by such Proposing Person that are separated or separable from the underlying shares of the Corporation, (C) any material pending or threatened legal proceeding in which such Proposing Person is a party or material participant involving the Corporation or any of its officers or directors, or any affiliate of the Corporation, (D) any other material relationship between such Proposing Person, on the one hand, and the Corporation or any affiliate of the Corporation, on the other hand, (E) any direct or indirect material interest in any material contract or agreement of such Proposing Person with the Corporation or any affiliate of the Corporation (including, in any such case, any employment agreement, collective bargaining agreement or consulting agreement), (F) a representation that such Proposing Person intends or is part of a group that intends to deliver a proxy statement or form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of the Corporation’s outstanding capital stock required to approve or adopt the proposal or otherwise solicit proxies from stockholders in support of such proposal and (G) any other information relating to such Proposing Person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filing required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies or consents by such Proposing Person in support of the business proposed to be brought before the meeting pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act (the disclosures to be made pursuant to the foregoing clauses (A) through (G) are referred to as “Disclosable Interests”); provided, however, that Disclosable Interests shall not include any such disclosures with respect to the ordinary course business activities of any broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee who is a Proposing Person solely as a result of being the stockholder directed to prepare and submit the notice required by these bylaws on behalf of a beneficial owner; and
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(iii) As to each item of business that the stockholder proposes to bring before the annual meeting, (A) a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the annual meeting, the reasons for conducting such business at the annual meeting and any material interest in such business of each Proposing Person, (B) the text of the proposal or business (including the text of any resolutions proposed for consideration and in the event that such business includes a proposal to amend the bylaws, the language of the proposed amendment), (C) a reasonably detailed description of all agreements, arrangements and understandings (x) between or among any of the Proposing Persons or (y) between or among any Proposing Person and any other person or entity (including their names) in connection with the proposal of such business by such stockholder, and (D) any other information relating to such item of business that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filing required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies in support of the business proposed to be brought before the meeting pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act; provided, however, that the disclosures required by this Section 2.4(c)(iii) shall not include any disclosures with respect to any broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee who is a Proposing Person solely as a result of being the stockholder directed to prepare and submit the notice required by these bylaws on behalf of a beneficial owner.
For purposes of this Section 2.4, the term “Proposing Person” shall mean (i) the stockholder providing the notice of business proposed to be brought before an annual meeting, (ii) the beneficial owner or beneficial owners, if different, on whose behalf the notice of the business proposed to be brought before the annual meeting is made, and (iii) any participant (as defined in paragraphs (a)(ii)-(vi) of Instruction 3 to Item 4 of Schedule 14A) with such stockholder in such solicitation.
(d) A Proposing Person shall update and supplement its notice to the Corporation of its intent to propose business at an annual meeting, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided in such notice pursuant to this Section 2.4 shall be true and correct as of the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting and as of the date that is ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof, and such update and supplement shall be delivered to, or mailed and received by, the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than five (5) business days after the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of such record date), and not later than eight (8) business days prior to the date for the meeting or, if practicable, any adjournment or postponement thereof (and, if not practicable, on the first practicable date prior to the date to which the meeting has been adjourned or postponed) (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof). For the avoidance of doubt, the obligation to update and supplement as set forth in this paragraph or any other Section of these bylaws shall not limit the Corporation’s rights with respect to any deficiencies in any notice provided by a stockholder, extend any applicable deadlines hereunder or enable or be deemed to permit a stockholder who has previously submitted notice hereunder to amend or update any proposal or to submit any new proposal, including by changing or adding matters, business or resolutions proposed to be brought before a meeting of the stockholders. If a stockholder fails to provide such written update within such period, the information as to which such written update relates may be deemed not to have been provided in accordance with this Section 2.4.
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(e) Notwithstanding anything in these bylaws to the contrary, no business shall be conducted at an annual meeting that is not properly brought before the meeting in accordance with this Section 2.4. The presiding officer of the meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine that the business was not properly brought before the meeting in accordance with this Section 2.4, and if he or she should so determine, he or she shall so declare to the meeting and any such business not properly brought before the meeting shall not be transacted.
(f) This Section 2.4 is expressly intended to apply to any business proposed to be brought before an annual meeting of stockholders other than any proposal made in accordance with Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act and included in the Corporation’s proxy statement. In addition to the requirements of this Section 2.4 with respect to any business proposed to be brought before an annual meeting, each Proposing Person shall comply with all applicable requirements of the Exchange Act with respect to any such business. Nothing in this Section 2.4 shall be deemed to affect the rights of stockholders to request inclusion of proposals in the Corporation’s proxy statement pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act.
(g) For purposes of these bylaws, “public disclosure” shall mean disclosure in a press release reported by a national news service or in a document publicly filed by the Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Sections 13, 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act.
2.5 Notice of Nominations for Election to the Board.
(a) Nominations of any person for election to the Board at an annual meeting or at a special meeting (but only if the election of directors is a matter specified in the notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the person calling such special meeting) may be made at such meeting only (i) by or at the direction of the Board, including by any committee or persons authorized to do so by the Board or these bylaws, or (ii) by a stockholder present in person (A) who was a record owner of shares of the Corporation both at the time of giving the notice provided for in this Section 2.5 and at the time of the meeting, (B) is entitled to vote at the meeting, and (C) has complied with this Section 2.5 as to such notice and nomination. For purposes of this Section 2.5, “present in person” shall mean that the stockholder proposing that the business be brought before the meeting of the Corporation, or a qualified representative of such stockholder, appear at such meeting in person, or by remote communication, if applicable. A “qualified representative” of such proposing stockholder shall be a duly authorized officer, manager or partner of such stockholder or any other person authorized by a writing executed by such stockholder or an electronic transmission delivered by such stockholder to act for such stockholder as proxy at the meeting of stockholders and such person must produce such writing or electronic transmission, or a reliable reproduction of the writing or electronic transmission, at the meeting of stockholders. The foregoing clause (iii) shall be the exclusive means for a stockholder to make any nomination of a person or persons for election to the Board at an annual meeting or special meeting.
(b) (i) For a stockholder to make any nomination of a person or persons for election to the Board at an annual meeting, the stockholder must (1) provide Timely Notice (as defined in Section 2.4) thereof in writing and in proper form to the Secretary of the Corporation, (2) provide the information, agreements and questionnaires with respect to such stockholder and its candidate for nomination as required to be set forth by this Section 2.5 and (3) provide any updates or supplements to such notice at the times and in the forms required by this Section 2.5.
(ii) If the election of directors is a matter specified in the notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the person calling a special meeting, then for a stockholder to make any nomination of a person or persons for election to the Board at a special meeting, the stockholder must (i) provide Timely Notice thereof in writing and in proper form to the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation, (ii) provide the information with respect to such stockholder and its candidate for nomination as required by this Section 2.5 and (iii) provide any updates or supplements to such notice at the times and in the forms required by this Section 2.5. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice for nominations to be made at a special meeting must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, the principal executive offices of the Corporation not earlier than the one hundred twentieth (120th) day prior to such special meeting and not later than the ninetieth (90th) day prior to such special meeting or, if later, the tenth (10th) day following the day on which public disclosure (as defined in Section 2.4) of the date of such special meeting was first made.
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(iii) In no event shall any adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting or special meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described above.
(iv) In no event may a Nominating Person provide Timely Notice with respect to a greater number of director candidates than are subject to election by stockholders at the applicable meeting. If the Corporation shall, subsequent to such notice, increase the number of directors subject to election at the meeting, such notice as to any additional nominees shall be due on the later of (i) the conclusion of the time period for Timely Notice, (ii) the date set forth in Section 2.5(b)(ii) or (iii) the tenth day following the date of public disclosure (as defined in Section 2.4) of such increase.
(c) To be in proper form for purposes of this Section 2.5, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary of the Corporation shall set forth:
(i) As to each Nominating Person (as defined below), the Stockholder Information (as defined in Section 2.4(c)(i), except that for purposes of this Section 2.5, the term “Nominating Person” shall be substituted for the term “Proposing Person” in all places it appears in Section 2.4(c)(i));
(ii) As to each Nominating Person, any Disclosable Interests (as defined in Section 2.4(c)(ii), except that for purposes of this Section 2.5, the term “Nominating Person” shall be substituted for the term “Proposing Person” in all places it appears in Section 2.4(c)(ii) and the disclosure with respect to the business to be brought before the meeting in Section 2.4(c)(ii) shall be made with respect to the election of directors at the meeting);
(iii) As to each Nominating person, a representation as to whether or not such Nominating Person or affiliate (as defined by Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) or any of such Nominating Person’s affiliates, associates or others acting in concert therewith intend to solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than the Corporation’s nominees in accordance with Rule 14a-19 promulgated under the Exchange Act; and
(iv) As to each candidate whom a Nominating Person proposes to nominate for election as a director, (A) all information with respect to such candidate for nomination that would be required to be set forth in a stockholder’s notice pursuant to this Section 2.5 if such candidate for nomination were a Nominating Person, (B) all information relating to such candidate for nomination that is required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for election of directors in a contested election pursuant to Section 14(a) under the Exchange Act (including such candidate’s written consent to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected), (C) a description of any direct or indirect material interest in any material contract or agreement between or among any Nominating Person, on the one hand, and each candidate for nomination or his or her respective associates or any other participants in such solicitation, on the other hand, including, without limitation, all information that would be required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 under Regulation S-K if such Nominating Person were the “registrant” for purposes of such rule and the candidate for nomination were a director or executive officer of such registrant and (D) a completed and signed questionnaire, representation and agreement as provided in Section 2.5(f).
For purposes of this Section 2.5, the term “Nominating Person” shall mean (i) the stockholder providing the notice of the nomination proposed to be made at the meeting, (ii) the beneficial owner or beneficial owners, if different, on whose behalf the notice of the nomination proposed to be made at the meeting is made, and (iii) any other participant in such solicitation.
(d) A Nominating Person shall further update and supplement such notice, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided in such notice pursuant to this Section 2.5 shall be true and correct as of the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting and as of the date that is ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof, and such update and supplement shall be delivered to, or mailed and received by, the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than five (5) business days after the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of such record date), and not later than eight (8) business days prior to the date for the meeting or, if practicable, any adjournment or postponement thereof (and, if not practicable, on the first practicable date prior to the date to which the meeting has been adjourned or postponed) (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof). Upon request by the Corporation, if a Nominating Person provides notice pursuant to Rule 14a-19(b) promulgated under the Exchange Act pursuant, such stockholder shall deliver to the Corporation, no later than five (5) business days prior to the applicable meeting of stockholders, reasonable evidence that it has met the requirements of Rule 14a-19(a)(3) promulgated under the Exchange Act For the avoidance of doubt, the obligation to update and supplement as set forth in this paragraph or any other Section of these bylaws shall not limit the Corporation’s rights with respect to any deficiencies in any notice provided by a stockholder, extend any applicable deadlines hereunder or enable or be deemed to permit a stockholder who has previously submitted notice hereunder to amend or update any nomination or to submit any new nomination.
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(e) In addition to the requirements of this Section 2.5 with respect to any nomination proposed to be made at a meeting, each Nominating Person shall comply with all applicable requirements of the Exchange Act with respect to any such nominations.
(f) To be eligible to be a candidate for election as a director of the Corporation at an annual or special meeting, a candidate must be nominated in the manner prescribed in Section 2.5 and the candidate for nomination, whether nominated by the Board or by a stockholder of record, must have previously delivered (in accordance with the time period prescribed for delivery in a notice to such candidate given by or on behalf of the Board), to the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation, (i) a completed written questionnaire (in a form provided by the Corporation) with respect to the background, qualifications, stock ownership and independence of such proposed nominee and (ii) a written representation and agreement (in form provided by the Corporation) that such candidate for nomination (A) is not and, if elected as a director during his or her term of office, will not become a party to (1) any agreement, arrangement or understanding with, and has not given and will not give any commitment or assurance to, any person or entity as to how such proposed nominee, if elected as a director of the Corporation, will act or vote on any issue or question (a “Voting Commitment”) or (2) any Voting Commitment that could limit or interfere with such proposed nominee’s ability to comply, if elected as a director of the Corporation, with such proposed nominee’s fiduciary duties under applicable law, (B) is not, and will not become a party to, any agreement, arrangement or understanding with any person or entity other than the Corporation with respect to any direct or indirect compensation or reimbursement for service as a director that has not been disclosed to the Corporation and (C) if elected as a director of the Corporation, will comply with all applicable corporate governance, conflict of interest, confidentiality, stock ownership and trading and other policies and guidelines of the Corporation applicable to directors and in effect during such person’s term in office as a director (and, if requested by any candidate for nomination, the Secretary of the Corporation shall provide to such candidate for nomination all such policies and guidelines then in effect).
(g) The Board may also require any proposed candidate for nomination as a Director to furnish such other information as may reasonably be requested by the Board in writing prior to the meeting of stockholders at which such candidate’s nomination is to be acted upon in order for the Board to determine the eligibility of such candidate for nomination to be an independent director of the Corporation in accordance with the Corporation’s corporate governance guidelines.
(h) A candidate for nomination as a director shall further update and supplement the materials delivered pursuant to this Section 2.5, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided pursuant to this Section 2.5 shall be true and correct as of the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting and as of the date that is ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof, and such update and supplement shall be delivered to, or mailed and received by, the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation (or any other office specified by the Corporation in any public announcement) not later than five (5) business days after the record date for stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of such record date), and not later than eight (8) business days prior to the date for the meeting or, if practicable, any adjournment or postponement thereof (and, if not practicable, on the first practicable date prior to the date to which the meeting has been adjourned or postponed) (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof). For the avoidance of doubt, the obligation to update and supplement as set forth in this paragraph or any other Section of these bylaws shall not limit the Corporation’s rights with respect to any deficiencies in any materials delivered pursuant to this Section 2.5 by a candidate for director, extend any applicable deadlines hereunder or enable or be deemed to permit a stockholder who has previously submitted notice hereunder to amend or update any proposal or to submit any new proposal, including by changing or adding nominees, matters, business or resolutions proposed to amend or update any nomination or to submit any new nomination.
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(i) No candidate shall be eligible for nomination as a director of the Corporation unless such candidate for nomination and the Nominating Person seeking to place such candidate’s name in nomination has complied with this Section 2.5. The presiding officer at the meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine that a nomination was not properly made in accordance with Section 2.5, and if he or she should so determine, he or she shall so declare such determination to the meeting, the defective nomination shall be disregarded and any ballots cast for the candidate in question (but in the case of any form of ballot listing other qualified nominees, only the votes cast for the nominee in question) shall be void and of no force or effect.
(j) Any stockholder or other person soliciting proxies from other stockholders must use a proxy card color other than white, which shall be reserved for the exclusive use by the Board.
(k) Unless otherwise required by law, if any stockholder (i) provides notice pursuant to Rule 14a-19(b) promulgated under the Exchange Act and (ii) subsequently fails to comply with any requirements of Rule 14a-19 promulgated under the Exchange Act or any other rules or regulations thereunder, then the Corporation shall disregard any proxies or votes solicited for such nominees and such nomination shall be disregarded.
2.6 Notice of Stockholders’ Meetings.
Unless otherwise provided by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, the notice of any meeting of stockholders shall be sent or otherwise given in accordance with Section 8.1 not less than ten (10) nor more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting. The notice shall specify the place, if any, date and time of the meeting, the means of remote communication, if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such meeting, and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called.
2.7 Quorum.
Unless otherwise provided by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, the holders of at least one-third (33 and 1/3%) of the issued and outstanding and entitled to vote, present in person, or by remote communication, if applicable, or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at all meetings of the stockholders. A quorum, once established at a meeting, shall not be broken by the withdrawal of enough votes to leave less than a quorum. If, however, a quorum is not present or represented at any meeting of the stockholders, then either (i) the person presiding over the meeting or (ii) a majority in voting power of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, present in person, or by remote communication, if applicable, or represented by proxy, shall have power to recess the meeting or adjourn the meeting from time to time in the manner provided in Section 2.8 until a quorum is present or represented. At any recessed or adjourned meeting at which a quorum is present or represented, any business may be transacted that might have been transacted at the meeting as originally noticed.
2.8 Adjourned Meeting; Notice.
When a meeting is adjourned to another time or place, unless these bylaws otherwise require, notice need not be given of the adjourned meeting if the time, place, if any, thereof, and the means of remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such adjourned meeting are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken. At any adjourned meeting, the Corporation may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting. If the adjournment is for more than thirty (30) days, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting. If after the adjournment a new record date for determination of stockholders entitled to vote is fixed for the adjourned meeting, the Board shall fix as the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of such adjourned meeting the same or an earlier date as that fixed for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the adjourned meeting, and shall give notice of the adjourned meeting to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at such meeting as of the record date so fixed for notice of such adjourned meeting.
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2.9 Conduct of Business.
The date and time of the opening and the closing of the polls for each matter upon which the stockholders will vote at a meeting shall be announced at the meeting by the person presiding over the meeting. The Board may adopt by resolution such rules and regulations for the conduct of the meeting of stockholders as it shall deem appropriate. At every meeting of the stockholders, the Chairperson of the Board, or in his or her absence or inability to act, the Chief Executive Officer, or in his or her absence or inability to act, the officer or director whom the Board shall appoint, shall act as chairperson of, and preside at the meeting. Except to the extent inconsistent with such rules and regulations as adopted by the Board, the person presiding over any meeting of stockholders shall have the right and authority to convene and (for any or no reason) to recess and/or adjourn the meeting, to prescribe such rules, regulations and procedures (which need not be in writing) and to do all such acts as, in the judgment of such presiding person, are appropriate for the proper conduct of the meeting. Such rules, regulations or procedures, whether adopted by the Board or prescribed by the person presiding over the meeting, may include, without limitation, the following: (i) the establishment of an agenda or order of business for the meeting; (ii) rules and procedures for maintaining order at the meeting and the safety of those present (including, without limitation, rules and procedures for removal of disruptive persons from the meeting); (iii) limitations on attendance at or participation in the meeting to stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, their duly authorized and constituted proxies or such other persons as the person presiding over the meeting shall determine; (iv) restrictions on entry to the meeting after the time fixed for the commencement thereof; and (v) limitations on the time allotted to questions or comments by participants. The presiding person at any meeting of stockholders, in addition to making any other determinations that may be appropriate to the conduct of the meeting (including, without limitation, determinations with respect to the administration and/or interpretation of any of the rules, regulations or procedures of the meeting, whether adopted by the Board or prescribed by the person presiding over the meeting), shall, if the facts warrant, determine and declare to the meeting that a matter of business was not properly brought before the meeting and if such presiding person should so determine, such presiding person shall so declare to the meeting and any such matter or business not properly brought before the meeting shall not be transacted or considered. Unless and to the extent determined by the Board or the person presiding over the meeting, meetings of stockholders shall not be required to be held in accordance with the rules of parliamentary procedure.
2.10 Voting.
Except as may be otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation, these bylaws or the DGCL, each stockholder shall be entitled to one (1) vote for each share of capital stock held by such stockholder.
Except as otherwise provided by the Certificate of Incorporation, at all duly called or convened meetings of stockholders at which a quorum is present, for the election of directors, a plurality of the votes cast shall be sufficient to elect a director. Except as otherwise provided by the Certificate of Incorporation, these bylaws, the rules or regulations of any stock exchange applicable to the Corporation, or applicable law or pursuant to any regulation applicable to the Corporation or its securities, each other matter presented to the stockholders at a duly called or convened meeting at which a quorum is present shall be decided by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in voting power of the votes cast (excluding abstentions and broker non-votes) on such matter.
2.11 Record Date for Stockholder Meetings and Other Purposes.
In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of stockholders or any adjournment thereof, the Board may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board, and which record date shall, unless otherwise required by law, not be more than sixty (60) days nor less than ten (10) days before the date of such meeting. If the Board so fixes a date, such date shall also be the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting unless the Board determines, at the time it fixes such record date, that a later date on or before the date of the meeting shall be the date for making such determination. If no record date is fixed by the Board, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall be the close of business on the next day preceding the day on which notice is first given, or, if notice is waived, at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held. A determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however, that the Board may fix a new record date for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the adjourned meeting; and in such case shall also fix as the record date for stockholders entitled to notice of such adjourned meeting the same or an earlier date as that fixed for determination of stockholders entitled to vote in accordance herewith at the adjourned meeting.
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In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment or any rights or the stockholders entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of capital stock, or for the purposes of any other lawful action, the Board may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted, and which record date shall be not more than sixty (60) days prior to such action. If no record date is fixed, the record date for determining stockholders for any such purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the Board adopts the resolution relating thereto.
2.12 Proxies.
Each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of stockholders may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder by proxy authorized by an instrument in writing or by a transmission permitted by law filed in accordance with the procedure established for the meeting, but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three (3) years from its date, unless the proxy provides for a longer period. The revocability of a proxy that states on its face that it is irrevocable shall be governed by the provisions of Section 212 of the DGCL. A proxy may be in the form of an electronic transmission which sets forth or is submitted with information from which it can be determined that the transmission was authorized by the stockholder.
2.13 List of Stockholders Entitled to Vote.
The Corporation shall prepare, at least ten (10) days before every meeting of stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting (provided, however, that if the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote is less than ten (10) days before the date of the meeting, the list shall reflect the stockholders entitled to vote as of the tenth (10th) day before the meeting date), arranged in alphabetical order, and showing the address of each stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder. The Corporation shall not be required to include electronic mail addresses or other electronic contact information on such list. Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting for a period of at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting: (i) on a reasonably accessible electronic network, provided that the information required to gain access to such list is provided with the notice of the meeting, or (ii) during ordinary business hours, at the Corporation’s principal executive office. In the event that the Corporation determines to make the list available on an electronic network, the Corporation may take reasonable steps to ensure that such information is available only to stockholders of the Corporation. If the meeting is to be held at a place, then the list shall be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting during the whole time thereof, and may be inspected by any stockholder who is present. If the meeting is to be held solely by means of remote communication, then the list shall also be open to the examination of any stockholder during the whole time of the meeting on a reasonably accessible electronic network, and the information required to access such list shall be provided with the notice of the meeting. Such list shall presumptively determine the identity of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting and the number of shares held by each of them. Except as otherwise provided by law, the stock ledger shall be the only evidence as to who are the stockholders entitled to examine the list of stockholders required by this Section 2.13 or to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of stockholders.
