Item 1A. Risk Factors

In addition to the other information in this Annual Report, readers should carefully consider the following important factors. These factors, among others, in some cases have affected, and in the future could affect, our financial condition and results of operations and could cause our future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements that appear in this Annual Report or that we have made or will make elsewhere.

Risks Related to Our Operations, Business and Industry

We will need additional capital which may not be available on commercially acceptable terms, if at all, which raises questions about our ability to continue as a going concern.

As of February 29, 2020, and February 28, 2019, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $115,852,897 and $106,398,211, respectively. Net loss for the year ended February 29, 2020, amounted to $9,454,686, which is mostly attributable to $6,056,421 of operating expenses and total other expenses of $3,487,071, which is mainly attributed to $5,267,208 valuation loss and $1,984,870 realized gain on investment in unconsolidated affiliates. Our travel operations generated a gross profit of $88,806 for the year ended February 29, 2020. The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern.

We are subject to all the substantial risks inherent in the development of a new business enterprise within an extremely competitive industry. Due to the absence of a long-standing operating history and the emerging nature of the markets in which we compete, we anticipate operating losses until we can successfully implement our business strategy, which includes all associated revenue streams. Our revenue model is new and evolving, and we cannot be certain that it will be successful. The potential profitability of this business model is unproven. We may never ever achieve profitable operations or generate significant revenues. Our future operating results depend on many factors, including demand for our products, the level of competition, and the ability of our officers to manage our business and growth. As a result of the emerging nature of the market in which we compete, we may incur operating losses until such time as we can develop a substantial and stable revenue base. Additional development expenses may delay or negatively impact the ability of the Company to generate profits. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that our business model will be successful or that we can sustain revenue growth, achieve or sustain profitability, or continue as a going concern. Furthermore, due to our relatively small size and market footprint, we may be more susceptible to issues affecting the global travel industry in general, such as COVID-19 and contractions in the global travel industry associated therewith, compared to larger competitors.

We currently have a monthly cash requirement of approximately $300,000. We believe that in the aggregate, we could require several millions of dollars to support and expand the marketing and development of our travel products, repay debt obligations, provide capital expenditures for additional equipment and development costs, payment obligations, office space and systems for managing the business, and cover other operating costs until our planned revenue streams from travel products are fully- implemented and begin to offset our operating costs. We require additional funding in the future and if we are unable to obtain additional funding on acceptable terms, or at all, it will negatively impact our business, financial condition and liquidity. As of February 29, 2020, and February 28, 2019, we had $4,078,849 and $2,280,199, respectively, of current liabilities.

Since our inception, we have funded our operations with the proceeds from equity financings. Currently, revenues provide less than 10% of our cash requirements. Our remaining cash needs are derived from debt and equity raises.

We have experienced liquidity issues due to, among other reasons, our limited ability to raise adequate capital on acceptable terms. We have historically relied upon the issuance of promissory notes that are convertible into shares of our common stock to fund our operations and have devoted significant efforts to reduce that exposure. We anticipate that we will need to issue equity to fund our operations and continue to repay our outstanding debt for the foreseeable future. If we are unable to achieve operational profitability or we are not successful in securing other forms of financing, we will have to evaluate alternative actions to reduce our operating expenses and conserve cash.

These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months. The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. Accordingly, the financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability of assets and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern. The financial statements included herein also include a going concern footnote from our auditors.

In the event we are unable to raise adequate funding in the future for our operations and to pay our outstanding debt obligations, we may be forced to scale back our business plan and/or liquidate some or all of our assets or may be forced to seek bankruptcy protection, which could result in the value of our outstanding securities declining in value or becoming worthless.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and is expected to continue to have, a material adverse impact on the travel industry and our business, operating results and liquidity.

The COVID-19 pandemic, and governmental responses thereto, including travel restrictions, ‘stay-at-home’ orders and required social distancing orders, have severely restricted the level of economic activity around the world, and is having an unprecedented effect on the global travel industry. Additionally, the ability to travel has been curtailed through border closures (for example, New Zealand’s borders have been effectively closed since March 19, 2020, and are currently expected to remain closed for the foreseeable future), mandated travel restrictions and limited operations of hotels and airlines, and may be further limited through additional voluntary or mandated closures of travel-related businesses. 

The measures implemented to contain the COVID-19 pandemic have had, and are expected to continue to have, a significant negative effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity position. In particular, such measures have led to unprecedented levels of cancellations and limited new travel bookings. Moreover, any additional measures or changes in laws or regulations, whether in the United States or other countries, that further impair the ability or desire of individuals to travel, including laws or regulations banning travel, requiring the closure of hotels or other travel-related businesses (such as restaurants) or otherwise restricting travel due to the risk of the spreading of COVID-19, may exacerbate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity position.

The duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic are uncertain and difficult to predict. The pandemic could continue to impede global economic activity for an extended period, even as restrictions are beginning to be lifted in may jurisdictions, leading to decreased per capita income and disposable income, increased and sustained unemployment or a decline in consumer confidence, all of which could significantly reduce discretionary spending by individuals and businesses on travel and may create a recession in the United States or globally. In turn, that could have a negative impact on demand for our services. We also cannot predict the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our partners and their business and operations or the ways that the pandemic may fundamentally alter the travel industry. The aforementioned circumstances could result in a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, potentially for a prolonged period.

The Company’s liquidity could also be adversely impacted by delays in payments of outstanding accounts receivable amounts beyond normal payment terms and insolvencies.

It is difficult to estimate COVID-19’s impact on future revenues, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity or financial condition, but such impacts have been and will continue to be significant and could continue to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity position for the foreseeable future. In the near term, we do expect that the COVID-19 pandemic will impact our financial performance for the second quarter of 2020 more significantly than it impacted the first quarter of 2020 when the outbreak was initially limited to China and other Asian markets in January and February 2020.

The $190,000 owed to us under Secured Convertible Promissory Note due from Bettwork Industries Inc., may not be repaid timely, if at all.

Bettwork, a related party owes us $190,000 pursuant to a promissory note. The Bettwork Note bears interest at 12% per year and was due on February 29, 2020. All interest and the principal balance were due and payable on the maturity date. The Bettwork Note includes a “Default Rate” of eighteen percent (18.0%) per annum and is secured by all of the outstanding preferred stock shares held by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bettwork (which provide for super-majority voting rights) and Bettwork is precluded from issuing additional shares of common stock or preferred stock without consent from Monaker. Additionally, we have the right to convert the principal and accrued interest owed under the Bettwork Note into common stock of Bettwork at a conversion price of $0.75 per share (as equitably adjusted for stock splits and recapitalizations). Bettwork may not pay the Bettwork Note when due and we may never collect on amounts owed thereunder. The Bettwork Note is currently in default.

We may not qualify for forgiveness of our PPP Loan. We face risks associated with such PPP Loan and our outstanding construction loan.

On May 11, 2020, the Company obtained a $176,534 (the “Loan”) from The Commercial Bank (the “Lender”), pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), which was enacted on March 27, 2020. The Loan is evidenced by a promissory Note (the “PPP Note”), dated effective May 8, 2020, issued by the Company to the Lender. The Note is unsecured, matures on May 11, 2022, and bears interest at a rate of 1.00% per annum, payable monthly commencing on November 11, 2020, following an initial deferral period as specified under the PPP. The PPP Note may be prepaid at any time prior to maturity with no prepayment penalties. Proceeds from the Loan will be available to the Company to fund designated expenses, including certain payroll costs, rent, utilities and other permitted expenses, in accordance with the PPP. Under the terms of the PPP, up to the entire amount of principal and accrued interest may be forgiven to the extent Loan proceeds are used for qualifying expenses as described in the CARES Act and applicable implementing guidance issued by the U.S. Small Business Administration under the PPP (including that up to 75% of such Loan funds are used for payroll). The Company intends to use the entire Loan amount for designated qualifying expenses and to apply for forgiveness of the respective Loan in accordance with the terms of the PPP. Notwithstanding that, the Company may not qualify for forgiveness of the PPP Loan in whole or part and may be required to repay such PPP Loan in full. With respect to any portion of the PPP Loan that is not forgiven, the PPP Loan will be subject to customary provisions for a loan of this type, including customary events of default. In the event the PPP Loan is not forgiven, the debt service payments on such loan may negatively affect our ability to grow our operations, service other debt and/or pay our expenses as they come due. Furthermore, any default under the PPP Loan may require us to pay a significant amount of our available cash and/or cash flow to service such debt, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations. Any failure of the PPP Loan to be forgiven pursuant to its terms, and/or our requirement to repay the PPP Loan in whole or part, could cause the value of our common stock to decline in value.

Uncertainty and illiquidity in credit and capital markets can impair our ability to obtain credit and financing on acceptable terms and can adversely affect the financial strength of our business partners.

Our ability to obtain credit and capital depends in large measure on the state of the credit and capital markets, which is beyond our control. Our ability to access credit and capital markets may be restricted at a time when we would like, or need, access to those markets, which could constrain our flexibility to react to changing economic and business conditions. In addition, the cost and availability of debt and equity financing may be adversely impacted by unstable or illiquid market conditions. Protracted uncertainty and illiquidity in these markets also could have an adverse impact on our lenders or our customers, preventing them from meeting their obligations to us. 

Our business could be materially and adversely affected if we are unable to obtain necessary funds from financing activities. Uncertainty and illiquidity in financial markets may materially impact the ability of the participating financial institutions to fund their commitments to us under our liquidity facilities. Accordingly, we may not be able to obtain the full amount of the funds available under our liquidity facilities to satisfy our cash requirements, and our failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial position.

Our ability to service our indebtedness will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future.

