UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. )
Filed
by the
Registrant
☒
Filed
by a Party other than the
Registrant
☐
Check
the appropriate box:
☐ Preliminary Proxy Statement
☐ Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as
permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
☒ Definitive Proxy
Statement
☐ Definitive Additional Materials
☐ Soliciting Material under §240.14a-12
SharpSpring, Inc.
(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the
Registrant)
Payment
of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
☒ No
fee required.
☐ Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules
14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.
(1)
Title of each class of securities to which transaction
applies:
(2)
Aggregate number of securities to which transaction
applies:
(3) Per
unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed
pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (Set forth the amount on which
the filing fee is calculated and state how it was
determined):
(4)
Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:
(5)
Total fee paid:
☐ Fee paid previously with preliminary
materials.
☐ Check box if any part of the fee is offset as
provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing
for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the
previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or
Schedule and the date of its filing.
(1)
Amount previously paid:
(2)
Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:
(3)
Filing Party:
(4)
Date Filed:
5001
Celebration Pointe Avenue, Suite 410
Gainesville,
FL 32608
April
30, 2021
Dear
Fellow Stockholder:
The
2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of SharpSpring,
Inc. (the “Company”) will be held at 10:00
a.m. (Eastern Time) on Thursday, June 17, 2021 at 5001 Celebration
Pointe Avenue, Suite 410, Gainesville, FL 32608. I hope you will be
able to attend.
The
attached Notice of Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement describe the
matters that we expect to be acted upon at the Annual Meeting.
Management will be available to answer any questions you may have
immediately after the Annual Meeting.
Please
sign, date and return the enclosed Proxy without delay. The
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (including audited
financial statements) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020
(“Annual
Report”) accompanies the Proxy Statement. The proxy
materials and Annual Report included in this package are also
available on the internet under the “Investors” page of the
Company’s website at http://sharpspring.com/.
All
shares represented by Proxies will be voted at the Annual Meeting
in accordance with the specifications marked thereon, or if no
specifications are made, (i) as to Proposal No. 1, the Proxy
confers authority to vote “FOR” all of the five (5)
persons listed as candidates for a position on the Board of
Directors; (ii) as to Proposal No. 2, the Proxy confers authority
to vote “FOR” the ratification of Cherry Bekaert LLP as
the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm
for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021; (iii) as to Proposal
No. 3, the Proxy confers authority to vote “FOR” the
approval of the amendment to
the SharpSpring, Inc. 2019 Equity Incentive Plan; (iv) as to Proposal No. 4, the Proxy confers authority
to vote “FOR” the approval of the advisory vote on the
compensation of our named executive officers; and (v);
as to any other business which comes before the Annual Meeting, the
Proxy confers authority to vote in the Proxy holder’s
discretion.
The
Company’s Board of Directors believes that a favorable vote
for each candidate for a position on the Board of Directors and for
all other matters described in the attached Notice of Annual
Meeting of Stockholders and Proxy Statement is in the best interest
of the Company and its stockholders and recommends a vote
“FOR” all candidates and all other matters.
Accordingly, we urge you to review the accompanying material
carefully and to return the enclosed Proxy promptly.
Your
vote is important and we encourage you to vote promptly. For record
holders, whether or not you are able to attend the Annual Meeting
in person, please follow the instructions contained in the Notice
on how to vote via internet, phone, fax or complete, sign and
return a paper proxy card by mail so that your shares may be voted.
If your shares are held in the name of a broker, bank or other
holder of record, follow the voting instructions you receive from
the holder of record to vote your shares.
Thank
you for your investment and continued interest in SharpSpring,
Inc.
/s/
Steven A. Huey
Steven
A. Huey,
Chair of the Board of Directors
SHARPSPRING, INC.
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
TO BE HELD THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 2021
To our
Stockholders:
Notice
is hereby given that the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the
“Annual
Meeting”) of SharpSpring, Inc. (the
“Company”) will
be held at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Thursday, June 17, 2021 at
5001 Celebration Pointe Avenue, Suite 410, Gainesville, FL 32608,
for the following purposes:
1.
To elect five (5)
Directors to the Board of Directors to serve until the 2022 Annual
Meeting of Stockholders or until their successors have been duly
elected or appointed and qualified;
2.
To ratify the
appointment Cherry Bekaert LLP to serve as the Company’s
independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year
ending December 31, 2021;
3.
To approve an amendment to increase the number of
shares of common stock available for issuance under the
SharpSpring, Inc. 2019 Equity Incentive Plan;
4.
To
hold an advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive
officers; and
5.
To consider and
take action upon such other business as may properly come before
the Annual Meeting or any adjournments thereof.
The
Board of Directors has fixed the close of business on April 21,
2021, as the Record Date for determining the stockholders entitled
to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting or any
adjournments thereof.
For a
period of 10 days prior to the Annual Meeting, a stockholders list
will be kept at the Company’s office and shall be available
for inspection by stockholders during usual business hours. A
stockholders list will also be available for inspection at the
Annual Meeting.
Your
attention is directed to the accompanying Proxy Statement for
further information regarding each proposal to be
made.
Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, please
sign and return the enclosed proxy card as promptly as
possible in the envelope enclosed for your convenience, or
please vote via the Internet, fax or by telephone. If you receive
more than one proxy card because your shares are registered in
different names and addresses, each proxy card should be signed and
returned to assure that all of your shares are represented at the
Annual Meeting. Proxies forwarded by or for banks, brokers or other
nominees should be returned as requested by them. The prompt return
of proxies will save the expense involved in further
communication.
By
Order of the Board of Directors
/s/
Steven A. Huey
Steven
A. Huey,
Chair of the Board of Directors
April
30, 2021
PROXY STATEMENT
2021 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
This
Proxy Statement is furnished in connection with the solicitation by
and on behalf of the Board of Directors (the “Board of Directors” or
“Board”) of
SharpSpring, Inc. of proxies to be voted at the 2021 Annual Meeting
of Stockholders (the “Annual
Meeting”) that will be held at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern
Time) on Thursday, June 17, 2021 at 5001 Celebration Pointe Avenue,
Suite 410, Gainesville, FL 32608 and at any adjournments thereof
(the “Annual
Meeting”). In this Proxy Statement, SharpSpring, Inc.
is referred to as “we,” “us,” “our,” or “Company” unless the context
indicates otherwise. The Annual Meeting has been called to consider
and take action on the following proposals: (i) to elect five (5)
Directors to the Board of Directors; (ii) to ratify the appointment
of Cherry Bekaert LLP to serve as the Company’s independent
registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending
December 31, 2021; (iii) to approve the amendment to the
SharpSpring, Inc. 2019 Equity Incentive Plan; (iv) to hold an advisory vote on the compensation of our
named executive officers; and (v) to consider and take
action upon such other business as may properly come before the
Annual Meeting or any adjournments thereof.
The
Board of Directors knows of no other matters to be presented for
action at the Annual Meeting. However, if any other matters
properly come before the Annual Meeting, the persons named in the
proxy will vote on such other matters and/or for other nominees in
accordance with their best judgment. The Company’s Board of Directors
recommends that the stockholders vote in favor of each of the
director nominees and each of the proposals.
Only
holders of record of common stock of the Company at the close of
business on April 21, 2021 (the “Record Date”) will be entitled to
vote at the Annual Meeting.
The
approximate date on which this Proxy Statement, the proxy card and
other accompanying materials are first being sent or given to
stockholders is April 30, 2021. A copy of the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2020, as amended (“Annual
Report”) is enclosed with these materials, but should
not be considered proxy solicitation material. Additionally, the proxy materials and Annual
Report included in this package are also available on the internet
under the “Investors” page of the
Company’s website at http://sharpspring.com/.
The
principal executive offices of our Company are located at 5001
Celebration Pointe Avenue, Suite 410, Gainesville, FL 32608, and
our telephone number is 888-428-9605.
INFORMATION CONCERNING SOLICITATION AND VOTING
Why did I receive this Proxy Statement?
Our
Board of Directors is soliciting your proxy to vote at the Annual
Meeting because you were a stockholder of record at the close of
business on April 21, 2021 the (“Record Date”), and are entitled to
vote at the meeting. The Company has delivered this Proxy Statement
and the Annual Report, along with either a proxy card or a voting
instruction card to you by mail beginning on or about April 30,
2021. This Proxy Statement summarizes the information you need to
know to vote at the Annual Meeting. You do not need to attend the
Annual Meeting to vote your shares.
Who can attend the Annual Meeting?
All
stockholders as of the Record Date, or their duly appointed
proxies, may attend.
What do I need to be admitted to the Annual Meeting?
In
order to be admitted to the Annual Meeting, a stockholder must
present proof of ownership of SharpSpring, Inc. common stock on the
Record Date. Any holder of a proxy from a stockholder must present
the proxy card, properly executed. If your shares are held in the
name of a bank, broker or other holder of record, you must present
proof of your ownership, such as a bank or brokerage account
statement, to be admitted to the meeting. All stockholders must
also present a form of personal identification in order to be
admitted to the meeting.
What am I being asked to vote on at the meeting?
We are
asking our stockholders to elect directors, ratify the appointment
of our independent registered public accounting firm, approve an
amendment to the SharpSpring, Inc. 2019 Equity Incentive Plan,
and approve our executive compensation
in a non-binding advisory vote.
Who is entitled to vote?
Stockholders as of
the close of business on the Record Date are entitled to vote. Each
stockholder is entitled to one vote for each share of common stock
held on the Record Date. Stockholders are not entitled to
cumulative voting.
How many votes are needed for approval of each item?
Proposal Number 1. Directors
will be elected by a plurality of the votes cast in person or by
proxy, meaning the five nominees receiving the most votes will be
elected as directors. Stockholders are not entitled to cumulative
voting with respect to the election of directors.
Proposal Number 2. The
appointment of Cherry Bekaert LLP to serve as our independent
registered public accounting firm will be ratified if a majority of
the votes present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote on the
matter vote in favor of the proposal. Abstentions will have
the same effect as a vote “against” this proposal, and
broker non-votes will have no effect on the vote for this
proposal.
Proposal Number 3. The
amendment to our 2019 Employee Stock Plan will be approved if a
majority of the votes present in person or by proxy and entitled to
vote on the matter vote in favor of the proposal. Abstentions will have
the same effect as a vote “against” this proposal, and
broker non-votes will have no effect on the vote for this
proposal.
Proposal Number
4. The non-binding advisory
vote on the compensation of our named executive officers will be
approved if a majority of the votes present in person or by proxy
and entitled to vote on the matter vote in favor of the
proposal. Abstentions will have
the same effect as a vote “against” this proposal, and
broker non-votes will have no effect on the vote for this
proposal.
Unless
a contrary choice is indicated, all duly executed proxies will be
voted in accordance with the instructions set forth on the proxy
card.
What constitutes a quorum?
As of
the Record Date, 12,834,252shares of our common stock were issued
and outstanding. The presence, either in person or by proxy, of the
holders of a majority of the shares entitled to vote at the Annual
Meeting is necessary to constitute a quorum for the Annual Meeting.
Abstentions and broker non-votes are counted as present and
entitled to vote for purposes of determining a quorum.
How
Do I Vote?