2.14 Inspectors of Election.
Before any meeting of stockholders, the Corporation shall appoint an inspector or inspectors of election to act at the meeting or its adjournment and make a written report thereof. The Corporation may designate one or more persons as alternate inspectors to replace any inspector who fails to act. If any person appointed as inspector or any alternate fails to appear or fails or refuses to act, then the person presiding over the meeting shall appoint a person to fill that vacancy.
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Such inspectors shall:
(i) determine the number of shares outstanding and the voting power of each, the number of shares represented at the meeting and the validity of any proxies and ballots;
(ii) count all votes or ballots;
(iii) count and tabulate all votes;
(iv) determine and retain for a reasonable period a record of the disposition of any challenges made to any determination by the inspector(s); and
(v) certify its or their determination of the number of shares represented at the meeting and its or their count of all votes and ballots.
Each inspector, before entering upon the discharge of the duties of inspector, shall take and sign an oath faithfully to execute the duties of inspection with strict impartiality and according to the best of such inspector’s ability. Any report or certificate made by the inspectors of election is prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein. The inspectors of election may appoint such persons to assist them in performing their duties as they determine.
2.15 Delivery to the Corporation.
Whenever this ARTICLE II requires one or more persons (including a record or beneficial owner of stock) to deliver a document or information to the Corporation or any officer, employee or agent thereof (including any notice, request, questionnaire, revocation, representation or other document or agreement), such document or information shall be in writing exclusively (and not in an electronic transmission) and shall be delivered exclusively by hand (including, without limitation, overnight courier service) or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, and the Corporation shall not be required to accept delivery of any document not in such written form or so delivered. For the avoidance of doubt, the Corporation expressly opts out of Section 116 of the DGCL with respect to the delivery of information and documents to the Corporation required by this ARTICLE II.
2.16 Stockholder Action by Written Consent Without a Meeting.
Any action required or permitted to be taken by the stockholders of the Corporation must be effected at an annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation, and may not be taken by written consent in lieu of a meeting. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any action required or permitted to be taken by the holders of any series of preferred stock of the Corporation, voting separately as a series or separately as a class with one or more other such series, may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, to the extent expressly so provided by the applicable certificate of designation relating to such series of preferred stock of the Corporation, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding shares of the relevant series of preferred stock of the Corporation having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted and shall be delivered to the Corporation in accordance with the applicable provisions of the DGCL.
ARTICLE III - Directors
3.1 Powers.
Except as otherwise provided by the Certificate of Incorporation or the DGCL, the business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board.
3.2 Number of Directors.
Subject to the Certificate of Incorporation, the total number of directors constituting the Board shall be determined from time to time by resolution of the Board. No reduction of the authorized number of directors shall have the effect of removing any director before that director’s term of office expires.
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3.3 Election, Qualification and Term of Office of Directors.
Except as provided in Section 3.4, and subject to the Certificate of Incorporation, each director, including a director elected to fill a vacancy or newly created directorship, shall hold office until the expiration of the term of the class, if any, for which elected and until such director’s successor is elected and qualified or until such director’s earlier death, resignation, disqualification or removal. Directors need not be stockholders. The Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws may prescribe qualifications for directors.
3.4 Resignation and Vacancies.
Any director may resign at any time upon notice given in writing or by electronic transmission to the Corporation. The resignation shall take effect at the time specified therein or upon the happening of an event specified therein, and if no time or event is specified, at the time of its receipt. When one or more directors so resigns and the resignation is effective at a future date or upon the happening of an event to occur on a future date, a majority of the directors then in office, including those who have so resigned, shall have power to fill such vacancy or vacancies, the vote thereon to take effect when such resignation or resignations shall become effective, and each director so chosen shall hold office as provided in Section 3.3.
Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, vacancies resulting from the death, resignation, disqualification or removal of any director, and newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the authorized number of directors shall be filled only by a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director. Any director elected in accordance with the preceding sentence shall hold office for the remainder of the full term of the director for which the vacancy was created or occurred and until such director’s successor shall have been elected and qualified.
3.5 Place of Meetings; Meetings by Telephone.
The Board may hold meetings, both regular and special, either within or outside the State of Delaware.
Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, members of the Board, or any committee designated by the Board, may participate in a meeting of the Board, or any committee, by means of conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and such participation in a meeting pursuant to this bylaw shall constitute presence in person at the meeting.
3.6 Regular Meetings.
Regular meetings of the Board may be held within or outside the State of Delaware and at such time and at such place as which has been designated by the Board and publicized among all directors, either orally or in writing, by telephone, including a voice-messaging system or other system designed to record and communicate messages, facsimile, telegraph or telex, or by electronic mail or other means of electronic transmission. No further notice shall be required for regular meetings of the Board.
3.7 Special Meetings; Notice.
Special meetings of the Board for any purpose or purposes may be called at any time by the Chairperson of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer or the Secretary of the Corporation or a majority of the total number of directors constituting the Board.
Notice of the time and place of special meetings shall be:
(i) delivered personally by hand, by courier or by telephone;
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(ii) sent by United States first-class mail, postage prepaid;
(iii) sent by facsimile or electronic mail; or
(iv) sent by other means of electronic transmission,
directed to each director at that director’s address, telephone number, facsimile number or electronic mail address, or other address for electronic transmission, as the case may be, as shown on the Corporation’s records.
If the notice is (i) delivered personally by hand, by courier or by telephone, (ii) sent by facsimile or electronic mail, or (iii) sent by other means of electronic transmission, it shall be delivered or sent at least twenty-four (24) hours before the time of the holding of the meeting. If the notice is sent by U.S. mail, it shall be deposited in the U.S. mail at least four (4) days before the time of the holding of the meeting. The notice need not specify the place of the meeting (if the meeting is to be held at the Corporation’s principal executive office) nor the purpose of the meeting.
3.8 Quorum.
At all meetings of the Board, unless otherwise provided by the Certificate of Incorporation, a majority of the total number of directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The vote of a majority of the directors present at any meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Board, except as may be otherwise specifically provided by statute, the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws. If a quorum is not present at any meeting of the Board, then the directors present thereat may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum is present.
3.9 Board Action without a Meeting.
Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board, or of any committee thereof, may be taken without a meeting if all members of the Board or committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing or by electronic transmission. After an action is taken, the consent or consents relating thereto shall be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the Board, or the committee thereof, in the same paper or electronic form as the minutes are maintained. Such action by written consent or consent by electronic transmission shall have the same force and effect as a unanimous vote of the Board.
3.10 Fees and Compensation of Directors.
Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, the Board shall have the authority to fix the compensation, including fees and reimbursement of expenses, of directors for services to the Corporation in any capacity.
3.11 Removal of Directors.
Subject to the special rights of the holders of one or more outstanding series of preferred stock of the Corporation to elect directors, the Board or any individual director may be removed from office at any time without assigning any cause by the affirmative vote of holders of the voting stock of the Corporation entitled to vote at an election of directors.
ARTICLE IV - Committees
4.1 Committees of Directors.
The Board may designate one (1) or more committees, each committee to consist of one (1) or more of the directors of the Corporation. The Board may designate one (1) or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the committee. In the absence or disqualification of a member of a committee, the member or members thereof present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not such member or members constitute a quorum, may unanimously appoint another member of the Board to act at the meeting in the place of any such absent or disqualified member. Any such committee, to the extent provided in the resolution of the Board or in these bylaws, shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority of the Board in the management of the business and affairs of the Corporation, and may authorize the seal of the Corporation to be affixed to all papers that may require it; but no such committee shall have the power or authority to (i) approve or adopt, or recommend to the stockholders, any action or matter expressly required by the DGCL to be submitted to stockholders for approval, or (ii) adopt, amend or repeal any bylaw of the Corporation.
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4.2 Committee Minutes.
Each committee shall keep regular minutes of its meetings and report the same to the Board when required.
4.3 Meetings and Actions of Committees.
Meetings and actions of committees shall be governed by, and held and taken in accordance with, the provisions of:
(i) Section 3.5 (Place of Meetings; Meetings by Telephone);
(ii) Section 3.6 (Regular Meetings);
(iii) Section 3.7 (Special Meetings; Notice);
(iv) Section 3.9 (Board Action Without a Meeting); and
(v) Section 7.13 (Waiver of Notice),
with such changes in the context of those bylaws as are necessary to substitute the committee and its members for the Board and its members; provided, however, that:
(i) the time of regular meetings of committees may be determined either by resolution of the Board or by resolution of the committee;
(ii) special meetings of committees may also be called by resolution of the Board or the chairperson of the applicable committee; and
(iii) the Board may adopt rules for the governance of any committee to override the provisions that would otherwise apply to the committee pursuant to this Section 4.3, provided that such rules do not violate the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation or applicable law.
4.4 Subcommittees.
Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation, these bylaws or the resolutions of the Board designating the committee, a committee may create one (1) or more subcommittees, each subcommittee to consist of one (1) or more members of the committee, and delegate to a subcommittee any or all of the powers and authority of the committee.
ARTICLE V - Officers
5.1 Officers.
The officers of the Corporation shall include a Chief Executive Officer and a Secretary. The Corporation may also have, at the discretion of the Board, a Chairperson of the Board, a Vice Chairperson of the Board, a President, a Chief Financial Officer, a Treasurer, one (1) or more Vice Presidents, one (1) or more Assistant Vice Presidents, one (1) or more Assistant Treasurers, one (1) or more Assistant Secretaries, and any such other officers as may be appointed in accordance with the provisions of these bylaws. Any number of offices may be held by the same person. No officer need be a stockholder or director of the Corporation.
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5.2 Appointment of Officers.
The Board shall appoint the officers of the Corporation, except such officers as may be appointed in accordance with the provisions of Section 5.3.
5.3 Subordinate Officers.
The Board may appoint, or empower the Chief Executive Officer to appoint, such other officers and agents as the business of the Corporation may require. Each of such officers and agents shall hold office for such period, have such authority, and perform such duties as are provided in these bylaws or as the Board may from time to time determine.
5.4 Removal and Resignation of Officers.
Subject to the rights, if any, of an officer under any contract of employment any officer may be removed, either with or without cause, by the Board or, except in the case of an officer chosen by the Board, by any officer upon whom such power of removal may be conferred by the Board.
Any officer may resign at any time by giving written notice to the Corporation. Any resignation shall take effect at the date of the receipt of that notice or at any later time specified in that notice. Unless otherwise specified in the notice of resignation, the acceptance of the resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective. Any resignation is without prejudice to the rights, if any, of the Corporation under any contract to which the officer is a party.
5.5 Vacancies in Offices.
Any vacancy occurring in any office of the Corporation shall be filled by the Board or as provided in Section 5.2.
5.6 Representation of Shares of Other Corporations.
The Chairperson of the Board or the Chief Executive Officer of this Corporation, or any other person authorized by the Board or the Chief Executive Officer, is authorized to vote, represent and exercise on behalf of this Corporation all rights incident to any and all shares or voting securities of any other corporation or other person standing in the name of this Corporation. The authority granted herein may be exercised either by such person directly or by any other person authorized to do so by proxy or power of attorney duly executed by such person having the authority.
5.7 Authority and Duties of Officers.
All officers of the Corporation shall respectively have such authority and perform such duties in the management of the business of the Corporation as may be provided herein or designated from time to time by the Board and, to the extent not so provided, as generally pertain to their respective offices, subject to the control of the Board.
5.8 Compensation.
The compensation of the officers of the Corporation for their services as such shall be fixed from time to time by or at the direction of the Board. An officer of the Corporation shall not be prevented from receiving compensation by reason of the fact that he or she is also a director of the Corporation.
ARTICLE VI - Records
A stock ledger consisting of one or more records in which the names of all of the Corporation’s stockholders of record, the address and number of shares registered in the name of each such stockholder, and all issuances and transfers of stock of the corporation are recorded in accordance with Section 224 of the DGCL shall be administered by or on behalf of the Corporation. Any records administered by or on behalf of the Corporation in the regular course of its business, including its stock ledger, books of account, and minute books, may be kept on, or by means of, or be in the form of, any information storage device, or method, or one or more electronic networks or databases (including one or more distributed electronic networks or databases), provided that the records so kept can be converted into clearly legible paper form within a reasonable time and, with respect to the stock ledger, that the records so kept (i) can be used to prepare the list of stockholders specified in Sections 219 and 220 of the DGCL, (ii) record the information specified in Sections 156, 159, 217(a) and 218 of the DGCL, and (iii) record transfers of stock as governed by Article 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in the State of Delaware.
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ARTICLE VII - General Matters
7.1 Execution of Corporate Contracts and Instruments.
The Board, except as otherwise provided in these bylaws, may authorize any officer or officers, or agent or agents, to enter into any contract or execute any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation; such authority may be general or confined to specific instances.
7.2 Stock Certificates.
The shares of the Corporation shall be represented by certificates or shall be uncertificated. Certificates for the shares of stock, if any, shall be in such form as is consistent with the Certificate of Incorporation and applicable law. Every holder of stock represented by a certificate shall be entitled to have a certificate signed by, or in the name of the Corporation by, any two officers authorized to sign stock certificates representing the number of shares registered in certificate form. The Chairperson or Vice Chairperson of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, if any, any Vice President, the Treasurer, any Assistant Treasurer, the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary of the Corporation shall be specifically authorized to sign stock certificates. Any or all of the signatures on the certificate may be a facsimile. In case any officer, transfer agent or registrar who has signed or whose facsimile signature has been placed upon a certificate has ceased to be such officer, transfer agent or registrar before such certificate is issued, it may be issued by the Corporation with the same effect as if he or she were such officer, transfer agent or registrar at the date of issue.
The Corporation may issue the whole or any part of its shares as partly paid and subject to call for the remainder of the consideration to be paid therefor. Upon the face or back of each stock certificate issued to represent any such partly paid shares, or upon the books and records of the Corporation in the case of uncertificated partly paid shares, the total amount of the consideration to be paid therefor and the amount paid thereon shall be stated. Upon the declaration of any dividend on fully paid shares, the Corporation shall declare a dividend upon partly paid shares of the same class, but only upon the basis of the percentage of the consideration actually paid thereon.
7.3 Special Designation of Certificates.
If the Corporation is authorized to issue more than one class of stock or more than one series of any class, then the powers, the designations, the preferences and the relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights shall be set forth in full or summarized on the face or on the back of the certificate that the Corporation shall issue to represent such class or series of stock (or, in the case of uncertificated shares, set forth in a notice provided pursuant to Section 151 of the DGCL); provided, however, that except as otherwise provided in Section 202 of the DGCL, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, there may be set forth on the face of back of the certificate that the Corporation shall issue to represent such class or series of stock (or, in the case of any uncertificated shares, included in the aforementioned notice) a statement that the Corporation will furnish without charge to each stockholder who so requests the powers, the designations, the preferences and the relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights.
7.4 Lost Certificates.
Except as provided in this Section 7.4, no new certificates for shares shall be issued to replace a previously issued certificate unless the latter is surrendered to the Corporation and cancelled at the same time. The Corporation may issue a new certificate of stock or uncertificated shares in the place of any certificate theretofore issued by it, alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, and the Corporation may require the owner of the lost, stolen or destroyed certificate, or such owner’s legal representative, to give the Corporation a bond sufficient to indemnify it against any claim that may be made against it on account of the alleged loss, theft or destruction of any such certificate or the issuance of such new certificate or uncertificated shares.
7.5 Shares Without Certificates
The Corporation may adopt a system of issuance, recordation and transfer of its shares of stock by electronic or other means not involving the issuance of certificates, provided the use of such system by the Corporation is permitted in accordance with applicable law.
7.6 Construction; Definitions.
Unless the context requires otherwise, the general provisions, rules of construction and definitions in the DGCL shall govern the construction of these bylaws. Without limiting the generality of this provision, the singular number includes the plural and the plural number includes the singular.
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7.7 Dividends.
The Board, subject to any restrictions contained in either (i) the DGCL or (ii) the Certificate of Incorporation, may declare and pay dividends upon the shares of its capital stock. Dividends may be paid in cash, in property or in shares of the Corporation’s capital stock.
The Board may set apart out of any of the funds of the Corporation available for dividends a reserve or reserves for any proper purpose and may abolish any such reserve. Such purposes shall include but not be limited to equalizing dividends, repairing or maintaining any property of the Corporation, and meeting contingencies.
7.8 Fiscal Year.
The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the Board and may be changed by the Board.
7.9 Seal.
The Corporation may adopt a corporate seal, which shall be adopted and which may be altered by the Board. The Corporation may use the corporate seal by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or in any other manner reproduced.
7.10 Transfer of Stock.
Shares of the stock of the Corporation shall be transferable in the manner prescribed by law and in these bylaws. Shares of stock of the Corporation shall be transferred on the books of the Corporation only by the holder of record thereof or by such holder’s attorney duly authorized in writing, upon surrender to the Corporation of the certificate or certificates representing such shares endorsed by the appropriate person or persons (or by delivery of duly executed instructions with respect to uncertificated shares), with such evidence of the authenticity of such endorsement or execution, transfer, authorization and other matters as the Corporation may reasonably require, and accompanied by all necessary stock transfer stamps. No transfer of stock shall be valid as against the Corporation for any purpose until it shall have been entered in the stock records of the Corporation by an entry showing the names of the persons from and to whom it was transferred.
7.11 Stock Transfer Agreements.
The Corporation shall have power to enter into and perform any agreement with any number of stockholders of any one or more classes or series of stock of the Corporation to restrict the transfer of shares of stock of the Corporation of any one or more classes owned by such stockholders in any manner not prohibited by the DGCL.
7.12 Registered Stockholders.
The Corporation:
(i) shall be entitled to recognize the exclusive right of a person registered on its books as the owner of shares to receive dividends and to vote as such owner; and
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(ii) shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such share or shares on the part of another person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof, except as otherwise provided by the laws of the State of Delaware.
7.13 Waiver of Notice.
Whenever notice is required to be given under any provision of the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws, a written waiver, signed by the person entitled to notice, or a waiver by electronic transmission by the person entitled to notice, whether before or after the time of the event for which notice is to be given, shall be deemed equivalent to notice. Attendance of a person at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except when the person attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting, to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any regular or special meeting of the stockholders need be specified in any written waiver of notice or any waiver by electronic transmission unless so required by the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws.
ARTICLE VIII - Notice
8.1 Delivery of Notice; Notice by Electronic Transmission.
Without limiting the manner by which notice otherwise may be given effectively to stockholders, any notice to stockholders given by the Corporation under any provisions of the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation, or these bylaws may be given in writing directed to the stockholder’s mailing address (or by electronic transmission directed to the stockholder’s electronic mail address, as applicable) as it appears on the records of the Corporation and shall be given (1) if mailed, when the notice is deposited in the U.S. mail, postage prepaid, (2) if delivered by courier service, the earlier of when the notice is received or left at such stockholder’s address or (3) if given by electronic mail, when directed to such stockholder’s electronic mail address unless the stockholder has notified the Corporation in writing or by electronic transmission of an objection to receiving notice by electronic mail. A notice by electronic mail must include a prominent legend that the communication is an important notice regarding the Corporation.
Without limiting the manner by which notice otherwise may be given effectively to stockholders, any notice to stockholders given by the Corporation under any provision of the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation or these bylaws shall be effective if given by a form of electronic transmission consented to by the stockholder to whom the notice is given. Any such consent shall be revocable by the stockholder by written notice or electronic transmission to the Corporation. Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph, the Corporation may give a notice by electronic mail in accordance with the first paragraph of this section without obtaining the consent required by this paragraph.
Any notice given pursuant to the preceding paragraph shall be deemed given:
(i) | if by facsimile telecommunication, when directed to a number at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice; |
(ii) | if by a posting on an electronic network together with separate notice to the stockholder of such specific posting, upon the later of (A) such posting and (B) the giving of such separate notice; and |
(iii) | if by any other form of electronic transmission, when directed to the stockholder. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, a notice may not be given by an electronic transmission from and after the time that (1) the Corporation is unable to deliver by such electronic transmission two (2) consecutive notices given by the Corporation and (2) such inability becomes known to the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Corporation or to the transfer agent, or other person responsible for the giving of notice; provided, however, that the inadvertent failure to discover such inability shall not invalidate any meeting or other action.
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An affidavit of the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Corporation or of the transfer agent or other agent of the Corporation that the notice has been given shall, in the absence of fraud, be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.
ARTICLE IX - Indemnification
9.1 Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
The Corporation shall indemnify and hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL as it presently exists or may hereafter be amended, any person who was or is made or is threatened to be made a party or is otherwise involved in any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (a “Proceeding”) by reason of the fact that he or she, or a person for whom he or she is the legal representative, is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or, while serving as a director or officer of the Corporation, is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise or non-profit entity (a “covered person”), including, without limitation, service with respect to employee benefit plans, against all liability and loss suffered and expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties, and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred by such person in connection with any such Proceeding. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, except as otherwise provided in Section 9.4, the Corporation shall be required to indemnify a person in connection with a Proceeding initiated by such person only if the Proceeding was authorized in the specific case by the Board.
9.2 Indemnification of Others.
The Corporation shall also have the power to indemnify and hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law as it presently exists or may hereafter be amended, any employee or agent of the Corporation who was or is made or is threatened to be made a party or is otherwise involved in any Proceeding by reason of the fact that he or she, or a person for whom he or she is the legal representative, is or was an employee or agent of the Corporation or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise or non-profit entity, including service with respect to employee benefit plans, against all liability and loss suffered and expenses reasonably incurred by such person in connection with any such Proceeding.
9.3 Prepayment of Expenses.
The Corporation shall to the fullest extent not prohibited by applicable law pay the expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees) incurred by or on behalf of any covered person, and may also pay the expenses incurred by or on behalf of any employee or agent of the Corporation, in defending any Proceeding in advance of its final disposition; provided, however, that such payment of expenses in advance of the final disposition of the Proceeding shall be made only upon receipt of an undertaking by the person to repay all amounts advanced if it should be ultimately determined that the person is not entitled to be indemnified under this ARTICLE IX or otherwise.
9.4 Determination; Claim.
If a claim for indemnification (following the final disposition of such Proceeding) under this ARTICLE IX is not paid in full within sixty (60) days, or a claim for advancement of expenses under this ARTICLE IX is not paid in full within thirty (30) days, after a written claim therefor has been received by the Corporation the claimant may thereafter (but not before) file suit to recover the unpaid amount of such claim and, if successful in whole or in part, shall be entitled to be paid the expense of prosecuting such claim to the fullest extent permitted by law. In any such action the Corporation shall have the burden of proving that the claimant was not entitled to the requested indemnification or payment of expenses under applicable law.