Our ability to make payments on our indebtedness will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future and raise needed capital. Our ability to generate cash is subject to general economic and market conditions and financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control. Our business may continue to not generate sufficient cash to fund our working capital requirements, capital expenditure, debt service and other liquidity needs, which could result in our inability to comply with financial and other covenants contained in our debt agreements, our being unable to repay or pay interest on our indebtedness, and our inability to fund our other liquidity needs. If we are unable to service our debt obligations, fund our other liquidity needs and maintain compliance with our financial and other covenants, we could be forced to curtail our operations, our creditors could accelerate our indebtedness and exercise other remedies and we could be required to pursue one or more alternative strategies, such as selling assets or refinancing or restructuring our indebtedness. However, such alternatives may not be feasible or adequate.

Our obligations under the Iliad Note are secured by a first priority security interest in substantially all of our assets, subject to the priority lien and security interest of National Bank.

On April 3, 2020, we entered into a Note Purchase Agreement (the “Note Purchase Agreement”) with Iliad Research and Trading, L.P. (“Iliad”), pursuant to which the Company sold Iliad a Secured Promissory Note in the original principal amount of $895,000 (the “Note”). Iliad paid consideration of $800,000 for the Note, which included an original issue discount of $80,000 and reimbursement of the Lender’s transaction expenses of $15,000. The Note bears interest at a rate of 10% per annum and matures 12 months after its issuance date (i.e., on April 3, 2021). Additionally, upon each major default described in the Note (i.e., the failure to pay amounts under the Note when due or to observe any covenant under the Note Purchase Agreement (other than certain exempted requirements)) the outstanding balance of the Note automatically increases by 15%, and for each other default, the outstanding balance of the Note automatically increases by 5%, provided such increase can only occur three times each as to major defaults and minor defaults, and that such aggregate increase cannot exceed 30% of the balance of the Note immediately prior to the first event of default. In connection with the Note Purchase Agreement and the Note, the Company entered into a Security Agreement with Iliad (the “Security Agreement”), pursuant to which the obligations of the Company are secured by substantially all of the assets of the Company, subject to the priority lien and security interest of National Bank of Commerce (“National Bank”) which secures amounts due under its $1.2 million line of credit.

As such, our creditors may enforce their security interests over our assets and/or our subsidiaries which secure the repayment of such obligations, take control of our assets and operations, force us to seek bankruptcy protection, or force us to curtail or abandon our current business plans and operations. If that were to happen, any investment in the Company could become worthless.

If we are not able to complete software interfaces with our property owners, managers and distributors, in a timely manner, our business is susceptible to shortfalls in revenues due to delays in remitting our ALRs to distributors and/or ALRs not being available for bookings or distribution.

The Company contracts with property owners and managers to list their ALRs on the Company’s system. Those ALRs are being populated into the system through an application programming interface (API) from the property owner and/or manager to the Company. If the technology of the API is inadequate, erroneous or corrupted, the Company may incur delays in populating the ALRs into the Company’s system until the issues related to their API are corrected. These delays could cause delays in realizing revenues from bookings from those additional ALRs.

Also, the Company plans to provide its ALRs to distributors who will allow its customers to book those ALRs. The Company plans to make those ALRs available to distributors through its own API. If the technology of the distributor cannot write the correct program to request the ALRs from the Company’s operating system, the Company may incur delays in making the ALRs available to the distributor until the issues are resolved and the correct program is written by the distributor. These delays could cause delays in realizing revenues from bookings from those ALRs.

If we are unable to attract and maintain a critical mass of alternative lodging rental (ALR ) listings and travelers, whether due to competition or other factors, our marketplace will become less valuable to property owners and managers and to travelers, and it could significantly decrease our ability to generate revenue and net income in the future.

We anticipate that moving forward, most of our revenue will be generated when ALRs are booked by either customers to our website or by customers to distributors we provide ALRs to (“Distributors”). Our revenue will be the difference between the funds received from our customers and distributors versus the net amount owed to the property owner / manager at the time of booking. Accordingly, our success primarily depends on our ability to attract owners, managers and travelers to NextTrip.com, NextTripVacations.com, Maupintour.com and to Distributors. If property owners and managers choose not to market their ALRs through our websites, or instead list them with a competitor, we may be unable to offer a sufficient supply and variety of ALRs to attract travelers to our websites. Similarly, our volume of new and renewal listings may suffer if we are unable to attract travelers to our websites or, to the Distributors. As a result of any of these events, the perceived usefulness of our online marketplace and the relationships with Distributors may decline, and, consequently, it could significantly decrease our ability to generate revenue and net income in the future. As a result, the value of our securities may decline in value or become worthless.

Currently pending or future litigation or governmental proceedings could result in material adverse consequences, including judgments or settlements.

From time to time, we are involved in lawsuits, regulatory inquiries and may be involved in governmental and other legal proceedings arising out of the ordinary course of our business. Many of these matters raise difficult and complicated factual and legal issues and are subject to uncertainties and complexities. The timing of the final resolutions to these types of matters is often uncertain. Additionally, the possible outcomes or resolutions to these matters could include adverse judgments or settlements, either of which could require substantial payments, adversely affecting our results of operations and liquidity.

We agreed to pay significant amounts to IDS pursuant to the Property Purchase Agreement and related agreements.

On August 15, 2019, we entered into an Intellectual Property Purchase Agreement with IDS, which offers an e-commerce platform. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company purchased certain proprietary technology from IDS for the reservation and booking of air travel, hotel accommodations, car rentals, and ancillary products, services, and amenities, integration of the same with the providers of such products and services, associated functions, including website addresses, patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets relating thereto, and all goodwill associated therewith. In conjunction with the purchase, the Company also entered into an Asset Management Services Agreement with IDS, pursuant to which we agreed to provide financing, facilities, and other support for the operations of the IP Assets. The Management Agreement has a term of 12 months, unless otherwise extended with the mutual consent of the parties. The purchase price of the IP Assets was $4,920,000, which was paid by way of the issuance by the Company to IDS of 1,968,000 shares of restricted common stock (the “IDS Shares”), with an agreed upon value of $2.50 per share and the payment of certain cash consideration. Specifically, we were required to pay IDS $350,000 at the closing as the first payment due pursuant to the terms of the Management Agreement (which payment was timely made) and to make a payment 90 days following the closing date in the amount of $284,400. On November 15, 2019, the Company paid $139,400 to IDS and the remaining amount of $145,000 was recorded as accrued expenses. In addition to the payments due pursuant to the Asset Management Services Agreement (described above), the Company entered into an Owner Support Commitment with IDS, based upon the parties mutual agreement as to how to fund the operation and commercial exploitation of the Travel Booking Engine over a seven (7) month period, which requires us to provide a minimum of $1,200,000 in funding. As of February 29, 2020, the Company had expended approximately $67,890 relating to the “Call Center” operation. We have historically experienced liquidity issues due to, among other reasons, our limited ability to raise adequate capital on acceptable terms. We anticipate that we will need to sell equity to fund the payment of amounts due to IDS. Such sales of equity may not be available on favorable terms, if at all, and such sales may cause significant dilution to existing shareholders. In the event we are unable, or unable to timely, pay amounts due to IDS, IDS may declare us in default of the applicable agreements and/or take legal action against us. 

Notwithstanding the above, on April 27, 2020, the Company filed a verified complaint for injunctive relief against IDS and certain other defendants affiliated with IDS in the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida. Pursuant to the complaint, the Company alleges causes of action against the defendants, including IDS, based on among other things, fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, rescission, and breach of contract, and seeks a temporary and permanent injunction against the defendants, requiring such persons to return the IDS Shares to the Company and preventing such persons from selling or transferring any IDS Shares, seeks damages from the defendants, rescission of the IP Purchase Agreement, attorneys fees and other amounts. The complaint was filed as a result of IDS’s failure to deliver the IP Assets, certain other actions of IDS and the other defendants which the Company alleges constitutes fraud and to seek to unwind the IP Purchase Agreement and provide damages to the Company due to IDS’s and the other defendants’ breaches thereunder. 

As a result of the lawsuit, the Company is hopeful that obligations of the Company in the IP Purchase Agreement and Management Agreement will be terminated, of which there can be no assurance.

Our revenues and results of operations are subject to the ability of our distributors and partners to integrate our ALRs with their websites, and the timing of such integrations.

The integration of our ALRs with our distributors’ and partners’ websites is complicated and may involve various software components and application program interfaces (APIs). The ALR listings of our distributors and partners may be formatted differently or stored differently and may require modifications in order to receive and display our ALR properties correctly.

The timing of the integration of our distributors’ ability to access our ALR offerings stored in the Monaker Booking Engine is significantly dependent on the ability of such distributors to implement processes, procedures and in some cases, software or systems to integrate with our API, which will enable them to list our ALRs on their websites. We have little to no control over those processes, or the timing of such integrations.

Our future revenues and results of operations are substantially dependent on the timing of those integrations and in some cases the willingness of our distributors and partners to undertake additional steps and processes in order to provide us what we need, and in the form that we need, to implement such integrations. The failure of our partners and/or distributors to undertake the actions required so that we can successfully integrate our offerings, and/or any delay in such integrations, may have a negative effect on our revenues and results of operations and cause the value of our common stock to decline in value. The actions of our partners and distributors, and/or their ability to undertake such actions, may further be limited by the effects of COVID-19.

Our business will depend substantially on property owners and managers renewing their listings.