Record
Holders:
1.
Vote by Internet.
Follow the VOTE BY INTERNET instructions on the enclosed proxy
card.
2.
Vote by phone.
Follow the VOTE BY PHONE instructions on the enclosed proxy
card.
3.
Vote by mail.
Follow the VOTE BY MAIL instructions on the enclosed proxy card (a
postage-paid envelope is provided for mailing in the United
States).
4.
Vote by fax. Follow
the VOTE BY FAX instructions on the enclosed proxy
card.
5.
Vote in person.
Attend and vote at the Annual Meeting.
If
you vote by phone, fax or Internet, please DO NOT mail your proxy
card.
Beneficial Owners
(Holding Shares in Street Name):
1.
Vote by Internet.
Follow the VOTE BY INTERNET instructions on the enclosed voting
instruction card.
2.
Vote by phone.
Follow the VOTE BY PHONE instructions on the enclosed voting
instruction card.
3.
Vote by mail.
Follow the VOTE BY MAIL instructions on the enclosed voting
instruction card (a postage-paid envelope is provided for mailing
in the United States).
4.
Vote by fax. Follow
the VOTE BY FAX instructions on the enclosed voting instruction
card.
5.
Vote in person.
Obtain a valid legal proxy from the organization that holds your
shares and attend and vote at the Annual Meeting.
If
you vote by phone, fax or Internet, please DO NOT mail your proxy
card.
What is the difference between being a “record holder”
and “holding shares in street name?”
Most
stockholders of the Company hold their
shares in a stock brokerage account or through a nominee rather
than directly in their own name. As summarized below, there
are some distinctions between shares held of record and those owned
beneficially.
Record Holders: If your shares
are registered directly in your name with our Company’s
transfer agent, Issuer Direct Corporation, you are considered the
stockholder of record with respect to those shares, and these proxy
materials are being sent directly to you by the Company. As the
stockholder of record, you have the right to grant your voting
proxy directly to us or to vote in person at the Annual Meeting. We
have enclosed a proxy card for you to use.
Beneficial Owners (Holding Shares in
Street Name): If your shares are held in a stock brokerage
account or by a nominee, you are considered the beneficial owner of
the shares which are held in “street name” and these
proxy materials are being forwarded to you by your nominee, who is
considered the stockholder of record with respect to these shares.
As the beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your nominee
on how to vote and are also invited to attend the Annual Meeting.
However, since you are not the stockholder of record, you may not
vote these shares in person at the Annual Meeting unless you
request, complete and deliver a legal proxy from your nominee. Your
nominee has enclosed a voting instruction card for you to use in
directing the nominee how to vote your shares.
What happens if I return my signed proxy but forget to indicate how
I want my shares of common stock voted?
If you
sign, date and return your proxy and do not mark how you want to
vote, your proxy will be counted as a vote “FOR” all of
the nominees for directors and “FOR” all of the other
proposals.
What happens if I do not instruct my broker how to vote or if I
mark “abstain” or “withhold” on the
proxy?
If you mark your proxy “abstain” or
“withhold authority,” your vote will have the same
effect as a vote against the proposal or the election of the
applicable director. If you do not instruct your broker how to
vote, your broker may vote for you on “routine”
proposals but not on “non-routine” proposals. The
ratification of our auditor is considered a routine matter, but all
other proposals are considered non-routine matters. Therefore, if
you do not vote on the non-routine matters or provide voting
instructions, your broker will not be allowed to vote your shares
on those matters and your broker will return your proxy card with
no vote (the “non-vote”) on the non-routine matter. Broker
non-votes with respect to a matter will not be considered as
present and entitled to vote with respect to that matter and thus
will have no effect on the vote for that
matter.
Can
I revoke or change my voting instructions before the
meeting?
For shares that are held in "street name", the stockholder must
follow the directions provided by its bank, broker or other
intermediary for revoking or modifying voting instructions. For
shares that are registered in the stockholder's own name, the proxy
may be revoked by written notification to the Company Secretary
prior to its exercise and providing relevant name and account
information, submitting a new proxy card with a later date (which
will override the earlier proxy) or voting in person at the Annual
Meeting.
Who will count the vote?
Aaron
Jackson, our Chief Financial Officer, will tabulate the votes and
act as inspector of election at the Annual Meeting.
Where can I find the voting results of the Annual
Meeting?
We
intend to publish the final results in a current report on Form 8-K
within four business days after the end of the Annual
Meeting.
What does it mean if I get more than one proxy card?
It
means that you hold shares registered in more than one account. You
must return all proxies to ensure that all of your shares are
voted.
How many copies of the Proxy Statement or Annual Report to
Stockholders will I receive if I share my mailing address with
another security holder?
Unless
we have been instructed otherwise, we are delivering only one Proxy
Statement or Annual Report to Stockholders to multiple security
holders sharing the same address. This is commonly referred to as
“householding.” We will, however, deliver promptly a
separate copy of the Proxy Statement or Annual Report to
Stockholders to a security holder at a shared address to which a
single copy of such documents was delivered, on written or oral
request. Requests for copies of the Proxy Statement or Annual
Report to Stockholders or requests to cease householding in the
future should be directed to Investor Relations, SharpSpring, Inc.,
5001 Celebration Pointe Avenue, Suite 410, Gainesville, FL 32608.
Telephone 888-428-9605. If you share an
address with another stockholder and wish to receive a single copy
of these documents, instead of multiple copies, you may direct this
request to us at the address or telephone number listed above.
Stockholders who hold shares in “street name” may
contact their brokerage firm, bank, broker-dealer or other similar
organization to request information about
householding.
How can I obtain additional proxy materials or other Company
materials?
The
proxy materials and Annual Report included in this package, along
with the Company’s other SEC filings, are available on the
internet under the “Investors” page of the
Company’s website at http://sharpspring.com/.
Additionally, any stockholder desiring additional proxy materials,
a copy of any other document incorporated by reference in this
Proxy Statement, or a copy of the Company’s bylaws should
contact Investor Relations, SharpSpring, Inc., 5001 Celebration
Pointe Avenue, Suite 410, Gainesville, FL 32608. Telephone
888-428-9605.
Who pays for the cost of this proxy solicitation?
The
Company pays for the cost of soliciting proxies on behalf of the
Board of Directors. The Company also will reimburse brokerage firms
and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries for their reasonable
expenses in forwarding proxy material to beneficial owners. Proxies
may be solicited by mail, telephone, other electronic means or in
person. Directors, officers and regular, full-time employees of the
Company, none of whom will receive any additional compensation for
their services, may by telephone,
facsimile, email or personally, request the return of
proxies.
Who are the largest principal stockholders?
See
“Voting Securities and
Principal Holders Thereof” elsewhere in this Proxy
Statement for a table setting forth each owner of greater than 5%
of the Company’s common stock as of the Record
Date.
What percentages of stock do the directors and officers
own?
Together, they own
approximately 17.99% of our Company common stock as of the Record
Date. For information regarding the ownership of our common stock
by directors and officers, see the section entitled
“Voting Securities and
Principal Holders Thereof” elsewhere in this Proxy
Statement.
Do I have dissenters’ rights of appraisal?
Under
Delaware General Corporation Law, our stockholders are not entitled
to appraisal rights with respect to any of the items proposed to be
voted upon at the Annual Meeting.
Where can I find general information about the
Company?
General
information about us can be found on our website at http://sharpspring.com/.
The information on our website is for informational purposes only
and should not be relied upon for investment purposes. The
information on our website is not incorporated by reference into
this Proxy Statement and should not be considered part of this or
any other report that we file with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (“SEC”). We make available free of
charge, either by direct access on our website or a link to the
SEC’s website, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to
those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
“Exchange Act”),
as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are
electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Our reports
filed with, or furnished to, the SEC are also available directly at
the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
ALL PROXIES RECEIVED WILL BE VOTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CHOICES
SPECIFIED ON SUCH PROXIES. PROXIES WILL BE VOTED IN FAVOR OF EACH
DIRECTOR NOMINEEE AND FOR A PROPOSAL IF NO CONTRARY SPECIFICATION
IS MADE. ALL VALID PROXIES OBTAINED WILL BE VOTED AT THE DISCRETION
OF THE PERSONS NAMED IN THE PROXY WITH RESPECT TO ANY OTHER
BUSINESS THAT MAY COME BEFORE THE ANNUAL MEETING.
INFORMATION REGARDING DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE
OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Our
bylaws provide that the number of directors is determined by
resolution of the Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors is
currently set at six directors and we currently have six directors
serving on our Board of Directors. Five of our current directors
are standing for reelection at the Annual Meeting and our Board of
Directors will be set at five directors after the Annual Meeting.
Each director is elected to serve a one (1) year term until the
next annual meeting of stockholders and until the election and
qualification of his or her successor or his or her earlier
resignation or removal. David Buckel is our current director who
is not standing for re-election to our
Board of Directors.
The
Company’s Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may
evaluate individuals in the future to consider additional members
for our Board of Directors following the Annual Meeting, although
there is no current active candidate search. Proxies cannot be voted for a greater
number of persons than the number of nominees
named.
The
names of the five directors standing for reelection at the Annual
Meeting, and certain information about each of them, are set forth
below.
Identity of Directors Standing for Reelection
Name
|
|
Age
|
|
Year
First
Elected
Director
|
|
Positions/Committees
|
|
Independent
|
Steven
A. Huey
|
|
55
|
|
2016
|
|
COB,
AC, CC, NCGC
|
|
yes
|
Richard
Carlson
|
|
48
|
|
2015
|
|
CEO,
P
|
|
no
|
Scott
Miller
|
|
49
|
|
2019
|
|
CC,
NCGC
|
|
yes
|
Savneet
Singh
|
|
37
|
|
2020
|
|
AC,
CC
|
|
yes
|
Jason
Costi
|
|
40
|
|
2021
|
|
AC,
NCGC, FE
|
|
yes
|
AC -
Audit Committee
CEO, P
- Chief Executive Officer, President
COB -
Chair of the Board of Directors (non-executive)
CC -
Compensation Committee
FE -
Financial Expert
NCGC -
Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee
Business Experience of Directors Standing for
Reelection
Steven A.
Huey. Steven A. Huey has been a director since December
2016 and the chair of our Board of Directors since July 2017. Since
August 2012, Mr. Huey has been Chief Executive Officer of Capture
Higher Ed, a technology firm that helps educational institutions
meet their enrollment goals. Prior to that, from November 2007 to
August 2012, Mr. Huey was Chief Operating Officer of The Learning
House, Inc. Mr. Huey received a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from
Miami University and an MBA from Emory University. Mr. Huey’s
qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his
extensive experience as a technology company executive, with a
focus on growing early stage companies.
Richard A. Carlson.
Richard Carlson has been a director
and has served as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and
President since October 1, 2015. From August 1, 2015 to October 1,
2015, he served as President of the Company. From August 15, 2014
until August 1, 2015, he served as the President of SharpSpring
Technologies, Inc., our wholly owned subsidiary. Mr. Carlson
founded RCTW, LLC (fka SharpSpring, LLC) in December 2011 and
served as its President until it was acquired by the Company on
August 15, 2014. From April 2009 to December 2011, he served as the
Managing Director of US Operations for Panda Security, an
international internet security software company. Mr.
