RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY

 

Available cash resources will be insufficient to provide for our working capital needs for the next twelve months. As a result, we will need to raise additional capital to continue as a going concern.

 

At December 31, 2020 and 2019, we had negative working capital of $19,349,000 and $1,653,000, respectively. Our principal source of liquidity at December 31, 2020 and 2019 consisted of cash and cash equivalents of $8,345,000 and $1,030,000, respectively. Considering the financings consummated in 2020, as well as our projected cash requirements, and assuming we are unable to generate incremental revenue, our available cash will be insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements for the next twelve months from the date of this filing. These factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. To address our working capital requirements, management intends to seek additional equity and/or debt financing through the issuance of additional debt and/or equity securities and may seek strategic or other transactions intended to increase shareholder value. There are currently no formal committed financing arrangements to support our projected cash shortfall, including commitments to purchase additional debt and/or equity securities, or other agreements, and no assurances can be given that we will be successful in raising additional capital through the issuance of debt and/or equity securities, or entering into any other transaction that addresses our ability to continue as a going concern.

 

We have a history of significant recurring losses totaling approximately $213.2 million at December 31, 2020 and $203.2 million and December 31, 2019, and these losses may continue in the future.

 

As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $213.2 million and $203.2 million, respectively, and these losses may continue in the future. We expect to continue to incur significant sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative expense. As a result, we will need to generate significant revenue to achieve profitability, and we may never achieve profitability.

 

Our loan under the Paycheck Protection Program may not be forgiven or may subject us to challenges and investigations regarding qualification for the loan.

 

We have received loan proceeds in the amount of approximately $1.57 million under the Payroll Protection Program (“PPP Loan”), which was established under the CARES Act and is administered by the SBA (“PPP”). Under the terms of the CARES Act, PPP Loan recipients can apply for loan forgiveness. The potential loan forgiveness for all or a portion of PPP Loan is determined, subject to limitations, based on the use of loan proceeds over the 24 weeks after the loan proceeds are disbursed for payment of payroll costs and any payments of mortgage interest, rent, and utilities. The amount of loan forgiveness will be reduced if PPP Loan recipients terminate employees or reduce salaries during the covered period. The unforgiven portion of our PPP Loan, if any, is payable over two years at an interest rate of 1%, with a deferral of payments for the first six months. We have utilized all the proceeds from the PPP Loan for purposes consistent with the PPP. While we currently believe that our use of the loan proceeds will meet the conditions for forgiveness of the PPP Loan, the Series D Financing may affect the Company's ability to have the PPP Loan forgiven under the PPP and there can be no assurance that forgiveness for any portion of the PPP Loan will be obtained.

 

 

   

 

   

 

 

 

 

If third parties claim that we infringe their intellectual property rights, we may incur liabilities and costs and may have to redesign or discontinue selling certain products.

 

Whether a product infringes a patent involves complex legal and factual issues, the determination of which is often uncertain. We face the risk of claims that we have infringed on third parties’ intellectual property rights. Searching for existing intellectual property rights may not reveal important intellectual property and our competitors may also have filed for patent protection, which is not yet a matter of public knowledge, or claimed trademark rights that have not been revealed through our availability searches. Our efforts to identify and avoid infringing on third parties’ intellectual property rights may not always be successful. Any claims of patent or other intellectual property infringement, even those without merit, could: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition, new patents obtained by our competitors could threaten a product’s continued life in the market even after it has already been introduced.

 

REGULATORY AND LEGAL RISK FACTORS

 

Failure to comply with federal, state and international laws and regulations and our contractual obligations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection, or the expansion of current or the enactment of new laws or regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection, could adversely affect our business and our financial condition.