9.5 Non-Exclusivity of Rights.
The rights conferred on any person by this ARTICLE IX shall not be exclusive of any other rights which such person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of the Certificate of Incorporation, these bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.
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9.6 Insurance.
The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust enterprise or non-profit entity against any liability asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify him or her against such liability under the provisions of the DGCL.
9.7 Other Indemnification.
The Corporation’s obligation, if any, to indemnify or advance expenses to any person who was or is serving at its request as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise or non-profit entity shall be reduced by any amount such person actually collects as indemnification or advancement of expenses from such other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise or non-profit enterprise.
9.8 Continuation of Indemnification.
The rights to indemnification and to prepayment of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this ARTICLE IX shall continue notwithstanding that the person has ceased to be a director or officer of the Corporation and shall inure to the benefit of the estate, heirs, executors, administrators, legatees and distributees of such person.
9.9 Amendment or Repeal; Interpretation.
The provisions of this ARTICLE IX shall constitute a contract between the Corporation, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, each individual who serves or has served as a director or officer of the Corporation (whether before or after the adoption of these bylaws), in consideration of such person’s performance of such services, and pursuant to this ARTICLE IX the Corporation intends to be legally bound to each such current or former director or officer of the Corporation. With respect to current and former directors and officers of the Corporation, the rights conferred under this ARTICLE IX are present contractual rights and such rights are fully vested, and shall be deemed to have vested fully, immediately upon adoption of theses bylaws. With respect to any directors or officers of the Corporation who commence service following adoption of these bylaws, the rights conferred under this provision shall be present contractual rights and such rights shall fully vest, and be deemed to have vested fully, immediately upon such director or officer commencing service as a director or officer of the Corporation. Any repeal or modification of the foregoing provisions of this ARTICLE IX shall not adversely affect any right or protection (i) hereunder of any person in respect of any act, omission or claim occurring or arising prior to the time of such repeal or modification or (ii) under any agreement providing for indemnification or advancement of expenses to an officer or director of the Corporation in effect prior to the time of such repeal or modification.
Any reference to an officer of the Corporation in this ARTICLE IX shall be deemed to refer exclusively to the Chief Executive Officer and the Secretary of the Corporation, or other officer of the Corporation appointed by (x) the Board pursuant to ARTICLE V or (y) an officer to whom the Board has delegated the power to appoint officers pursuant to ARTICLE V, and any reference to an officer of any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise shall be deemed to refer exclusively to an officer appointed by the board of directors (or equivalent governing body) of such other entity pursuant to the certificate of incorporation and bylaws (or equivalent organizational documents) of such other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise. The fact that any person who is or was an employee of the Corporation or an employee of any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise has been given or has used the title of “Vice President” or any other title that could be construed to suggest or imply that such person is or may be an officer of the Corporation or of such other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise shall not result in such person being constituted as, or being deemed to be, an officer of the Corporation or of such other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise for purposes of this ARTICLE IX.
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Article X - Amendments
The Board is expressly empowered to adopt, amend or repeal the bylaws of the Corporation. The stockholders also shall have power to adopt, amend or repeal the bylaws of the Corporation; provided, however, that such action by stockholders shall require, in addition to any other vote required by the Certificate of Incorporation or applicable law, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of voting stock of the Corporation with the power to vote generally in an election of directors, voting together as a single class.
Article XI - Definitions
As used in these bylaws, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
An “electronic transmission” means any form of communication, not directly involving the physical transmission of paper, including the use of, or participation in, one or more electronic networks or databases (including one or more distributed electronic networks or databases), that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved and reviewed by a recipient thereof, and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient through an automated process.
An “electronic mail” means an electronic transmission directed to a unique electronic mail address (which electronic mail shall be deemed to include any files attached thereto and any information hyperlinked to a website if such electronic mail includes the contact information of an officer or agent of the Corporation who is available to assist with accessing such files and information).
An “electronic mail address” means a destination, commonly expressed as a string of characters, consisting of a unique user name or mailbox (commonly referred to as the “local part” of the address) and a reference to an internet domain (commonly referred to as the “domain part” of the address), whether or not displayed, to which electronic mail can be sent or delivered.
The term “person” means any individual, general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, corporation, trust, business trust, joint stock company, joint venture, unincorporated association, cooperative or association or any other legal entity or organization of whatever nature, and shall include any successor (by merger or otherwise) of such entity.
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CERTIFICATION OF ADOPTION OF AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS
The undersigned hereby certifies that:
1. | I am the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Brag House Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Corporation”); and |
2. | The foregoing Amended and Restated Bylaws is a true and correct copy of the Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Corporation, as duly adopted and approved by the Board of Directors of the Corporation, effective as of July 3, 2024. |
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunder subscribed my name this 3rd day of July, 2024.
/s/ Lavell Juan Malloy, II | |
Lavell Juan Malloy, II, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman |
Certification of Adoption of Amended and Restated Bylaws
Exhibit 5.1
July 10, 2024
Brag House Holdings, Inc.
61 Wilton Road, 3rd Floor
Westport, CT 06880
Re: Registration Statement on Form S-1
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to Brag House Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the preparation of the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), initially confidentially submitted by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on February 14, 2022, as amended on October 12, 2023 and January 9, 2024, publicly filed with the Commission on June 18, 2024, as amended on July 10, 2024 (the “Registration Statement”). The Registration Statement relates to the registration of the proposed offer and sale of a proposed maximum aggregate offering price of $9,200,000 of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), including shares of Common Stock to cover the Underwriters’ (as defined below) option to purchase additional shares, if any, and warrants to be issued to the Underwriters (the “Underwriter Warrants”) to purchase shares of Common Stock (the “Warrant Shares”) at a maximum aggregate purchase price of $240,000. The shares of Common Stock to be sold by the Company identified in the Registration Statement and the Warrant Shares are referred to herein as the “Shares.”
In rendering the opinion set forth herein, we have examined the originals, or photostatic or certified copies, of (i) the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and Amended & Restated Bylaws, each as currently in effect, (ii) certain resolutions of the Board of Directors of the Company related to the filing of the Registration Statement, the authorization and issuance of the Shares and related matters, (iii) the Registration Statement and all exhibits thereto, (iv) the form of underwriting agreement to be entered into by and between the Company and Kingswood Capital Partners, LLC, as representative of the underwriters (the “Underwriters”), substantially in the form of which to be filed as Exhibit 1.1 to the Registration Statement (the “Underwriting Agreement”), (v) the form of Underwriter Warrant and (vi) such other records, documents and instruments as we deemed relevant and necessary for purposes of the opinion stated herein.
In making the foregoing examination we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as photostatic or certified copies, and the authenticity of the originals of such copies. As to all questions of fact material to this opinion, where such facts have not been independently established, we have relied, to the extent we have deemed reasonably appropriate, upon representations or certificates of officers of the Company or governmental officials.
We have assumed that the specific terms of the sale of Shares will be duly authorized by the Board of Directors of the Company, a duly authorized committee thereof or a person or body pursuant to an authorization granted in accordance with Section 152 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.
We do not express any opinion herein concerning any law other than the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.
Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the qualifications, assumptions, limitations and exceptions stated herein, we are of the opinion that:
1. | The Shares have been duly authorized by the Company and when issued by the Company against payment therefor in accordance with the Underwriting Agreement and in a manner described in the Registration Statement, the Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. | |
2. | The Underwriter Warrants have been duly authorized by the Company and when executed, issued and delivered by the Company in accordance with the Underwriting Agreement and in a manner described in the Registration Statement, the Underwriter Warrants will be valid and legally binding obligations of the Company. |
This opinion speaks only as of the date hereof. We expressly disclaim any responsibility to advise you of any development or circumstance of any kind, including any change of law or fact, that may occur after the date of this opinion that might affect the opinions expressed therein.
We hereby consent to the submission of this opinion to the Commission as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. We hereby also consent to the reference to our firm under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Registration Statement. We do not admit in providing such consent that we are included within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
Sincerely, | |
/s/ McDermott Will & Emery LLP |
Exhibit 10.8
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, inc.
Indemnification Agreement
This Indemnification Agreement (“Agreement”), by and between Brag House Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company” or “Brag House”), and [●] (“Indemnitee”), is effective as of the date the Agreement is fully executed by the parties below. For purposes of this Agreement, the “Company” shall be deemed to include Brag House and its subsidiaries, as appropriate.
WHEREAS, highly competent persons have become more reluctant to serve publicly-held corporations as directors or officers or in other capacities unless they are provided with adequate protection through insurance or adequate indemnification against inordinate risks of claims and actions against them arising out of their service to and activities on behalf of the corporation and due to the fact that such exposure frequently bears no relationship to compensation paid to such officers and directors; and
WHEREAS, the Company and Indemnitee recognize the substantial increase in corporate litigation, subjecting directors, officers, and key employees to expensive litigation risks at the same time as the availability and coverage of liability insurance has been severely limited; and
WHEREAS, in order to induce Indemnitee to provide, or continue to provide, services to the Company, the Company wishes to provide for the indemnification of, and advancement of expenses to, Indemnitee to the maximum extent permitted by law; and
WHEREAS, Indemnitee does not regard the current protection available as adequate under the present circumstances, and the Indemnitee and other directors and officers of the Company may not be willing to continue to serve in such capacities without additional protection; and
WHEREAS, it is reasonable, prudent and necessary for the Company contractually to obligate itself to indemnify, and to advance expenses on behalf of, Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law so that Indemnitee will serve or continue to serve the Company free from undue concern that he or she will not be so indemnified; and
WHEREAS, this Agreement is a supplement to and in furtherance of the Bylaws of the Company and any resolutions adopted pursuant thereto, and shall not be deemed a substitute therefor, nor to diminish or abrogate any rights of Indemnitee thereunder; and
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and Indemnitee’s agreement to serve, or continue to serve, as a director to the Company, the Company and Indemnitee, intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows:
1. Indemnification.
(a) Third-Party Proceedings. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee, if Indemnitee was, is or is threatened to be made, a party to or a participant (as a witness or otherwise) in any Proceeding (as hereinafter defined), other than a Proceeding by or in the right of the Company to procure a judgment in the Company’s favor, against all Expenses (as hereinafter defined), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement (if such settlement is approved in advance by the Company, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld) actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with such Proceeding if Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company and, in the case of a criminal Proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful.
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(b) Proceedings By or in the Right of the Company. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee, if Indemnitee was, is or is threatened to be made a party to or a participant (as a witness or otherwise) in any Proceeding by or in the right of the Company to procure a judgment in the Company’s favor, against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with such Proceeding if Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company; provided, however, that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which Indemnitee shall have been finally adjudicated by court order or judgment to be liable to the Company unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such Proceeding is or was pending shall determine upon application that, in view of all the circumstances of the case, Indemnitee is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which such court shall deem proper.
(c) Success on the Merits. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law and to the extent that Indemnitee has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any Proceeding referred to in Section 1(a) or Section 1(b) or the defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, in whole or in part, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection therewith. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, if Indemnitee is successful on the merits or otherwise as to one or more but less than all claims, issues or matters in a Proceeding, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with such successfully resolved claims, issues or matters to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. If any Proceeding is disposed of on the merits or otherwise (including a disposition without prejudice), without (i) the disposition being adverse to Indemnitee, (ii) an adjudication that Indemnitee was liable to the Company, (iii) a plea of guilty by Indemnitee, (iv) an adjudication that Indemnitee did not act in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company, and (v) with respect to any criminal Proceeding, an adjudication that Indemnitee had reasonable cause to believe Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful, Indemnitee shall be considered for the purposes hereof to have been wholly successful with respect thereto.
(d) Witness Expenses. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law and to the extent that Indemnitee is a witness or otherwise asked to participate in any Proceeding to which Indemnitee is not a party, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with such Proceeding.
2. Contribution.
(a) Whether or not the indemnification provided in Section 1 is unavailable in whole or in part and may not be paid to Indemnitee for any reason other than those set forth in Section 7, then in respect to any Proceeding in which the Company is jointly liable with Indemnitee (or would be if joined in such Proceeding), to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Company, in lieu of indemnifying Indemnitee, shall pay, in the first instance, the entire amount incurred by Indemnitee, whether for Expenses, judgments, fines or amounts paid in settlement, in connection with any Proceeding without requiring Indemnitee to contribute to such payment, and the Company hereby waives and relinquishes any right of contribution it may have at any time against Indemnitee.
(b) With respect to a Proceeding brought against directors, officers, employees or agents of the Company (other than Indemnitee), to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee from any claims for contribution that may be brought by any such directors, officers, employees or agents of the Company (other than Indemnitee) who may be jointly liable with Indemnitee, to the same extent Indemnitee would have been entitled to such indemnification under this Agreement if such Proceeding had been brought against Indemnitee.
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3. Indemnification Procedure.
(a) Advancement of Expenses. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Company shall advance all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with a Proceeding within thirty (30) days after receipt by the Company of a statement requesting such advances from time to time, whether prior to or after final disposition of any Proceeding. Such advances shall be unsecured and interest free and shall be made without regard to Indemnitee’s ability to repay the Expenses and without regard to Indemnitee’s ultimate entitlement to indemnification under the other provisions of this Agreement. Indemnitee shall be entitled to continue to receive advancement of Expenses pursuant to this Section 3(a) unless and until the matter of Indemnitee’s entitlement to indemnification hereunder has been finally adjudicated by court order or judgment from which no further right of appeal exists. Indemnitee hereby undertakes to repay such amounts advanced only if, and to the extent that, it ultimately is determined that Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified by the Company under the other provisions of this Agreement. Indemnitee shall qualify for advances upon the execution and delivery of this Agreement, which shall constitute the requisite undertaking with respect to repayment of advances made hereunder and no other form of undertaking shall be required to qualify for advances made hereunder other than the execution of this Agreement.
(b) Notice and Cooperation by Indemnitee. Indemnitee shall promptly notify the Company in writing upon being served with any summons, citation, subpoena, complaint, indictment, information or other document relating to any Proceeding or matter for which indemnification will or could be sought under this Agreement. Such notice to the Company shall include a description of the nature of, and facts underlying, the Proceeding, shall be directed to the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and shall be given in accordance with the provisions of Section 14(e) below. In addition, Indemnitee shall give the Company such additional information and cooperation as the Company may reasonably request. Indemnitee’s failure to so notify, provide information, and otherwise cooperate with the Company shall not relieve the Company of any obligation that it may have to Indemnitee under this Agreement, except to the extent that the Company is adversely affected by such failure.
(c) Determination of Entitlement.
(i) Final Disposition. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Agreement, no determination as to entitlement to indemnification under this Agreement shall be required to be made prior to the final disposition of the Proceeding.
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(ii) Determination and Payment. Subject to the foregoing, promptly after receipt of a statement requesting payment with respect to the indemnification rights set forth in Sections 1 or 2, to the extent required by applicable law, the Company shall take the steps necessary to authorize such payment in the manner set forth in Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. The Company shall pay any claims made under this Agreement, under any statute, or under any provision of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws providing for indemnification or advancement of Expenses, within thirty (30) days after a written request for payment thereof has first been received by the Company, and if such claim is not paid in full within such thirty (30) day-period, Indemnitee may, but need not, at any time thereafter bring an action against the Company in the Delaware Court of Chancery to recover the unpaid amount of the claim and, subject to Section 13, Indemnitee shall also be entitled to be paid for all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with bringing such action. It shall be a defense to any such action (other than an action brought to enforce a claim for advancement of Expenses under Section 3(a)) that Indemnitee has not met the standards of conduct which make it permissible under applicable law for the Company to indemnify Indemnitee for the amount claimed. In making a determination with respect to entitlement to indemnification hereunder, the person or persons or entity making such determination shall presume that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification under this Agreement and the Company shall have the burden of proof to overcome that presumption with clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. The termination of any Proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that Indemnitee did not act in good faith and in a manner which Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company, or, in the case of a criminal Proceeding, that Indemnitee had reasonable cause to believe that Indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful. In addition, it is the parties’ intention that if the Company contests Indemnitee’s right to indemnification, the question of Indemnitee’s right to indemnification shall be for the court to decide, and neither the failure of the Company (including its Board of Directors, any committee or subgroup of the Board of Directors, independent legal counsel, or its stockholders) to have made a determination that indemnification of Indemnitee is proper in the circumstances because Indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct required by applicable law, nor an actual determination by the Company (including its Board of Directors, any committee or subgroup of the Board of Directors, independent legal counsel, or its stockholders) that Indemnitee has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall create a presumption that Indemnitee has or has not met the applicable standard of conduct. If any requested determination with respect to entitlement to indemnification hereunder has not been made within ninety (90) days after the final disposition of the Proceeding, the requisite determination that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification shall be deemed to have been made.
(iii) Change of Control. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Agreement, if a Change of Control has occurred, any person or body appointed by the Board of Directors in accordance with applicable law to review the Company’s obligations hereunder and under applicable law shall be Independent Counsel selected by the Company. Such counsel, among other things, will render its written opinion to the Company and Indemnitee as to whether and to what extent Indemnitee would be entitled to be indemnified hereunder under applicable law and the Indemnitee agrees to abide by such opinion. The Company agrees to pay the reasonable fees of the Independent Counsel referred to above and to indemnify fully such counsel against any and all expenses (including attorneys’ fees), claims, liabilities and damages arising out of or relating to this Agreement or its engagement pursuant hereto. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company shall not be required to pay Expenses of more than one Independent Counsel in connection with all matters concerning a single Indemnitee, and such Independent Counsel shall be the Independent Counsel for any or all other Indemnitees unless (i) the Company otherwise determines or (ii) any Indemnitee shall provide a written statement setting forth in detail a reasonable objection to such Independent Counsel representing other indemnitees under agreements similar to this Agreement.
(d) Payment Directions. To the extent payments are required to be made hereunder, the Company shall, in accordance with Indemnitee’s request (but without duplication), (i) pay such Expenses on behalf of Indemnitee, (b) advance to Indemnitee funds in an amount sufficient to pay such Expenses, or (c) reimburse Indemnitee for such Expenses.
(e) Notice to Insurers. If, at the time of the receipt of a notice of a claim pursuant to Section 3(b) hereof, the Company has director and officer liability insurance in effect, the Company shall give prompt notice of the commencement of such Proceeding to the insurers in accordance with the procedures set forth in the respective policies. The Company shall thereafter take all necessary or desirable action to cause such insurers to pay, on behalf of Indemnitee, all amounts payable as a result of such Proceeding in accordance with the terms of such policies.
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(f) Defense of Claim and Selection of Counsel. In the event the Company shall be obligated under Section 1(a) hereof to advance Expenses with respect to any Proceeding, the Company, if appropriate, shall be entitled to assume the defense of such Proceeding, with counsel reasonably acceptable to Indemnitee, upon the delivery to Indemnitee of written notice of its election so to do. After delivery of such notice, approval of such counsel by Indemnitee and the retention of such counsel by the Company, the Company will not be liable to Indemnitee under this Agreement for any fees of counsel subsequently incurred by Indemnitee with respect to the same Proceeding, provided that (i) Indemnitee shall have the right to employ counsel in any such Proceeding at Indemnitee’s expense; and (ii) if (A) the employment of counsel by Indemnitee has been previously authorized by the Company, (B) Indemnitee shall have reasonably concluded that there may be a conflict of interest between the Company and Indemnitee in the conduct of any such defense or (C) the Company shall not, in fact, have employed counsel to assume the defense of such Proceeding, then the fees and expenses of Indemnitee’s counsel shall be at the expense of the Company. In addition, if there exists a potential, but not an actual conflict of interest between the Company and Indemnitee, the actual and reasonable legal fees and expenses incurred by Indemnitee for separate counsel retained by Indemnitee to monitor the Proceeding (so that such counsel may assume Indemnitee’s defense if the conflict of interest between the Company and Indemnitee becomes an actual conflict of interest) shall be deemed to be Expenses that are subject to indemnification hereunder. The existence of an actual or potential conflict of interest, and whether such conflict may be waived, shall be determined pursuant to the rules of attorney professional conduct and applicable law. The Company shall not be required to obtain the consent of Indemnitee for the settlement of any Proceeding the Company has undertaken to defend if the Company assumes full and sole responsibility for each such settlement; provided, however, that the Company shall be required to obtain Indemnitee’s prior written approval, which shall not be unreasonably withheld, before entering into any settlement which (1) does not grant Indemnitee a complete release of liability, (2) would impose any penalty or limitation on Indemnitee, or (3) would admit any liability or misconduct by Indemnitee.
4. Additional Indemnification Rights.
(a) Scope. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company hereby agrees to indemnify Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by law, notwithstanding that such indemnification is not specifically authorized by the other provisions of this Agreement, the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation, the Company’s Bylaws or by statute. In the event of any change, after the date of this Agreement, in any applicable law, statute, or rule which expands the right of a Delaware corporation to indemnify a member of its board of directors or an officer, such changes shall be deemed to be within the purview of Indemnitee’s rights and the Company’s obligations under this Agreement. In the event of any change in any applicable law, statute or rule which narrows the right of a Delaware corporation to indemnify a member of its board of directors or an officer, such changes, to the extent not otherwise required by such law, statute or rule to be applied to this Agreement shall have no effect on this Agreement or the parties’ rights and obligations hereunder.
(b) Nonexclusivity. The indemnification provided by this Agreement shall not be deemed exclusive of any rights to which Indemnitee may be entitled under the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation, its Bylaws, any agreement, any vote of stockholders or disinterested members of the Company’s Board of Directors, the Delaware General Corporation Law, or otherwise, both as to action in Indemnitee’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office.
(c) D&O Policy. To the extent that the Company maintains an insurance policy or policies providing liability insurance for directors, officers, employees, or agents or fiduciaries of the Company, Indemnitee shall be named as an insured in accordance with the policy’s or policies’ terms to the maximum extent of the coverage available for any director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary under such policy or policies. If, at the time of the receipt of a notice of a claim pursuant to the terms hereof, the Company has directors’ and officers’ liability insurance in effect, the Company shall give prompt notice of the commencement of such proceeding to the insurers in accordance with the procedures set forth in the respective policies. The Company shall thereafter take all necessary or desirable action to cause such insurers to pay, on behalf of the Indemnitee, all amounts payable as a result of such proceeding in accordance with the terms of such policies. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall have no obligation to obtain or maintain such insurance if the Company determines in good faith that such insurance is not reasonably available, if the premium costs for such insurance are disproportionate to the amount of coverage provided, if the coverage provided by such insurance is limited by exclusions so as to provide an insufficient benefit, or if Indemnitee is covered by similar insurance maintained by a parent or subsidiary of the Company.