Carlson’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors
include his knowledge of marketing automation technology, email
technology, marketing strategies, as well as his general leadership
skills.
Scott
Miller. Scott Miller
brings nearly two decades of investment management knowledge as
well as significant operating experience to the SharpSpring board.
Since 2011, he has served as the Founder and Managing Member of MVM
Funds, an investment management firm that oversees multiple funds
and limited partnerships, including Greenhaven Road Capital Fund 1,
Greenhaven Road Capital Fund 2, and Greenhaven Road Capital
Offshore LP. Scott also currently serves on the board of Acelero
Learning, an education company that he cofounded and served as the
Chief Financial Officer. Acelero, has grown to over 1,400
employees. Scott received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
University of Pennsylvania and an MBA degree from Stanford
University. Mr. Miller’s qualifications to serve on our Board
of Directors include experience managing and investing in
growth-focused technology companies.
Savneet Singh.
Savneet Singh has been a director
since August 2020. Mr. Singh currently serves as the Chief
Executive Officer and as a board member of PAR Technology
Corporation (NYSE: PAR), a leading global provider of cloud-based
Point of Sale (“POS”) software, hardware, and service
solutions to the restaurant, retail and hospitality industries
worldwide. He has held these positions since 2019. Mr. Singh has
also been a partner and co-founder of CoVenture since 2018 and he
also currently serves on the board of directors at Osprey
Technology Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: SFTW), a special purpose
acquisition company (“SPAC) focused on acquisitions in the
software space. Mr. Singh was a partner at Tera Holdings, a holding
company for software companies, from 2017 to 2019. From 2009 to
2017 Mr. Singh was a co-founder of Gold Bullion International, a
precious metal trading platform. Mr. Singh received a Bachelor of
Science degree from Cornell University. Mr. Singh’s
qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include
background in technology and significant leadership and management
experience, including expertise in the areas of software
development and strategy.
Jason Costi. Jason
Costi has been a director since April
2021. Mr. Costi is a finance and operations executive who
brings a long track record of building businesses as an
on-the-ground operator and private equity investor. Mr. Costi
presently owns and operates Summit Incubators Inc., a consulting
and advisory firm where he has served as an interim Chief Financial
Officer and advisor for several disruptive growth companies across
multiple industries, including Consumer Products, Apparel,
Connected Fitness, and Home Goods. He has held this position since
November 2018. Prior to this role, from March 2018 to November
2018, Mr. Costi was the CFO of Bonobos, a men’s apparel
company and subsidiary of Walmart Inc., where, in addition to his
responsibilities at Bonobos, Jason spent time focused on acquiring
new e-commerce companies for Walmart.com. From April 2015 to March
2018, Mr. Costi spent 3 years leading the finance and strategy
teams for Casper Sleep where he was responsible for that
company’s global financial operations and corporate strategy,
which included accounting, financial planning and analysis,
strategic initiatives, treasury, tax and investor relations. In
this role, Jason helped to build Casper from an early stage company
with $20 million of revenue to a global, omni-channel sleep
products company with nearly $400 million of revenue. Mr. Costi
received a BBA in Finance from Emory University, Goizuete Business
School and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Costi’s qualifications to serve on our
Board of Directors include a strong background and skill set
in areas relating to board service, growing early stage companies,
finance and management.
During
the past ten years, none of our directors or nominees for director
have been involved in any of the proceedings described in Item
401(f) of Regulation S-K.
Transactions with Related Persons
On
March 28, 2018, the Company entered into a convertible note
purchase agreement (the “Note Purchase Agreement”) with
SHSP Holdings, LLC (“SHSP Holdings”), pursuant to which
the Company issued to SHSP Holdings an unsecured 5% convertible
promissory note in the aggregate principal amount of $8,000,000
(the “Note”). Simultaneously with the execution of the
Note Purchase Agreement and the issuance of the Note, the Company
entered into the Investors’ Rights Agreement (the
“Investors’ Rights Agreement”) by and among the
Company, SHSP Holdings, Richard Carlson, the Company’s CEO,
and Travis Whitton, the Company’s CTO. Under the
Investors’ Rights Agreement, among other things, SHSP
Holdings will have the right to designate one person for election
to the Company’s Board of Directors for as long as SHSP
Holdings continues to hold any of the Notes, and the Company agreed
to use its reasonable best efforts to cause such person to be
elected to the Board of Directors at each annual meeting of the
Company’s stockholders. SHSP Holdings designated Daniel C.
Allen, an affiliate of SHSP Holdings, who was appointed to our
Board of Directors on April 3, 2018. Mr. Allen is the founder and
manager of Corona Park Investment Partners, LLC
(“CPIP”). CPIP is a member of Evercel Holdings LLC and
is a member and sole manager of SHSP Holdings. Evercel, Inc. is a
member and the manager of Evercel Holdings LLC and is a member of
SHSP Holdings. Additionally, under the Investor Rights Agreement,
SHSP Holdings has customary demand and piggyback registration
rights with respect to the shares of common stock issued or
issuable upon conversion of the Note and, under specified
conditions, held by members of SHSP Holdings.
On
May 9, 2019, the Company entered into and made effective a Note
Conversion Agreement (the “Conversion Agreement”) with
SHSP Holdings and Evercel Holdings, LLC (“Evercel,” and
together with SHSP Holdings, the “Investor”), pursuant
to which the parties agreed to the conversion (the
“Conversion”) of the Note. The Company’s entry
into the Conversion Agreement was unanimously approved by the
disinterested members of the Company’s Board of Directors.
Mr. Allen resigned as a member of our Board of Directors on August
16, 2019.
Under
the Conversion Agreement, the Note was deemed to have been
converted into the Conversion Shares, and any interest in any
amount ceased to accrue or be payable with respect to the Notes,
and SHSP Holdings ceases to be a holder of any Note, and the Note
cease to be outstanding, for purposes of the Investors’
Rights Agreement dated as of March 28, 2018. Effective as of the
issuance and delivery of the Conversion Shares to SHSP Holdings,
the Note was canceled and terminated in their entirety and of no
further force and effect, and any and all indebtedness and other
obligations of the Company under the Note was fully performed and
discharged, and any and all claims or rights of SHSP Holdings or
its affiliates thereunder were fully and finally extinguished and
released. Additionally, under the terms of the Conversion
Agreement, the Company agreed to pay in shares 49% of the remaining
future interest totaling 115,037 shares. Refer to “Note 6:
Convertible Notes” in Part II, Financial Statements and
Supplementary Data in the Company’s Annual Report for
additional information.
James
Morgan, Richard Carlson’s brother-in-law, served as our Vice
President of Sales and Vice President of Partnerships in 2020 and
2019. During 2020 and 2019, Mr. Morgan’s total compensation,
including base salary, commissions, bonus and equity compensation
approximated $120,905 and $133,500, respectively. Mr.
Morgan’s compensation package is highly variable based on new
sales and is comparable to industry standards. Mr. Morgan also
participates in standard Company employment benefits that are
available all Company employees.
Policies and Procedures for Related-Party Transactions
Our
Audit Committee considers and approves or disapproves any related
person transaction as required by NASDAQ regulations.
Corporate Governance
Code
of Ethics and Business Conduct
Our Company has adopted a Code of Ethics and
Business Conduct which constitutes a “code of ethics”
as defined by applicable SEC rules and a “code of
conduct” as defined by applicable NASDAQ rules. Our Code of
Ethics and Business Conduct applies to all of the Company’s
employees, including its principal executive officer, principal
accounting officer, and our Board of Directors. A copy of this Code
is available for review on the “Investors” page of the Company’s website
at http://sharpspring.com/. Requests for a copy of the Code of Ethics and
Business Conduct should be directed to Investor Relations,
SharpSpring, Inc., 5001 Celebration Pointe Avenue, Suite 410,
Gainesville, FL 32608. The Company intends to disclose any changes
in or waivers from its Code of Ethics and Business Conduct by
posting such information on its website or by filing a Form
8-K.
The
proxy materials and Annual Report included in this package, along
with the Company’s other SEC filings, are available on the
internet under the “Investors” page of the
Company’s website at http://sharpspring.com/.
Additionally, any stockholder desiring additional proxy materials,
a copy of any other document incorporated by reference in this
Proxy Statement, or a copy of the Company’s bylaws should
contact Investor Relations, SharpSpring, Inc., 5001 Celebration
Pointe Avenue, Suite 410, Gainesville, FL 32608. Telephone
888-428-9605.
Director
Independence Standards
Applicable NASDAQ
rules require a majority of a listed company’s board of
directors to be comprised of independent directors. In addition,
the NASDAQ rules require that, subject to specified exceptions,
each member of a listed company’s audit, compensation and
nominating and corporate governance committees be independent and
that audit committee members also satisfy independence criteria set
forth in Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act. Under applicable NASDAQ
rules, a director will only qualify as an “independent
director” if, in the opinion of the listed company’s
board of directors, that person does not have a relationship that
would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in
carrying out the responsibilities of a director. In order to be
considered independent for purposes of Rule 10A-3, a member of an
audit committee of a listed company may not, other than in his or
her capacity as a member of the audit committee, the board of
directors, or any other board committee, accept, directly or
indirectly, any consulting, advisory, or other compensatory fee
from the listed company or any of its subsidiaries or otherwise be
an affiliated person of the listed company or any of its
subsidiaries.
Director
Independence
In April 2021, our Board of Directors undertook a
review of the composition of our Board of Directors and its
committees and the independence of each of our directors. Based
upon information requested from and provided by each director
concerning his background, employment and affiliations, including
family relationships, our Board of Directors has determined that
each of David A. Buckel (Mr. Buckel is not standing for re-election
to our Board of Directors), Steven A. Huey, Marietta Davis (Ms.
Davis resigned from our Board of Directors in August 2020) Scott
Miller, Savneet Singh and Jason Costi are/were “independent directors” as
defined under applicable NASDAQ Stock Market Rules and Exchange Act
Rules. In making such determination, our Board of Directors
considered the relationships that each such non-employee director
has/had with our Company and all other facts and circumstances that
our Board of Directors deemed relevant in determining his/her
independence, including the beneficial ownership of our capital
stock by each non-employee director. The one member of our Board of
Directors who is not an “independent director” is
Richard Carlson as a result of his executive officer status with
our Company.
There
are no family relationships between any director, executive
officer, or person nominated or chosen by the Company to become a
director or executive officer.
Board
Committees
Our
Board of Directors has established the committees described below
and may establish others from time to time. The charters for each
of our committees are described below and are available on the
“Investors” page
of the Company’s website http://sharpspring.com/.
We have a separately designated standing Audit
Committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the
Exchange Act. Our Audit Committee is comprised of David A. Buckel
(Mr. Buckel is not standing for re-election to our Board of
Directors), Steven A. Huey, Savneet Singh and Jason Costi. Marietta Davis, who resigned from our
Board of Directors in August 2020, also served on our Audit
Committee during our last fiscal year prior to her resignation. Mr.