 

We collect and maintain significant amounts of personal data and other data relating to our customers and employees. A variety of federal, state and international laws and regulations, and certain industry standards, govern or apply to our collection, use, retention, sharing and security of consumer data. We are subject to certain laws, regulations, contractual obligations and industry standards (including, for example, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, or PCI-DSS) relating to privacy, data protection, information security and consumer protection, which are evolving and subject to potentially differing interpretations. These requirements may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another or may conflict with other rules or our practices. As a result, our practices may not comply or may not comply in the future with all such laws, regulations, requirements and obligations. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with our privacy policies or with any federal, state or international laws, regulations, industry self-regulatory principles, industry standards or codes of conduct, regulatory guidance, orders to which we may be subject or other legal or contractual obligations relating to privacy, data protection, information security or consumer protection could adversely affect our reputation, brand and business, and may result in claims, proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others or other liabilities or require us to change our operations and/or cease or modify our use of certain data sets. Any such claim, proceeding or action could hurt our reputation, brand and business, force us to incur significant expenses in defense of such proceedings, distract our management, increase our costs of doing business, result in a loss of customers and suppliers or an inability to process credit card payments and may result in the imposition of monetary penalties. We may also be contractually required to indemnify and hold harmless third parties from the costs or consequences of non-compliance with any laws, regulations or other legal obligations relating to privacy or consumer protection or any inadvertent or unauthorized use or disclosure of data that we store or handle as part of operating our business.

 

 

Foreign laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection, information security and consumer protection often are more restrictive than those in the United States. The European Union, for example, traditionally has imposed stricter obligations under its laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection than the United States. In May 2018 the European Union's new regulation governing data practices and privacy called the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, became effective and substantially replaced the data protection laws of the individual European Union member states. The law requires companies to meet more stringent requirements regarding the handling of personal data of individuals in the EU than were required under predecessor EU requirements. In the United Kingdom, a Data Protection Bill that substantially implements the GDPR also became law in May 2018. The law also increases the penalties for non-compliance, which may result in monetary penalties of up to €20.0 million or 4% of a company's worldwide turnover, whichever is higher. The GDPR and other similar regulations require companies to give specific types of notice and in some cases seek consent from consumers and other data subjects before collecting or using their data for certain purposes, including some marketing activities. Outside of the European Union, many countries have laws, regulations, or other requirements relating to privacy, data protection, information security, and consumer protection, and new countries are adopting such legislation or other obligations with increasing frequency. Many of these laws may require consent from consumers for the use of data for various purposes, including marketing, which may reduce our ability to market our products. There is no harmonized approach to these laws and regulations globally. Consequently, we increase our risk of non-compliance with applicable foreign data protection laws by operating internationally. We may need to change and limit the way we use personal information in operating our business and may have difficulty maintaining a single operating model that is compliant. In addition, various federal, state and foreign legislative and regulatory bodies, or self-regulatory organizations, may expand current laws or regulations, enact new laws or regulations or issue revised rules or guidance regarding privacy, data protection, information security and consumer protection. For example, California recently adopted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”), which provides new data privacy rights for consumers and new operational requirements for businesses. The CCPA includes a statutory damages framework and private rights of action against businesses that fail to comply with certain CCPA terms or implement reasonable security procedures and practices to prevent data breaches. The CCPA went into effect in January 2020. The effects of the CCPA potentially are significant, however, and may require us to modify our data processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses in an effort to comply. As a general matter, compliance with laws, regulations, and any applicable rules or guidance from self-regulatory organizations relating to privacy, data protection, information security and consumer protection, may result in substantial costs and may necessitate changes to our business practices, which may compromise our growth strategy, adversely affect our ability to acquire customers, and otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

 

We may have additional tax assessments.

 

We are subject to income taxes in the United States. Significant judgments are required in determining our provisions for income taxes. In the course of preparing our tax provisions and returns, we must make calculations where the ultimate tax determination may be uncertain. Our tax returns are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and state tax authorities. There can be no assurance as to the outcome of these examinations. If the ultimate determination of taxes owed is for an amount in excess of amounts previously accrued, our operating results, cash flows, and financial condition could be adversely affected.

 

We operate in foreign countries and are exposed to risks associated with foreign political, economic and legal environments and with foreign currency exchange rates.

 

We have significant foreign operations. As a result, we are exposed to risks, including among others, risks associated with foreign political, economic and legal environments and with foreign currency exchange rates. Our results may be adversely affected by, among other things, changes in government policies with respect to laws and regulations, anti-inflation measures, currency conversions, collection of receivables abroad and rates and methods of taxation.

 

   

GOVERNANCE RISKS AND RISKS RELATED TO OUR SECURITIES

 

Our Common Stock is subject to “penny stock” rules.