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(d) Third-Party Indemnification. The Company hereby acknowledges that Indemnitee has or may from time to time obtain certain rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses and/or insurance provided by one or more third parties (collectively, the “Third-Party Indemnitors”). The Company hereby agrees that it is the indemnitor of first resort (i.e., its obligations to Indemnitee are primary and any obligation of the Third-Party Indemnitors to advance expenses or to provide indemnification for the same expenses or liabilities incurred by Indemnitee are secondary), and that the Company will not assert that the Indemnitee must seek expense advancement or reimbursement, or indemnification, from any Third-Party Indemnitor before the Company must perform its expense advancement and reimbursement, and indemnification obligations, under this Agreement. No advancement or payment by the Third-Party Indemnitors on behalf of Indemnitee with respect to any claim for which Indemnitee has sought indemnification from the Company shall affect the foregoing. The Third-Party Indemnitors shall be subrogated to the extent of such advancement or payment to all of the rights of recovery which Indemnitee would have had against the Company if the Third-Party Indemnitors had not advanced or paid any amount to or on behalf of Indemnitee. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the Third-Party Indemnitors are not entitled to the subrogation rights described in the preceding sentence, the Third-Party Indemnitors shall have a right of contribution by the Company to the Third-Party Indemnitors with respect to any advance or payment by the Third-Party Indemnitors to or on behalf of the Indemnitee.
5. Partial Indemnification. If Indemnitee is entitled under any provision of this Agreement to indemnification by the Company for some or a portion of the Expenses, judgments, fines or amounts paid in settlement, actually and reasonably incurred in connection with a Proceeding, but not, however, for the total amount thereof, the Company shall nevertheless indemnify Indemnitee for the portion of such Expenses, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement to which Indemnitee is entitled.
6. Severability. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to require or shall be construed as requiring the Company to do or fail to do any act in violation of applicable law. The Company’s inability, pursuant to court order, to perform its obligations under this Agreement shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement. If this Agreement or any portion hereof shall be invalidated on any ground by any court of competent jurisdiction, then the Company shall nevertheless indemnify Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by any applicable portion of this Agreement that shall not have been invalidated, and the balance of this Agreement not so invalidated shall be enforceable in accordance with its terms.
7. Exclusions. Any other provision herein to the contrary notwithstanding, the Company shall not be obligated pursuant to the terms of this Agreement:
(a) To indemnify or advance Expenses to Indemnitee with respect to Proceedings initiated or brought voluntarily by Indemnitee and not by way of defense, except with respect to Proceedings brought to establish, enforce, or interpret a right to indemnification under this Agreement or any other statute or law, or otherwise as required under Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, but such indemnification or advancement of Expenses may be provided by the Company in specific cases if the Board of Directors finds it to be appropriate; provided, however, that the exclusion set forth in the first clause of this subsection shall not be deemed to apply to any investigation initiated or brought by Indemnitee to the extent reasonably necessary or advisable in support of Indemnitee’s defense of a Proceeding to which Indemnitee was, is or is threatened to be made, a party;
(b) To indemnify Indemnitee for any Expenses incurred by Indemnitee with respect to any Proceeding instituted by Indemnitee to establish, enforce or interpret a right to indemnification under this Agreement or any other statute or law, or otherwise as required under Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, if a court of competent jurisdiction determines that each of the material assertions made by Indemnitee in such proceeding was not made in good faith or was frivolous;
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(c) To indemnify Indemnitee for Expenses to the extent such Expenses have been paid directly to Indemnitee by an insurance carrier under an insurance policy maintained by the Company; or
(d) To indemnify Indemnitee in connection with any claim made against Indemnitee for (i) an accounting of profits made from the purchase and sale (or sale and purchase) by Indemnitee of securities of the Company within the meaning of Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act or any similar successor statute or any similar provisions of state statutory law or common law, or (ii) any reimbursement of the Company by Indemnitee of any bonus or other incentive-based or equity-based compensation or of any profits realized by Indemnitee from the sale of securities of the Company, as required in each case under the Exchange Act (including any such reimbursements that arise from an accounting restatement of the Company pursuant to Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) or Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the payment to the Company of profits arising from the purchase and sale by Indemnitee of securities in violation of Section 306 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act); provided, however, that to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law and to the extent Indemnitee is successful on the merits or otherwise with respect to any such Proceeding, the Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with any such Proceeding shall be deemed to be Expenses that are subject to indemnification hereunder.
8. No Imputation. The knowledge and/or actions, or failure to act, of any director, officer, agent or employee of the Company or the Company itself shall not be imputed to Indemnitee for purposes of determining any rights under this Agreement.
9. Determination of Good Faith. For purposes of any determination of good faith, Indemnitee shall be deemed to have acted in good faith if Indemnitee’s action is based on the records or books of account of the Enterprise (defined below), including financial statements, or on information supplied to Indemnitee by the officers of the Enterprise in the course of their duties, or on the advice of legal counsel for the Enterprise or the Board of Directors of the Enterprise or any counsel selected by any committee of the Board of Directors of the Enterprise or on information or records given or reports made to the Enterprise by an independent certified public accountant or by an appraiser, investment banker, compensation consultant, or other expert selected with reasonable care by the Enterprise or the Board of Directors of the Enterprise or any committee thereof. The provisions of this Section 9 shall not be deemed to be exclusive or to limit in any way the other circumstances in which the Indemnitee may be deemed to have met the applicable standard of conduct. Whether or not the foregoing provisions of this Section are satisfied, it shall in any event be presumed that Indemnitee has at all times acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company.
10. Defined Terms and Phrases. For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) “Beneficial Owner” and “Beneficial Ownership” shall have the meanings set forth in Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act as in effect on the date hereof.
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(b) “Change of Control” shall be deemed to occur upon the earliest of any of the following events:
(i) Acquisition of Stock by Third Party. Any Person becomes the Beneficial Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing fifty percent (50%) or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, unless (1) the change in the relative Beneficial Ownership of the Company’s securities by any Person results solely from a reduction in the aggregate number of outstanding shares of securities entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, or (2) such acquisition was approved in advance by the Continuing Directors and such acquisition would not constitute a Change of Control under part (iii) of this definition.
(ii) Change in Board of Directors. During any period of two (2) consecutive years (not including any period prior to the execution of this Agreement), individuals who at the beginning of such period constitute the Board constitute the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), and any new director whose election by the Board or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was approved by a vote of at least two thirds of the directors then still in office who either were directors at the beginning of the period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved (“Continuing Directors”), cease for any reason to constitute a least a majority of the members of the Board;
(iii) Corporate Transaction. The effective date of a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other entity (a “Business Combination”), other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior to such merger or consolidation continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity) more than fifty one percent (51%) of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the surviving entity outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation and with the power to elect at least a majority of the Board or other governing body of such surviving entity;
(iv) Liquidation. The approval by the Company’s stockholders of a complete liquidation of the Company or an agreement or series of agreements for the sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets, other than factoring the Company’s current receivables or escrows due (or, if such approval is not required, the decision by the Board to proceed with such a liquidation, sale or disposition in one transaction or a series of related transactions).
(v) Other Events. There occurs any other event of a nature that would be required to be reported in response to Item 6(e) of Schedule 14A of Regulation 14A (or a response to any similar item or any similar schedule or form) promulgated under the Exchange Act whether or not the Company is then subject to such reporting requirement.
(c) “Enterprise” means the Company and any other enterprise that Indemnitee was or is serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, partner (general, limited or otherwise), member (managing or otherwise), trustee, fiduciary, employee or agent.
(d) “Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
(e) “Expenses” shall include all direct and indirect costs, fees and expenses of any type or nature whatsoever, including all attorneys’ fees and costs, retainers, court costs, transcript costs, fees of experts, witness fees, travel expenses, fees of private investigators and professional advisors, duplicating costs, printing and binding costs, telephone charges, postage, delivery service fees, any federal, state, local or foreign taxes imposed on Indemnitee as a result of the actual or deemed receipt of any payment under this Agreement (including taxes that may be imposed upon the actual or deemed receipt of payments under this Agreement with respect to the imposition of federal, state, local or foreign taxes), fax transmission charges, secretarial services and all other disbursements, obligations or expenses in connection with prosecuting, defending, preparing to prosecute or defend, investigating, being or preparing to be a witness in, settlement or appeal of, or otherwise participating in a Proceeding. Expenses also shall include any of the forgoing expenses incurred in connection with any appeal resulting from any Proceeding, including the principal, premium, security for, and other costs relating to any costs bond, supersedes bond, or other appeal bond or its equivalent. Expenses also shall include any interest, assessment or other charges imposed thereon and costs incurred in preparing statements in support of payment requests hereunder. Expenses, however, shall not include amounts paid in settlement by Indemnitee or the amount of judgments or fines against Indemnitee.
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(f) “Independent Counsel” means an attorney or firm of attorneys, selected in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(c)(iii), who will not have otherwise performed services for the Company or Indemnitee within the last three years (other than with respect to matters concerning the rights of Indemnitee under this Agreement, or of other indemnitees under similar indemnity agreements).
(g) “Person” shall have the meaning as set forth in Section 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act as in effect on the date hereof; provided, however, that “Person” shall exclude: (i) the Company; (ii) any direct or indirect majority owned subsidiaries of the Company; (iii) any employee benefit plan of the Company or any direct or indirect majority owned subsidiaries of the Company or of any corporation owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company’s stockholders in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of stock of the Company (an “Employee Benefit Plan”); and (iv) any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an Employee Benefit Plan.
(h) “Proceeding” shall include any actual, threatened, pending or completed action, suit, arbitration, mediation, alternate dispute resolution mechanism, investigation, inquiry, administrative hearing or any other actual, threatened or completed proceeding, whether brought by a third party, a government agency, the Company or its Board of Directors or a committee thereof, whether in the right of the Company or otherwise and whether of a civil (including intentional or unintentional tort claims), criminal, administrative, legislative or investigative (formal or informal) nature, including any appeal therefrom, in which Indemnitee was, is, will or might be involved as a party, potential party, non-party witness or otherwise by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company, by reason of any action (or failure to act) taken by Indemnitee or of any action (or failure to act) on Indemnitee’s part while acting as a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company, or by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, partner (general, limited or otherwise), member (managing or otherwise), trustee, fiduciary, employee or agent of any other enterprise, in each case whether or not serving in such capacity at the time any liability or expense is incurred for which indemnification, reimbursement or advancement of expenses can be provided under this Agreement.
11. Attorneys’ Fees. In the event that any Proceeding is instituted by Indemnitee under this Agreement to enforce or interpret any of the terms hereof, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with such Proceeding, unless a court of competent jurisdiction determines that each of the material assertions made by Indemnitee as a basis for such Proceeding were not made in good faith or were frivolous. In the event of a Proceeding instituted by or in the name of the Company under this Agreement or to enforce or interpret any of the terms of this Agreement, the Company shall indemnify Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with such Proceeding (including with respect to Indemnitee’s counterclaims and cross-claims made in such action), unless a court of competent jurisdiction determines that each of Indemnitee’s material defenses to such action were made in bad faith or were frivolous.
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12. Miscellaneous.
(a) Governing Law. The validity, interpretation, construction and performance of this Agreement, and all acts and transactions pursuant hereto and the rights and obligations of the parties hereto shall be governed, construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the state of Delaware, without giving effect to principles of conflicts of law.
(b) Entire Agreement; Binding Effect. Without limiting any of the rights of Indemnitee described in Section 4(b), this Agreement sets forth the entire agreement and understanding of the parties relating to the subject matter herein and merges all prior discussions and supersedes any and all previous agreements between them covering the subject matter herein. The indemnification provided under this Agreement applies with respect to events occurring after the effective date of this Agreement, and shall continue to apply even after Indemnitee has ceased to serve the Company in any and all indemnified capacities.
(c) Amendments and Waivers. No modification of or amendment to this Agreement, nor any waiver of any rights under this Agreement, shall be effective unless in writing signed by the parties to this Agreement. No delay or failure to require performance of any provision of this Agreement shall constitute a waiver of that provision as to that or any other instance.
(d) Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall be binding upon the Company and its successors (including any direct or indirect successor by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise to all or substantially all of the business and/or assets of the Company) and assigns, and inure to the benefit of Indemnitee and Indemnitee’s heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives and assigns. The Company shall require and cause any successor (whether direct or indirect by purchase, merger, consolidation or otherwise) to all or substantially all of the business and/or assets of the Company, by written agreement in form and substance satisfactory to Indemnitee, expressly to assume and agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to the same extent that the Company would be required to perform if no such succession had taken place.
(e) Notices. Any notice, demand or request required or permitted to be given under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed sufficient when delivered personally or by overnight courier or sent by email, or 48 hours after being deposited in the U.S. mail as certified or registered mail with postage prepaid, addressed to the party to be notified at such party’s address as set forth on the signature page, as subsequently modified by written notice, or if no address is specified on the signature page, at the most recent address set forth in the Company’s books and records.
(f) Severability. If one or more provisions of this Agreement are held to be unenforceable under applicable law, the parties agree to renegotiate such provision in good faith. In the event that the parties cannot reach a mutually agreeable and enforceable replacement for such provision, then (i) such provision shall be excluded from this Agreement, (ii) the balance of the Agreement shall be interpreted as if such provision were so excluded and (iii) the balance of the Agreement shall be enforceable in accordance with its terms.
(g) Construction. This Agreement is the result of negotiations between and has been reviewed by each of the parties hereto and their respective counsel, if any; accordingly, this Agreement shall be deemed to be the product of all of the parties hereto, and no ambiguity shall be construed in favor of or against any one of the parties hereto.
(h) Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which when so executed and delivered shall be deemed an original, and all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement.
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(i) No Employment Rights. Nothing contained in this Agreement is intended to create in Indemnitee any right to continued employment.
(j) Company Position. The Company shall be precluded from asserting, in any Proceeding brought for purposes of establishing, enforcing or interpreting any right to indemnification under this Agreement, that the procedures and presumptions of this Agreement are not valid, binding and enforceable and shall stipulate in any such court that the Company is bound by all the provisions of this Agreement and is precluded from making any assertion to the contrary.
(k) Subrogation. Subject to Section 4(e), in the event of payment under this Agreement, the Company shall be subrogated to the extent of such payment to all of the rights of recovery of Indemnitee, who shall execute all documents required and shall do all acts that may be necessary to secure such rights and to enable the Company to effectively bring suit to enforce such rights.
The parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first set forth above.
THE COMPANY: | ||
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC. | ||
By: | ||
Name: | Lavell Juan Malloy, II | |
Title | Chief Executive Officer | |
Address: | 25 Pompton Avenue, St. 101 | |
Verona, NJ 07044 |
AGREED TO AND ACCEPTED: | ||
INDEMNITEE: | ||
(Print Name) | ||
(Signature) | ||
Address: | ||
Email: |
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Exhibit 10.9
OUTSIDE THE BOX CAPITAL INC.
2202 Green Orchard Place.
Oakville ON L6H 4V4
Canada
March 15, 2024
CONFIDENTIAL
Brag House
25 Pompton Avenue, Ste 101
Verona, NJ 07044
United States
Attention:
Re: Marketing Services Agreement
Dear Sirs/Mesdames:
Outside The Box Capital Inc. (“Outside The Box Capital”) is pleased to provide marketing and distribution services to Brag House (the “Company”), as more fully described in this letter agreement (the “Agreement”). This Agreement sets forth the terms and conditions pursuant to which the Company engages Outside The Box Capital to provide such services.
1. | Services |
(a) Outside The Box Capital’s services to the Company will commence on May 1, 2024 (“Effective Date”) and end on October 31, 2024 (“Ending Date”) overall being the Initial Period (“Initial Period). Outside The Box Capital will provide marketing and distribution services to communicate information about the Company (''Marketing Services''), including, but not limited to:
● | Initial planning and strategy call with ongoing checkpoints to cover feedback, advice, and other strategic matters of the investor relation marketing campaign. |
● | Assist in social media and other community-driving mediums, with the goal of creating investor engagement and increase company awareness among investors. |
● | Distribute company approved messaging, press releases, and other approved company materials across social channels that include Reddit, Discord, Telegram, Twitter, and StockTwits. |
● | Spread company insights and announcements to new communities with hopes of attracting new investors, clients and other interested parties. |
● | Featuring the Company in different influencer-based videos, driving more engagement to the Company’s story across at least 4 videos on social channels per month such as TikTok:Stockdadschris, YouTube:Jake Tran, YouTube:What If,YouTube:Steven Van Metre, and other creators]. |
● | An occasional Q&A or highlight video surrounding recent company news to be posted on the Company’s YouTube channel or other company mediums Outside The Box Capital’s services under this Agreement may be modified or supplemented in schedules to this Agreement, mutually agreed upon in writing by Outside The Box Capital and Company. |
(b) Outside The Box Capital will not participate in discussions or negotiations with potential investors. Outside The Box Capital will not solicit orders, make recommendations or give investment advice. Outside The Box Capital will not affect transactions of securities for potential investors or anyone else. Outside The Box Capital and the Company agree that Outside The Box Capital is not being engaged for, and is not permitted to engage in, activities that would give rise to Outside The Box Capital being required to register as a broker-dealer under applicable securities laws, the U.S. Exchange Act, or with FINRA. To the extent, a financial intermediary expresses interest in the Company, Outside The Box Capital will refer the intermediary to the Company. In providing services under this Agreement, Outside The Box Capital agrees to comply with all applicable securities laws.
(c) The Company acknowledges that Outside The Box Capital is the sole and exclusive owner of any and all databases developed by it. Outside The Box Capital may access third-party databases in order to increase the efficiency of its marketing outreach.
(d) It is hereby acknowledged and agreed that Outside The Box Capital shall be entitled to communicate with and shall rely upon the immediate advice, direction, and instructions of the CEO of the Company, or upon the advice or instructions of such other director or officer of the Company as the CEO of the Company shall, from time to time, designate in times of the CEO’s absence, in order to initiate, coordinate and implement the Marketing Services as contemplated herein.
2. | Information |
(a) The Company will make available to Outside The Box Capital on a timely basis relevant information pertaining to the Company. The Company also agrees to provide Outside The Box Capital with timely access to appropriate personnel. Outside The Box Capital will only use the information provided by the Company. The Company hereby grants Outside The Box Capital the right to use the name and service marks of the Company in its Marketing Services as long as this Agreement is continuing under the Initial Period (as defined below) or any Renewal Term (as defined below) and has not been terminated in accordance with the provisions hereof.
(b) Outside The Box Capital will be entitled to rely upon the information provided by the Company and all other information that the Company files with applicable regulators. Outside The Box Capital will be under no obligation to verify independently any such information. Outside The Box Capital will also be under no obligation to determine whether there have been, or to investigate any changes in, such information. However, any marketing materials shall be provided to the Company for review and approval prior to such marketing materials being published or disseminated to anyone.
3. | Term and Termination |
The term of this Agreement shall commence on the Effective Date and continue until the Ending Date, constituting the Initial Period, unless terminated earlier in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. Either party may seek termination of this Agreement by mutual consent during the Initial Period. Additionally, either party may terminate this Agreement if the other party files for bankruptcy, becomes insolvent, or commits a material breach of this Agreement directly related to the failure to satisfactorily perform the services outlined herein.
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Notwithstanding the above, Outside The Box Capital shall be entitled to a minimum compensation covering half of the total agreed compensation, equating to three months of service at a prorated amount, irrespective of the timing or reason for termination, unless the termination is due to a material breach by Outside The Box Capital specifically tied to the failure in performing the outlined services to the required standards.
The Company agrees to pay Outside The Box Capital for all services performed up to and including the effective date of termination. Within ten (10) days following the termination or expiration of this Agreement, each party shall return to the other all Proprietary or Confidential Information (as defined below) of the other party in its possession, or, with the approval of the disclosing party, destroy all such Proprietary or Confidential Information.
In the event of termination, whether by mutual agreement during the Initial Period, due to a material breach by Outside The Box Capital specifically tied to the failure in performing the outlined services to the required standards, or resulting from the actions of Outside The Box Capital that does not constitute a material breach related to the performance of the outlined services, the Company shall be entitled to seek compensation as follows:
● | Outside The Box Capital shall refund a prorated amount of the cash payment based on the percentage of services completed at the time of termination. |
● | Outside The Box Capital shall also refund a prorated amount of the Company’s stock already issued to Outside The Box Capital, based on the percentage of services completed at the time of termination. Should the issued stock have already been sold, Outside The Box Capital will compensate the Company at the fair market value as of the termination date. |
4. | Confidentiality |
The parties agree to hold each other's Proprietary or Confidential Information in strict confidence. “Proprietary or Confidential Information” shall include, but is not limited to, written or oral contracts, trade secrets, know-how, business methods, business policies, memoranda, reports, records, computer-retained information, notes, or financial information. Proprietary or Confidential Information shall not include any information which:
(i) is or becomes generally known to the public by any means other than a breach of the obligations of the receiving party; (ii) was previously known to the receiving party or rightly received by the receiving party from a third party that was not subject to a duty of confidentiality to the disclosing party; (iii) is independently developed by the receiving party as shown by the receiving party’s then-contemporaneous written files and records kept in the ordinary course of business; or (iv) is subject to disclosure under a court order or other lawful processes. The parties agree not to make each other's Proprietary or Confidential Information available in any form to any third party or to use each other's Proprietary or Confidential Information for any purpose other than as specified in this Agreement. Each party's Proprietary or Confidential Information shall remain the sole and exclusive property of that party. The parties agree that in the event of use or disclosure by the other party other than as specifically provided for in this Agreement, the non-disclosing party may be entitled to equitable relief. Notwithstanding termination or expiration of this Agreement, Outside The Box Capital and the Company acknowledge and agree that their obligations of confidentiality with respect to Proprietary or Confidential Information shall survive termination of this Agreement.
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5. | Compensation |
For the Initial Term, Company agrees to pay Outside The Box Capital the compensation set forth in Schedule A attached hereto, which Schedule A forms part of this Agreement.
6. | Expenses |
In the occasion where the company requests Outside The Box Capital to travel outside of the agreement, upon mutual agreement outside of this agreement Outside The Box Capital shall also be reimbursed for all direct, pre-approved by Company, and reasonable expenses actually and properly incurred by Outside The Box Capital in performing the Marketing Services (collectively, the “Expenses”); and which Expenses, it is hereby acknowledged and agreed, shall be payable by the Company to the order, direction and account of Outside The Box Capital as Outside The Box Capital may designate in writing, from time to time, in Outside The Box Capital’ sole and absolute discretion, as soon as conveniently possible after the prior delivery by Outside The Box Capital to the Company of written substantiation on account of each such pre-approved reimbursable Expense.