Buckel is the chairperson of the committee, and Mr Costi is
expected to succeed Mr. Buckel as chairperson of the committee upon
Mr. Buckels retirement. Each member of the Audit Committee is
“independent” within the meaning of Rule 10A-3 under
the Exchange Act and the NASDAQ Stock Market Rules. Our Board of
Directors has designated each of David A. Buckel and Jason Costi as
an “audit committee financial expert,” as such term is
defined in Item 407(d)(5) of Regulation S-K. The Audit
Committee’s purpose and power are to (a) retain, oversee and
terminate, as necessary, the auditors of the Company, (b) oversee
the Company's accounting and financial reporting processes and the
audit and preparation of the Company's financial statements, (c)
exercise such other powers and authority as are set forth in the
Charter of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, and (d)
exercise such other powers and authority as shall from time to time
be assigned thereto by resolution of the Board of
Directors.
The
Audit Committee also has the power to investigate any matter
brought to its attention within the scope of its duties and to
retain counsel and advisors to fulfill its responsibilities and
duties. During our last fiscal year, our Audit Committee held four
meetings and acted by unanimous consent one time.
Compensation Committee
Our
Compensation Committee is comprised of Savneet Singh, Steven A.
Huey and Scott Miller, with Mr.
Singh being the chairperson of the Compensation Committee.
Marietta Davis, who resigned from our
Board of Directors in August 2020, also served on and chaired
our Compensation Committee during a our last fiscal year prior to her
resignation. Our Board of Directors has determined that each
member of the Compensation Committee is an independent director for
compensation committee purposes as that term is defined in the
applicable rules of NASDAQ and the Exchange Act, is a
“non-employee director” within the meaning of Rule
16b-3(d)(3) promulgated under the Exchange Act and is an
“outside director” within the meaning of Section 162(m)
of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended. The Compensation
Committee’s purpose and powers are to (a) review and approve
the compensation of the chief executive officer of the Company and
such other employees of the Company as are assigned thereto by the
Board of Directors and to make recommendations to the Board of
Directors with respect to standards for setting compensation
levels, (b) exercise such other powers and authority as are set
forth in a charter of the Compensation Committee of the Board of
Directors, and (c) exercise such other powers and authority as
shall from time to time be assigned thereto by resolution of the
Board of Directors.
Our
Compensation Committee has the authority to delegate any of its
responsibilities, along with the authority to take action in
relation to such responsibilities, to one or more subcommittees as
the committee may deem appropriate in its sole discretion. If the
Committee elects to delegate any authority to a subcommittee, the
subcommittee shall be comprised of at least two members who qualify
as "non-employee directors" for the purposes of Rule 16b-3 under
the Exchange Act, and as "outside directors" for the purposes of
Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended. The
Committee is not precluded from accepting solely recommendations
from executive officers
regarding the amount or form of executive and director
compensation. During 2020, our Compensation Committee engaged Pay
Governance, as compensation consultants to provide independent
consulting services in support of the Committee’s objectives
related in general to the competitiveness of the executive
compensation program. The scope of work consisted of
reviewing and updating previously established group of peer
companies, benchmarking executive pay levels, and assessing the
overall competitiveness of the Company’s equity
program.
The
Compensation Committee also has the power to investigate any matter
brought to its attention within the scope of its duties, and to
retain counsel and advisors to fulfill its responsibilities and
duties. During our last fiscal year, our Compensation Committee
held four meetings and acted by unanimous consent two
times.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Our
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is comprised
of Scott Miller, Steven A.
Huey, Jason Costi and David A. Buckel (Mr. Buckel is not standing for re-election to our
Board of Directors), with Mr. Miller being the chairperson
of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Our
Board of Directors has determined that each of the committee
members is an independent director for Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee purposes as that term is defined in the
applicable rules of NASDAQ and the Exchange Act. The Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee’s purpose and powers are to:
(a) identify potential qualified nominees for director and
recommend to the Board of Directors for nomination candidates for
the Board of Directors, (b) develop the Company's corporate
governance guidelines and additional corporate governance policies,
(c) exercise such other powers and authority as are set forth in a
charter of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the
Board of Directors, and (d) exercise such other powers and
authority as shall from time to time be assigned thereto by
resolution of the Board of Directors.
The Nominating and
Corporate Governance
Committee also has the power to investigate any matter brought to
its attention within the scope of its duties and to retain counsel
and advisors to fulfill its responsibilities and duties. During our
last fiscal year, our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
held four meetings and acted by unanimous consent one
time.
Each of
the five directors standing for reelection at the Annual Meeting
have expressed their willingness to serve as a
director.
When
new candidates for our Board of Directors are sought, all of our
directors evaluate each candidate for nomination as director within
the context of the needs and the composition of the Board of
Directors as a whole. The Board of Directors conducts any
appropriate and necessary inquiries into the backgrounds and
qualifications of candidates. When evaluating director nominees,
our Board of Directors generally seeks to identify individuals with
diverse, yet complementary backgrounds. Our directors consider both
the personal characteristics and experience of director nominees,
including each nominee’s independence, diversity, age,
skills, expertise, time availability and industry background in the
context of the needs of the Board of Directors and the Company. The
Board of Directors believes that director nominees should exhibit
proven leadership capabilities and experience at a high level of
responsibility within their chosen fields, and have the experience
and ability to analyze business and/or scientific issues facing our
Company. In addition to business expertise, the Board of Directors
requires that director nominees have the highest personal and
professional ethics, integrity and values and, above all, are
committed to representing the long-term interests of our
stockholders and other stakeholders. To date, all new candidates
have been identified and recommended by members of our Board of
Directors, including management and non-management directors, our
principal executive officer, and other executive officers, and we
have not paid any fee to a third party to assist in the process of
identifying or evaluating director candidates.
Our
directors will consider candidates for nomination as director who
are recommended by a stockholder and will not evaluate any
candidate for nomination for director differently because the
candidate was recommended by a stockholder.
When
submitting candidates for nomination to be elected at our annual
meeting of stockholders, stockholders should follow the following
notice procedures and comply with applicable provisions of our
bylaws. To consider a candidate recommended by a stockholder for
nomination at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, the
recommendation must be delivered or mailed to and received by our
Secretary within the time periods discussed elsewhere in this Proxy
Statement under the heading “Stockholder Proposals for 2022
Annual Meeting.” The recommendation must include the
information specified in our bylaws for stockholder nominees to be
considered at an annual meeting, along with the
following:
●
The
stockholder’s name and address and the beneficial owner, if
any, on whose behalf the nomination is proposed;
●
The
stockholder’s reason for making the nomination at the annual
meeting, and the signed consent of the nominee to serve if
elected;
●
The number of
shares owned by, and any material interest of, the record owner and
the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the record owner is
proposing the nominee;
●
A description of
any arrangements or understandings between the stockholder, the
nominee and any other person regarding the nomination;
and
●
Information
regarding the nominee that would be required to be included in our
Proxy Statement by the rules of the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the nominee’s age, business experience
for the past five years and any other directorships held by the
nominee.
The
information listed above is not a complete list of requisite
information. The secretary will forward any timely recommendations
containing the required information to our independent directors
for consideration.
No material changes to the procedures by which our stockholders may
recommend nominees to our Board of Directors has occurred since we
last provided disclosure regarding these procedures in our
Definitive Schedule 14A filed on June 17, 2020.
Board Leadership Structure
Our
bylaws provide the Board of Directors with flexibility to combine
or separate the positions of Chair of the Board of Directors and
Principal Executive Officer in accordance with its determination
that utilizing one or the other structure is in the best interests
of our Company. Our current structure is that of separate Principal
Executive Officer and Chair of the Board of Directors. Richard
Carlson serves as our Principal Executive Officer and is
responsible for the day-to-day operation of our Company. Steven A.
Huey serves as our Chair of the Board of Directors, which is a
non-executive position. Mr. Huey is responsible for performing a
variety of functions related to our corporate leadership and
governance, including coordinating board activities, setting
relevant items on the agenda and ensuring adequate communication
between the Board of Directors and management, which he does in
conjunction with the independent directors. Our Board of Directors
has determined that maintaining the independence of a majority of
our directors helps maintain its independent oversight of
management.
Risk Oversight
The Board oversees risk management
directly and through its committees associated with their
respective subject matter areas. Generally, the Board oversees
risks that may affect the business of the Company as a whole,
including operational matters. The Audit Committee is responsible
for oversight of the Company’s accounting and financial
reporting processes and also discusses with management the
Company’s financial statements, internal controls and other
accounting and related matters. The Compensation Committee oversees
certain risks related to compensation programs and the
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee oversees certain corporate governance
risks. As part of their roles in overseeing risk management, these
Committees periodically report to the Board regarding briefings
provided by management and advisors as well as the
Committees’ own analysis and conclusions regarding certain
risks faced by the Company. Management is responsible for
implementing the risk management strategy and developing policies,
controls, processes and procedures to identify and manage
risks. The interaction with management occurs not only at
formal board and committee meetings, but also through periodic and
other written and oral communications.
Stockholder Communications with the Board
Stockholders who
desire to communicate with the Board of Directors, or a specific
director, may do so by sending the communication addressed to
either the Board of Directors or any director, c/o SharpSpring,
Inc., 5001 Celebration Pointe Avenue, Suite, 410, Gainesville, FL
32608. These communications will be delivered directly to the
Board, or any individual director, as specified.
Board Meetings and Committees; Annual Meeting
Attendance
During our last fiscal year, our Board of Directors held six Board
meetings. Each current director attended at least 75% of the total
number of Board meetings and their respective committee meetings of
the Board held during our last fiscal year. The Board of Directors
acted at various times by unanimous written consent, as authorized
by our bylaws and the Delaware General Corporation
Law.
Our Company has no policy with regard
to Board members' attendance at our annual meetings of security
holders. One member attended our 2020 annual
meeting.
Section 16(a) Reports
Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires
that our executive officers and directors, and persons who own more
than ten percent of a registered class of our equity securities,
file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the
SEC. Executive officers, directors and greater-than-ten
percent stockholders are required by SEC regulations to furnish us
with all Section 16(a) forms they file. To the best of our
knowledge, based solely upon a review of Forms 3 and 4 and
amendments thereto furnished to our Company during its most recent
fiscal year and Forms 5 and amendments thereto furnished to our
Company with respect to its most recent fiscal year, and any
written representation referred to in paragraph (b)(1) of Item 405
of Regulation S-K, all of our executive officers, directors
and greater-than-ten percent stockholders complied with all Section
16(a) filing requirements.
Hedging Disclosure
The
Company’s Insider Trading Policy prohibits our employees
(including officers) or directors, or any of their designees, to
purchase financial instruments (including prepaid variable forward
contracts, equity swaps, collars, and exchange funds), or otherwise
engage in transactions, that hedge or offset, or are designed to
hedge or offset, any decrease in the market value of our equity
securities.
AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT
The following Report of the Audit Committee does not constitute
soliciting material and should not be deemed filed or incorporated
by reference into any other Company filing under the Securities Act
of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, except to the
extent the Company specifically incorporates this Audit Committee
Report by reference therein.
Role of the Audit Committee
The Audit Committee’s primary responsibilities are generally
as follows:
1.
To retain, oversee
and terminate, as necessary, the auditors of the
Company;
2.
To oversee the
Company's accounting and financial reporting processes and the
audit and preparation of the Company's financial
statements;
3.