Our business will depend substantially on property owners and managers renewing their listings. Significant declines in our listing renewals could harm our expected operating results. Property owners and managers will generally market their vacation rentals on our websites with no obligation to renew. We may be unable to predict future listing renewal rates accurately, and our renewal rates may decline materially or fluctuate as a result of a number of factors. These factors include property owners’ decisions to sell or to cease renting their properties, their decisions to use the services of our competitors, or their dissatisfaction with our pricing, products, services or websites. Property owners and managers may not establish or renew listings if we cannot generate a large number of travelers who book vacation rentals through our marketplace and/or through our distributors. As a result, our revenue may decline and our results of operations may be negatively affected. In addition to the above, property owners may be unable (due to governmental restrictions) or unwilling (due to fear of contagion and other risks) to renew their listings due to COVID-19 and the governmental responses thereto.

If Distributors are unable to drive customers to their websites and/or we are unable to drive visitors to our websites, from search engines or otherwise, this could negatively impact transactions on the websites of our Distributor websites as well as our websites and consequently cause our revenue to decrease.

Many visitors find the Distributors and our websites by searching for vacation rental information through Internet search engines. A critical factor in attracting visitors to our websites, and those of our Distributors, is how prominently our Distributors and we are displayed in response to search queries. Accordingly, we utilize search engine marketing, or SEM, as a means to provide a significant portion of our visitor acquisition. SEM includes both paid visitor acquisition (on a cost-per-click basis) and unpaid visitor acquisition, which is often referred to as organic search.

We will employ search engine optimization, or SEO to acquire visitors. SEO involves developing our websites in order to rank highly in relevant search queries. In addition to SEM and SEO, we may also utilize other forms of marketing to drive visitors to our websites, including branded search, display advertising and email marketing.

The various search engine providers, such as Google and Bing, employ proprietary algorithms and other methods for determining which websites are displayed for a given search query and how highly websites rank. Search engine providers may change these methods in a way that may negatively affect the number of visitors to our Distributors’ websites as well as our own websites and may do so without public announcement or detailed explanation. Therefore, the success of our SEO and SEM strategy depends, in part, on our ability to anticipate and respond to such changes in a timely and effective manner.

In addition, websites must comply with search engine guidelines and policies. These guidelines and policies are complex and may change at any time. If we or our Distributors fail to follow such guidelines and policies properly, the search engine may cause our content to rank lower in search results or could remove the content altogether. If we or our Distributors fail to understand and comply with these guidelines and policies and ensure our websites’ compliance, our SEO and SEM strategy may not be successful.

If our Distributors or we are listed less prominently or fail to appear in search result listings for any reason, including as a result of our failure to successfully execute our SEO and SEM strategy, it is likely that we will acquire fewer visitors to our websites. Fewer visitors to our websites could lead to property owners and managers becoming dissatisfied with our websites, as well as fewer travelers inquiring and booking through our websites, either or both of which could adversely impact our revenue. We may not be able to replace this traffic in a cost-effective manner from other channels, such as cost-per-click SEM or display or other advertising, or even at all. Any attempt to replace this traffic through other channels may increase our sales and marketing expenditures, which could adversely affect our operating results.

Unfavorable changes in, or interpretations of, government regulations or taxation of the evolving alternative lodging rental (ALR), Internet and e-commerce industries could harm our operating results.

We have contracted for ALRs in markets throughout the world, in jurisdictions which have various regulatory and taxation requirements that can affect our operations or regulate the rental activity of property owners and managers.

Compliance with laws and regulations of different jurisdictions imposing different standards and requirements is very burdensome because each region has different regulations with respect to licensing and other requirements for ALRs. Our online marketplaces are accessible by property owners, managers and travelers in many states and foreign jurisdictions. Our efficiencies and economies of scale depend on generally uniform treatment of property owners, managers and travelers across all jurisdictions. Compliance requirements that vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction impose added costs and increased liabilities for compliance deficiencies. In addition, laws or regulations that may harm our business could be adopted, or interpreted in a manner that affects our activities, including but not limited to the regulation of personal and consumer information and real estate licensing requirements. Violations or new interpretations of these laws or regulations may result in penalties, negatively impact our operations and damage our reputation and business.

In addition, regulatory developments may affect the ALR industry and the ability of companies like us to list those vacation rentals online. For example, some municipalities have adopted ordinances that limit the ability of property owners and managers to rent certain properties for fewer than 30 consecutive days and other cities may introduce similar regulations. Some cities also have fair housing or other laws governing whether and how properties may be rented, which they assert apply to ALR. Many homeowners, condominium and neighborhood associations have adopted rules that prohibit or restrict short-term vacation rentals. In addition, many of the fundamental statutes and regulations that impose taxes or other obligations on travel and lodging companies were established before the growth of the Internet and e-commerce, which creates a risk of these laws being used, in ways not originally intended, that could burden property owners and managers or otherwise harm our business. These and other similar new and newly interpreted regulations could increase costs for, or otherwise discourage, owners and managers from listing their property with us, which could harm our business and operating results.

From time to time, we may become involved in challenges to, or disputes with government agencies regarding, these regulations. We may not be successful in defending against the application of these laws and regulations. Further, if we were required to comply with regulations and government requests that negatively impact our relations with property owners, managers and travelers, our business, operations and financial results could be adversely impacted.

Additionally, new, changed, or newly interpreted or applied tax laws, statutes, rules, regulations or ordinances could increase our property owners’ and managers’ and our compliance, operating and other costs. This, in turn, could deter property owners and managers from renting their ALR properties, negatively affect our new listings and renewals, or increase costs of doing business. Any or all of these events could adversely impact our business and financial performance.

Furthermore, as we expand or change the products and services that we offer or the methods by which we offer them, we may become subject to additional legal regulations, tax requirements or other risks. Regulators may seek to impose regulations and requirements on us even if we utilize third parties to offer the products or services. These regulations and requirements may apply to payment processing, insurance products or the various other products and services we may now or in the future offer or facilitate through our marketplace. Whether we comply with or challenge these additional regulations, our costs may increase and our business may otherwise be harmed. 

If we are not able to maintain and enhance our NextTrip brand and the brands associated with each of our websites, our reputation and business may suffer.

It is important for us to maintain and enhance our brand identity in order to attract and retain property owners, managers, distributors and travelers. The successful promotion of our brands will depend largely on our marketing and public relations efforts. We expect that the promotion of our brands will require us to make substantial investments, and, as our market becomes more competitive, these branding initiatives may become increasingly difficult and expensive. In addition, we may not be able to successfully build our NextTrip brand identity without losing value associated with, or decreasing the effectiveness of, our other brand identities. If we do not successfully maintain and enhance our brands, we could lose traveler traffic, which could, in turn, cause property owners and managers to terminate or elect not to renew their listings with us. In addition, our brand promotion activities may not be successful or may not yield revenue sufficient to offset their cost, which could adversely affect our reputation and business.

Our long-term success depends, in part, on our ability to expand our property owner, manager and traveler bases outside of the United States and, as a result, our business is susceptible to risks associated with international operations.

We have limited operating and e-commerce experience in many foreign jurisdictions and are making significant investments to build our international operations. We plan to continue our efforts to expand globally, including acquiring international businesses and conducting business in jurisdictions where we do not currently operate. Managing a global organization is difficult, time consuming and expensive and any international expansion efforts that we undertake may not be profitable in the near or long term or otherwise be successful. In addition, conducting international operations subjects us to risks that include:

Operating in international markets also requires significant management attention and financial resources. We cannot guarantee that our international expansion efforts in any or multiple territories will be successful. The investment and additional resources required to establish operations and manage growth in other countries may not produce desired levels of revenue or profitability and could instead result in increased costs.

The market in which we participate is highly competitive, and we may be unable to compete successfully with our current or future competitors.

The market to provide listing, search and marketing services for the ALR industry is very competitive and highly fragmented. In addition, the barriers to entry are low and new competitors may enter. All of the services that we plan to provide to property owners, managers and travelers, including listing and search, are provided separately or in combination by current or potential competitors. Our competitors may adopt aspects of our business model, which could reduce our ability to differentiate our services. Additionally, current or new competitors may introduce new business models or services that we may need to adopt or otherwise adapt to in order to compete, which could reduce our ability to differentiate our business or services from those of our competitors. Furthermore, properties in the ALR industry are not typically marketed exclusively through any single channel, and our listing agreements are not typically exclusive. Accordingly, our competitors could aggregate a set of listings similar to ours. Increased competition could result in a reduction in revenue, rate of new listing acquisition, existing listings or market share.

There are thousands of vacation rental listing websites that compete directly with us for listings, travelers, or both, such as Booking.com, HomeAway.com, Airbnb, and TripAdvisor. Many of these competitors offer free or heavily discounted listings or focus on a particular geographic location or a specific type of rental property. Some of them also aggregate property listings obtained through various sources, including the websites of property managers some of whom will also market their properties on our websites.

Competitors also operate websites directed at the wider fragmented travel lodging market, such as Airbnb and HomeAway by listing either rooms or the owner’s primary home. These properties increase both the number of rental opportunities available to travelers and the competition for the attention of the traveler. Some vacation rental property owners and managers also list on these websites, and consequently these companies currently compete with us to some extent.

We will also compete with online travel agency websites, such as Expedia, Hotels.com, Kayak, Priceline, Booking.com, Orbitz and Travelocity, which have traditionally provided comprehensive travel services and some of whom are now expanding into the vacation rental category. We also compete with large Internet search companies, such as craigslist, eBay, Google, MSN.com and Yahoo!, which provide listing or advertising services in addition to a wide variety of other products or services. In addition, some competitors, such as Perfect Places, Inc., Atraveo and eDomizil, predominately serve the professional property manager marketplace, and therefore have the ability to create more products and features targeted to property managers. Hotels, corporate travel providers, travel metasearch engines, travel content aggregators, mobile platform travel applications, social media websites, and even mobile computing hardware providers all also have the potential to increase their competitive presence in the areas of our business as well.