7. | Notices |
Notices under this Agreement are sufficient if given by nationally recognized overnight courier service, certified mail (return receipt requested), or personal delivery to the other party at the addresses first set out above.
8. | Choice of Law and Jurisdiction |
This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of New York State and the federal laws of the United States applicable therein, and the parties hereby irrevocably attorn to the jurisdiction of the courts of New York State.
9. | Waiver |
The failure of any party to seek redress for violation of or to insist upon the strict performance of any agreement, covenant, or condition of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver with respect thereto or with respect to any subsequent act.
10. | Assignment |
Except as may be necessary for the rendition of the services as provided herein, neither Outside The Box Capital nor Company may assign any part or all of this Agreement, or subcontract or delegate any of their respective rights or obligations under this Agreement, without the other party’s prior written consent. Any attempt to assign, subcontract, or delegate in violation of this paragraph is void in each instance.
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11. | Entire Agreement |
This Agreement and the schedules attached constitute the agreement between Outside The Box Capital and Company relating to the subject matter hereof and supersede any prior agreement or understanding between them. This Agreement may not be modified or amended unless such modification or amendment is agreed to in writing by both Outside The Box Capital and the Company.
12. | Acceptance |
Please confirm that the foregoing is in accordance with Company’s understanding by signing and returning this Agreement, which will thereupon constitute a binding Agreement between Outside The Box Capital Inc. and Company. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts and with electronic or facsimile signatures.
Yours very truly,
Outside The Box Capital Inc.
By: | /s/ Jason Coles | |
Name: | Jason Coles | |
Title: | CEO |
The foregoing is in accordance with our understanding and is accepted and agreed upon by us as of the date first written above.
Brag House
By: | /s/ Lavell Juan | ||
Name: | Lavell Juan | ||
Title: | CEO |
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SCHEDULE
“A”
COMPENSATION
For the Initial Term, in consideration of the performance of the services by Outside The Box Capital pursuant to the Agreement to which this Schedule A is attached, the Company hereby agrees to compensate Outside The Box Capital as follows:
Base Compensation:
100,000 USD; with the payment due either upon the successful completion of the Company’s IPO or within 6 months from the Effective Date, the earlier of the two dates.
$200,000 USD worth of the Company's stock, priced at the Initial Public Offering (IPO) price. The stock will be due upon the successful completion of the Company's IPO.
Earnout Tranche:
Subject to the Company achieving a $50 million market cap for a minimum of 7 days during the Period, the Company shall issue an additional 50,000 shares.
For the avoidance of doubt, if the market cap specified in the Earnout Tranche isn’t achieved, the Base Compensation is the only compensation Outside The Box Capital will be entitled to under this Agreement for its performance of the Marketing Services.
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Exhibit 10.11
EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
This EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made as of June 15, 2024, by and between Brag House Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (together with its successors and assigns, the “Company”), and Lavell Juan Malloy, II (“Executive”).
R E C I T A L S
WHEREAS, the Company desires to employ Executive as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”); and
WHEREAS, the Company and Executive mutually desire to set forth and agree to certain terms of Executive’s employment.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals, the mutual covenants and conditions herein, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereby agree as follows:
A G R E E M E N T
1. Employment and Term. The Company hereby agrees to continue to employ Executive and Executive hereby accepts continued employment by the Company on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth. Executive’s term of employment by the Company under this Agreement (the “Term”) shall commence on the effectiveness of the Company’s registration statement (the “Effective Date”) and continue through the three-year anniversary of such date; provided, however, that the Term shall thereafter be automatically extended for unlimited additional one-year periods unless, at least ninety (90) days prior to the then-scheduled date of expiration of the Term, either (x) the Company gives notice to Executive that it is electing not to so extend the Term or (y) Executive gives notice to the Company that he is electing not to so extend the Term. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Term may be earlier terminated in strict accordance with the provisions of Section 7 below, in which event Executive’s employment with the Company shall expire in accordance therewith.
2. Position, Duties and Responsibilities; Location.
2.1 Position and Duties. Executive shall be employed as CEO of the Company and shall serve as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”). Executive shall have, subject to the Company’s Bylaws and the direction of the Board, general overall authority and responsibility for the day-to-day management of the affairs and business of the Company and its subsidiaries, if any, and primary responsibility for the formulation, implementation and execution of strategic policies relating to the Company’s business operations, financial objectives and market growth. Executive shall have such duties, powers and authority as are commensurate with his position, including such other duties and responsibilities as are reasonably delegated to him, from time-to-time by the Board.
2.2 Exclusive Services and Efforts. Executive agrees to devote his best reasonable efforts, energies, and skill to the full discharge of the duties and responsibilities attributable to his position and, except as set forth herein, agrees to devote substantially all of his professional time and attention exclusively to the business and affairs of the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Executive may (a) serve on the boards of a reasonable number of trade associations and charitable organizations, (b) engage in charitable activities and community affairs, (c) manage his personal investments and affairs and (d) serve on a reasonable number of boards of directors of unaffiliated companies and companies that do not compete with the Company’s business, so long as such activities do not, either individually or in the aggregate, materially interfere with the proper performance of his duties and responsibilities hereunder.
3. Compensation.
3.1 Base Salary. During the Term, the Company hereby agrees to pay to Executive an annualized base salary of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000) (the “Salary”), less all applicable federal, state and local income and employment taxes and other required or elected withholdings and deductions, payable in equal installments on the Company’s regularly-scheduled paydays as it is earned. Executive’s Salary will be reviewed at least annually by the Compensation Committee (the “Compensation Committee”) of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) and may be adjusted (in which case such increased amount shall be the “Salary” hereunder).
3.2 Annual Bonus. For each calendar year that ends during the Term, Executive shall be entitled to participate in the Company’s annual cash incentive plan (the “Annual Bonus”) with a target bonus of no less than 75% of Executive’s Salary (the “Target Bonus”). The Annual Bonus shall be determined by the Compensation Committee, and paid in the calendar year following the year in which the services were performed, as soon as reasonably practicable following the Company’s receipt of its annual audited financial statements and the Compensation Committee’s determination regarding whether to approve an Annual Bonus and the amount of any such Annual Bonus. In the event that the Compensation Committee determines that the Company’s financial performance does not support the payment of the full Target Bonus, the Annual Bonus shall be reduced to an amount the Compensation Committee determines is appropriate given the Company’s financial performance (“Reduced Annual Bonus”). In such cases, the Compensation Committee will uniformly apply the Reduced Annual Bonus to all of the eligible executives and employees receiving a bonus for that year, as determined by the Compensation committee. The Company will communicate any such adjustment to the Executive in a timely manner.
3.3 Annual Equity Award. Executive will be eligible for annual grants of long-term incentive and equity compensation awards at the Company’s good faith discretion, based upon the Compensation Committee’s evaluation of his performance and peer company compensation practices (the “Annual Equity Award”). Executive’s target Annual Equity Award shall be consistent with his position at the Company’s peer companies; provided, however, that the grant date fair value of the target Annual Equity Award shall not be less than two hundred percent (200%) of Executive’s Salary.
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3.4 Initial Equity Award. Contingent on and upon the initial public offering (“IPO”) of the Company’s common stock, the Company shall grant to Executive an award under the 2024 Brag House Holdings, Inc. Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) of stock options for the greater of 40,000 shares or $200,000 worth of shares (based upon the fair market value on the date of the award) to the Executive (the “Sign-On Award”). Subject to the terms of this Agreement and the award agreement into which Executive and the Company will enter on the Effective Date evidencing the grant of the Sign-On Award, the Sign-On Award shall vest according to the following schedule:
3.4.1 50% of the Sign-On Award shall vest immediately upon the Company’s IPO.
3.4.2 25% of the Sign-On Award shall vest 12 months after the Company’s IPO.
3.4.3
25% of the Sign-On Award shall vest 24 months after the Company’s IPO.
3.5 Effect of Termination Awards. Subject to the applicable award agreement with respect to any awards issued to Executive:
3.5.1 If the Executive’s employment is terminated before the options or restricted stock subject to outstanding awards to Executive are fully vested, whether due to termination by the Company or any other reason, aside from termination for Cause, all unvested options or restricted stock from the outstanding awards shall vest and become exercisable immediately prior to the effectiveness of such termination.
3.5.2 In the event of a merger, acquisition, or change of control of the Company, where Executive’s employment is terminated thereafter following such event, all unvested options or restricted stock from the outstanding awards shall vest and become exercisable immediately prior to the effectiveness of such termination.
4. Employee Benefits.
4.1 Participation in Benefit Plans. During Executive’s employment by the Company, Executive shall be entitled to participate in such health, group insurance, welfare, pension, and other employee benefit plans, programs and arrangements as are made generally available from time to time to senior executives of the Company (which shall include customary life insurance and disability plans), such participation in each case to be on terms and conditions no less favorable to Executive than to other senior executives of the Company generally.
4.2 Fringe Benefits, Perquisites and Vacations. During Executive’s employment by the Company, Executive shall be entitled to participate in all fringe benefits and perquisites made available to other senior executives of the Company, such participation to be at levels, and on terms and conditions, that are commensurate with his position and responsibilities at the Company and that are no less favorable than those applying to other senior executives of the Company. In addition, the Executive shall be entitled to unlimited paid vacation days per calendar year. The executive is encouraged to take vacation as needed, provided that they fulfill their duties and responsibilities and maintain their performance. The executive will coordinate their vacation time with the Company to ensure, to the best extent possible, that their absence is managed appropriately and does not unduly impact the Company’s operations or the executive’s role.
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4.3 Reimbursement of Expenses. Subject to the Company’s expense policy (“Expense Policy”) Executive shall be reimbursed for all reasonable business and travel expenses incurred in the performance of his job duties and the promotion of the Company’s business, promptly upon presentation of appropriate supporting documentation and otherwise in accordance with the expense reimbursement policy of the Company.
4.4 Reimbursement of Exercise Cost. In recognition of the exercise cost to the Executive, the Company agrees to reimburse Executive for the exercise price paid upon exercise of the vested stock options. Such reimbursement shall be treated as additional compensation to Executive and shall be subject to applicable tax consequences for both Executive and the Company. Reimbursement will be provided promptly within sixty (60) days upon presentation of appropriate supporting documentation and otherwise in accordance with the Company's expense reimbursement policy.
4.5 Right to Postpone Reimbursement of Exercise Cost. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board and/or the Compensation Committee shall have the right to postpone the reimbursement of the Executive’s exercise price paid upon exercise of vested stock options if, in the good-faith opinion of the Board and/or the Compensation Committee, such reimbursement will cause the Company to become insolvent or cause the Company significant financial hardship. The Board and/or the Compensation Committee shall revisit the Executive’s reimbursement request periodically, but no less frequently than every six (6) months, to determine whether the conditions causing the postponement have been alleviated. Once the conditions are deemed to be alleviated, reimbursement will be provided promptly within sixty (60) days and otherwise in accordance with the Company's expense reimbursement policy.
5. Repurchase Rights
5.1 Mandatory Buyback. The Executive shall have the right to require the Company to repurchase up to 30% of the shares of Company stock held by the Executive at the time the Executive first exercises this mandatory buyback right (the “Mandatory Buyback Shares”). The Company shall repurchase the Mandatory Buyback Shares upon the Executive’s written demand. The Executive may demand that the Company buyback all of the Mandatory Buyback Shares at one time, or less than the full amount of Mandatory Buyback Shares at multiple times, but in no event shall the Company be required to repurchase any amount of shares greater than the full amount of the Mandatory Buyback Shares.
5.2 Repurchase Price. The repurchase price per Mandatory Buyback Share shall be the fair market value of such Mandatory Buyback Shares on the date of repurchase, as determined by the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the principal exchange on which it is traded, or if not traded on an exchange, as determined by the Board of Directors in good faith. In addition to the fair market value, the repurchase price will include a premium of at least 25% above the fair market value, reflecting market practices where premiums are occasionally used to incentivize the executive to sell or to expedite the purchase of shares.
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5.3 Mutual Agreement to Repurchase Additional Shares. The repurchase by the Company of any additional shares from the Executive beyond the Mandatory Buyback Shares shall be subject to the Executive’s agreement to sell such additional shares, and the Company’s agreement to buy such additional shares, which agreement shall be in writing signed by the Company and the Executive.
5.4 Conditions. The repurchase right shall be exercisable by the Executive at any time during the Term of this Agreement and within a five (5) year period after the Executive’s termination of employment, and subject to compliance with applicable securities laws and any other conditions set forth in the Company’s policies or plans.
5.5 Board/Compensation Committee Right to Postpone. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board and/or the Compensation Committee shall have the right to postpone the Executive’s request for the Company to repurchase the Mandatory Buyback Shares if, in the good-faith opinion of the Board and/or Compensation Committee, such repurchase will cause the Company to become insolvent or cause the Company significant financial hardship. The Board and/or Compensation Committee shall revisit the Executive’s request periodically, but no less frequently than every six (6) months, to determine whether the conditions causing the postponement have been alleviated.
6. Tax Assistance.
6.1 Capital Gains Tax Assistance. In the event the Executive sells Company shares acquired through the exercise of stock options or the vesting of RSUs, resulting in capital gains tax liability, the Company shall reimburse Executive for least 50% of the capital gains taxes due from such sale, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and the applicable award agreements (“Capital Gains Reimbursement”).
6.2 Conditions. The Capital Gains Reimbursement provided by the Company shall be subject to compliance with applicable tax laws and regulations, and the Executive shall promptly provide the Company with all necessary documentation and information to facilitate the Capital Gains Reimbursement. The Company’s obligation to provide the Capital Gains Reimbursement shall not relieve the Executive of Executive’s responsibility to comply with all tax laws and obligations, or to seek independent tax advice as necessary.
6.3 Notification and Payment. Executive shall notify the Company promptly upon becoming aware of any capital gains tax liabilities arising from Executive’s sale, exercise, or disposition of equity awards. The Company shall make payments for the Capital Gains Reimbursement in a timely manner after receiving satisfactory evidence from the Executive of payment of the capital gains taxes for which the Capital Gains Reimbursement is sought.
6.4 Tax Gross-Up Provision. If any payment or benefit provided to Executive under this tax assistance provision is subject to the imposition of excise taxes under Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code or any similar taxes, the Company shall provide an additional payment to Executive so that the net amount retained by Executive, after deduction of any excise taxes, is equal to the amount that would have been retained by Executive if no such excise taxes were imposed.
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6.5 Adjustments to Tax Assistance. The Company reserves the right to adjust the amount of Capital Gains Reimbursement provided to Executive to the extent necessary to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
7. Termination.
7.1 General. The Company may terminate the Executive’s employment for any reason or no reason, and the Executive may terminate his employment for any reason or no reason, in either case subject only to the terms of this Agreement. In the event of the termination of Executive’s employment hereunder for any reason other than Cause, he shall promptly resign from any other position he then holds that is affiliated with the Company or that he was holding at the Company’s request, but will retain his seat on the Board of Directors, which shall transition to an independent board seat. In such case, the compensation to the Executive as an Independent Board member will be determined by the Compensation Committee, but be consistent with the compensation of the other Independent Board members. For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a) “Accrued Obligations” shall mean: (i) Executive’s earned but unpaid Salary through the Termination Date; (ii) payment of any annual, long-term, or other incentive award earned in respect to any period ending on or before the Termination Date, or payable (but not yet paid) on or before the Termination Date; (iii) a lump-sum payment in respect of accrued but unused vacation days at Executive’s per-business-day Salary rate in effect as of the Termination Date; (iv) any unpaid expense or other reimbursements pursuant to Section 4.3 and 4.4 hereof; and (v) any rights, entitlements or benefits to which Executive is or becomes (or his dependents are or become) entitled in accordance with the terms of any Company Arrangement.
(b) “Cause” shall mean (i) Executive is convicted of, or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude, fraud, embezzlement from the Company, or theft of Company property (including intellectual property; (ii) in carrying out his duties hereunder, Executive engages in conduct that constitutes fraud, willful gross misconduct, or willful gross neglect and that, in either case, results in material economic or reputational harm to the Company, which Executive fails to cure within thirty (30) days following Executive’s receipt of written notice from the Board of such misconduct; (iii) Executive refuses to perform, or repeatedly fails to undertake good faith efforts to perform, the duties or responsibilities reasonably assigned to him (consistent with Section 2) by the Board, which non-performance has continued for ninety (90) days following Executive’s receipt of written notice from the Board of such non-performance and provided that such duties or responsibilities are suitable and appropriate (consistent with Section 2); (iv) Executive violates any of the restrictive covenants set forth in Section 9 of this Agreement; or (v) Executive violates a material policy of the Company.
(c) “Change in Control” shall mean the first to occur of any of the following; provided, that for any distribution that is subject to Section 409A (as defined in Section 10.2), a Change in Control under this Agreement shall be deemed to occur only if such event also satisfies the requirements under Treas. Regs. Section 1.409A-3(i)(5):
(i) any Person or group of Persons becomes the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities (a “Majority of the Securities”);
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(ii) (A) the stockholders of the Company approve a plan of complete liquidation of the Company; (B) the sale or disposition of all or
substantially all of the Company’s assets; or (C) a merger, consolidation or reorganization of the Company with or involving any
other entity, other than a merger, consolidation or reorganization that would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding
immediately prior thereto continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the
surviving entity) at least a Majority of the Securities of the Company (or such surviving entity) outstanding immediately after such
merger, consolidation or reorganization; or
(iii) the date a majority of the members of the Board are replaced during any twelve (12)-month period by directors whose appointment
or election are not endorsed by a majority of the members of the Board before the date of the appointment or election.
(iv) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following acquisitions shall not constitute a Change in Control: (A) an acquisition by the Company
or entity controlled by the Company, or (B) an acquisition by an employee benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or maintained by
the Company.
(d) “Company Arrangement” shall mean any plan, program, agreement, corporate governance document or arrangement of the Company or any of its affiliates.
(e) “Disability” shall mean that Executive has been unable, with or without reasonable accommodation and due to physical or mental incapacity, to substantially perform his duties and responsibilities hereunder for three hundred sixty-five (365) consecutive days.
(f) “Good Reason” shall mean the occurrence of any of the following events without Executive’s express prior written consent: (i) a diminution in Executive’s authority, title, duties, responsibilities, or reporting lines; responsibilities or authorities; (ii) a reduction in Executive’s Salary, other than any diminution that is also applicable in a substantially similar manner and proportion to the other senior executives of the Company; (iii) relocation of Executive’s principal office, or principal place of employment, to a location that is more than thirty (30) miles from the Company’s corporate headquarters in New York, New York; or (iv) a breach by the Company or any of its affiliates of this Agreement. A termination of employment by Executive for Good Reason shall be effectuated by giving the Company written notice (“Notice of Termination for Good Reason”), not later than sixty (60) days following the occurrence of the circumstances that constitutes Good Reason, setting forth in reasonable detail the specific conduct of the Company that constitutes Good Reason. The Company shall be entitled, during the ten (10) day period following receipt of a Notice of Termination for Good Reason, to cure the circumstances that gave rise to Good Reason; provided that the Company shall be entitled to waive its right to cure or reduce the cure period by delivery of written notice to that effect to Executive (such ten (10) day or shorter period, the “Cure Period”). If, during the Cure Period, such circumstance is remedied, Executive will not be permitted to terminate employment for Good Reason as a result of such circumstances. If, at the end of the Cure Period, the circumstance that constitutes Good Reason has not been remedied, Executive will be entitled to terminate employment for Good Reason during the thirty (30) day period that follows the end of the Cure Period. If Executive does not terminate employment during such thirty (30) day period, Executive will not be permitted to terminate employment for Good Reason as a result of such event.
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(g) “Pro Rata Annual Bonus” shall mean an amount equal to (i) the Executive’s Target Bonus for the calendar year during which his employment hereunder terminated if his employment hereunder had continued, multiplied by (ii) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days he was employed hereunder during such year and the denominator of which is the number of days in such year; and
(h) “Termination Date” shall mean the date on which Executive’s employment hereunder terminates in accordance with this Agreement (which, in the case of a notice of non-renewal of the Term in accordance with Section 1 hereof, shall mean the date on which the Term expires).
7.2 Termination by the Company Without Cause, by Executive With Good Reason, or Due to Company’s Non-Renewal of the Term. In the event that Executive’s employment is terminated by the Company without Cause, by Executive with Good Reason, or due to the Company’s non-renewal of the Term pursuant to Section 1 above, the Term shall expire on the Termination Date and Executive shall be entitled to:
(a) an amount equal to (i) 3 times (ii) the sum of (1) his highest Salary during his employment with the Company and (2) the average Annual Bonus that Executive received for each of the three preceding calendar years (or, if fewer, for the number of completed years he was employed immediately prior to the Termination Date or, if none, then his Target Bonus then in effect) or (ii) the Target Bonus, such amount to be paid in a cash lump sum to Executive on the sixtieth (60th) day after the Termination Date;
(b) a Pro-Rata Annual Bonus, such amount to be paid in a cash lump sum to Executive on the sixtieth (60th) day after the Termination Date;
(c) a lump sum cash payment equal to the monthly COBRA costs of continued coverage for a period of 12 months following the Termination Date under the Company’s welfare plans (including health, dental, prescription drug and vision), for Executive and, as applicable, his spouse and eligible dependents;
(d) acceleration of the vesting of all unvested equity and equity-based awards that have been granted to Executive under the Plan or any other agreement or arrangement through the Termination Date; and
(e) the Accrued Obligations.
7.3 Death and Disability. Executive’s employment shall terminate in the event of his death, and either Executive or the Company may terminate Executive’s employment in the event of his Disability (provided that no termination of Executive’s employment hereunder for Disability shall be effective unless the party terminating Executive’s employment first gives at least thirty (30) days’ written notice of such termination to the other party). In the event that Executive’s employment hereunder is terminated due to his death or Disability, the Term shall expire on the Termination Date and he and/or his estate or beneficiaries (as the case may be) shall be entitled to the benefits described in Section 7.2(b), (c), (d), and (e).
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7.4 Termination by the Company For Cause, by Executive Without Good Reason, or Due to Executive’s Non-Renewal of the Term. In the event that Executive’s employment is terminated by Executive without Good Reason, by the Company for Cause, or due to Executive’s non-renewal of the Term pursuant to Section 1 above, the Term shall expire as of the Termination Date and Executive shall be entitled to the Accrued Obligations. Additionally, subject to the terms of the Executive’s award agreement, any unvested equity awards granted under Plan will be forfeited as of the Termination Date.