To exercise such
other powers and authority as are set forth in the Charter of the
Audit Committee of the Board of Directors; and
4.
To exercise such
other powers and authority as shall from time to time be assigned
thereto by resolution of the Board of Directors.
The Committee has implemented
procedures to ensure that during the course of each fiscal year it
devotes the attention that it deems necessary or appropriate to
each of the matters assigned to it under the Committee’s
charter. In overseeing the preparation of the Company’s
financial statements, the Committee met with management and the
Company’s outside auditors, including meetings with the
outside auditors without management present, to review and discuss
all financial statements prior to their issuance and to discuss
significant accounting issues. Management advised the Committee
that all financial statements were prepared in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles, and the Committee
discussed the statements with both management and the outside
auditors. The Committee’s review included discussion with the
outside auditors of matters required to be discussed by
the applicable requirements
of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the
SEC.
The Committee has received the written disclosures and the letter
from the Company’s outside auditors required by applicable
requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
regarding the outside auditor’s communications with the
Committee concerning independence, and has discussed with the
outside auditors the outside auditor's independence.
Recommendations of
the Audit Committee. In reliance on the reviews and
discussions referred to above, the Committee recommended to the
Board that the Board approve the inclusion of the Company’s
audited financial statements in the Company’s Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, for
filing with the SEC.
This Audit Committee Report has been furnished by the Audit
Committee of the Board of Directors.
David
A. Buckel, Chairman
Steven
A. Huey
Savneet
Singh
Jason Costi
Executive Officers
Identity of Executive Officers
Name
|
|
Age
|
|
Position
|
Richard
A. Carlson
|
|
48
|
|
Director,
Chief Executive Officer
|
Aaron Jackson
|
|
30
|
|
Chief
Financial Officer
|
Travis
Whitton
|
|
40
|
|
Chief
Technology Officer
|
Suaad
Sait
|
|
53
|
|
President
|
Business Experience of Executive Officers
Richard A.
Carlson. Mr. Carlson’s
business experience is described above under the caption
“Business Experience of Directors Standing for
Reelection.”
Aaron Jackson. Mr.
Jackson has served as our Chief Financial Officer since December
10, 2020. Mr. Jackson is responsible for overseeing the
Company’s financial reporting and all other finance functions
of the Company and its subsidiaries. Mr. Jackson served as the
Company’s interim Chief Financial Officer since July 20,
2020, and has been employed by the Company since 2017. He served as
the Company’s Corporate Controller from September 2018
to July 2020 where he was responsible for the Company’s
financial reporting. Prior to that time while at the Company, Mr.
Jackson served as an assistant controller and as a senior
accountant. From April 2015 to April 2017, Mr. Jackson served as
the Restricted and Unrestricted Funds Accountant at Purdue
University, where he was responsible for managing the accounting of
the university’s restricted and unrestricted funds. Mr.
Jackson holds an active CPA license in the state of Indiana and
obtained a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Master of Science
in Accounting from Purdue University.
Travis
Whitton. Travis Whitton has
served as our Chief Technology Officer since the acquisition of the
SharpSpring assets in August 2014. Mr. Whitton was a co-founder of
RCTW, LLC (fka SharpSpring, LLC) and served as its Chief Technology
Officer from January 2012 until it was acquired by the Company in
August 2014. From September 2007 to January 2012, Mr. Whitton
served as Senior Software Engineer of Grooveshark, an online
streaming music company.
Suaad
Sait. Suaad Sait will begin
serving as our President on May 1, 2021, where he will be
responsible for leading the growth of our Sales and Marketing as
well as product strategy. Mr. Sait served as Executive Advisor and
President of Growth at Xant.ai (fka insidesales.com) from April
2017 through April 2021where he lead cross company growth, product
strategy, and business development. From January 2016 to April 2021
Mr. Sait has been a non-employee advisor to Menlo Venturs. From
November 2013 to March 2016, Mr. Sait served as Executive Vice
President Products & Markets at Solarwinds
Inc.
Each
officer is elected annually by the Board of Directors and holds
their office until they resign or are removed by the Board of
Directors or otherwise disqualified to serve, or their successor is
elected and qualified.
During
the past ten years, none of our executive officers have been
involved in any of the proceedings described in Item 401(f) of
Regulation S-K.
Executive Compensation
Compensation Discussion and Analysis
The
compensation committee of our Board of Directors oversees, reviews
and approves all compensation decisions relating to our named
executive officers. In the discussion that follows,
“executives” refers to our 2020 named executive
officers, Messrs. Carlson, Power, Jackson and Whitton. Mr.
Power resigned as a named executive officer of our Company on July
20, 2020.
Objectives and Philosophy of Our Executive Compensation
Program
The
primary objectives of the compensation committee with respect to
executive compensation are to:
●
enable us to
attract, retain and motivate the best possible executive talent by
ensuring that our compensation packages are competitive with those
offered by similarly situated companies;
●
align our executive
compensation with our corporate strategies and business
objectives;
●
promote the
achievement of key strategic and financial performance measures;
and
●
align
executives’ incentives with the creation of stockholder
value.
To
achieve these objectives, the compensation committee evaluates our
executive compensation program with the goal of setting
compensation at levels the committee believes are competitive with
those of other companies of a comparable size within our industry.
Executives are also evaluated on their professional growth and
individual contributions to the Company’s success. We provide
a portion of our executive compensation in the form of stock option
awards that vest over time, typically four years, which we believe
promotes the retention of our executives and aligns their interests
with those of our stockholders since this form of compensation
allows our executives to participate in the long-term success of
our Company as reflected in stock price appreciation.
Compensation Challenges
We face
challenges in hiring and retaining our executives and other key
employees due to several factors. These challenges are similar to
those faced by other high-growth technology companies and make
recruiting and retaining our executives and other key employees
difficult. Specifically, we face challenges related to the pace of
our operations, the high growth rate of our businesses, the fact
that we are in a competitive industry and the fact that many of our
executives and key employees are targeted by other
companies.
Components of our Executive Compensation Program
The
primary elements of our current executive compensation program
are:
●
restricted stock
unit awards; and
●
retirement and
other employee benefits
We do
not have any formal or informal policy or target for allocating
compensation between long-term and short-term compensation, between
cash and non-cash compensation or among the different forms of
non-cash compensation. Instead, the Compensation Committee
determines what it believes to be the appropriate level and mix of
the various compensation components based on recommendations from
our chief executive officer, Company performance against stated
objectives and individual performance.
Base Salary
Base
salary is used to recognize the experience, skills, knowledge and
responsibilities required of all our employees, including our
executives. When establishing base salaries, the compensation
committee considers a variety of other factors such as the
executive’s scope of responsibility, individual performance,
prior employment experience and salary history, relative pay
adjustments within the Company and our overall financial
performance. Base salaries are reviewed at least annually by our
compensation committee and may be adjusted from time to time based
upon market conditions, individual responsibilities and Company and
individual performance.
Mr.
Carlson’s salary was increased from $340,000 to $350,200 on
January 1, 2020. During 2019, Mr. Carlson received a base salary of
$340,000.
Mr.
Power joined the company on December 2, 2019 with a base salary of
$250,000.
Mr.
Jackson’s salary was $103,000 from January 1, 2020 to June
30, 2020. From July 1, 2020 to July 15, 2020 Mr. Jackson’s
salary was $120,000. From July 16, 2020 to December 9, 2020 Mr.
Jackson’s salary was $170,000. Mr. Jackson’s salary was
increased to $175,000 on December 10, 2020.
Mr.
Whitton’s salary was increased from $200,000 to $206,000 on
January 1, 2020. During 2019, Mr. Whitton received a base salary of
$200,000.
The
Company reduced all 2020 base salaries 10% as of April 1, 2020
through October 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19
virus.
Cash Bonuses
Cash
bonuses are used to compensate and align our executives toward
certain financial, strategic and operational goals. The
Compensation Committee approves payment of quarterly or annual cash
bonuses as part of the overall compensation packages of our
executive officers, and retains the authority to review and adjust
the overall bonus at year-end. During 2019 and 2020, the executive
cash bonuses paid to our named executive officers were based on
revenue and EBITDA targets for the year, as determined by the
Compensation Committee, with payments varying between annual and
quarterly. For the performance during the years ending December 31,
2019 and 2020, executive bonuses were paid quarterly following the
financial reporting of each quarter. The following summarizes the
executive cash bonus awards paid to our named executive officers,
separated based on both the timing of the payment and the
performance year for which the bonus was earned:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name
|
|
Year
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Richard A.
Carlson
|
|
2020
|
$-
|
$234,482
|
$-
|
$64,054
|
$170,428
|
|
|
2019
|
$117,810
|
$-
|
$86,573
|
$31,238
|
$-
|
|
|
|
$117,810
|
$234,482
|
$86,573
|
$95,292
|
$170,428
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Travis
Whitton
|
|
2020
|
$-
|
$36,379
|
$-
|
$27,796
|
$8,583
|
|
|
2019
|
$49,500
|
$-
|
$36,375
|
$13,125
|
$-
|
|
|
|
$49,500
|
$36,379
|
$36,375
|
$40,921
|
$8,583
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bradley
Stanczak (1)
|
|
2020
|
$-
|
$-
|
$-
|
$-
|
$-
|
|
|
2019
|
$69,300
|
$-
|
$50,925
|
$18,375
|
$-
|
|
|
|
$69,300
|
$-
|
$50,925
|
$18,375
|
$-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael Power
(2)
|
|
2020
|
$-
|
$19,508
|
$-
|
$19,508
|
$-
|
|
|
2019
|
$-
|
$-
|
$-
|
$-
|
$-
|
|
|
|
$-
|
$19,508
|
$-
|
$19,508
|
$-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aaron Jackson
(3)
|
|
2020
|
$-
|
$8,333
|
$-
|
$-
|
$8,333
|
|
|
2019
|
$5,206
|
$-
|
$4,050
|
$1,156
|
$-
|
|
|
|
$5,206
|
$8,333
|
$4,050
|
$1,156
|
$8,333
|
Stock Option and Equity Awards
Stock
option and stock awards are the primary vehicle for long-term
retention of our executives. Our compensation committee believes
that stock option and stock awards promote, create and reward long
term stockholder value creation, as well as provide a strong
incentive for the executive to remain employed by the
Company.
The
following table shows stock option and stock grants made to
executives during 2020.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name
|
|
Grant
Date
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Richard Carlson
|
|
1/29/2020
|
19,978
|
$12.39
|
125,002
|
22,589
|
$279,878
|
|
|
5/21/2020
|
|
$-
|
|
8,001
|
$76,570
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Travis Whitton
|
|
1/29/2020
|
11,747
|
$12.39
|
73,500
|
13,286
|
$164,614
|
|
|
5/21/2020
|
|
$-
|
|
3,577
|
$34,232
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael Power
|
|
5/21/2020
|
-
|
$-
|
-
|
4,757
|
$45,524
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aaron Jackson
|
|
5/21/2020
|
3,000
|
$9.57
|
14,931
|
-
|
$-
|
|
|
7/20/2020
|
10,000
|
$8.97
|
47,094
|
-
|
$-
|
|
|
12/10/2020
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
37,900
|
$632,551
|
Benefits and Other Compensation
We
maintain broad-based benefits that are provided to all of our
employees, including (for U.S. resources) health and dental
insurance, life insurance and a retirement plan. Executives are
eligible to participate in all of our employee benefit plans, in
each case on the same terms as our other employees. No employee
benefit plans are in place solely for the benefit of our
executives.