We believe we will compete primarily on the basis of the quantity and quality of our listings, the quality of the direct relationships we have with distributors, property owners and managers, the volume of expected travelers who will visit our websites, the global diversity of the vacation rentals available on our websites, the quality of our websites, the tools provided to our distributors, property owners and managers to assist them with their business, customer service, brand identity, the success of our marketing programs, and price. If current or potential property owners, managers, distributors or travelers choose to use any of these competitive offerings in lieu of ours, our revenue could decrease and we could be required to make additional expenditures to compete more effectively. Any of these events or results could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

In addition, most of our current or potential competitors are larger and have more resources than we do. Many of our current and potential competitors enjoy substantial competitive advantages, such as greater name recognition in their markets, longer operating histories and larger marketing budgets, as well as substantially greater financial, technical and other resources. In addition, our current or potential competitors may have access to larger property owner, manager or traveler bases. As a result, our competitors may be able to respond more quickly and effectively than we can to new or changing opportunities, technologies, standards or owner, manager or traveler requirements, including, but not limited to those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, because of these advantages, existing and potential owners, managers, distributors and travelers might accept our competitors’ offerings, even if they may be inferior to ours. For all of these reasons, we may not be able to compete successfully against our current and future competitors.

If the businesses and/or assets that we have acquired or invested in do not perform as expected or we are unable to effectively integrate acquired businesses, our operating results and prospects could be harmed.

We have four platforms, a library of travel footage, equity investments in Verus International, Inc, NestBuilder.com, Bettwork Industries Inc, and Recruiter.com Group, Inc. The businesses we have acquired, or invested in, may not perform as well as we expect. Failure to manage and successfully integrate acquired businesses and technologies could harm our operating results and our prospects. If the companies we have invested in do not perform well, our investments could become impaired and our financial results could be negatively impacted. 

Our future mergers and acquisitions, if any, will involve numerous risks, including the following:

Moreover, we rely heavily on the representations and warranties provided to us by the sellers of acquired companies and assets, including as they relate to creation, ownership and rights in intellectual property, existence of open source software and compliance with laws and contractual requirements. If any of these representations and warranties are inaccurate or breached, such inaccuracy or breach could result in costly litigation and assessment of liability for which there may not be adequate recourse against such sellers, in part due to contractual time limitations and limitations of liability.

If we are unable to introduce new or upgraded products, services or features that distributors, travelers or property owners and managers recognize as valuable, we may fail to (i) drive additional travelers to the websites of our distributors, (ii) drive additional travelers to our websites, (iii) retain existing property owners and managers, (iv) attract new property owners and managers, (v) retain existing distributors, and/or (vi) attract new distributors. Our efforts to develop new and upgraded services and products could require us to incur significant costs.

In order to attract travelers to (i) our distributors, as well as (ii) our own online marketplace while retaining, and attracting new, distributors, property owners and managers, we will need to continue to invest in the development of new products, services and features that both add value for travelers, distributors, property owners and managers and differentiate us from our competitors. The success of new products, services and features depends on several factors, including the timely completion, introduction and market acceptance of the product, service or feature. If travelers, distributors, property owners or managers do not recognize the value of our new services or features, they may choose not to utilize our products or list on our online marketplace.

Attempting to develop and deliver these new or upgraded products, services or features involves inherent hazards and difficulties, and is costly. Efforts to enhance and improve the ease of use, responsiveness, functionality and features of our existing websites have inherent risks, and we may not be able to manage these product developments and enhancements successfully. We may not succeed in developing new or upgraded products, services or features or new or upgraded products, services or features may not work as intended or provide value. In addition, some new or upgraded products, services or features may be difficult for us to market and may also involve unfavorable pricing. Even if we succeed, we cannot guarantee that our property owners and managers will respond favorably.

In addition to developing our own improvements, we may choose to license or otherwise integrate applications, content and data from third parties. The introduction of these improvements imposes costs on us and creates a risk that we may be unable to continue to access these technologies and content on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. In the event we fail to develop new or upgraded products, services or features, the demand for our services and ultimately our results of operations may be adversely affected.

We have a relatively limited operating history and we operate in a rapidly evolving industry, which makes it difficult to evaluate our current business and future prospects. If we fail to predict the manner in which our business will perform or how the market will develop, our business and prospects may suffer materially.

Our limited operating history, together with our rapidly changing industry, may make it difficult to evaluate our current business and our future prospects. We have encountered, and will continue to encounter, risks and difficulties frequently experienced by growing companies in rapidly changing industries. These include challenges in accurate financial planning and forecasting as we develop new products or strategic plans with little or no historical reference as a basis for such planning and forecasting. These risks will be exacerbated by the effects and extent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the duration thereof. Our business and prospects should be considered in light of the risks and difficulties we may encounter as a company operating in a highly competitive environment where changes to our business, plans, and products may be required to respond to such changes.

In addition, the market for online ALRs is relatively new and, in many territories, is unproven with little data or research available regarding the market and industry. It is uncertain whether the ALR market in many territories will continue to develop or if our services will achieve and sustain a level of demand and market acceptance sufficient for us to generate revenue, net income and cash flow growth, at anticipated levels or at all; we may need to focus on, or offer, different types of products and services in order to remain competitive. Our success will depend, to a substantial extent, on the willingness of property owners and managers to use commercial online rental property listing services. Some property managers have developed (and use) their own proprietary online listing services and, therefore, may be reluctant or unwilling to use our services to market their properties. Furthermore, some travelers and property owners and managers may be reluctant or unwilling to use online listing services because of concerns regarding the security of data, the potential for fraudulent activity, including phishing, or the integrity of the online marketplace. If property owners and managers do not perceive the benefits of marketing their properties online, then our market may not develop as we expect, or it may develop more slowly than we expect, either of which could significantly harm our business and operating results. Moreover, our success will depend on travelers’ use of our distributors, as well as our own, online marketplace to search, locate and rent vacation rentals, which will depend on their willingness to use the Internet and their belief in the integrity of the websites. In addition, since we operate in unproven and unstudied markets, we have limited insight into trends that may develop in those markets and may affect our business. We may make errors in predicting and reacting to other relevant business trends, which could harm our business.

Changes in our effective tax rate could harm our future operating results.

We are subject to federal and state income taxes in the United States and in various foreign jurisdictions. Our provision for income taxes and our effective tax rate are subject to volatility and could be adversely affected by several circumstances, including:

Significant judgment is required in the application of accounting guidance relating to uncertainty in income taxes. If tax authorities challenge our tax positions and any such challenges are settled unfavorably, it could adversely impact our provision for income taxes.

We are exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates.

Because we plan to conduct a significant portion of our business outside the United States but report our results in U.S. dollars, we face exposure to adverse movements in currency exchange rates, which may cause our revenue and operating results to differ materially from expectations. In addition, fluctuation in our mix of U.S. and foreign currency denominated transactions may contribute to this effect as exchange rates vary. Moreover, as a result of these exchange rate fluctuations, revenue, cost of revenue, operating expenses and other operating results may differ materially from expectations when translated from the local currency into U.S. dollars upon consolidation. For example, if the U.S. dollar strengthens relative to foreign currencies our non-U.S. revenue would be adversely affected when translated into U.S. dollars. Conversely, a decline in the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies would increase our non-U.S. revenue when translated into U.S. dollars. We may enter into hedging arrangements in order to manage foreign currency exposure but such activity may not completely eliminate fluctuations in our operating results. 

Our business depends on retaining and attracting capable management and operating personnel.

Our success depends in large part on our ability to attract and retain high-quality management and operating personnel, as well as skilled technical and marketing personnel, who are in high demand and are often subject to competing offers. Competition for qualified employees is intense in our industry, and the loss of even a few qualified employees, or an inability to attract, retain and motivate additional highly skilled employees required for the planned expansion of our business could harm our operating results and impair our ability to grow. To attract and retain key personnel, we use various measures, including an equity incentive program and incentive bonuses for executive officers and other key employees. While we attempt to provide additional or different incentive compensation tools to mitigate this impact, the measures we employ to attract and maintain key personnel may not be effective enough to enable us to attract and retain the personnel we require to operate our business effectively.

If we lose the services of our key personnel, including Mr. William Kerby, our Chief Executive Officer, our business would be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we do not have “key person” life insurance, and we do not presently intend to purchase such insurance, on Mr. Kerby or any of our other key personnel. We believe that our success is substantially dependent upon: (1) our ability to retain and motivate our senior management team and other key employees; and (2) our ability to identify, attract, hire, train, retain and motivate other qualified personnel. The development of our business and operations is dependent upon the efforts and talents of our executive officers, whose extensive experience and contacts within the industries in which we wish to compete are a critical component of our business strategy. We may not be successful in retaining the services of any of the members of our senior management team or other key personnel, or in hiring qualified technical, managerial, marketing and administrative personnel. If we do not succeed in retaining our employees and in attracting new employees, our business could suffer significantly.

The employment agreements of our officers include limited non-solicitation and non-compete provisions and provide for severance pay upon termination of such agreements for certain reasons.

We are party to employment agreements with our Chief Executive Officer, William Kerby, our Vice President of Finance and Acting Chief Financial Officer, Sirapop “Kent” Taepakdee, and our Chief Operating Officer and Chief Information Officer, Timothy Sikora.

Mr. Kerby’s employment agreement remains in effect indefinitely until either party provides the other at least 30 days prior written notice of its intent to terminate the agreement, or until terminated pursuant to the terms of the agreement. The agreement includes a non-compete provision, prohibiting Mr. Kerby from competing against the Company during the term of the agreement and for a period of 12 months after termination thereof (subject to certain exceptions), in any state or country in connection with (A) the offer of Alternative Lodging Rental properties (Vacation Home Rentals) which are distributed on a Business to Business Basis; (B) the commercial sale of specialty products sold by the Company during the six (6) months preceding the termination date; and (C) any services the Company commercially offered during the six (6) months prior to the termination date (collectively, the “Non-Compete”).