7.5 Due to Change in Control. In the event that, within two years following a Change in Control, Executive’s employment is terminated by the Company without Cause, by Executive with Good Reason, or due to the Company’s non-renewal of the Term pursuant to Section 1 above, then, in lieu of the payments otherwise due to Executive under Section 7.2 above, the Term shall expire on the Termination Date and Executive shall be entitled to:
(a) an amount equal to (i) 3.5 times (ii) the sum of (A) Executive’s highest Salary during his employment with the Company and (B) the greater of (1) the average Annual Bonus paid to him in respect of the three completed years immediately prior to his Termination Date (or, if fewer, in respect of the number of completed years he was employed immediately prior to the Termination Date or, if none, then his Target Bonus then in effect) or (2) the Target Bonus, such payment to be made in a cash lump sum to Executive on the sixtieth (60th) day after the Termination Date;
(b) a Pro-Rata Annual Bonus, such amount to be paid in a cash lump sum to Executive on the sixtieth (60th) day after the Termination Date;
(c) a lump sum cash payment equal to the monthly COBRA costs of continued coverage for a period of 12 months following the Termination Date under the Company’s welfare plans (including health, dental, prescription drug and vision), for Executive and, as applicable, his spouse and eligible dependents, such payment to be made to Executive on the sixtieth (60th) day after the Termination Date;
(d) full vesting, exercisability and non-forfeitability, as applicable, as of the Termination Date, of any outstanding equity or equity-based awards; and
(e) the Accrued Obligations.
7.6 Release. Executive’s entitlement to the payments described in this Section 7 (other than the Accrued Obligations) is expressly contingent upon Executive first providing the Company with a signed release of claims in substantially the form attached hereto as “Exhibit A” (the “Release”). In order to be effective, such Release must be delivered by Executive to the Company no later than sixty (60) days following the Termination Date and not revoked by Executive during the seven (7) day period following such delivery.
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8. Excess Parachute Payments.
8.1 If any payment or benefit (including payments and benefits pursuant to this Agreement) that Executive would receive in connection with a Change in Control from the Company or otherwise (“Transaction Payment”) would (a) constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”); and (b) the net after-tax benefit that Executive would receive by reducing the Transaction Payments to three times the “base amount,” as defined in Section 280G(b)(3) of the Code (the “Parachute Threshold”), is greater than the net after-tax benefit Executive would receive if the full amount of the Transaction Payments were paid to Executive, then the Transaction Payments payable to Executive shall be reduced (but not below zero) so that the Transaction Payments due to Executive do not exceed the amount of the Parachute Threshold, reducing first any Transaction Payments under Section 7.5(a) and (b) hereof.
8.2 Unless Executive and the Company otherwise agree in writing, any determination required under this section shall be made in writing by the Company’s independent public accountants (the “Accountants”), whose determination shall be conclusive and binding upon Executive and the Company for all purposes. Fo purposes of making the calculations required by this section, the Accountants may make reasonable assumptions and approximations concerning applicable taxes and may rely on reasonable, good faith interpretations concerning the application of Sections 280G and 4999 of the Code. The Accountants shall provide detailed supporting calculations to the Company and Executive as requested by the Company or Executive at least forty-five (45) days prior to the date the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (including any interest, penalties or additions to tax relating thereto) is required to be paid by Executive or withheld by the Company. Executive and the Company shall furnish to the Accountants such information and documents as the Accountants may reasonably request in order to make a determination under this section. The Company shall bear all costs the Accountants may reasonably incur in connection with any calculations contemplated by this section as well as any costs incurred by Executive with the Accountants for tax planning under Sections 280G and 4999 of the Code.
9. Indemnification.
9.1 If Executive is made a party, is threatened to be made a party, or reasonably anticipates being made a party, to any Proceeding by reason of the fact that Executive is or was a director, officer, shareholder, employee, agent, trustee, consultant or representative of the Company or any of its affiliates or is or was serving at the request of the Company or any of its affiliates, or in connection with his service hereunder as a director, officer, shareholder, employee, agent, trustee, consultant or representative of another Person, or if any Claim is made, is threatened to be made, or is reasonably anticipated to be made against the Executive that arises out of or relates to Executive’s service in any of the foregoing capacities, then the Company shall indemnify and hold harmless the Executive to the fullest extent permitted or authorized by any Company Arrangement, or if greater, by applicable law, against any and all costs, expenses, liabilities and losses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ and other professional fees and charges, judgments, interest, expenses of investigation, penalties, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties, federal or state tax liabilities, and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement) incurred or suffered by him in connection therewith or in connection with seeking to enforce his rights under this Section 9.1, and such indemnification shall continue even if Executive has ceased to be a director, officer, shareholder, employee, agent, trustee, consultant or representative of the Company or other Person and shall inure to the benefit of his heirs, executors and administrators.
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9.2 A directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policy (or policies) shall be kept in place, during the Term and thereafter until the tenth (10th) anniversary of the Termination Date, providing coverage to Executive that is no less favorable to him in any respect than the coverage then being provided to any other current or former director or officer of the Company.
9.3 For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following meanings: “Affiliate” of a Person shall mean any Person that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such Person; “Claim” shall mean any claim, demand, request, investigation, dispute, controversy, threat, discovery request, or request for testimony or information; “Person” shall mean any individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust, estate, board, committee, agency, body, employee benefit plan, or other person or entity; and “Proceeding” shall mean any threatened or actual action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative, appellate, formal, informal or other.
10. Other Tax Matters.
10.1 The Company shall withhold all applicable federal, state and local taxes, social security and workers’ compensation contributions and other amounts as may be required by law with respect to compensation payable to Executive pursuant to this Agreement.
10.2 Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, this Agreement is intended to be interpreted and applied so that the payment of the benefits set forth herein either shall either be exempt from the requirements of Section 409A of the Code (“Section 409A”) or shall comply with the requirements of such provision. Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, if Executive is a “specified employee” within the meaning of Section 409A, any payments or arrangements due upon a termination of Executive’s employment under any arrangement that constitutes a “deferral of compensation” within the meaning of Section 409A and which do not otherwise qualify under the exemptions under Treas. Regs. Section 1.409A-1 (including without limitation, the short-term deferral exemption or the permitted payments under Treas. Regs. Section 1.409A-1(b)(9)(iii)(A)), shall be delayed and paid or provided on the earlier of (i) the date which is six months after Executive’s “separation from service” (as such term is defined in Section 409A and the regulations and other published guidance thereunder) for any reason other than death, and (ii) the date of Executive’s death.
10.3 After any Termination Date, Executive shall have no duties or responsibilities that are inconsistent with having a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A as of the Termination Date and, notwithstanding anything in the Agreement to the contrary, distributions upon termination of employment may only be made upon a “separation from service” as determined under Section 409A and such date shall be the Termination Date for purposes of this Agreement. Each payment under this Agreement or otherwise shall be treated as a separate payment for purposes of Section 409A. In no event may Executive, directly or indirectly, designate the calendar year of any payment to be made under this Agreement which constitutes a “deferral of compensation” within the meaning of Section 409A.
10.4 Any amounts otherwise payable to Executive following a termination of employment that are not so paid by reason of this Section 10 shall be paid as soon as practicable following, and in any event within thirty (30) days following, the date that is six months after Executive’s separation from service (or, if earlier, the date of Executive’s death). All reimbursements and in-kind benefits provided under this Agreement shall be made or provided in accordance with the requirements of Section 409A.
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10.5 To the extent that any reimbursements pursuant to Section 4.3 and 4.4 or otherwise are taxable to Executive, any reimbursement payment due to Executive pursuant to such Section shall be paid to Executive on or before the last day of the Executive’s taxable year following the taxable year in which the related expense was incurred. The reimbursements pursuant to Section 4.3 and 4.4 or otherwise are not subject to liquidation or exchange for another benefit and the amount of such reimbursements that Executive receives in one taxable year shall not affect the amount of such reimbursements that Executive receives in any other taxable year.
11. Restrictive Covenants.
11.1 Confidentiality.
(a) Company Information. Executive agrees at all times during the Term of this Agreement and thereafter, to hold in strictest confidence, and not to use, except in connection with the performance of Executive’s duties, and not to disclose to any person or entity without written authorization of the Company, any Confidential Information of the Company. As used herein, “Confidential Information” means any Company proprietary or confidential information, technical data, patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets or know-how, including, but not limited to, research, product plans, products, services, customer lists and customers, markets, software, developments, inventions, processes, formulas, technology, designs, drawings, engineering, marketing, distribution and sales methods and systems, sales and profit figures, finances and other business information disclosed to Executive by the Company, either directly or indirectly in writing, orally or by drawings or inspection of documents or other tangible property. However, Confidential Information does not include any of the foregoing items which has become publicly known and made generally available through no wrongful act of Executive.
(b) Executive-Restricted Information. Executive agrees that during the Term of this Agreement Executive will not improperly use or disclose any proprietary or confidential information or trade secrets of any person or entity with whom Executive has an agreement or duty to keep such information or secrets confidential.
(c) Third Party Information. Executive recognizes that the Company has received and in the future will receive from third parties their confidential or proprietary information subject to a duty on the Company’s part to maintain the confidentiality of such information and to use it only for certain limited purposes. Executive agrees at all times during the Term of this Agreement and thereafter, to hold in strictest confidence, and not to use, except in connection with the performance of Executive’s duties, and not to disclose to any person or entity, or to use it except as necessary in performing Executive’s duties, consistent with the Company’s agreement with such third party.
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11.2 Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation.
(a) Executive acknowledges that, during the Term, Executive has had access to information concerning the Company’s critical business strategies, engineering and technology development plans, competitive analyses, organizational structure. Accordingly, in consideration of the compensation provided under this Agreement, Executive agrees that during the Term and for the six(6) months period thereafter, Executive will not directly or indirectly, (i) own, manage, operate, control (including indirectly through a debt or equity investment), provide services to, or be employed by, any person or entity engaged in any business that is competitive with the business activities of the Company as they existed during the period that Executive provided services to the Company; (ii) solicit, induce, encourage, or attempt to induce or encourage any employee or consultant of the Company to terminate his or her employment or consulting relationship with the Company, or to breach any other obligation to the Company (other than advertising not specifically targeted at the Company’s employees and serving as a reference upon request); or (iii) interfere with, disrupt, alter, or attempt to disrupt or alter the relationship, contractual or otherwise, between the Company and any consultant, contractor, customer, potential customer, or supplier of the Company.
(b) Executive acknowledges that the restrictions contained under this Section 11.2 are reasonable and necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the Company, that the Company would not have executed this Agreement in the absence of such restrictions, and that any violation of any provision of this paragraph will result in irreparable injury to the Company. In the event the provisions under this Section 11.2 shall ever be deemed to exceed the time, scope or geographic limitations permitted by applicable laws, then such provisions shall be reformed to the maximum time, scope or geographic limitations, as the case may be, permitted by applicable laws.
11.3 Injunctive Relief. Executive agrees that it is impossible to measure in money the damages which will accrue to the Company by reason of a failure by Executive to perform any of Executive’s obligations under this Section 11 Accordingly, if Company or any of its affiliates institutes any action or proceeding to enforce its rights under this Section 11, to the extent permitted by applicable law, Executive hereby waives the claim or defense that the Company or its affiliates has an adequate remedy at law, and Executive shall not claim that any such remedy at law exists.
12. Non-Disparagement. During and after the Term, Executive and the Company agree not to make any statement that criticizes, ridicules, disparages, or is otherwise derogatory of the other; provided, however, that nothing in this Agreement shall restrict either party from making truthful statements (a) when required by law, subpoena, court order or the like; (b) when requested by a governmental, regulatory, or similar body or entity; (c) in confidence to a professional advisor for the purpose of securing professional advice; or (d) in the course of performing his duties during the Term.
13. Notices. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, any notice, consent, demand or other communication to be given under or in connection with this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed duly given when delivered personally, when transmitted by facsimile transmission, one (1) day after being deposited with Federal Express or other nationally recognized overnight delivery service or three (3) days after being mailed by first class mail, charges or postage prepaid, properly addressed, if to the Company, at its principal office, and, if to Executive, at his address set forth following his signature below. Either party may change such address from time to time by notice to the other.
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14. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, exclusive of any choice of law rules.
15. Arbitration; Legal Fees.
15.1 The Company and Executive waive their right to seek remedies in court, including any right to a jury trial. The Company and Executive agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement, Executive’s employment with the Company, or any termination of such employment, shall be resolved by binding arbitration to be conducted in New York in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules (and not the National Rules for Resolution of Employment Disputes) of the American Arbitration Association and this Section 15. Judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
15.2 In the event of any material contest or dispute relating to this Agreement or the Company’s termination of Executive’s employment hereunder, the Company shall bear all reasonable costs and expenses, including but not limited to legal fees, incurred by the Executive in connection with resolving such dispute.
16. Amendments; Waivers. This Agreement may not be modified or amended or terminated except by an instrument in writing, signed by Executive and a duly-authorized officer of the Company (other than Executive). By an instrument in writing similarly executed, either party may waive compliance by the other party with any provision of this Agreement that such other party was or is obligated to comply with or perform; provided, however, that such waiver shall not operate as a waiver of, or estoppel with respect to, any other or subsequent failure. No failure to exercise and no delay in exercising any right, remedy, or power hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, or power hereunder preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, remedy, or power provided herein or by law or in equity. To be effective, any written waiver must specifically refer to the condition(s) or provision(s) of this Agreement being waived.
17. Inconsistencies. In the event of any inconsistency between any provision of this Agreement and any provision of any Company Arrangement, the provisions of this Agreement shall control, unless Executive and the Company otherwise agree in a writing that expressly refers to the provision of this Agreement that is being waived. Unless already addressed in this Agreement, all Board resolutions previously executed that do not conflict with the terms provided herein shall be incorporated by reference.
18. Assignment. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, neither party shall assign or transfer this Agreement nor any rights hereunder without the consent of the other party, and any attempted or purported assignment without such consent shall be void; provided, however, that any assignment or transfer pursuant to a merger or consolidation, or the sale or liquidation of all or substantially all of the business and assets of the Company shall be valid, so long as the assignee or transferee (a) is the successor to all or substantially all of the business and assets of the Company and (b) assumes the liabilities, obligations and duties of the Company, as contained in this Agreement, either contractually or as a matter of law. Executive’s consent shall not be required for any such transaction. This Agreement shall otherwise bind and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors, assigns, heirs, legatees, devisees, executors, administrators and legal representatives.
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19. Voluntary Execution; Representations. Executive acknowledges that (a) he has consulted with or has had the opportunity to consult with independent counsel of his own choosing concerning this Agreement and has been advised to do so by the Company; and (b) he has read and understands this Agreement, is competent and of sound mind to execute this Agreement, is fully aware of the legal effect of this Agreement, and has entered into it freely based on his own judgment and without duress. Executive represents and covenants that his employment hereunder and compliance with the terms and conditions hereof will not conflict with or result in the breach by him of any agreement to which he is a party or by which he may be bound, he had not violated and in connection with his employment with the Company will not violated any non-solicitation or other similar covenant or agreement by which he is or may be bound, and in connection with his employment with the Company he will not engage in any unauthorized use of any confidential or proprietary information he may have obtained in connection with his employment with any other employer. The Company represents and warrants that it is fully authorized, by any person or body whose authorization is required, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations under it.
20. Headings. The headings of the Sections and sub-sections contained in this Agreement are for convenience only and shall not be deemed to control or affect the meaning or construction of any provision of this Agreement.
21. Beneficiaries/References. Executive shall be entitled, to the extent permitted under applicable law, to select and change a beneficiary or beneficiaries to receive any compensation or benefit hereunder following Executive’s death by giving written notice thereof. In the event of Executive’s death or a judicial determination of his incompetence, references in this Agreement to Executive shall be deemed, where appropriate, to refer to his beneficiary, estate or other legal representative.
22. Survivorship. Except as otherwise set forth in this Agreement, the respective rights and obligations of the parties shall survive any termination of Executive’s employment.
23. Severability. Whenever possible, each provision or portion of any provision of this Agreement will be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law but the invalidity or unenforceability of any provision or portion of any provision of this Agreement in any jurisdiction shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remainder of this Agreement in that jurisdiction or the validity or enforceability of this Agreement, including that provision or portion of any provision, in any other jurisdiction.
24. No Mitigation/No Offset. Executive shall be under no obligation to seek other employment or to otherwise mitigate the obligations of the Company under this Agreement, and there shall be no offset against amounts or benefits due to Executive under this Agreement or otherwise on account of any claim (other than any preexisting debts then due in accordance with their terms) the Company may have against him or any remuneration or other benefit earned or received by Executive after such termination.
25. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument. Signatures delivered by facsimile or PDF shall be effective for all purposes.
26. Entire Agreement. This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous negotiations, correspondence, understandings and agreements between the parties, regarding the subject matter of this Agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Agreement has been duly executed by or on behalf of the parties hereto as of the date first above written.
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.: | ||
By: | /s/ Daniel Leibovich | |
Name: | Daniel Leibovich | |
Title: | Chief Operating Officer | |
EXECUTIVE: | ||
/s/ Lavell Juan Malloy, II | ||
Name: | Lavell Juan Malloy, II |
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EXHIBIT A
FORM OF GENERAL RELEASE OF ALL CLAIMS
THIS GENERAL RELEASE OF ALL CLAIMS (this “General Release”), dated as of _______, is made by [___] (“Executive”).
WHEREAS, Brag House Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (together with its successors and assigns, the “Company”), and Executive are parties to that certain Employment Agreement, dated as of [______] (the “Employment Agreement”);
WHEREAS, Executive’s employment with the Company has been terminated and Executive is entitled to receive severance and other benefits, as set forth in Section 5 of the Employment Agreement subject to the execution of this General Release;
WHEREAS, in consideration for Executive’s signing of this General Release, the Company will provide Executive with such severance and benefits pursuant to the Employment Agreement; and
WHEREAS, except as otherwise expressly set forth herein, the parties hereto intend that this General Release shall effect a full satisfaction and release of the obligations described herein owed to Executive by the Company.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises, the mutual covenants of the parties hereinafter set forth and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby covenant and agree as follows:
1. Executive, for himself, Executive’s spouse, heirs, administrators, children, representatives, executors, successors, assigns, and all other individuals and entities claiming through Executive, if any (collectively, the “Releasers”), does hereby release, waive, and forever discharge the Company and each of its respective agents, subsidiaries, parents, affiliates, related organizations, employees, officers, directors, attorneys, successors, and assigns in their capacities as such (collectively, the “Releasees”) from, and does fully waive any obligations of Releasees to Releasers for, any and all liability, actions, charges, causes of action, demands, damages, or claims for relief, remuneration, sums of money, accounts or expenses (including attorneys’ fees and costs) of any kind whatsoever, whether known or unknown or contingent or absolute, which heretofore has been or which hereafter may be suffered or sustained, directly or indirectly, by Releasers in consequence of, arising out of, or in any way relating to: (a) Executive’s employment with the Company; (b) the termination of Executive’s employment with the Company; (c) the Employment Agreement; or (d) any events occurring on or prior to the date of this General Release. The foregoing release and discharge, waiver and covenant not to sue includes, but is not limited to, all waivable claims and any obligations or causes of action arising from such claims, under common law including wrongful or retaliatory discharge, breach of contract (including but not limited to any claims under the Employment Agreement other than claims for unpaid severance benefits, bonus or Salary earned thereunder) and any action arising in tort including libel, slander, defamation or intentional infliction of emotional distress, and claims under any federal, state or local statute including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and 1871 (42 U.S.C. § 1981), the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or the discrimination or employment laws of any state or municipality, and/or any claims under any express or implied contract which Releasers may claim existed with Releasees. This also includes a release of any claims for wrongful discharge and all claims for alleged physical or personal injury, emotional distress relating to or arising out of Executive’s employment with the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or the termination of that employment; and any claims under the WARN Act or any similar law, which requires, among other things, that advance notice be given of certain work force reductions. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Section 1 above to the contrary, nothing contained in herein shall constitute a release by any Releaser of any of his, her or its rights or remedies available to him, her or it, at law or in equity, related to, on account of, in connection with or in any way pertaining to the enforcement of: (i) any right to indemnification, advancement of legal fees or directors and officers liability insurance coverage existing under the constituent documents of the Company or applicable state corporate, limited liability company and partnership statutes or pursuant to any agreement, plan or arrangement; (ii) any rights to the receipt of employee benefits which vested on or prior to the date of this General Release; (iii) the right to receive severance and other benefits under the Employment Agreement; (iv) the right to continuation coverage pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act; (v) any equity rights; or (vi) this General Release or any of its terms or conditions.
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2. Excluded from this General Release and waiver are any claims which cannot be waived by applicable law, including but not limited to the right to participate in an investigation conducted by certain government agencies. Executive does, however, waive Executive’s right to any monetary recovery should any government agency (such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) pursue any claims on Executive’s behalf. Executive represents and warrants that Executive has not filed any complaint, charge, or lawsuit against the Releasees with any government agency or any court.
3. Executive agrees never to seek personal recovery from any Releasee in any forum for any claim covered by the above waiver and release language, except that Executive may bring a claim under the ADEA to challenge this General Release. If Executive violates this General Release by suing a Releasee (excluding any claim by Executive under the ADEA or as otherwise set forth in Section 1 hereof), then Executive shall be liable to the Releasee so sued for such Releasee’s reasonable attorneys’ fees and other litigation costs incurred in defending against such a suit. Nothing in this General Release is intended to reflect any party’s belief that Executive’s waiver of claims under ADEA is invalid or unenforceable, it being the intent of the parties that such claims are waived.
5. Executive agrees that neither this General Release, nor the furnishing of the consideration for this General Release, shall be deemed or construed at any time to be an admission of any improper or unlawful conduct on the part of the Releasees.
6. Executive acknowledges and recites that he has:
(a) executed this General Release knowingly and voluntarily;
(b) had a reasonable opportunity to consider this General Release;
(c) read and understands this General Release in its entirety;
(d) been advised and directed orally and in writing (and this subparagraph (d) constitutes such written direction) to seek legal counsel and any other advice he wishes with respect to the terms of this General Release before executing it; and
(e) relied solely on his own judgment, belief and knowledge, and such advice as he may have received from his legal counsel.
7. Section 15 of the Employment Agreement, which shall survive the expiration of the Employment Agreement for this purpose, shall apply to any dispute with regard to this release.