Severance and Change in Control Benefits
Pursuant to
employment agreements we have entered into with our executives and
the terms of our 2010 Restated Employee Stock Plan and 2019 Equity
Incentive Plan, our executives are entitled to certain benefits in
the event of a change in control of our Company or the termination
of their employment under specified circumstances, including
termination following a change in control. We believe these
benefits help us compete for and retain executive talent and are
generally in line with severance packages offered to executives by
the companies in our peer group. We also believe that these
benefits would serve to minimize the distraction caused by any
change in control scenario and reduce the risk that key talent
would leave the Company before any such transaction closes, which
could reduce the value of the Company if such transaction failed to
close.
2020 Summary Compensation Table
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name
|
|
Year
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Richard
Carlson
|
|
2020
|
$328,994
|
$64,054
|
$606,450
|
$4,328
|
$1,003,825
|
Chief Executive Officer and President (Principal Executive
Officer), Director
|
|
2019
|
$340,000
|
$117,810
|
$123,085
|
$8,400
|
$589,295
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Travis
Whitton
|
|
2020
|
$193,526
|
$27,796
|
$345,846
|
$2,389
|
$569,557
|
Chief Technology Officer
|
|
2019
|
$200,000
|
$49,500
|
$72,402
|
$7,316
|
$329,218
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bradley
Stanczak (1)
|
|
2020
|
$2,016
|
$18,375
|
$-
|
$60
|
$20,452
|
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial
Officer)
|
|
2019
|
$185,000
|
$69,300
|
$-
|
$5,771
|
$260,071
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael Power
(2)
|
|
2020
|
$146,875
|
$19,508
|
$45,524
|
$76,523
|
$288,431
|
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial
Officer)
|
|
2019
|
$20,032
|
$-
|
$596,839
|
$-
|
$616,871
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aaron Jackson
(3)
|
|
2020
|
$127,396
|
$1,156
|
$819,698
|
$1,066
|
$949,316
|
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial
Officer)
|
|
2019
|
$96,100
|
$5,150
|
$12,032
|
$3,038
|
$116,320
|
(a) The amounts in this column reflect earned bonus awards by our
named executive officers under our executive incentive compensation
program
(b) The grant date fair value of the stock option and RSU awards
computed in accordance with ASC Topic 718
(c) These amounts consist of our matching contributions to each
executive’s retirement savings plan account and severance
payments
(1) Mr. Stanczak served as our Chief Financial Officer from
December 10, 2018 to December 1, 2019
(2) Mr. Power served as our Chief Financial Officer from December
2, 2019 to July 19, 2020
(3) Mr. Jackson was named as our interim Chief Financial Officer on
July 20, 2020 and as our Chief Financial Officer December 10,
2020
From
January 1, 2020 to April 2020 and during 2019, we provided our U.S.
employees the ability to contribute to a 401(k) retirement plan.
Under the plan, eligible employees may elect to defer part of their
compensation to the plan each year. The amount of compensation an
employee can elect to defer is generally expressed as a percentage
of the employee’s compensation up to a maximum of $19,500 for
2020 and $19,000 for 2019. The Company provides a matching
contribution of 100% of employee deferrals up to 3% of total
compensation. We have no other annuity, pension, retirement or
similar benefit plans in place on behalf of our executive
officers.
We
grant stock awards and stock options to our executive officers
based on their level of experience and contributions to our
Company. The aggregate fair value of awards and options are
computed in accordance with FASB ASC 718 and options are reported
in the Summary Compensation Table above in columns (a). The
assumptions made in the computation may be found in Note 13:
Stock-Based Compensation to our financial statements contained in
our latest Form 10-K Annual Report.
At no
time during the last fiscal year was any outstanding option
otherwise modified or re-priced, and there was no tandem feature,
reload feature, or tax-reimbursement feature associated with any of
the stock options we granted to our executive officers or
otherwise.
The
table below summarizes all of the outstanding equity awards for our
named executive officers as of December 31, 2020, our latest fiscal
year end:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Richard A.
Carlson
|
-
|
-
|
$-
|
-
|
-
|
13,790
|
$170,858
|
(4)
|
|
-
|
-
|
$-
|
-
|
-
|
8,001
|
$76,570
|
(6)
|
|
4,579
|
15,399
|
$12.39
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(1)
|
|
8,021
|
9,479
|
$13.88
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(1)
|
|
70,834
|
29,166
|
$4.65
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(1)
|
|
93,750
|
6,250
|
$4.74
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(1)
|
|
250,000
|
-
|
$4.80
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(1)
|
|
60,000
|
-
|
$6.29
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Travis
Whitton
|
-
|
-
|
$-
|
-
|
-
|
9,430
|
$116,838
|
(5)
|
|
-
|
-
|
$-
|
-
|
-
|
3,577
|
$34,232
|
(6)
|
|
-
|
11,747
|
$12.39
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(3)
|
|
4,719
|
5,575
|
$4.65
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(3)
|
|
5,155
|
44,845
|
$4.65
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(3)
|
|
729
|
34,271
|
$4.74
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(3)
|
|
-
|
25,000
|
$3.34
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(3)
|
|
-
|
25,000
|
$6.29
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aaron
Jackson
|
-
|
-
|
$-
|
-
|
-
|
37,900
|
$632,551
|
(7)
|
|
-
|
10,000
|
$8.97
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(3)
|
|
-
|
3,000
|
$9.57
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(6)
|
|
625
|
1,375
|
$11.98
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(3)
|
|
5,625
|
4,375
|
$13.10
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(3)
|
|
1,209
|
791
|
$8.76
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(3)
|
|
135
|
365
|
$3.82
|
|
|
-
|
-
|
(3)
|
1.
Vests monthly over four years, with 1/48 vesting each
month.
2.
Vests 50% on December 31, 2016, 25% on December 31, 2017 and 25% on
December 31, 2018.
3.
Vests over four years, with 25% vesting on the first anniversary
and 1/48 of the original grant vesting each month
thereafter.
4.
Vests over three years, with 1/12 of the oringal grant vesting each
quarter.
5.
Vests over three years, with 33% vesting on the first anniversary
and 1/12 of the oringal grant vesting each quarter
thereafter.
6.
Vests over two years, with 50% vesting on the first anniversary and
1/48 of the original grant vesting each month
thereafter
7.
Vests over four years, with 25% vesting on the first anniversary
and 1/16 of the original grant vesting each quarter
thereafter.
Compensation of Non-Employee Directors
Compensation for
our directors is discretionary and is reviewed from time to time by
our Board of Directors. Any determinations with respect to Board
compensation are made by our Board of Directors. Since the second
quarter of 2019, we have compensated all nonemployee directors with
a quarterly stipend of
$11,250, with $7,500 and $3,750 payable in Company stock issued in
arrears and cash, respectively. Typically, newly elected
non-employee directors receive 16,000 stock options upon joining
the board, which vest over four years. All directors are also
entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses for attending
director meetings.
Set
forth below is a summary of the compensation of our directors
during our December 31, 2020 fiscal year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
David
A. Buckel (2)
|
$14,550
|
$3,479
|
$-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$18,029
|
Marietta
Davis (2)(3)
|
$14,550
|
$3,479
|
$-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$18,029
|
Steven
A. Huey (2)
|
$22,050
|
$3,479
|
$-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$25,529
|
Scott
Miller Jr.
|
$14,550
|
$3,479
|
$-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$18,029
|
Savneet
Singh (4)
|
$3,750
|
$708
|
$81,085
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
$85,543
|
1. During 2020, SharpSpring’s non-employee directors
received a quarterly stipend, payable in stock and cash, issued in
arrears.
2. Ms.
Davis resigned from the Board of Directors on August 17,
2020.
3. On
January 19, 2021, Ms. Davis received 8,479 shares of common
stock in recognition of her previous service to the Company as a
member of the Board of Directors. Ms. Davis served as a member of
the Board of Directors of the Company from 2017 until her
resignation as of August 17, 2020. The 8,479 shares are not
included as compensation during our 2020 fiscal year in the above
table.
4. Mr.
Singh joined the Board of Directors on August 17, 2020 , receiving
a stock option grant of 16,000 vesting over four years (25% on the
first anniversary of the grand date and an additional 1/48 of the
original number of options vesting every month
thereafter).
Compensation Policies and Practices As They Relate To Our Risk
Management
Our
compensation program for employees does not create incentives for
excessive risk taking by our employees or involve risks that are
reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on us. Our
compensation has the following risk-limiting
characteristics:
●
Our base pay
consists of competitive salary rates that represent a reasonable
portion of total compensation and provide a reliable level of
income on a regular basis, which decreases incentive on the part of
our executives to take unnecessary or imprudent risks;
●
Option and
restricted equity awards are not tied to formulas that could focus
executives on specific short-term outcomes; and
●
Option and
restricted equity awards, generally, have multi-year vesting which
aligns the long-term interests of our executives with those of our
stockholders and, again, discourages the taking of short-term risk
at the expense of long-term performance.
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation
Plans
Equity
Compensation Plans as of December 31, 2020.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
Plan category
|
Number of Securities to be Issued Upon Exercise of Outstanding
Options, Warrants, and RSUs
|
Weighted-averageexercise price of outstanding options
(2)
|
Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under
equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column
(a))
|
|
|
|
|
Equity
compensation plans approved by security holders (1)
|
1,444,177
|
$7.60
|
631,787
|
Equity
compensation plans not approved by security holders
|
0
|
$0.00
|
0
|
Total
|
1,444,177
|
$7.60
|
631,787
|
1.
Reflects shares of common stock to be issued pursuant to our 2019
Equity Incentive Plan and our 2010 Restated Employee Stock Plan,
both of which are for the benefit of our directors, officers,
employees and consultants. We have reserved 1,025,000 shares
of common stock for such persons pursuant to our 2019 Equity
Incentive Plan. We terminated our 2010 Restated Employee Stock Plan
in 2019 and no additional awards are made under that
plan.
2.
The weighted-average exercise price is calculated based solely on
the exercise prices of the outstanding options to purchase shares
of our common stock. It does not reflect the shares of our common
stock that will be issued upon the vesting of outstanding awards of
RSUs, which have no exercise price.
Voting Securities and Principal Holders Thereof
As of
the Record Date, we had outstanding 12,834,252 shares of common stock. Each share of
our common stock is entitled to one vote with respect to each
matter on which it is entitled to vote.