In the event of termination of the agreement for death or disability by Mr. Kerby without good reason (defined in the agreement), or for cause (defined in the agreement) by the Company, Mr. Kerby is due all consideration due and payable to him through the date of termination. In the event of termination of the agreement by Mr. Kerby for good reason or the Company for any reason other than cause (or if Mr. Kerby’s employment is terminated other than for cause within six (6) months before or twenty-four (24) months following the occurrence of a change of control (defined in the agreement) of the Company), Mr. Kerby is due all consideration due and payable through the date of termination; a lump sum payment equal to twelve (12) months of base salary; continued participation in all benefit plans and programs of the Company for twelve (12) months after termination (or at the option of the Company, reimbursement of COBRA insurance premiums for substantially similar coverage as the Company’s plans); and the Non-Compete will not apply to Mr. Kerby.

Mr. Taepakdee, our Vice President of Finance and Acting Chief Financial Officer, entered into an employment agreement, dated January 30, 2020. If the agreement is terminated by Mr. Taepakdee for good reason (as defined in the agreement) or by the Company without cause, and other than due to Mr. Taepakdee’s death or disability, Mr. Taepakdee is due two calendar months of severance pay. If the agreement is terminated due to Mr. Taepakdee’s disability, Mr. Taepakdee is due compensation through the remainder of the month during which such termination is effective. If the Company terminates the agreement within 24 months after a change in control event, then the Company is required to pay Mr. Taepakdee a severance payment equal to twelve (12) months’ salary, plus continue to provide benefits equal to those provided prior to the change in control event for a period of six (6) months. The agreement includes a one year non-solicitation and non-competition clause following the date of the termination of the agreement, which non-competition clause prohibits him (without the prior written consent of the Company which consent will not be unreasonably withheld) from directly or through another person or another entity carrying on or being engaged in any business within North America which is competitive with the business of the Company, however the non-compete shall terminate in the event of a termination of employment by Mr. Taepakdee for good reason or a termination by the Company other than for cause or disability.

Mr. Sikora, our Chief Operating Officer and Chief Information Office, entered into an employment agreement, dated January 30, 2020. If the agreement is terminated by Mr. Sikora for good reason (as defined in the agreement) or by the Company without cause, and other than due to Mr. Sikora’s death or disability, Mr. Sikora is due two calendar months of severance pay. If the agreement is terminated due to Mr. Sikora’s disability, Mr. Sikora is due compensation through the remainder of the month during which such termination is effective. If the Company terminates the agreement within 24 months after a change in control event, then the Company shall pay Mr. Sikora a severance payment equal to twelve (12) months’ salary, plus continue to provide benefits equal to those provided prior to the change in control event for a period of six (6) months. The agreement includes a one year non-solicitation and non-competition clause following the date of the termination of the agreement, which non-competition clause prohibits him (without the prior written consent of the Company which consent will not be unreasonably withheld) from directly or through another person or another entity carrying on or being engaged in any business within North America which is competitive with the business of the Company, however the non-compete shall terminate in the event of a termination of employment by Mr. Sikora for good reason or a termination by the Company other than for cause or disability.

The automatic renewal feature of Mr. Kerby’s agreement may prevent us from terminating the employment of such officer, and the non-solicitation and non-compete provisions of the agreements with the executive officers may not provide us adequate protection from such persons competing with us after their termination, and the severance pay payable to such individuals may make it costly to terminate the employment of such individuals, make us less attractive for potential acquirers or prevent a change of control.

We agreed to pay certain fees to Mr. William Kerby, our Chief Executive Officer and director, and Mr. Donald P. Monaco, our Chairman, in consideration for such individuals guarantying, and continuing to guaranty, certain of our obligations.

Pursuant to Mr. Kerby’s employment agreement, as additional consideration for Mr. Kerby having entered into numerous personal guarantees with the Airline Reporting Commission, sellers of travel services, merchant providers, financial institutions, associations and service providers on behalf of the Company, the Company agreed that, for as long as Mr. Kerby is employed by the Company, provides services under the employment agreement and is willing to continue to support the Company in connection with such guarantees, he will receive a $2,000 per month guarantee fee. In the event Mr. Kerby resigns for good reason (defined in the employment agreement), or his employment is terminated by the Company, the Company agreed to eliminate any and all guarantees within thirty (30) days, failing which, for each month the guarantees remain in place, the monthly guarantee fee will rise to $10,000 per month, until such time as the Company has assumed or terminated all such guarantees.

On October 31, 2018, and effective November 1, 2018, we entered into a Guaranty Compensation Agreement with Donald P. Monaco, the Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors. Pursuant to the Guaranty Compensation Agreement and in consideration for Mr. Monaco previously providing a personal guaranty to a financial institution in connection with our line of credit with such financial institution, we agreed that for as long as Mr. Monaco continues to serve on the Board of Directors of the Company and continues to maintain the guaranty (and any future guarantees he may provide), we would pay him a $2,000 per month guarantee fee (the “Guarantee Fee”). In the event (i) Mr. Monaco is not nominated for re-appointment to the Board of Directors at any meeting where directors of the Company are nominated for appointment (except in the event the Company adopts a classified Board and it is not yet Mr. Monaco’s year to be re-elected and/or in the event that Mr. Monaco is appointed via written consent of the shareholders without a meeting) or (ii) Mr. Monaco is removed from the Board of Directors by the shareholders of the Company (each (i) and (ii), as applicable, a “Triggering Termination” and the date of such Triggering Termination, the “Triggering Termination Date”), the Company will immediately use commercially reasonable best efforts to eliminate and terminate any and all of Mr. Monaco’s guarantees then in place. If all the guarantees are not terminated by the thirtieth (30th) day following a Triggering Termination Date, for each month the guarantees remain in place, beginning on the thirty-first (31st) day after the Triggering Termination Date, the monthly Guarantee Fee will increase to $10,000 per month. Notwithstanding the above, all Guarantee Fees will terminate upon the Company assuming or terminating such guarantees.

The Company paid $48,000 for the guaranty fees in the FYE February 29, 2020. The aggregate of such guaranty fees may be significant and may reduce the amount of available funding available for the Company to undertake its operations, repay its liabilities and/or expand its operations. In the event the guaranty fees rise as described above, the Company may not have available funds to pay such fees, and the amount of such fees may further reduce the amount of cash the Company has for business activities and growth. The amount of such guaranty fees may reduce the trading value of the Company’s common stock and/or have a material adverse effect on the Company’s available cash and results of operations. 

If we fail to protect confidential information against security breaches, or if distributors, property owners, managers or travelers are reluctant to use our online marketplace because of privacy or security concerns, we might face additional costs, and activity on our websites could decline.

We collect and use personally identifiable information of distributors, property owners, managers and travelers in the operation of our business. Our systems may be vulnerable to computer viruses or physical or electronic break-ins that our security measures may not detect. Anyone that is able to circumvent our security measures could misappropriate confidential or proprietary information, cause interruption in our operations, damage our computers or those of our users, or otherwise damage our reputation and business. We may need to expend significant resources to protect against security breaches or to address problems caused by breaches. Security breaches of our systems, or even the systems of third parties we rely upon, such as credit card processors, could damage our reputation and expose us to litigation and possible liability under various laws and regulations. In addition, industry-wide incidents, or incidents specific to us, could deter people from using our distributors’, as well as, our online marketplaces. Concern among distributors, property owners, managers and travelers regarding our use of personal information collected on our websites could keep them from using, or continuing to use, our online marketplace.

There are risks of security breaches both on our own systems and on third party systems which store our information as we increase the types of technology that we use to operate our marketplace, such as mobile applications. New and evolving technology systems and platforms may involve security risks that are difficult to predict and adequately guard against. In addition, third parties that process credit card transactions between us and property owners and managers maintain personal information collected from them. Such information could be stolen or misappropriated, and we could be subject to liability as a result. Further, property owners and managers may develop a lack of confidence in these third parties or in their ability to securely conduct credit card transactions on our distributors’ websites, our websites or the Internet in general, which could adversely impact our business, revenue and operating results. Our property owners, managers and travelers may be harmed by such breaches and we may in turn be subject to costly litigation or regulatory compliance costs, and harm to our reputation and brand. Moreover, some property owners, managers and travelers may cease using our marketplace altogether. 

The laws of some states and countries require businesses that maintain personal information about their residents in electronic databases to implement reasonable measures to keep that information secure. Our practice is to encrypt all sensitive information, but we do not know whether our current practice will be challenged under these laws. In addition, under certain of these laws, if there is a breach of our computer systems and we know or suspect that unencrypted personal data has been stolen, we are required to inform any user whose data was stolen, which could harm our reputation and business. Complying with the applicable notice requirements in the event of a security breach could result in significant costs. We may also be subject to contractual claims, investigation and penalties by regulatory authorities, and claims by persons whose information was disclosed.

Compounding these legal risks, many states and countries have enacted different and often contradictory requirements for protecting personal information collected and maintained electronically. Compliance with these numerous and contradictory requirements is particularly difficult for us because we collect personal information from users in multiple jurisdictions. While we intend to comply fully with these laws, failure to comply could result in legal liability, cause us to suffer adverse publicity and lose business, traffic and revenue. If we were required to pay any significant amount of money in satisfaction of claims under these or similar laws, or if we were forced to cease our business operations for any length of time as a result of our inability to comply fully, our business, operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected.