 

Our Common Stock is currently defined as a “penny stock” under Rule 3a51-1 promulgated under the Exchange Act which are subject to Rules 15g-2 through 15g-7 and Rule 15g-9, which impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers that sell penny stocks to persons other than established customers and institutional accredited investors. Among other things, for transactions covered by these rules, a broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and have received the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale. Consequently, these rules may affect the ability of broker-dealers to sell our Common Stock and affect the ability of holders to sell their shares of our Common Stock in the secondary market. To the extent our Common Stock is subject to the penny stock regulations, the market liquidity for our shares will be adversely affected.

 

Our stock price has been volatile, and your investment in our Common Stock could suffer a decline in value.

 

There has been significant volatility in the market price and trading volume of equity securities, which is unrelated to the financial performance of the companies issuing the securities. These broad market fluctuations may negatively affect the market price of our Common Stock. You may not be able to resell your shares at or above the price you pay for those shares due to fluctuations in the market price of our Common Stock caused by changes in our operating performance or prospects and other factors.

  

Some specific factors that may have a significant effect on our Common Stock market price include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Our future sales of our Common Stock could adversely affect its price and our future capital-raising activities could involve the issuance of equity securities, which would dilute shareholders’ investments and could result in a decline in the trading price of our Common Stock.

 

We may sell securities in the public or private equity markets if and when conditions are favorable, even if we do not have an immediate need for additional capital at that time. Sales of substantial amounts of our Common Stock, or the perception that such sales could occur, could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our Common Stock and our ability to raise capital. We may issue additional Common Stock in future financing transactions or as incentive compensation for our executive management and other key personnel, consultants and advisors. Issuing any equity securities would be dilutive to the equity interests represented by our then-outstanding shares of Common Stock. The market price for our Common Stock could decrease as the market takes into account the dilutive effect of any of these issuances. Furthermore, we may enter into financing transactions at prices that represent a substantial discount to the market price of our Common Stock. A negative reaction by investors and securities analysts to any discounted sale of our equity securities could result in a decline in the trading price of our Common Stock.

     

The holders of our Preferred Stock (as defined below) have certain rights and privileges that are senior to our Common Stock, and we may issue additional shares of Preferred Stock without stockholder approval that could have a material adverse effect on the market value of the Common Stock.

 

Our Board of Directors has the authority to issue a total of up to 5.0 million shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Preferred Stock”) and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions, including voting rights, of the Preferred Stock, which typically are senior to the rights of the Common Stock, without any further vote or action by the holders of our Common Stock. The rights of the holders of our Common Stock will be subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of the Preferred Stock that have been issued or might be issued in the future. Preferred Stock also could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of our outstanding voting stock. This could delay, defer, or prevent a change in control. Furthermore, holders of our Preferred Stock may have other rights, including economic rights, senior to the Common Stock. As a result, their existence and issuance could have a material adverse effect on the market value of the Common Stock. We have in the past issued and may from time to time in the future issue, Preferred Stock for financing or other purposes with rights, preferences, or privileges senior to the Common Stock. As of March 26, 2021, we had four series of Preferred Stock outstanding, the Series A Preferred, Series A-1 Preferred, Series B Preferred, and Series D Preferred.   

 

 

 

The provisions of our Series A Preferred prohibit the payment of dividends on our Common Stock unless the dividends on our preferred shares are first paid. In addition, upon a liquidation, dissolution or sale of our business, the holders of our Series A Preferred will be entitled to receive, in preference to any distribution to the holders of Common Stock, initial distributions of $1,000 per share, plus all accrued but unpaid dividends. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, there were 14,911 and 37,467 shares of our Series A Preferred outstanding, respectively. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, we had no cumulative undeclared dividends on our Series A Preferred.

 

The provisions of our Series A-1 Preferred prohibit the payment of dividends on our Common Stock unless the dividends on our preferred shares are first paid. In addition, upon a liquidation, dissolution or sale of our business, the holders of our Series A-1 Preferred will be entitled to receive, in preference to any distribution to the holders of Common Stock, initial distributions of $1,000 per share, plus all accrued but unpaid dividends. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, there were 14,782 and 0 shares of our Series A-1 Preferred outstanding, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, we had no cumulative undeclared dividends on our Series A-1 Preferred.