8. Executive acknowledges and agrees that (a) his execution of this General Release has not been forced by any employee or agent of the Company, and Executive has had an opportunity to negotiate the terms of this General Release; and (b) he has been offered twenty-one (21) calendar days after receipt of this General Release to consider its terms before executing it. Executive shall have seven (7) calendar days from the date he executes this General Release to revoke his or her waiver of any ADEA claims by providing written notice of the revocation to the Company, as provided in Section 13 of the Employment Agreement.
9. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this General Release have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Employment Agreement.
10. This General Release may be executed by Executive in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be an original and all of which shall together constitute one and the same instrument. Each counterpart may be delivered by facsimile transmission or e-mail (as a .pdf, .tif or similar un-editable attachment), which transmission shall be deemed delivery of an originally executed counterpart hereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Executive has executed this General Release as of the day and year first above written.
EXECUTIVE: | ||
Name: | [ ] |
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Exhibit 10.12
EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
This EXECUTIVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made as of June 15, 2024, by and between Brag House Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (together with its successors and assigns, the “Company”), and Daniel Leibovich (“Executive”).
R E C I T A L S
WHEREAS, the Company desires to employ Executive as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer (“COO”); and
WHEREAS, the Company and Executive mutually desire to set forth and agree to certain terms of Executive’s employment.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals, the mutual covenants and conditions herein, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereby agree as follows:
A G R E E M E N T
1. Employment and Term. The Company hereby agrees to continue to employ Executive and Executive hereby accepts continued employment by the Company on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth. Executive’s term of employment by the Company under this Agreement (the “Term”) shall commence on the effectiveness of the Company’s registration statement (the “Effective Date”) and continue through the three-year anniversary of such date; provided, however, that the Term shall thereafter be automatically extended for unlimited additional one-year periods unless, at least ninety (90) days prior to the then-scheduled date of expiration of the Term, either (x) the Company gives notice to Executive that it is electing not to so extend the Term or (y) Executive gives notice to the Company that he is electing not to so extend the Term. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Term may be earlier terminated in strict accordance with the provisions of Section 7 below, in which event Executive’s employment with the Company shall expire in accordance therewith.
2. Position, Duties and Responsibilities; Location.
2.1 Position and Duties. Executive shall be employed as COO of the Company and shall serve as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”). Executive shall have, subject to the Company’s Bylaws and the direction of the Board and the CEO, overall authority and responsibility for the day-to-day operations and administrative functions of the Company and its subsidiaries, if any. Executive shall oversee the implementation and execution of operational strategies, business processes, and organizational policies to support the Company’s business objectives and financial goals. Executive shall have such duties, powers, and authority as are commensurate with the position of COO, including such other duties and responsibilities as are reasonably delegated to them from time to time by the CEO or the Board.
2.2 Exclusive Services and Efforts. Executive agrees to devote his best reasonable efforts, energies, and skill to the full discharge of the duties and responsibilities attributable to his position and, except as set forth herein, agrees to devote substantially all of his professional time and attention exclusively to the business and affairs of the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Executive may (a) serve on the boards of a reasonable number of trade associations and charitable organizations, (b) engage in charitable activities and community affairs, (c) manage his personal investments and affairs and (d) serve on a reasonable number of boards of directors of unaffiliated companies and companies that do not compete with the Company’s business, so long as such activities do not, either individually or in the aggregate, materially interfere with the proper performance of his duties and responsibilities hereunder.
3. Compensation.
3.1 Base Salary. During the Term, the Company hereby agrees to pay to Executive an annualized base salary of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000) (the “Salary”), less all applicable federal, state and local income and employment taxes and other required or elected withholdings and deductions, payable in equal installments on the Company’s regularly-scheduled paydays as it is earned. Executive’s Salary will be reviewed at least annually by the Compensation Committee (the “Compensation Committee”) of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) and may be adjusted (in which case such increased amount shall be the “Salary” hereunder).
3.2 Annual Bonus. For each calendar year that ends during the Term, Executive shall be entitled to participate in the Company’s annual cash incentive plan (the “Annual Bonus”) with a target bonus of no less than 75% of Executive’s Salary (the “Target Bonus”). The Annual Bonus shall be determined by the Compensation Committee, and paid in the calendar year following the year in which the services were performed, as soon as reasonably practicable following the Company’s receipt of its annual audited financial statements and the Compensation Committee’s determination regarding whether to approve an Annual Bonus and the amount of any such Annual Bonus. In the event that the Compensation Committee determines that the Company’s financial performance does not support the payment of the full Target Bonus, the Annual Bonus shall be reduced to an amount the Compensation Committee determines is appropriate given the Company’s financial performance (“Reduced Annual Bonus”). In such cases, the Compensation Committee will uniformly apply the Reduced Annual Bonus to all of the eligible executives and employees receiving a bonus for that year, as determined by the Compensation committee. The Company will communicate any such adjustment to the Executive in a timely manner.
3.3 Annual Equity Award. Executive will be eligible for annual grants of long-term incentive and equity compensation awards at the Company’s good faith discretion, based upon the Compensation Committee’s evaluation of his performance and peer company compensation practices (the “Annual Equity Award”). Executive’s target Annual Equity Award shall be consistent with his position at the Company’s peer companies; provided, however, that the grant date fair value of the target Annual Equity Award shall not be less than two hundred percent (200%) of Executive’s Salary.
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3.4 Initial Equity Award. Contingent on and upon the initial public offering (“IPO”) of the Company’s common stock, the Company shall grant to Executive an award under the 2024 Brag House Holdings, Inc. Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) of stock options for the greater of 40,000 shares or $200,000 worth of shares (based upon the fair market value on the date of the award) to the Executive (the “Sign-On Award”). Subject to the terms of this Agreement and the award agreement into which Executive and the Company will enter on the Effective Date evidencing the grant of the Sign-On Award, the Sign-On Award shall vest according to the following schedule:
3.4.1 50% of the Sign-On Award shall vest immediately upon the Company’s IPO.
3.4.2 25% of the Sign-On Award shall vest 12 months after the Company’s IPO.
3.4.3 25% of the Sign-On Award shall vest 24 months after the Company’s IPO.
3.5 Effect of Termination Awards. Subject to the applicable award agreement with respect to any awards issued to Executive:
3.5.1 If the Executive’s employment is terminated before the options or restricted stock subject to outstanding awards to Executive are fully vested, whether due to termination by the Company or any other reason, aside from termination for Cause, all unvested options or restricted stock from the outstanding awards shall vest and become exercisable immediately prior to the effectiveness of such termination.
3.5.2 In the event of a merger, acquisition, or change of control of the Company, where Executive’s employment is terminated thereafter following such event, all unvested options or restricted stock from the outstanding awards shall vest and become exercisable immediately prior to the effectiveness of such termination.
4. Employee Benefits.
4.1 Participation in Benefit Plans. During Executive’s employment by the Company, Executive shall be entitled to participate in such health, group insurance, welfare, pension, and other employee benefit plans, programs and arrangements as are made generally available from time to time to senior executives of the Company (which shall include customary life insurance and disability plans), such participation in each case to be on terms and conditions no less favorable to Executive than to other senior executives of the Company generally.
4.2 Fringe Benefits, Perquisites and Vacations. During Executive’s employment by the Company, Executive shall be entitled to participate in all fringe benefits and perquisites made available to other senior executives of the Company, such participation to be at levels, and on terms and conditions, that are commensurate with his position and responsibilities at the Company and that are no less favorable than those applying to other senior executives of the Company. In addition, the Executive shall be entitled to unlimited paid vacation days per calendar year. The executive is encouraged to take vacation as needed, provided that they fulfill their duties and responsibilities and maintain their performance. The executive will coordinate their vacation time with the Company to ensure, to the best extent possible, that their absence is managed appropriately and does not unduly impact the Company’s operations or the executive’s role.
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4.3 Reimbursement of Expenses. Subject to the Company’s expense policy (“Expense Policy”) Executive shall be reimbursed for all reasonable business and travel expenses incurred in the performance of his job duties and the promotion of the Company’s business, promptly upon presentation of appropriate supporting documentation and otherwise in accordance with the expense reimbursement policy of the Company.
4.4 Reimbursement of Exercise Cost. In recognition of the exercise cost to the Executive, the Company agrees to reimburse Executive for the exercise price paid upon exercise of the vested stock options. Such reimbursement shall be treated as additional compensation to Executive and shall be subject to applicable tax consequences for both Executive and the Company. Reimbursement will be provided promptly within sixty (60) days upon presentation of appropriate supporting documentation and otherwise in accordance with the Company's expense reimbursement policy.
4.5 Right to Postpone Reimbursement of Exercise Cost. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board and/or the Compensation Committee shall have the right to postpone the reimbursement of the Executive’s exercise price paid upon exercise of vested stock options if, in the good-faith opinion of the Board and/or the Compensation Committee, such reimbursement will cause the Company to become insolvent or cause the Company significant financial hardship. The Board and/or the Compensation Committee shall revisit the Executive’s reimbursement request periodically, but no less frequently than every six (6) months, to determine whether the conditions causing the postponement have been alleviated. Once the conditions are deemed to be alleviated, reimbursement will be provided promptly within sixty (60) days and otherwise in accordance with the Company's expense reimbursement policy.
5. Repurchase Rights
5.1 Mandatory Buyback. The Executive shall have the right to require the Company to repurchase up to 30% of the shares of Company stock held by the Executive at the time the Executive first exercises this mandatory buyback right (the “Mandatory Buyback Shares”). The Company shall repurchase the Mandatory Buyback Shares upon the Executive’s written demand. The Executive may demand that the Company buyback all of the Mandatory Buyback Shares at one time, or less than the full amount of Mandatory Buyback Shares at multiple times, but in no event shall the Company be required to repurchase any amount of shares greater than the full amount of the Mandatory Buyback Shares.
5.2 Repurchase Price. The repurchase price per Mandatory Buyback Share shall be the fair market value of such Mandatory Buyback Shares on the date of repurchase, as determined by the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the principal exchange on which it is traded, or if not traded on an exchange, as determined by the Board of Directors in good faith. In addition to the fair market value, the repurchase price will include a premium of at least 25% above the fair market value, reflecting market practices where premiums are occasionally used to incentivize the executive to sell or to expedite the purchase of shares.
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5.3 Mutual Agreement to Repurchase Additional Shares. The repurchase by the Company of any additional shares from the Executive beyond the Mandatory Buyback Shares shall be subject to the Executive’s agreement to sell such additional shares, and the Company’s agreement to buy such additional shares, which agreement shall be in writing signed by the Company and the Executive.
5.4 Conditions. The repurchase right shall be exercisable by the Executive at any time during the Term of this Agreement and within a five (5) year period after the Executive’s termination of employment, and subject to compliance with applicable securities laws and any other conditions set forth in the Company’s policies or plans.
5.5 Board/Compensation Committee Right to Postpone. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board and/or the Compensation Committee shall have the right to postpone the Executive’s request for the Company to repurchase the Mandatory Buyback Shares if, in the good-faith opinion of the Board and/or Compensation Committee, such repurchase will cause the Company to become insolvent or cause the Company significant financial hardship. The Board and/or Compensation Committee shall revisit the Executive’s request periodically, but no less frequently than every six (6) months, to determine whether the conditions causing the postponement have been alleviated.
6. Tax Assistance.
6.1 Capital Gains Tax Assistance. In the event the Executive sells Company shares acquired through the exercise of stock options or the vesting of RSUs, resulting in capital gains tax liability, the Company shall reimburse Executive for least 50% of the capital gains taxes due from such sale, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and the applicable award agreements (“Capital Gains Reimbursement”).
6.2 Conditions. The Capital Gains Reimbursement provided by the Company shall be subject to compliance with applicable tax laws and regulations, and the Executive shall promptly provide the Company with all necessary documentation and information to facilitate the Capital Gains Reimbursement. The Company’s obligation to provide the Capital Gains Reimbursement shall not relieve the Executive of Executive’s responsibility to comply with all tax laws and obligations, or to seek independent tax advice as necessary.
6.3 Notification and Payment. Executive shall notify the Company promptly upon becoming aware of any capital gains tax liabilities arising from Executive’s sale, exercise, or disposition of equity awards. The Company shall make payments for the Capital Gains Reimbursement in a timely manner after receiving satisfactory evidence from the Executive of payment of the capital gains taxes for which the Capital Gains Reimbursement is sought.
6.4 Tax Gross-Up Provision. If any payment or benefit provided to Executive under this tax assistance provision is subject to the imposition of excise taxes under Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code or any similar taxes, the Company shall provide an additional payment to Executive so that the net amount retained by Executive, after deduction of any excise taxes, is equal to the amount that would have been retained by Executive if no such excise taxes were imposed.
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6.5 Adjustments to Tax Assistance. The Company reserves the right to adjust the amount of Capital Gains Reimbursement provided to Executive to the extent necessary to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
7. Termination.
7.1 General. The Company may terminate the Executive’s employment for any reason or no reason, and the Executive may terminate his employment for any reason or no reason, in either case subject only to the terms of this Agreement. In the event of the termination of Executive’s employment hereunder for any reason other than Cause, he shall promptly resign from any other position he then holds that is affiliated with the Company or that he was holding at the Company’s request, but will retain his seat on the Board of Directors, which shall transition to an independent board seat. In such case, the compensation to the Executive as an Independent Board member will be determined by the Compensation Committee, but be consistent with the compensation of the other Independent Board members. For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a) “Accrued Obligations” shall mean: (i) Executive’s earned but unpaid Salary through the Termination Date; (ii) payment of any annual, long-term, or other incentive award earned in respect to any period ending on or before the Termination Date, or payable (but not yet paid) on or before the Termination Date; (iii) a lump-sum payment in respect of accrued but unused vacation days at Executive’s per-business-day Salary rate in effect as of the Termination Date; (iv) any unpaid expense or other reimbursements pursuant to Section 4.3 and 4.4 hereof; and (v) any rights, entitlements or benefits to which Executive is or becomes (or his dependents are or become) entitled in accordance with the terms of any Company Arrangement.
(b) “Cause” shall mean (i) Executive is convicted of, or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude, fraud, embezzlement from the Company, or theft of Company property (including intellectual property; (ii) in carrying out his duties hereunder, Executive engages in conduct that constitutes fraud, willful gross misconduct, or willful gross neglect and that, in either case, results in material economic or reputational harm to the Company, which Executive fails to cure within thirty (30) days following Executive’s receipt of written notice from the Board of such misconduct; (iii) Executive refuses to perform, or repeatedly fails to undertake good faith efforts to perform, the duties or responsibilities reasonably assigned to him (consistent with Section 2) by the Board, which non-performance has continued for ninety (90) days following Executive’s receipt of written notice from the Board of such non-performance and provided that such duties or responsibilities are suitable and appropriate (consistent with Section 2); (iv) Executive violates any of the restrictive covenants set forth in Section 9 of this Agreement; or (v) Executive violates a material policy of the Company.
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(c) “Change in Control” shall mean the first to occur of any of the following; provided, that for any distribution that is subject to Section 409A (as defined in Section 10.2), a Change in Control under this Agreement shall be deemed to occur only if such event also satisfies the requirements under Treas. Regs. Section 1.409A-3(i)(5):
(i) any Person or group of Persons becomes the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities (a “Majority of the Securities”);
(ii) (A) the stockholders of the Company approve a plan of complete liquidation of the Company; (B) the sale or disposition of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets; or (C) a merger, consolidation or reorganization of the Company with or involving any other entity, other than a merger, consolidation or reorganization that would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity) at least a Majority of the Securities of the Company (or such surviving entity) outstanding immediately after such merger, consolidation or reorganization; or
(iii) the date a majority of the members of the Board are replaced during any twelve (12)-month period by directors whose appointment or election are not endorsed by a majority of the members of the Board before the date of the appointment or election.
(iv) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following acquisitions shall not constitute a Change in Control: (A) an acquisition by the Company or entity controlled by the Company, or (B) an acquisition by an employee benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or maintained by the Company.
(d) “Company Arrangement” shall mean any plan, program, agreement, corporate governance document or arrangement of the Company or any of its affiliates.
(e) “Disability” shall mean that Executive has been unable, with or without reasonable accommodation and due to physical or mental incapacity, to substantially perform his duties and responsibilities hereunder for three hundred sixty-five (365) consecutive days.
(f) “Good Reason” shall mean the occurrence of any of the following events without Executive’s express prior written consent: (i) a diminution in Executive’s authority, title, duties, responsibilities, or reporting lines; responsibilities or authorities; (ii) a reduction in Executive’s Salary, other than any diminution that is also applicable in a substantially similar manner and proportion to the other senior executives of the Company; (iii) relocation of Executive’s principal office, or principal place of employment, to a location that is more than thirty (30) miles from the Company’s corporate headquarters in New York, New York; or (iv) a breach by the Company or any of its affiliates of this Agreement. A termination of employment by Executive for Good Reason shall be effectuated by giving the Company written notice (“Notice of Termination for Good Reason”), not later than sixty (60) days following the occurrence of the circumstances that constitutes Good Reason, setting forth in reasonable detail the specific conduct of the Company that constitutes Good Reason. The Company shall be entitled, during the ten (10) day period following receipt of a Notice of Termination for Good Reason, to cure the circumstances that gave rise to Good Reason; provided that the Company shall be entitled to waive its right to cure or reduce the cure period by delivery of written notice to that effect to Executive (such ten (10) day or shorter period, the “Cure Period”). If, during the Cure Period, such circumstance is remedied, Executive will not be permitted to terminate employment for Good Reason as a result of such circumstances. If, at the end of the Cure Period, the circumstance that constitutes Good Reason has not been remedied, Executive will be entitled to terminate employment for Good Reason during the thirty (30) day period that follows the end of the Cure Period. If Executive does not terminate employment during such thirty (30) day period, Executive will not be permitted to terminate employment for Good Reason as a result of such event.
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(g) “Pro Rata Annual Bonus” shall mean an amount equal to (i) the Executive’s Target Bonus for the calendar year during which his employment hereunder terminated if his employment hereunder had continued, multiplied by (ii) a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days he was employed hereunder during such year and the denominator of which is the number of days in such year; and
(h) “Termination Date” shall mean the date on which Executive’s employment hereunder terminates in accordance with this Agreement (which, in the case of a notice of non-renewal of the Term in accordance with Section 1 hereof, shall mean the date on which the Term expires).
7.2 Termination by the Company Without Cause, by Executive With Good Reason, or Due to Company’s Non-Renewal of the Term. In the event that Executive’s employment is terminated by the Company without Cause, by Executive with Good Reason, or due to the Company’s non-renewal of the Term pursuant to Section 1 above, the Term shall expire on the Termination Date and Executive shall be entitled to:
(a) an amount equal to (i) 3 times (ii) the sum of (1) his highest Salary during his employment with the Company and (2) the average Annual Bonus that Executive received for each of the three preceding calendar years (or, if fewer, for the number of completed years he was employed immediately prior to the Termination Date or, if none, then his Target Bonus then in effect) or (ii) the Target Bonus, such amount to be paid in a cash lump sum to Executive on the sixtieth (60th) day after the Termination Date;
(b) a Pro-Rata Annual Bonus, such amount to be paid in a cash lump sum to Executive on the sixtieth (60th) day after the Termination Date;
(c) a lump sum cash payment equal to the monthly COBRA costs of continued coverage for a period of 12 months following the Termination Date under the Company’s welfare plans (including health, dental, prescription drug and vision), for Executive and, as applicable, his spouse and eligible dependents;
(d) acceleration of the vesting of all unvested equity and equity-based awards that have been granted to Executive under the Plan or any other agreement or arrangement through the Termination Date; and
(e) the Accrued Obligations.
7.3 Death and Disability. Executive’s employment shall terminate in the event of his death, and either Executive or the Company may terminate Executive’s employment in the event of his Disability (provided that no termination of Executive’s employment hereunder for Disability shall be effective unless the party terminating Executive’s employment first gives at least thirty (30) days’ written notice of such termination to the other party). In the event that Executive’s employment hereunder is terminated due to his death or Disability, the Term shall expire on the Termination Date and he and/or his estate or beneficiaries (as the case may be) shall be entitled to the benefits described in Section 7.2(b), (c), (d), and (e).
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7.4 Termination by the Company For Cause, by Executive Without Good Reason, or Due to Executive’s Non-Renewal of the Term. In the event that Executive’s employment is terminated by Executive without Good Reason, by the Company for Cause, or due to Executive’s non-renewal of the Term pursuant to Section 1 above, the Term shall expire as of the Termination Date and Executive shall be entitled to the Accrued Obligations. Additionally, subject to the terms of the Executive’s award agreement, any unvested equity awards granted under Plan will be forfeited as of the Termination Date.
7.5 Due to Change in Control. In the event that, within two years following a Change in Control, Executive’s employment is terminated by the Company without Cause, by Executive with Good Reason, or due to the Company’s non-renewal of the Term pursuant to Section 1 above, then, in lieu of the payments otherwise due to Executive under Section 7.2 above, the Term shall expire on the Termination Date and Executive shall be entitled to:
(a) an amount equal to (i) 3.5 times (ii) the sum of (A) Executive’s highest Salary during his employment with the Company and (B) the greater of (1) the average Annual Bonus paid to him in respect of the three completed years immediately prior to his Termination Date (or, if fewer, in respect of the number of completed years he was employed immediately prior to the Termination Date or, if none, then his Target Bonus then in effect) or (2) the Target Bonus, such payment to be made in a cash lump sum to Executive on the sixtieth (60th) day after the Termination Date;
(b) a Pro-Rata Annual Bonus, such amount to be paid in a cash lump sum to Executive on the sixtieth (60th) day after the Termination Date;
(c) a lump sum cash payment equal to the monthly COBRA costs of continued coverage for a period of 12 months following the Termination Date under the Company’s welfare plans (including health, dental, prescription drug and vision), for Executive and, as applicable, his spouse and eligible dependents, such payment to be made to Executive on the sixtieth (60th) day after the Termination Date;
(d) full vesting, exercisability and non-forfeitability, as applicable, as of the Termination Date, of any outstanding equity or equity-based awards; and
(e) the Accrued Obligations.
7.6 Release. Executive’s entitlement to the payments described in this Section 7 (other than the Accrued Obligations) is expressly contingent upon Executive first providing the Company with a signed release of claims in substantially the form attached hereto as “Exhibit A” (the “Release”). In order to be effective, such Release must be delivered by Executive to the Company no later than sixty (60) days following the Termination Date and not revoked by Executive during the seven (7) day period following such delivery.
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8. Excess Parachute Payments.