In addition, third parties may target users of our websites directly with attempts to breach the security of their email accounts or management systems, such as through phishing attacks, which are fraudulent identity theft schemes designed to appear as legitimate emails from us or from our property owners and managers. Criminals may also employ other schemes aimed at defrauding our property owners, managers or travelers in ways that we may not anticipate or be able to adequately guard against. Although phishing attacks and other fraud schemes are generally not carried out through our systems, victims may nevertheless seek recovery from us. As a result, we may be required to defend ourselves in costly litigation and may suffer harm to our reputation, brand and business.

In the event any of the above risks were to occur, our reputation could be harmed, we and/or our distributors could lose either website traffic or users, and as a result, our results of operations and the value of our securities could be adversely affected.

If we are unable to adapt to changes in technology, our business could be harmed.

Because property owners, managers and travelers can access our websites using a variety of hardware and software platforms, we will need to continuously modify and enhance our service to keep pace with related technological changes. We may not be successful in developing necessary, functional and popular modifications and enhancements. Furthermore, uncertainties about the timing and nature of these necessary changes could result in unplanned research and development expenses. In addition, any failure of our online marketplace to operate effectively with future technologies could result in dissatisfaction from travelers, distributors, property owners, and managers, any of which could harm our business.

We may be subject to liability for the activities of our property owners and managers, which could harm our reputation and increase our operating costs.

We may receive complaints related to certain activities on our websites, including disputes over the authenticity of an ALR listing. We may be subject to claims of liability for unauthorized use of credit card and/or bank account information, identity theft, phishing attacks, potential breaches of system security, libel, and infringement of third-party copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property rights. Fraud may be purported by owners or managers listing properties which either do not exist or are significantly not as described in the listing. The methods used by perpetrators of fraud constantly evolve and are complex. Moreover, our trust and security measures may not detect all fraudulent activity. Consequently, we expect to receive complaints from travelers and requests for reimbursement of their rental fees, as well as actual or threatened related legal action against us in the usual course of business.

We may also be subject to claims of liability based on events that occur during travelers’ stays at ALRs, including those related to robbery, injury, death, and other similar incidents. These types of claims could increase our operating costs and adversely affect our business and results of operations, even if these claims do not result in liability, as we incur costs related to investigation and defense. The available terms and conditions of our websites specifically state that we are exempt from any liability to travelers relating to these matters. However, the enforceability of these terms varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and the laws in this area are consistently evolving. If we are subject to liability or claims of liability relating to the acts of our property owners or managers, or due to fraudulent listings, we may be subject to negative publicity, incur additional expenses and be subject to liability, any of which could harm our business and our operating results.

Loss or material modification of our credit card acceptance privileges could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results. Credit card acceptance privileges involve additional potential costs relating to reimbursements and fraud.

The loss of our credit card acceptance privileges could significantly limit the availability and desirability of our products and services. Moreover, if we fail to fully perform our contractual obligations, we could be obligated to reimburse credit card companies for refunded payments that have been contested by the cardholders. In addition, even when we are in compliance with these obligations, we bear other expenses including those related to the acceptance of fraudulent credit cards. As a result of all of these risks, credit card companies may require us to set aside additional cash reserves, may increase the transaction fees they charge us, or may even refuse to renew our acceptance privileges.

In addition, credit card networks, such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express, have adopted rules and regulations that apply to all merchants who process and accept credit cards and include the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, or the PCI DSS. Under these rules, we are required to adopt and implement internal controls over the use, storage and security of card data. We assess our compliance with the PCI DSS rules on a periodic basis and make necessary improvements to our internal controls. Failure to comply may subject us to fines, penalties, damages and civil liability and could prevent us from processing or accepting credit cards. However, we cannot guarantee that compliance with these rules will prevent illegal or improper use of our payment systems or the theft, loss or misuse of the credit card data.

The loss of, or the significant modification of, the terms under which we obtain credit card acceptance privileges could have a material adverse effect on our business, revenue and operating results.

Our revenue, expenses and operating results could be negatively affected by changes in travel, real estate and ALR markets, as well as general economic conditions.

Our business is particularly sensitive to trends in the travel, real estate and vacation rental markets, which are unpredictable, as well as trends in the general economy. Therefore, our operating results, to the extent they reflect changes in the broader travel, real estate and vacation rental industries, may be subject to significant fluctuations. For example, changes in the travel industry, such as disruptions caused by war, terrorist attacks, pandemics and epidemics, natural disasters, weather, bankruptcies or diseases could significantly reduce the willingness of potential travelers to plan vacation and other travel. Such disruptions that harm or destroy vacation homes could cause the property owners and managers of such homes to cancel or fail to renew their listings. Downturns in real estate markets may result in decreased new building rates and increases in foreclosures, which could also result in fewer vacation rentals available for listing. Also, since vacation travel is generally dependent on discretionary spending, negative general economic conditions could significantly reduce the overall amount that travelers spend on vacation travel.

Additionally, property owners may choose or be forced to sell their vacation rentals during periods of economic slowdown or recession. Any or all of these factors could reduce the demand for vacation rentals and our services, thereby reducing our revenue. This in turn could increase our need to make significant expenditures to continue to attract distributors, property owners, managers and travelers to our websites. 

Vacation rentals are often located in popular vacation destinations around the world and utilized on a seasonal basis. Factors influencing the desirability of vacation rentals in a particular region or season could adversely affect our ability to obtain new listings and retain existing listings.

ALRs are often located in popular vacation destinations and utilized on a seasonal basis. As a result, our listings involve properties that are often concentrated in particular regions, and our revenue is dependent upon our ability (or willingness) to list properties in those regions. If we became unable (or unwilling) to list properties in a particular region, our listings in the region could decline or cease to grow, and revenue and results of operations could be adversely impacted. Notwithstanding the above, adverse economic conditions, or pandemics, including COVID-19, could result in future seasonal patterns that are different from historical trends.

In addition, factors influencing the desirability of ALRs in a particular region or during a specific season could adversely affect our ability to obtain new listings and retain existing listings. A significant natural disaster, political turmoil, pandemic, epidemic or other regional disturbance could reduce the number of available vacation rentals in that area, reducing our listing base and our revenue. In addition, if we do not have sufficient property listings in a newly popular vacation destination, we could fail to attract travelers; consequently, property owners and managers may opt to list their properties with a competitor having a greater presence in that area.

As described above, the global travel industry has experienced sharp declines in demand as a result of COVID-19 and the ultimate effects and longevity of such decreased demand is currently not known; however, such decrease in demand is expected to have a material adverse effect on our fiscal 2021 revenues and results of operations.

We could face liability for transactions and information on (or accessible through) our or, our distributors’, online marketplaces.

A significant portion of the information available through our and our distributors’ online marketplaces is submitted by property owners and managers and third parties. Property owners and managers could assert that information concerning them on our websites contains errors or omissions and third parties could seek damages from us for losses incurred if they rely upon such incorrect information. We could also be subject to claims that such information is defamatory, libelous, or infringes on third-party copyrights and privacy and publicity rights. We might be subject to claims that by providing links to third party websites, we are liable for wrongful actions by those third parties. Even if these claims do not result in liability to us, we could incur significant costs in investigating and defending against these claims.

In addition, our services will feature a property review platform, which allows travelers to post property reviews and other information about properties, property owners and managers. Although this feedback is generated by users and not by us, claims of libel, defamation or other injury have been made against other Internet service providers offering similar forums and may be made against us for content posted in this forum. Our potential liability for this information could require us to expend substantial resources to reduce our liability exposure and may limit the attractiveness of our and our distributors’ online marketplace. Moreover, our general liability insurance may not cover all potential claims to which we are exposed and may not be adequate to indemnify us for all liability that may be imposed and as a result we could face significant liability for such claims which could have a material adverse effect on our cash flows.

Property owner, distributor, manager or traveler complaints or negative publicity about our company, our services or our business activities could diminish use of our online marketplace and our brand.

Property owner, distributor, manager or traveler complaints or negative publicity about our company, our services or our business activities could severely diminish consumer confidence in and use of our online marketplace and negatively affect our brand. Our measures to combat risks of fraud and breaches of privacy and security can damage relations with our property owners and managers, for instance when we remove listings which have repeatedly been reported as misleadingly described. These measures heighten the need for prompt and accurate customer service to resolve irregularities and disputes. Effective customer service requires significant personnel expense, and this expense, if not managed properly, could significantly impact our profitability. Failure to manage or train our customer service representatives properly could compromise our ability to handle property owner, manager and traveler complaints effectively. If we do not handle these complaints effectively, our reputation may suffer, and we may lose the confidence of property owners, distributors, managers and travelers. We may also be the subject of blog or forum postings that include inaccurate statements and create negative publicity. As a result of these complaints or negative publicity, property owners, distributors and managers may discontinue their listing or services with us or travelers may discontinue their use of our websites, and our business, brand and results of operations could be adversely impacted.

If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property, our ability to compete could be impaired.

Our intellectual property includes the content of our websites, registered domain names, as well as registered and unregistered trademarks. We believe that our intellectual property is an essential asset of our business and that our domain names and our technology infrastructure currently give us a competitive advantage in the online market for ALR listings. If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property, our brand, reputation and perceived content value could be harmed, resulting in an impaired ability to compete effectively.

To protect our intellectual property, we rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws, contractual provisions and our user policy and restrictions on disclosure. Upon discovery of potential infringement of our intellectual property, we promptly take action we deem appropriate to protect our rights. We also enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees and consultants and seek to control access to and distribution of our proprietary information in a commercially prudent manner. The efforts we have taken to protect our intellectual property may not be sufficient or effective, and, despite these precautions, it may be possible for other parties to copy or otherwise obtain and use the content of our websites without authorization. We may be unable to prevent competitors from acquiring domain names or trademarks that are similar to, infringe upon or diminish the value of our domain names, service marks and our other proprietary rights. Even if we do detect violations and decide to enforce our intellectual property rights, litigation may be necessary to enforce our rights, and any enforcement efforts we undertake could be time-consuming, expensive, distracting and result in unfavorable outcomes. A failure to protect our intellectual property in a cost-effective and meaningful manner could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete.