 

The provisions of our Series B Preferred prohibit the payment of dividends on our Common Stock unless the dividends on our preferred shares are first paid. In addition, upon a liquidation, dissolution or sale of our business, the holders of our Series B Preferred will be entitled to receive, in preference to any distribution to the holders of Common Stock, initial distributions of $2.50 per share, plus all accrued but unpaid dividends. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, there were 239,400 shares of Series B Preferred outstanding. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, we had cumulative undeclared dividends on our Series B Preferred of approximately $8,000. 

 

The provisions of our Series D Preferred prohibit the payment of dividends on our Common Stock unless the dividends on our preferred shares are first paid. In addition, upon a liquidation, dissolution or sale of our business, the holders of our Series D Preferred will be entitled to receive, in preference to any distribution to the holders of Common Stock, initial distributions of $1,000 per share, plus all accrued but unpaid dividends. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, there were 22,863.28 and 0 shares of Series D Preferred outstanding, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, we had no cumulative undeclared dividends on our Series D Preferred.

 

The conversion of our Series A Preferred Stock, Series A-1 Preferred Stock, Series B Preferred Stock and Series D Preferred Stock and the exercise of currently outstanding warrants could result in significant dilution to the holders of our common stock.

 

The holders of our Series A Preferred Stock, Series A-1 Preferred Stock, Stock Series B Preferred Stock and Series D Preferred Stock may elect to convert their shares of Preferred Stock into shares of Common Stock. As of December 31, 2020, we had outstanding: (i) 14,911 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, which are convertible into 74,555,000 shares of Common Stock; (ii) 14,782 shares of Series A-1 Preferred Stock, which are convertible into 73,910,000 shares of Common Stock; (iii) 239,400 shares of Series B Preferred Stock, which are convertible into 46,029 shares of Common Stock; and (iv) 22,863.28 shares of Series D Preferred Stock, which are convertible into 392,166,023 shares of Common Stock. In addition to our outstanding shares of Preferred Stock, as of December 31, 2020, there were outstanding warrants to purchase 753,775 shares of our Common Stock.

 

The conversion of our Series A Preferred Stock, Series A-1 Preferred Stock, Series B Preferred Stock and Series D Preferred Stock, as well as the exercise of our outstanding warrants could result in significant dilution to existing common shareholders, adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock and impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities.

 

Upon the occurrence of certain events, we may be required to redeem all or a portion of our Preferred Stock.

 

Holders of certain of our Preferred Stock may require us to redeem all or any portion of such Holder’s shares Preferred Stock within specific date from issuance or in the event of the consummation of a Change of Control (as such term is defined in the Certificate of Designations, Preferences and Rights of each class of Preferred Stock). We cannot assure you that we will maintain sufficient cash reserves or that our business will generate cash flow from operations at levels sufficient to permit us to redeem our shares of Preferred Stock if and when required to do so. In the event we have insufficient cash available or do not have access to additional third-party financings on commercially reasonable terms or at all to complete such redemption, our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be materially adversely affected.

  

Certain large shareholders may have certain personal interests that may affect the Company.

 

As a result of the securities issued to Nantahala Capital Management, LLC (“Nantahala Capital Management”), and the related entities controlled by Nantahala Capital Management, (i) Blackwell Partners LLC - Series A, (ii) Nantahala Capital Partners Limited Partnership, (iii) Nantahala Capital Partners II Limited Partnership, (iv) Nantahala Capital Partners SI, LP, (v) NCP QR Limited Partnership, and (vi) Silver Creek CS SAV, L.L.C. (collectively, "Nantahala"), Nantahala beneficially owns, in the aggregate, approximately 37% of the Company’s outstanding voting securities as of March 26, 2021.  As a result, Nantahala has the potential ability to exert influence over the outcome of issues requiring approval by the Company’s shareholders. This concentration of ownership may have effects such as delaying or preventing a change in control of the Company that may be favored by other shareholders or preventing transactions in which shareholders might otherwise recover a premium for their shares over current market prices.

  

Our corporate documents and Delaware law contain provisions that could discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of the Company.

 

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger or acquisition involving us that our stockholders may consider favorable. For example, our certificate of incorporation authorizes Preferred Stock, which carries special rights, including voting and dividend rights. With these rights, holders of Preferred Stock could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us.