8.1 If any payment or benefit (including payments and benefits pursuant to this Agreement) that Executive would receive in connection with a Change in Control from the Company or otherwise (“Transaction Payment”) would (a) constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”); and (b) the net after-tax benefit that Executive would receive by reducing the Transaction Payments to three times the “base amount,” as defined in Section 280G(b)(3) of the Code (the “Parachute Threshold”), is greater than the net after-tax benefit Executive would receive if the full amount of the Transaction Payments were paid to Executive, then the Transaction Payments payable to Executive shall be reduced (but not below zero) so that the Transaction Payments due to Executive do not exceed the amount of the Parachute Threshold, reducing first any Transaction Payments under Section 7.5(a) and (b) hereof.
8.2 Unless Executive and the Company otherwise agree in writing, any determination required under this section shall be made in writing by the Company’s independent public accountants (the “Accountants”), whose determination shall be conclusive and binding upon Executive and the Company for all purposes. For purposes of making the calculations required by this section, the Accountants may make reasonable assumptions and approximations concerning applicable taxes and may rely on reasonable, good faith interpretations concerning the application of Sections 280G and 4999 of the Code. The Accountants shall provide detailed supporting calculations to the Company and Executive as requested by the Company or Executive at least forty-five (45) days prior to the date the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (including any interest, penalties or additions to tax relating thereto) is required to be paid by Executive or withheld by the Company. Executive and the Company shall furnish to the Accountants such information and documents as the Accountants may reasonably request in order to make a determination under this section. The Company shall bear all costs the Accountants may reasonably incur in connection with any calculations contemplated by this section as well as any costs incurred by Executive with the Accountants for tax planning under Sections 280G and 4999 of the Code.
9. Indemnification.
9.1 If Executive is made a party, is threatened to be made a party, or reasonably anticipates being made a party, to any Proceeding by reason of the fact that Executive is or was a director, officer, shareholder, employee, agent, trustee, consultant or representative of the Company or any of its affiliates or is or was serving at the request of the Company or any of its affiliates, or in connection with his service hereunder as a director, officer, shareholder, employee, agent, trustee, consultant or representative of another Person, or if any Claim is made, is threatened to be made, or is reasonably anticipated to be made against the Executive that arises out of or relates to Executive’s service in any of the foregoing capacities, then the Company shall indemnify and hold harmless the Executive to the fullest extent permitted or authorized by any Company Arrangement, or if greater, by applicable law, against any and all costs, expenses, liabilities and losses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ and other professional fees and charges, judgments, interest, expenses of investigation, penalties, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties, federal or state tax liabilities, and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement) incurred or suffered by him in connection therewith or in connection with seeking to enforce his rights under this Section 9.1, and such indemnification shall continue even if Executive has ceased to be a director, officer, shareholder, employee, agent, trustee, consultant or representative of the Company or other Person and shall inure to the benefit of his heirs, executors and administrators.
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9.2 A directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policy (or policies) shall be kept in place, during the Term and thereafter until the tenth (10th) anniversary of the Termination Date, providing coverage to Executive that is no less favorable to him in any respect than the coverage then being provided to any other current or former director or officer of the Company.
9.3 For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following meanings: “Affiliate” of a Person shall mean any Person that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such Person; “Claim” shall mean any claim, demand, request, investigation, dispute, controversy, threat, discovery request, or request for testimony or information; “Person” shall mean any individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust, estate, board, committee, agency, body, employee benefit plan, or other person or entity; and “Proceeding” shall mean any threatened or actual action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative, appellate, formal, informal or other.
10. Other Tax Matters.
10.1 The Company shall withhold all applicable federal, state and local taxes, social security and workers’ compensation contributions and other amounts as may be required by law with respect to compensation payable to Executive pursuant to this Agreement.
10.2 Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, this Agreement is intended to be interpreted and applied so that the payment of the benefits set forth herein either shall either be exempt from the requirements of Section 409A of the Code (“Section 409A”) or shall comply with the requirements of such provision. Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, if Executive is a “specified employee” within the meaning of Section 409A, any payments or arrangements due upon a termination of Executive’s employment under any arrangement that constitutes a “deferral of compensation” within the meaning of Section 409A and which do not otherwise qualify under the exemptions under Treas. Regs. Section 1.409A-1 (including without limitation, the short-term deferral exemption or the permitted payments under Treas. Regs. Section 1.409A-1(b)(9)(iii)(A)), shall be delayed and paid or provided on the earlier of (i) the date which is six months after Executive’s “separation from service” (as such term is defined in Section 409A and the regulations and other published guidance thereunder) for any reason other than death, and (ii) the date of Executive’s death.
10.3 After any Termination Date, Executive shall have no duties or responsibilities that are inconsistent with having a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A as of the Termination Date and, notwithstanding anything in the Agreement to the contrary, distributions upon termination of employment may only be made upon a “separation from service” as determined under Section 409A and such date shall be the Termination Date for purposes of this Agreement. Each payment under this Agreement or otherwise shall be treated as a separate payment for purposes of Section 409A. In no event may Executive, directly or indirectly, designate the calendar year of any payment to be made under this Agreement which constitutes a “deferral of compensation” within the meaning of Section 409A.
10.4 Any amounts otherwise payable to Executive following a termination of employment that are not so paid by reason of this Section 10 shall be paid as soon as practicable following, and in any event within thirty (30) days following, the date that is six months after Executive’s separation from service (or, if earlier, the date of Executive’s death). All reimbursements and in-kind benefits provided under this Agreement shall be made or provided in accordance with the requirements of Section 409A.
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10.5 To the extent that any reimbursements pursuant to Section 4.3 and 4.4 or otherwise are taxable to Executive, any reimbursement payment due to Executive pursuant to such Section shall be paid to Executive on or before the last day of the Executive’s taxable year following the taxable year in which the related expense was incurred. The reimbursements pursuant to Section 4.3 and 4.4 or otherwise are not subject to liquidation or exchange for another benefit and the amount of such reimbursements that Executive receives in one taxable year shall not affect the amount of such reimbursements that Executive receives in any other taxable year.
11. Restrictive Covenants.
11.1 Confidentiality.
(a) Company Information. Executive agrees at all times during the Term of this Agreement and thereafter, to hold in strictest confidence, and not to use, except in connection with the performance of Executive’s duties, and not to disclose to any person or entity without written authorization of the Company, any Confidential Information of the Company. As used herein, “Confidential Information” means any Company proprietary or confidential information, technical data, patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets or know-how, including, but not limited to, research, product plans, products, services, customer lists and customers, markets, software, developments, inventions, processes, formulas, technology, designs, drawings, engineering, marketing, distribution and sales methods and systems, sales and profit figures, finances and other business information disclosed to Executive by the Company, either directly or indirectly in writing, orally or by drawings or inspection of documents or other tangible property. However, Confidential Information does not include any of the foregoing items which has become publicly known and made generally available through no wrongful act of Executive.
(b) Executive-Restricted Information. Executive agrees that during the Term of this Agreement Executive will not improperly use or disclose any proprietary or confidential information or trade secrets of any person or entity with whom Executive has an agreement or duty to keep such information or secrets confidential.
(c) Third Party Information. Executive recognizes that the Company has received and in the future will receive from third parties their confidential or proprietary information subject to a duty on the Company’s part to maintain the confidentiality of such information and to use it only for certain limited purposes. Executive agrees at all times during the Term of this Agreement and thereafter, to hold in strictest confidence, and not to use, except in connection with the performance of Executive’s duties, and not to disclose to any person or entity, or to use it except as necessary in performing Executive’s duties, consistent with the Company’s agreement with such third party.
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11.2 Non-Competition and Non-Solicitation.
(a) Executive acknowledges that, during the Term, Executive has had access to information concerning the Company’s critical business strategies, engineering and technology development plans, competitive analyses, organizational structure. Accordingly, in consideration of the compensation provided under this Agreement, Executive agrees that during the Term and for the six(6) months period thereafter, Executive will not directly or indirectly, (i) own, manage, operate, control (including indirectly through a debt or equity investment), provide services to, or be employed by, any person or entity engaged in any business that is competitive with the business activities of the Company as they existed during the period that Executive provided services to the Company; (ii) solicit, induce, encourage, or attempt to induce or encourage any employee or consultant of the Company to terminate his or her employment or consulting relationship with the Company, or to breach any other obligation to the Company (other than advertising not specifically targeted at the Company’s employees and serving as a reference upon request); or (iii) interfere with, disrupt, alter, or attempt to disrupt or alter the relationship, contractual or otherwise, between the Company and any consultant, contractor, customer, potential customer, or supplier of the Company.
(b) Executive acknowledges that the restrictions contained under this Section 11.2 are reasonable and necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the Company, that the Company would not have executed this Agreement in the absence of such restrictions, and that any violation of any provision of this paragraph will result in irreparable injury to the Company. In the event the provisions under this Section 11.2 shall ever be deemed to exceed the time, scope or geographic limitations permitted by applicable laws, then such provisions shall be reformed to the maximum time, scope or geographic limitations, as the case may be, permitted by applicable laws.
11.3 Injunctive Relief. Executive agrees that it is impossible to measure in money the damages which will accrue to the Company by reason of a failure by Executive to perform any of Executive’s obligations under this Section 11 Accordingly, if Company or any of its affiliates institutes any action or proceeding to enforce its rights under this Section 11, to the extent permitted by applicable law, Executive hereby waives the claim or defense that the Company or its affiliates has an adequate remedy at law, and Executive shall not claim that any such remedy at law exists.
12. Non-Disparagement. During and after the Term, Executive and the Company agree not to make any statement that criticizes, ridicules, disparages, or is otherwise derogatory of the other; provided, however, that nothing in this Agreement shall restrict either party from making truthful statements (a) when required by law, subpoena, court order or the like; (b) when requested by a governmental, regulatory, or similar body or entity; (c) in confidence to a professional advisor for the purpose of securing professional advice; or (d) in the course of performing his duties during the Term.
13. Notices. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, any notice, consent, demand or other communication to be given under or in connection with this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed duly given when delivered personally, when transmitted by facsimile transmission, one (1) day after being deposited with Federal Express or other nationally recognized overnight delivery service or three (3) days after being mailed by first class mail, charges or postage prepaid, properly addressed, if to the Company, at its principal office, and, if to Executive, at his address set forth following his signature below. Either party may change such address from time to time by notice to the other.
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14. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, exclusive of any choice of law rules.
15. Arbitration; Legal Fees.
15.1 The Company and Executive waive their right to seek remedies in court, including any right to a jury trial. The Company and Executive agree that any dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement, Executive’s employment with the Company, or any termination of such employment, shall be resolved by binding arbitration to be conducted in New York in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules (and not the National Rules for Resolution of Employment Disputes) of the American Arbitration Association and this Section 15. Judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
15.2 In the event of any material contest or dispute relating to this Agreement or the Company’s termination of Executive’s employment hereunder, the Company shall bear all reasonable costs and expenses, including but not limited to legal fees, incurred by the Executive in connection with resolving such dispute.
16. Amendments; Waivers. This Agreement may not be modified or amended or terminated except by an instrument in writing, signed by Executive and a duly-authorized officer of the Company (other than Executive). By an instrument in writing similarly executed, either party may waive compliance by the other party with any provision of this Agreement that such other party was or is obligated to comply with or perform; provided, however, that such waiver shall not operate as a waiver of, or estoppel with respect to, any other or subsequent failure. No failure to exercise and no delay in exercising any right, remedy, or power hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, or power hereunder preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, remedy, or power provided herein or by law or in equity. To be effective, any written waiver must specifically refer to the condition(s) or provision(s) of this Agreement being waived.
17. Inconsistencies. In the event of any inconsistency between any provision of this Agreement and any provision of any Company Arrangement, the provisions of this Agreement shall control, unless Executive and the Company otherwise agree in a writing that expressly refers to the provision of this Agreement that is being waived. Unless already addressed in this Agreement, all Board resolutions previously executed that do not conflict with the terms provided herein shall be incorporated by reference.
18. Assignment. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, neither party shall assign or transfer this Agreement nor any rights hereunder without the consent of the other party, and any attempted or purported assignment without such consent shall be void; provided, however, that any assignment or transfer pursuant to a merger or consolidation, or the sale or liquidation of all or substantially all of the business and assets of the Company shall be valid, so long as the assignee or transferee (a) is the successor to all or substantially all of the business and assets of the Company and (b) assumes the liabilities, obligations and duties of the Company, as contained in this Agreement, either contractually or as a matter of law. Executive’s consent shall not be required for any such transaction. This Agreement shall otherwise bind and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors, assigns, heirs, legatees, devisees, executors, administrators and legal representatives.
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19. Voluntary Execution; Representations. Executive acknowledges that (a) he has consulted with or has had the opportunity to consult with independent counsel of his own choosing concerning this Agreement and has been advised to do so by the Company; and (b) he has read and understands this Agreement, is competent and of sound mind to execute this Agreement, is fully aware of the legal effect of this Agreement, and has entered into it freely based on his own judgment and without duress. Executive represents and covenants that his employment hereunder and compliance with the terms and conditions hereof will not conflict with or result in the breach by him of any agreement to which he is a party or by which he may be bound, he had not violated and in connection with his employment with the Company will not violated any non-solicitation or other similar covenant or agreement by which he is or may be bound, and in connection with his employment with the Company he will not engage in any unauthorized use of any confidential or proprietary information he may have obtained in connection with his employment with any other employer. The Company represents and warrants that it is fully authorized, by any person or body whose authorization is required, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations under it.
20. Headings. The headings of the Sections and sub-sections contained in this Agreement are for convenience only and shall not be deemed to control or affect the meaning or construction of any provision of this Agreement.
21. Beneficiaries/References. Executive shall be entitled, to the extent permitted under applicable law, to select and change a beneficiary or beneficiaries to receive any compensation or benefit hereunder following Executive’s death by giving written notice thereof. In the event of Executive’s death or a judicial determination of his incompetence, references in this Agreement to Executive shall be deemed, where appropriate, to refer to his beneficiary, estate or other legal representative.
22. Survivorship. Except as otherwise set forth in this Agreement, the respective rights and obligations of the parties shall survive any termination of Executive’s employment.
23. Severability. Whenever possible, each provision or portion of any provision of this Agreement will be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law but the invalidity or unenforceability of any provision or portion of any provision of this Agreement in any jurisdiction shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remainder of this Agreement in that jurisdiction or the validity or enforceability of this Agreement, including that provision or portion of any provision, in any other jurisdiction.
24. No Mitigation/No Offset. Executive shall be under no obligation to seek other employment or to otherwise mitigate the obligations of the Company under this Agreement, and there shall be no offset against amounts or benefits due to Executive under this Agreement or otherwise on account of any claim (other than any preexisting debts then due in accordance with their terms) the Company may have against him or any remuneration or other benefit earned or received by Executive after such termination.
25. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument. Signatures delivered by facsimile or PDF shall be effective for all purposes.
26. Entire Agreement. This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous negotiations, correspondence, understandings and agreements between the parties, regarding the subject matter of this Agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Agreement has been duly executed by or on behalf of the parties hereto as of the date first above written.
BRAG HOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.:
By: | /s/ Lavell Juan Malloy, II | |
Name: | Lavell Juan Malloy, II | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
EXECUTIVE:
/s/ Daniel Leibovich | ||
Name: | Daniel Leibovich |
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EXHIBIT A
FORM OF GENERAL RELEASE OF ALL CLAIMS
THIS GENERAL RELEASE OF ALL CLAIMS (this “General Release”), dated as of _______, is made by [___] (“Executive”).
WHEREAS, Brag House Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (together with its successors and assigns, the “Company”), and Executive are parties to that certain Employment Agreement, dated as of [______] (the “Employment Agreement”);
WHEREAS, Executive’s employment with the Company has been terminated and Executive is entitled to receive severance and other benefits, as set forth in Section 5 of the Employment Agreement subject to the execution of this General Release;
WHEREAS, in consideration for Executive’s signing of this General Release, the Company will provide Executive with such severance and benefits pursuant to the Employment Agreement; and
WHEREAS, except as otherwise expressly set forth herein, the parties hereto intend that this General Release shall effect a full satisfaction and release of the obligations described herein owed to Executive by the Company.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises, the mutual covenants of the parties hereinafter set forth and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto hereby covenant and agree as follows:
1. Executive, for himself, Executive’s spouse, heirs, administrators, children, representatives, executors, successors, assigns, and all other individuals and entities claiming through Executive, if any (collectively, the “Releasers”), does hereby release, waive, and forever discharge the Company and each of its respective agents, subsidiaries, parents, affiliates, related organizations, employees, officers, directors, attorneys, successors, and assigns in their capacities as such (collectively, the “Releasees”) from, and does fully waive any obligations of Releasees to Releasers for, any and all liability, actions, charges, causes of action, demands, damages, or claims for relief, remuneration, sums of money, accounts or expenses (including attorneys’ fees and costs) of any kind whatsoever, whether known or unknown or contingent or absolute, which heretofore has been or which hereafter may be suffered or sustained, directly or indirectly, by Releasers in consequence of, arising out of, or in any way relating to: (a) Executive’s employment with the Company; (b) the termination of Executive’s employment with the Company; (c) the Employment Agreement; or (d) any events occurring on or prior to the date of this General Release. The foregoing release and discharge, waiver and covenant not to sue includes, but is not limited to, all waivable claims and any obligations or causes of action arising from such claims, under common law including wrongful or retaliatory discharge, breach of contract (including but not limited to any claims under the Employment Agreement other than claims for unpaid severance benefits, bonus or Salary earned thereunder) and any action arising in tort including libel, slander, defamation or intentional infliction of emotional distress, and claims under any federal, state or local statute including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and 1871 (42 U.S.C. § 1981), the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or the discrimination or employment laws of any state or municipality, and/or any claims under any express or implied contract which Releasers may claim existed with Releasees. This also includes a release of any claims for wrongful discharge and all claims for alleged physical or personal injury, emotional distress relating to or arising out of Executive’s employment with the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or the termination of that employment; and any claims under the WARN Act or any similar law, which requires, among other things, that advance notice be given of certain work force reductions. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Section 1 above to the contrary, nothing contained in herein shall constitute a release by any Releaser of any of his, her or its rights or remedies available to him, her or it, at law or in equity, related to, on account of, in connection with or in any way pertaining to the enforcement of: (i) any right to indemnification, advancement of legal fees or directors and officers liability insurance coverage existing under the constituent documents of the Company or applicable state corporate, limited liability company and partnership statutes or pursuant to any agreement, plan or arrangement; (ii) any rights to the receipt of employee benefits which vested on or prior to the date of this General Release; (iii) the right to receive severance and other benefits under the Employment Agreement; (iv) the right to continuation coverage pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act; (v) any equity rights; or (vi) this General Release or any of its terms or conditions.
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2. Excluded from this General Release and waiver are any claims which cannot be waived by applicable law, including but not limited to the right to participate in an investigation conducted by certain government agencies. Executive does, however, waive Executive’s right to any monetary recovery should any government agency (such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) pursue any claims on Executive’s behalf. Executive represents and warrants that Executive has not filed any complaint, charge, or lawsuit against the Releasees with any government agency or any court.
3. Executive agrees never to seek personal recovery from any Releasee in any forum for any claim covered by the above waiver and release language, except that Executive may bring a claim under the ADEA to challenge this General Release. If Executive violates this General Release by suing a Releasee (excluding any claim by Executive under the ADEA or as otherwise set forth in Section 1 hereof), then Executive shall be liable to the Releasee so sued for such Releasee’s reasonable attorneys’ fees and other litigation costs incurred in defending against such a suit. Nothing in this General Release is intended to reflect any party’s belief that Executive’s waiver of claims under ADEA is invalid or unenforceable, it being the intent of the parties that such claims are waived.
5. Executive agrees that neither this General Release, nor the furnishing of the consideration for this General Release, shall be deemed or construed at any time to be an admission of any improper or unlawful conduct on the part of the Releasees.
6. Executive acknowledges and recites that he has:
(a) executed this General Release knowingly and voluntarily;
(b) had a reasonable opportunity to consider this General Release;
(c) read and understands this General Release in its entirety;
(d) been advised and directed orally and in writing (and this subparagraph (d) constitutes such written direction) to seek legal counsel and any other advice he wishes with respect to the terms of this General Release before executing it; and
(e) relied solely on his own judgment, belief and knowledge, and such advice as he may have received from his legal counsel.
7. Section 15 of the Employment Agreement, which shall survive the expiration of the Employment Agreement for this purpose, shall apply to any dispute with regard to this release.
8. Executive acknowledges and agrees that (a) his execution of this General Release has not been forced by any employee or agent of the Company, and Executive has had an opportunity to negotiate the terms of this General Release; and (b) he has been offered twenty-one (21) calendar days after receipt of this General Release to consider its terms before executing it. Executive shall have seven (7) calendar days from the date he executes this General Release to revoke his or her waiver of any ADEA claims by providing written notice of the revocation to the Company, as provided in Section 13 of the Employment Agreement.
9. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this General Release have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Employment Agreement.
10. This General Release may be executed by Executive in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be an original and all of which shall together constitute one and the same instrument. Each counterpart may be delivered by facsimile transmission or e-mail (as a .pdf, .tif or similar un-editable attachment), which transmission shall be deemed delivery of an originally executed counterpart hereof.
18
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Executive has executed this General Release as of the day and year first above written.
EXECUTIVE:
Name: | [ ] |
19
Exhibit 21.1
List of Subsidiaries of Brag House Holdings, Inc.
Name of Subsidiary | Jurisdiction of Incorporation | Date of Incorporation | ||
Brag House Inc. | Delaware | February 23, 2018 | ||
Brag House Ltd. | United Kingdom | June 11, 2021 |
Exhibit 23.1
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm’s Consent
We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement of Brag House Holdings, Inc. on Amendment No. 1 to Form S-1 File No. 333-280282 of our report dated June 17, 2024, which includes an explanatory paragraph as to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, with respect to our audits of the consolidated financial statements of Brag House Holdings, Inc. as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 and for the years then ended, appearing in the Prospectus, which is part of this Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to our firm under the heading “Experts” in the Prospectus, which is part of this Registration Statement.
/s/ Marcum llp
New Haven, CT
July 10, 2024
Exhibit 99.3
CONSENT OF DIRECTOR
I hereby consent, pursuant to Rule 438 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to being named as a nominee to the board of directors of Brag House Holdings, Inc. in its Registration Statement on Form S-1, and any amendments or supplements thereto, and to the filing or attachment of this consent with such Registration Statement and any amendment or supplement thereto.
/s/ Daniel Fidyra | |
Daniel Fidyra | |
May 24, 2024 |