The
following table sets forth, as of the Record Date, the names,
addresses, amount and nature of beneficial ownership and percent of
such ownership of (i) each person or group known to our Company to
be the beneficial owner of more than five percent (5%) of our
common stock; and (ii) each of our officers and directors, and
officers and directors as a group:
We are
not aware of any arrangements that could result in a change of
control.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name and Address
|
Shares Beneficially Owned
|
|
of Beneficial Owner (1)(2)
|
|
|
|
5%
Stockholders(5)
|
|
|
|
Greenhaven
Road Investment Management, LP
|
1,364,746
|
10.63%
|
-
|
c/o
Royce & Associates LLC, 8 Sound Shore Drive, Suite 190,
Greenwich, CT 06830
|
|
|
|
AWM
Investment Company Inc.
|
1,018,604
|
7.94%
|
-
|
c/o
Special Situations Funds, 527 Madison Avenue, Suite 2600, New York,
NY 10022.
|
|
|
|
Cat
Rock Capital Management LP
|
848,336
|
6.61%
|
-
|
8
Sound Shore Drive, Suite 250, Greenwich, CT 06830
|
|
|
|
Wellington
Management Group LLP
|
840,400
|
6.55%
|
-
|
c/o
Wellington Management Company LLP 280 Congress Street Boston, MA
02210
|
|
|
|
Richard
H. Witmer, Jr.
|
515,523
|
4.02%
|
-
|
16
Fort Hills Lane, Greenwich, CT 06831
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Directors
and Executive Officers (6)
|
|
|
|
Richard
A. Carlson, Chief Executive Officer and President,
Director
|
824,763
|
6.17%
|
522,403
|
Travis
Whitton, Chief Technology Officer
|
152,300
|
1.17%
|
143,579
|
Aaron
Jackson, Chief Financial Officer
|
11,209
|
*
|
11,209
|
David
A. Buckel, Director
|
43,309
|
*
|
16,000
|
Steven
A. Huey, Director
|
32,833
|
*
|
16,000
|
Savneet
Singh, Director
|
1,154
|
*
|
-
|
Scott
Miller, Director (7)
|
1,372,080
|
10.68%
|
7,334
|
Jason
Costi, Director
|
-
|
*
|
-
|
All
executive officers and directors as a group (8
persons)
|
2,437,648
|
17.99%
|
716,525
|
1. To our best knowledge, as of the date hereof, such holders had
the sole voting and investment power with respect to the voting
securities beneficially owned by them, unless otherwise indicated
herein. Includes the person's right to obtain additional shares of
common stock within 60 days from April 21, 2021.
2. Unless otherwise noted, in care of SharpSpring, Inc., 5001
Celebration Point Ave Suite 410, Gainesville, FL
32608.
3. Based on 12,834,252 shares of common stock outstanding on April
21, 2021. Does not include shares underlying: (i) options to
purchase shares of our common stock under our 2010 and 2019
Employee Stock Plans, or (ii) outstanding warrants to purchase
shares of our common stock.
4. Represents options exercisable, and
RSU’s that vest, within 60 days from April 21,
2021.
5. Based solely upon a review of Schedule 13G and Form 4 filings
with the SEC.
6. If a person listed on this table has the right to obtain
additional shares of common stock within 60 days from April 21,
2021, the additional shares are deemed to be outstanding for the
purpose of computing the percentage of class owned by such person,
but are not deemed to be outstanding for the purpose of computing
the percentage of any other person.
7. Additionally includes (i) 673,244 shares of common stock held
directly by Greenhaven Road Capital Fund 1, L.P.; and (ii) 689,453
shares of common stock held directly by Greenhaven Road Capital
Fund 2, L.P.. Mr. Miller serves as the Managing Member of the
General Partner (for itself and on behalf of Greenhaven Fund 1,
Greenhaven Fund 2 and the Investment Manager)
PROPOSAL ONE
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
At the time of the Annual Meeting, our
Board of Directors will consist of five directors: Steven A.
Huey, Richard Carlson, Scott Miller, Savneet Singh and Jason Costi.
At the Annual Meeting, five directors are to be elected for a one
(1) year term to serve until the next annual meeting of
stockholders and until a successor for such director is elected and
qualified, or until the death, resignation or removal of such
director.
At the time of the Annual Meeting, our
Board of Directors will consist of six directors: Steven A.
Huey, Richard Carlson, David Buckel, Scott Miller, Savneet Singh
and Jason Costi. At the Annual Meeting, five directors are to be
elected for a one (1) year term to serve until the next annual
meeting of stockholders and until a successor for such director is
elected and qualified, or until the death, resignation or removal
of such director. Five of our current directors are standing for
reelection at the Annual Meeting, and one current director, David
Buckel, is not standing for
re-election to our Board of Directors.
Nominees
There
are five nominees, all of whom currently serve on our Board of
Directors. Set forth below is information regarding the nominees
for election to our Board of Directors:
Name
|
|
Position(s) with
the Company
|
|
Year First
Elected Director
|
Steven
A. Huey
|
|
Chair
of the Board of Directors
|
|
2016
|
Richard
Carlson
|
|
Chief
Executive Officer; Director
|
|
2015
|
Scott
Miller
|
|
Director
|
|
2019
|
Savneet
Singh
|
|
Director
|
|
2020
|
Jason
Costi
|
|
Director
|
|
2021
|
Each
person nominated has agreed to serve if elected, and our Board of
Directors has no reason to believe that any nominee will be
unavailable or will decline to serve. In the event, however, that
any nominee is unable or declines to serve as a director at the
time of the Annual Meeting, the proxies will be voted for any
nominee who is designated by the current Board of Directors to fill
the vacancy.
Vote Required
Directors will be
elected by a plurality of the votes cast at the Annual Meeting. A
“withhold” vote with respect to any nominee will not
effect the election of that nominee. Each holder of common stock is
entitled to one vote for each share held.
Recommendation of the Board of Directors
The
Board of Directors recommends a vote “FOR” the election of all of the
above nominees.
PROPOSAL TWO
RATIFICATION OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR 2021
We are
asking stockholders to ratify the appointment of Cherry Bekaert LLP
to serve as our Company’s independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.
Representatives of Cherry Bekaert LLP will not be present at the
Annual Meeting.
The
following table represents aggregate fees billed to the Company for
the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 by
Cherry Bekaert LLP.
|
|
|
Audit
Fees
|
$204,543
|
$207,587
|
Audit-Related
Fees
|
80,000
|
7,500
|
Tax
Fees
|
-
|
-
|
All Other
Fees
|
10,593
|
25,600
|
Total
|
$297,156
|
$240,687
|
Audit Fees are the fees billed during the years ended
December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 for professional services
rendered by our independent auditors for the audit of the
Company’s annual financial statements and review of financial
statements included in the Company’s Form 10-Q or services
that are normally provided by the audit firm in connection with
statutory and regulatory filings or
engagements.
Audit-Related
Fees are the aggregate
fees billed during the years ended December 31, 2020 and December
31, 2019 for assurance and related services rendered by our
independent auditors that are reasonably related to the performance
of the audit or review of the Company’s financial statements
and are not reported under the category Audit Fees described above.
These
include fees related to our 2019 acquisition of Perfect Audience
and a common stock offering.
Tax Fees are the fees billed during the years ended
December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 for tax compliance, tax
advice, and tax planning rendered by our independent
auditors.
All Other
Fees are the aggregate
fees billed for products and services provided during the years
ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 rendered by our
independent auditors, other than the services reported in the above
categories. For the year ended December 31, 2020, this includes
work related to the December 15, 2020 equity
issuance. For year ended December 31,
2019, this includes work related to the March 7, 2019 equity
issuance, May 9, 2019 Note Conversion Agreement, and November 21,
2019 equity issuance.
Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies.
All
the services rendered by the independent auditors that are
described above were pre-approved by the Company’s audit
committee. The Audit Committee pre-approves all audit and
permissible non-audit services on a case-by-case
basis..
None
of the hours expended on rendered by our independent
auditor’s engagement to audit the Company’s financial
statements for the years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31,
2019 were attributed to work performed by persons other than
rendered by the independent auditor’s full-time, permanent
employees.
Vote Required
The
vote required to ratify the appointment of Cherry Bekaert LLP to
serve as our Company’s independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 is the
affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the votes cast at
the Annual Meeting entitled to vote on the matter. Each holder of
common stock is entitled to one vote for each share
held.
Recommendation of the Board of Directors
The
Board of Directors recommends that the stockholders vote
“FOR” the
proposal to ratify the appointment of Cherry Bekaert LLP to serve
as our Company’s independent registered public accounting
firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.
PROPOSAL THREE
AMENDMENT TO THE
SHARPSPRING, INC. 2019 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
On April 25, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Company adopted and
approved the SharpSpring, Inc. 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (the
“Plan”) subject to stockholder approval. On June
13, 2019, the Company’s
stockholders approved the Plan.
Purpose of the Proposal
The Board of Directors of the Company has approved
and is recommending to stockholders of the Company an amendment to
Company’s 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (the
“Plan” or “2019 Equity Incentive
Plan”) to amend Section
4.1 of the Plan to (i) increase the number of shares of common
stock available for issuance under the Plan to 1,275,000; and (ii)
increase the number of shares of common stock that may be issued in
the aggregate pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options
1,275,000, so that a sufficient amount of awards are available for
issuance in the future.
The
Board of Directors approved the Plan to ensure that the Company has
adequate ways in which to provide stock based compensation to its
directors, officers, employees, and consultants. The Board of
Directors believes that the ability to grant stock-based
compensation is important to the Company’s future
success.
The
grant of stock-based compensation, such as stock options, can
motivate high levels of performance and provide an effective means
of recognizing employee and consultant contributions to the
Company’s success. In addition, stock-based compensation can
be valuable in recruiting and retaining highly qualified technical
and other key personnel who are in great demand, as well as
rewarding and providing incentives to the Company’s current
employees, directors and consultants.
Additionally, due
to the impact of the Covid-19 virus, our Company reduced by 10% all
Company employee 2020 base salaries from April 1, 2020 through
October 31, 2020 and in exchange issued all Company employees
additional stock-based compensation pursuant to the
Plan.
Our
Board of Directors believes that the increase in the number of
common shares available for issuance under the Plan is necessary in
order to continue to offer stock-based compensation programs that
will allow the Company to carry out the purposes of the Plan,
including attracting and retaining employees who are critical to
the growth and success of the Company and providing the Company
with the flexibility to make compensation adjustments during
certain challenging times such as the current Covid-19
pandemic.
Information Regarding Options Granted under the Plan,
Dilution
The
Plan is our only active equity compensation plan. With respect to
the Plan, as of the Record Date:
●
1,440,033 stock options were
outstanding under the Plan
●
The weighted
average exercise price of such options was $8.56
●
The weighted
average remaining term of such options was 7.08 years
●
The total number of
shares available for grant under the Plan was 541,266
●
12,834,252 shares of our common stock were
issued and outstanding
●
77,949 unvested restricted stock awards
were outstanding under the Plan
●
No stock
appreciation rights were outstanding under the Plan
●
No awards were
issued that will be settled solely in cash
●
No
performance-contingent awards were issued
●
The Plan does not
have fungible counting provisions
The
Plan incorporates key corporate governance practices, including the
following:
●
Limits
the number of shares available to 1,025,000, which represents
approximately 8.0% of our issued and outstanding common shares as
of the Record Date. If the amendment to the Plan is approved by the
stockholders, the Plan will limit the number of shares available to
1,275,000, which represents approximately 9.9% of our issued and
outstanding common shares as of the Record Date;
●
The
price of any outstanding Award may not be repriced without
stockholder approval;
●
Discounted
stock options are not allowed;
●
Reload
options are not provided for under the Plan;
●
Performance
goals may be imposed on grants;
●
The
Plan does not have fungible counting provisions
●
Payment
of the exercise price or applicable taxes made by delivery of
shares, or withholding of shares, in satisfaction of a
participant’s obligation, will not result in additional
shares becoming available for subsequent awards under the
Plan.