 

 

 

Our Amended Charter designates courts within the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, and the federal district courts for the United States of America for claims brought under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents.

 

Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Amended Charter”) require that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, and unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, a state court located within the State of Delaware (or, if no state court located within the State of Delaware has jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware), will, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for each of the following:

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore, the Amended Charter sets forth that the federal district courts of the United States of America are the exclusive forum for the resolution of any causes of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

 

Because the applicability of the exclusive forum provision is limited to the extent permitted by law, we believe that the exclusive forum provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. We note that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce the provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law and federal law under the Securities Act in the types of lawsuits to which they apply, the provisions may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.

 

We do not expect to pay cash dividends on our Common Stock for the foreseeable future.

 

We have never paid cash dividends on our Common Stock and do not anticipate that any cash dividends will be paid on the Common Stock for the foreseeable future. The payment of any cash dividend by us will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on, among other things, our earnings, capital, regulatory requirements and financial condition. Furthermore, the terms of our Series A Preferred, Series A-1 Preferred, Series B Preferred, Series C Preferred and Series D Preferred directly limit our ability to pay cash dividends on our Common Stock.

 

 

GENERAL RISK FACTORS

 

Our business is subject to risks arising from epidemic diseases, such as the recent global outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

 

The recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, which has been declared by the World Health Organization to be a pandemic, has spread across the globe and is impacting worldwide economic activity. A pandemic, including COVID-19 or other public health epidemics, pose the risk that we or our employees, contractors, suppliers, and other partners may be prevented from conducting business activities for an indefinite period of time, including shutdowns that may be requested or mandated by governmental authorities. While it is not possible at this time to estimate the impact that COVID-19 could have on our business, the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation measures have had and may continue to have an adverse impact on global economic conditions which could have an adverse effect on our business and financial condition, including impairing our ability to raise capital when needed.

 

COVID-19 has prevented employees from returning to physical offices. In many cases, our potential customers in the government or commercial enterprise-side like to test our software in their labs with their systems and hardware. Potential customers have been unable to do this and that has caused purchase decisions to be delayed as these employees who would be testing are now working from their homes and can’t simulate test environments.  COVID-19 has further led to a distributed work environment. Decision makers are now working from their homes, from all different parts of a state or country. Some have weak or no Internet connections, making it harder to review paperwork to decide on a large financial purchase. Some decision makers want to have more conversations with more people, and mull over decisions longer, versus in the past, when an individual could walk into a decision makers office and garner more rapid approval. Some countries have limits on how many people are permitted to gather in one meeting or have been hit particularly hard with many residents suffering and dying from the COVID-19 virus. There is a new paradigm emerging in making critical decisions from a video conference calls versus in person.

 

An economic recession had set in from the pandemic in 2020. Some companies are not receiving payments and in turn are not making payments to us, causing impairments in our ability to pay others. COVID-19 has led to some of our customers and potential customers being stricken with the virus causing them to not be able to work for many weeks and therefore causing delays for us in our projects or decisions.  Technology partners have slowed down and/or laid off employees, impacting us downstream because decisions makers have been furloughed or the work has been passed to new employees who need to come up to speed on a particular project. The closing/downsizing of our offices due to COVID-19 has further caused employees to work from home on unsecured personal Wifi networks, and as such, working from home may cause security breaches such as malware, ransomware, and Phishing attempts. These attempts in some cases have knocked out their ability to have a connection and be able to work until their IT department resolves their issues.

 

This outbreak could decrease spending, adversely affect demand for the Company’s products, and harm the Company’s business and results of operations.  It is not possible for the Company to predict the duration or magnitude of the adverse results of the outbreak and its effects on the Company’s business or results of operations, financial condition, or liquidity, at this time.

 

We depend on key personnel, the loss of any of whom could materially adversely affect future operations.

 

Our success will depend to a significant extent upon the efforts and abilities of our executive officers and other key personnel. The loss of the services of one or more of these key employees and any negative market or industry perception arising from the loss of such services could have a material adverse effect on us and the trading price of our Common Stock. Our business will also be dependent upon our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. Acquiring and keeping these personnel could prove more difficult or cost substantially more than estimated and we cannot be certain that we will be able to retain such personnel or attract a high caliber of personnel in the future.