Effective trademark, copyright and trade secret protection may not be available in every country in which our products are available over the Internet. In addition, the legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of intellectual property rights are uncertain and still evolving.

We may be subject to claims that we violated intellectual property rights of others, which are extremely costly to defend and could require us to pay significant damages and limit our ability to operate.

Companies in the Internet and technology industries, and other patent and trademark holders seeking to profit from royalties in connection with grants of licenses, own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. There may be intellectual property rights held by others, including issued or pending patents and trademarks, that cover significant aspects of our technologies, content, branding or business methods. Any intellectual property claims against us, regardless of merit, could be time-consuming and expensive to settle or litigate and could divert our management’s attention and other resources. These claims also could subject us to significant liability for damages and could result in our having to stop using technology, content, branding or business methods found to be in violation of another party’s rights. We might be required or may opt to seek a license for rights to intellectual property held by others, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If we cannot license or develop technology, content, branding or business methods for any allegedly infringing aspect of our business, we may be unable to compete effectively. Even if a license is available, we could be required to pay significant royalties, which could increase our operating expenses. We may also be required to develop alternative non-infringing technology, content, branding or business methods, which could require significant effort and expense and be inferior. Any of these results could harm our operating results.

We currently rely on a small number of third-party service providers to host and deliver a significant portion of our services, and any interruptions or delays in services from these third parties could impair the delivery of our services and harm our business.

We rely on third-party service providers for numerous products and services, including payment processing services, data center services, web hosting services, insurance products for customers and travelers and some customer service functions. We rely on these companies to provide uninterrupted services and to provide their services in accordance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.

We use a combination of third-party data centers to host our websites and core services. We do not control the operation of any of the third-party data center facilities we use. These facilities may be subject to break-ins, computer viruses, denial-of-service attacks, sabotage, acts of vandalism and other misconduct. They are also vulnerable to damage or interruption from power loss, telecommunications failures, fires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and similar events. We currently do not have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place nor do our systems provide complete redundancy of data storage or processing. As a result, the occurrence of any of these events, a decision by our third-party service providers to close their data center facilities without adequate notice or other unanticipated problems could result in loss of data as well as a significant interruption in our services and harm to our reputation and brand. Additionally, our third-party data center facility agreements are of limited durations, and our third-party data center facilities have no obligation to renew their agreements with us on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If we are unable to renew our agreements with these facilities on commercially reasonable terms, we may experience delays in the provisioning of our services until an agreement with another data center facility can be arranged. This shift to alternate data centers could take more than 24 hours depending on the nature of the event. 

Furthermore, we depend on continuous and uninterrupted access to the Internet through third-party bandwidth providers to operate our business. If we lose the services of one or more of our bandwidth providers for any reason or if their services are disrupted, we could experience disruption in our services or we could be required to retain the services of a replacement bandwidth provider, which could harm our business and reputation.

Our operations are dependent on the availability of electricity, which also comes from third-party providers. If we or the third-party data center facilities that we use to deliver our services were to experience a major power outage, it could result in disruption of our services and harm to our business.

If these companies experience difficulties and are not able to provide services in a reliable and secure manner, if they do not operate in compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations and, with respect to payment and card processing companies, if they are unable to effectively combat the use of fraudulent payments on our websites, our results of operations and financial positions could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, if such third-party service providers were to cease operations or face other business disruption either temporarily or permanently, or otherwise face serious performance problems, we could suffer increased costs and delays until we find or develop an equivalent replacement, any of which could have an adverse impact on our business and financial performance.

Our processing, storage, use and disclosure of personal data will expose us to risks of internal or external security breaches and could give rise to liabilities as a result of governmental regulation, conflicting legal requirements or differing views of personal privacy rights.

The security of data when engaging in electronic commerce is essential in maintaining consumer and supplier confidence in our services. Substantial or ongoing security breaches whether instigated internally or externally on our systems or other internet-based systems could significantly harm our future business. It is possible that advances in computer circumvention capabilities, new discoveries or other developments, including our own acts or omissions, could result in a compromise or breach of customer transaction data.

We cannot guarantee that our security measures will prevent security breaches or attacks. A party (whether internal, external, an affiliate or unrelated third party) that is able to circumvent our security systems could steal customer information or transaction data, proprietary information or cause significant interruptions in our operations. For instance, from time to time, companies have experienced “denial-of-service” type attacks that have made portions of websites slow or unavailable for periods of time. We may need to expend significant resources to protect against security breaches or to address problems caused by breaches, and reductions in website availability and response time could cause loss of substantial business volumes during the occurrence of any such incident. Security breaches could result in negative publicity, damage our reputation, expose us to risk of loss or litigation and possible liability and subject us to regulatory penalties and sanctions. Security breaches could also cause customers and potential customers to lose confidence in our security, which would have a negative effect on the value of our brand.

We also face risks associated with security breaches affecting third parties conducting business over the Internet. Consumers generally are concerned with security and privacy on the Internet, and any publicized security problems could inhibit the growth of the Internet and, therefore, our services as a means of conducting commercial transactions. Additionally, security breaches at third parties such as supplier or distributor systems upon which we may rely could result in negative publicity, damage our reputation, expose us to risk of loss or litigation and possible liability and subject us to regulatory penalties and sanctions.

In our processing transactions, we expect to receive a large volume of personally identifiable data but, we will not store personally identifiable data. We could be adversely affected if legislation or regulations are expanded to require changes in our business practices or if governing jurisdictions interpret or implement their legislation or regulations in ways that negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our websites may encounter technical problems and service interruptions.

Our websites may in the future experience slower response times or interruptions as a result of increased traffic or other reasons. These delays and interruptions resulting from failure to maintain Internet service connections to our site could frustrate visitors and reduce our future web site traffic, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

If we do not successfully implement any acquisition strategies, our operating results and prospects could be harmed.

We face competition within our industry for acquisitions of businesses, technologies and assets, and, in the future, such competition may become more intense. As such, even if we are able to identify an acquisition that we would like to consummate, we may not be able to complete the acquisition on commercially reasonable terms or at all because of such competition. Furthermore, if we enter into negotiations that are not ultimately consummated, those negotiations could result in diversion of management time and significant out-of- pocket costs. Even if we are able to complete such acquisitions, we may additionally expend significant amounts of cash or incur substantial debt to finance them, which indebtedness could result in restrictions on our business and use of available cash. In addition, we may finance or otherwise complete acquisitions by issuing equity or convertible debt securities, which could result in dilution of our existing stockholders. If we fail to evaluate and execute acquisitions successfully, we may not be able to realize their benefits. If we are unable to successfully address any of these risks, our business, financial condition or operating results could be harmed.

If we fail to maintain effective internal controls, it could adversely affect our financial position and lower our stock price.

We are subject to reporting and other obligations under the Exchange Act, including the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These provisions require annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. We also operate in a complex environment and expect these obligations, together with our rapid growth and expansion through acquisitions, to place significant demands on our management and administrative resources, including accounting and tax resources. If we are unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our investors could lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports.

Shareholders may be diluted significantly through our efforts to obtain financing and satisfy obligations through the issuance of additional shares of our common stock.

Wherever possible, our Board of Directors will attempt to use non-cash consideration to satisfy obligations. In many instances, we believe that the non-cash consideration will consist of restricted shares of our common stock or where shares are to be issued to our officers, directors and applicable consultants, free trading shares pursuant to Form S-8 registration statements. Our Board of Directors has authority, without action or vote of the shareholders, to issue all or part of the authorized but unissued shares of common stock. In addition, we may attempt to raise capital by selling shares of our common stock, possibly at a discount to market. These actions will result in dilution of the ownership interests of existing shareholders, which may further dilute common stock book value, and that dilution may be material. Such issuances may also serve to enhance existing management’s ability to maintain control of the Company because the shares may be issued to parties or entities committed to supporting existing management.

We have significant indebtedness, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

As of February 29, 2020, the aggregate face value of a line of credit and promissory notes amounted to $2.77 million. Risks relating to our indebtedness include:

Because we are a small company, the requirements of being a public company, including compliance with the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act, may strain our resources, increase our costs and distract management, and we may be unable to comply with these requirements in a timely or cost-effective manner.

As a public company with listed equity securities, we must comply with the federal securities laws, rules and regulations, including certain corporate governance provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act, related rules and regulations of the SEC, with which a private company is not required to comply. Complying with these laws, rules and regulations will occupy a significant amount of time of our directors and management and will significantly increase our costs and expenses, which we cannot estimate accurately at this time. Among other things, we must:

In addition, being a public company subject to these rules and regulations may require us to accept less director and officer liability insurance coverage than we desire or to incur substantial costs to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our Board of Directors.

Risks Related to the Ownership of our Common Stock

Nevada law and our Articles of Incorporation authorize us to issue shares of stock, which shares may cause substantial dilution to our existing stockholders.

We have authorized capital stock consisting of 500,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.00001 par value per share and 3,000,000 shares of Series A Preferred stock, $0.01 par value per share. As of the date of this report, we have 13,270,589 shares of common stock issued and outstanding and no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. As a result, our Board of Directors has the ability to issue a large number of additional shares of common stock and/or to affect a reverse stock split, without stockholder approval, and if additional shares are issued, it could cause substantial dilution to our then stockholders. Additionally, shares of preferred stock may be issued by our Board of Directors without stockholder approval with voting powers, and such preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and powers as determined by our Board of Directors, which may be greater than the shares of common stock currently outstanding. As a result, shares of preferred stock may be issued by our Board of Directors which cause the holders to have super majority voting power over our shares, provide the holders of the preferred stock the right to convert the shares of preferred stock they hold into shares of our common stock, which may cause substantial dilution to our then common stock stockholders and/or have other rights and preferences greater than those of our common stock stockholders. Investors should keep in mind that the Board of Directors has the authority to issue additional shares of common stock and preferred stock, which could cause substantial dilution to our existing stockholders. Additionally, the dilutive effect of any preferred stock, which we may issue may be exacerbated given the fact that such preferred stock may have super majority voting rights and/or other rights or preferences which could provide the preferred stockholders with voting control over us subsequent to this offering and/or give those holders the power to prevent or cause a change in control. As a result, the issuance of shares of common stock and/or preferred stock may cause the value of our securities to decrease and/or become worthless.

Our outstanding warrants may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

As of February 29, 2020, there were outstanding warrants to purchase 1,347,391 shares of common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $3.32 per share. For the life of the warrants, the holders have the opportunity to profit from a rise in the market price of our common stock without assuming the risk of ownership. The issuance of shares upon the exercise of outstanding securities will also dilute the ownership interests of our existing stockholders.

The availability of these shares for public resale, as well as any actual resales of these shares, could adversely affect the trading price of our common stock. We cannot predict the size of future issuances of our common stock pursuant to the exercise of outstanding options or warrants or conversion of other securities, or the effect, if any, that future issuances and sales of shares of our common stock may have on the market price of our common stock. Sales or distributions of substantial amounts of our common stock (including shares issued in connection with an acquisition), or the perception that such sales could occur, may cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

Certain warrants we have granted include anti-dilutive rights

The warrants to purchase 724,000 shares of common stock which we granted to certain purchases in our October 2018 offering (of which warrants to purchase 637,400 shares are currently outstanding) include anti-dilution rights, which provide that if at any time while the warrants are outstanding, we issue or are deemed to have issued (which includes shares issuable upon exercise of warrants and options and conversion of convertible securities) securities for consideration less than the then current exercise price of the warrants, subject to certain excepted issuances, the exercise price of such warrants is automatically reduced to the lowest price per share of consideration provided or deemed to have been provided for such securities, not to be less than $0.57 per share (subject to adjustment for reverse and forward stock splits, recapitalizations and similar transactions). The warrants which originally had an exercise price of $2.85 per share currently have any exercise price of $2.00 per share as a result of our April 2019 underwritten offering.

Our stock price may be volatile.

The market price of our common stock is likely to be volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to, among other things, the risk factors described in this section of this Annual Report, and other factors beyond our control. Factors affecting the trading price of our common stock could include:

Furthermore, the stock markets have experienced price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. These fluctuations often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations and general economic, political and market conditions, such as recessions, interest rate changes or international currency fluctuations, may negatively affect the market price of our common stock regardless of our actual operating performance. Each of these factors, among others, could harm the value of our common stock.

In the past, many companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation; and we have previously been the target of this type of litigation. Securities litigation against us, regardless of the merits or outcome, could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could materially harm our business.

If the holders of our common stock sell a large number of shares all at once or in blocks, the market price of our shares would most likely decline.

Certain of our shareholders and warrant holders hold shares of common stock which are freely tradable and/or freely tradable upon exercise. Should such holders decide to sell their shares at a price below the market price as quoted on NASDAQ, or any exchange on which our common stock might be listed in the future, the price may continue to decline. A steep decline in the price of our common stock upon being quoted on NASDAQ, or any exchange on which our common stock might be listed in the future, would adversely affect our ability to raise additional equity capital, and even if we were successful in raising such capital, the terms of such raise may be substantially dilutive to current stockholders.

If securities analysts and other industry experts do not publish research or publish negative research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock depends in part on the research, reports and other media that securities analysts and other industry experts publish about us or our business. If security analysts don’t cover our stock, downgrade our stock or publish negative research about our business, our stock price could decline. If analysts do not cover us in the future, cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the stock market and demand for our stock could decrease, which could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline. If one or more industry analysts publish negative statements about our business, our stock price could decline.

Failure to adequately manage our growth may seriously harm our business.

We plan to grow our business as rapidly as possible. If we do not effectively manage our growth, the quality of our services may suffer, which could negatively affect our reputation and demand for our services. Our growth may place a significant strain on our managerial, administrative, operational, and financial resources and our infrastructure. Our future success will depend, in part, upon the ability of our senior management to manage growth effectively. This will require us to, among other things:

As a result, we may lack the resources to deploy our services on a timely and cost-effective basis. Failure to accomplish any of these requirements could impair our ability to deliver services in a timely fashion or attract and retain new customers.

We do not anticipate paying any dividends on our common stock.

We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. If we do not pay cash dividends, our stockholders could receive a return on their investment in our common stock only if the market price of our common stock has increased when they sell their shares.

Our incorporation documents and Nevada law may inhibit a takeover that stockholders consider favorable and could also limit the market price of our common stock, which may inhibit an attempt by our stockholders to change our direction or management.

Nevada law and our articles of incorporation contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change in control of our Company. Some of these provisions include the following:

These and other provisions in our articles of incorporation, as amended, and under Nevada law could reduce the price that investors might be willing to pay for shares of our common stock in the future and result in the market price being lower than it would be without these provisions. Furthermore, these provisions may inhibit an attempt by our stockholders to change our direction or management.

We adopted provisions in our amended and restated articles of incorporation limiting the liability of management to stockholders.

We have adopted provisions, and will maintain provisions, to our amended and restated articles of incorporation that limit the liability of our directors, and provide for indemnification by us of our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by Nevada law. Our amended and restated articles of incorporation and Nevada law provide that directors have no personal liability to third parties for monetary damages for actions taken as a director, except for breach of duty of loyalty, acts or omissions not in good faith involving intentional misconduct or knowing violation of law, unlawful payment of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases, or transactions from which the director derived improper personal benefit. Such provisions limit the stockholders’ ability to hold directors liable for breaches of fiduciary duty and reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and officers.

Our Common Stock may be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market if we cannot satisfy Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements.

Among the conditions required for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, Nasdaq requires us to maintain at least $2.5 million in stockholders’ equity or $500,000 in net income over the prior two years or two of the prior three years, to have a majority of independent directors, and to maintain a stock price over $1.00 per share. As of the date of this report, our stockholders’ equity is above Nasdaq’s $2.5 million minimum and, we have maintained our stock price over $1.00 per share (provided that our stock price has traded as low as $0.61 during calendar 2020 and is currently trading around $1.00 per share).

Moving forward, we may not be able to maintain at least $2.5 million in stockholders’ equity, may not generate over $500,000 of yearly net income, we may not be able to maintain independent directors, we may not be able to maintain a stock price over $1.00 per share and/or may not be able to meet the requirements related to the number of independent directors on our Board of Directors and/or hold an annual meeting of shareholders on a timely basis. If we fail to timely comply with the applicable requirements, and/or to timely cure the deficiencies described above, our stock may be delisted. In addition, even if we demonstrate compliance with the requirements above, we will have to continue to meet other objective and subjective listing requirements to continue to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Delisting from the Nasdaq Capital Market could make trading our common stock more difficult for investors, potentially leading to declines in our share price and liquidity. Without a Nasdaq Capital Market listing, stockholders may have a difficult time getting a quote for the sale or purchase of our stock, the sale or purchase of our stock would likely be made more difficult and the trading volume and liquidity of our stock could decline. Delisting from the Nasdaq Capital Market could also result in negative publicity and could also make it more difficult for us to raise additional capital. The absence of such a listing may adversely affect the acceptance of our common stock as currency or the value accorded by other parties. Further, if we are delisted, we would also incur additional costs under state blue sky laws in connection with any sales of our securities. These requirements could severely limit the market liquidity of our common stock and the ability of our stockholders to sell our common stock in the secondary market. If our common stock is delisted by Nasdaq, our common stock may be eligible to trade on an over-the-counter quotation system, such as the OTCQB market, where an investor may find it more difficult to sell our stock or obtain accurate quotations as to the market value of our common stock. In the event our common stock is delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market, we may not be able to list our common stock on another national securities exchange or obtain quotation on an over-the counter quotation system.

If we are delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market, your ability to sell your shares of our common stock could also be limited by the penny stock restrictions, which could further limit the marketability of your shares.

If our common stock is delisted from Nasdaq, it could come within the definition of “penny stock” as defined in the Exchange Act and would then be covered by Rule 15g-9 of the Exchange Act. That Rule imposes additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell securities to persons other than established customers and accredited investors. For transactions covered by Rule 15g-9, the broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction prior to the sale. Consequently, Rule 15g-9, if it were to become applicable, would affect the ability or willingness of broker-dealers to sell our securities, and accordingly would affect the ability of stockholders to sell their securities in the public market. These additional procedures could also limit our ability to raise additional capital in the future.

Due to the fact that our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, we are subject to financial and other reporting and corporate governance requirements which increase our costs and expenses.

We are currently required to file annual and quarterly information and other reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission that are specified in Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Additionally, due to the fact that our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, we are also subject to the requirements to maintain independent directors, comply with other corporate governance requirements and are required to pay annual listing and stock issuance fees. These obligations require a commitment of additional resources including, but not limited, to additional expenses, and may result in the diversion of our senior management’s time and attention from our day-to-day operations. These obligations increase our expenses and may make it more complicated or time consuming for us to undertake certain corporate actions due to the fact that we may require Nasdaq approval for such transactions and/or Nasdaq rules may require us to obtain shareholder approval for such transactions.