Significant Features of the Plan:
The
following is a summary of certain significant features of the Plan.
The information which follows is subject to, and qualified in its
entirety by reference to, the Plan. We urge you to read the Plan in
its entirety.
Awards
that may be granted include: (a) Incentive Stock Options, (b)
Non-qualified Stock Options, (c) Stock Appreciation Rights, (d)
Restricted Awards, (e) Performance Share Awards, (f) Cash Awards,
and (g) Other Equity-Based Awards. These awards offer the
Company’s officers, employees, directors and consultants the
possibility of future value, depending on the long-term price
appreciation of the Company’s common stock and the award
holder’s continuing service with the Company.
Stock
options give the option holder the right to acquire from the
Company a designated number of shares of common stock at a purchase
price that is fixed upon the grant of the option. The exercise
price will be not less than the market price of the common stock on
the date of grant. Stock options granted may be either
tax-qualified stock options (so-called “incentive stock
options”) or non-qualified stock options.
Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs), sometimes
referred to as phantom equity, may be granted alone or in tandem with options,
have an economic value similar to that of options. When a SAR for a
particular number of shares is exercised, the holder receives a
payment equal to the difference between the market price of the
shares on the date of exercise and the exercise price of the shares
under the SAR. The exercise price for SARs is the market price of
the shares on the date the SAR is granted. Under the Plan, holders
of SARs may receive this payment – the appreciation value
– either in cash or shares of common stock valued at the fair
market value on the date of exercise. The form of payment will be
determined by the Company.
A Restricted Award
is an Award of actual shares of common stock ("Restricted Stock") or hypothetical
common stock units ("Restricted
Stock Units") having a value equal to the Fair Market Value
of an identical number of shares of common stock at no cost.
Restricted shares are forfeitable and
non-transferable until the shares vest. The vesting date or dates
and other conditions for vesting are established when the shares
are awarded. Restricted Stock Units with a deferral feature,
whereby settlement is deferred beyond the vesting date until the
occurrence of a future payment date or event set forth in an Award
Agreement ("Deferred Stock
Units"), may also be granted.
The
Plan also provides for performance compensation awards,
representing the right to receive a payment, which may be in the
form of cash, shares of common stock, or a combination, based on
the attainment of pre-established goals.
All
of the permissible types of awards under the Plan are described in
more detail as follows:
Purposes of
Plan: The purposes of the
Plan are to: (a) enable the Company to attract and retain the types
of employees, consultants and directors who will contribute to the
Company's long range success; (b) provide incentives that align the
interests of employees, consultants and directors with those of the
stockholders of the Company; and (c) promote the success of the
Company's business.
Administration
of the Plan: The Plan is
administered by a committee of one or more members of the Board of
Directors appointed by the Board of Directors to administer the
Plan or, in the Board's sole discretion, by the Board of Directors
(the “Committee”). Among other things, the Committee
has the authority to select persons who will receive awards,
determine the types of awards and the number of shares to be
covered by awards, and to establish the terms, conditions,
restrictions and other provisions of awards. The Committee has
authority to establish, amend and rescind rules and regulations
relating to the Plan.
Eligible
Recipients: Persons
eligible to receive awards under the Plan will be those officers,
employees, consultants, and directors of the Company and its
subsidiaries (if any) who are selected by the Company’s Board
of Directors or the Committee of the Board administering the Plan.
As of the Record Date, approximately 235 individuals were eligible
to participate in the Plan.
Shares
Available Under the Plan: The maximum number of shares of our common
stock that may be delivered to participants under the Plan is
1,025,000 (plus the number of shares of Common Stock underlying any
award granted under the 2010 Restated Employee Stock Plan that
expires, terminates or is canceled or forfeited under the terms of
the 2010 Restated Employee Stock Plan); subject to adjustment for
certain corporate changes affecting the shares, such as stock
splits. Shares subject to an award under the Plan for which the
award is canceled, forfeited or expires again become available for
grants under the Plan. Shares subject to an award that is settled
in cash will not again be made available for grants under the Plan.
Payment of the exercise price or applicable taxes made by delivery
of shares, or withholding of shares, in satisfaction of a
participant’s obligation, will not result in additional
shares becoming available for subsequent awards under the
Plan.
Stock Options:
General. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the
Committee has the authority to determine all grants of stock
options. That determination will include: (i) the number of shares
subject to any option; (ii) the exercise price per share; (iii) the
expiration date of the option; (iv) the manner, time and date of
permitted exercise; (v) other restrictions, if any, on the option
or the shares underlying the option; and (vi) any other terms and
conditions as the Committee may determine.
Option
Price. The exercise price for
stock options will be determined at the time of grant. Normally,
the exercise price may not be less than the fair market value on
the date of grant. As a matter of tax law, the exercise price for
any incentive stock option awarded may not be less than the fair
market value of the shares on the date of grant. However, incentive
stock option grants to any person owning 10% or more of the
Company’s voting stock must have an exercise price of not
less than 110% of the fair market value on the grant
date.
Exercise of
Options. An option may be
exercised only in accordance with the terms and conditions for the
option agreement as established by the Committee at the time of the
grant. The option must be exercised by notice to the Company,
accompanied by payment of the exercise price. Payments may be made
in cash or, at the option of the Committee, by actual or
constructive delivery of shares of common stock to the holder of
the option based upon the fair market value of the shares on the
date of exercise.
Expiration or
Termination. Options, if
not previously exercised, will expire on the expiration date
established by the Committee at the time of grant. In the case of
incentive stock options, such term cannot exceed ten years provided
that in the case of holders of 10% or more of the Company’s
voting stock, such term cannot exceed five years. Options will
terminate before their expiration date if the holder’s
service with the Company or a subsidiary terminates before the
expiration date. The option may remain exercisable for specified
periods after certain terminations of employment, including
terminations as a result of death, disability or retirement, with
the precise period during which the option may be exercised to be
established by the Committee and reflected in the grant evidencing
the award.
Incentive and Non-Qualified
Options. As described
elsewhere in this summary, an incentive stock option is an option
that is intended to qualify under certain provisions of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the
“Code”) for more favorable tax treatment than
applies to non-qualified stock options. Any option that does not
qualify as an incentive stock option will be a non-qualified stock
option. Under the Code, certain restrictions apply to incentive
stock options. For example, the exercise price for incentive stock
options may not be less than the fair market value of the shares on
the grant date and the term of the option may not exceed ten years.
In addition, an incentive stock option may not be transferred,
other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution, and is
exercisable during the holder’s lifetime only by the holder.
In addition, no incentive stock options may be granted to a holder
that is first exercisable in a single year if that option, together
with all incentive stock options previously granted to the holder
that also first become exercisable in that year, relate to shares
having an aggregate market value in excess of $100,000, measured at
the grant date.
Stock
Appreciation Rights: Awards of stock appreciation rights or
“SARs” may be granted alone or in tandem with stock
options. SARs provide the holder with the right, upon exercise, to
receive a payment, in cash or shares of stock, having a value equal
to the excess of the fair market value on the exercise date of the
shares covered by the award over the exercise price of those
shares. Essentially, a holder of a SAR benefits when the market
price of the common stock increases, to the same extent that the
holder of an option does, but, unlike an option holder, the SAR
holder need not pay an exercise price upon exercise of the
award.
Stock
Awards: Stock Awards can
also be granted under the Plan. A stock award is a grant of shares
of common stock or of a right to receive shares in the future.
These awards will be subject to such conditions, restrictions and
contingencies as the Committee shall determine at the date of
grant. Those may include requirements for continuous service and/or
the achievement of specified performance goals.
Cash
Awards: A cash award is an
award that may be in the form of cash or shares of common stock or
a combination, based on the attainment of pre-established
performance goals and other conditions, restrictions and
contingencies identified by the Committee.
Other
Equity-Based Awards: The Committee may
grant Other Equity-Based Awards, either alone or in tandem with
other Awards, in such amounts and subject to such conditions, restrictions and contingencies
identified by the Committee.
Performance
Goals: are the one
or more goals established by the Committee for the performance
period based upon business criteria or other performance measures
determined by the Committee in its discretion.
Other
Material Provisions: Awards will be evidenced by a written
agreement, in such form as may be approved by the Committee. In the
event of various changes to the capitalization of the Company, such
as stock splits, stock dividends and similar re-capitalizations, an
appropriate adjustment will be made by the Committee to the number
of shares covered by outstanding awards or to the exercise price of
such awards. The Committee is also permitted to include in the
written agreement provisions that provide for certain changes in
the award in the event of a change of control of the Company,
including acceleration of vesting. Except as otherwise permitted by
the Committee, awards will not be transferable, other than by will
or the laws of descent and distribution. Prior to any award
distribution, the Company is permitted to deduct or withhold
amounts sufficient to satisfy any employee withholding tax
requirements. Our Board also has the authority, at any time, to
discontinue the granting of awards. The Board also has the
authority to alter or amend the Plan or any outstanding award or
may terminate the Plan as to further grants, provided that no
amendment will, without the approval of the Company’s
stockholders, to the extent that such approval is required by law
or the rules of an applicable exchange, increase the number of
shares available under the Plan, change the persons eligible for
awards under the Plan, extend the time within which awards may be
made, or amend the provisions of the Plan related to amendments. No
amendment that would adversely affect any outstanding award made
under the Plan can be made without the consent of the holder of
such award.
Federal
Income Tax Consequences: The following is based on current laws,
regulations and interpretations, all of which are subject to
change. It does not purport to be complete and does not describe
the state, local or foreign tax considerations or the consequences
for any particular individual.
Non-qualified Options. Under
current federal income tax law, the grant of
a non-qualified option under the Plan will have no
federal income tax consequences to us or the optionee (unless the
options are publicly traded). Generally, upon exercise of
a non-qualified stock option granted under the Plan, the
excess of the fair market value of the stock at the date of
exercise over the option price (the “Spread”) is taxable to the optionee as ordinary
income and is subject to withholding. All such amounts taxable to
an employee are deductible by us as compensation expense. The
deduction will be allowed for our taxable year which includes the
end of the taxable year in which the optionee includes an amount in
income.
Generally,
the shares received on exercise of an option under the Plan are not
subject to restrictions on transfer or risks of forfeiture and,
therefore, the optionee will recognize income on the date of
exercise of a non-qualified stock option. However, if the
optionee is subject to Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act, the
Section 16(b) restriction will be considered a substantial
risk of forfeiture for tax purposes. Under current law, employees
who are either our directors or officers will be subject to
restrictions under Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act during
their term of service and for up to six months after termination of
such service. SEC Rule 16b-3 provides an exemption
from the restrictions of Section 16(b) for the grant of
derivative securities, such as stock options, under qualifying
plans. Because the Plan satisfies the requirements for exemption
under SEC Rule 16b-3, the grant of options will not be
considered a purchase and the exercise of the options to acquire
the underlying shares of common stock will not be considered a
purchase or a sale. Thus, ordinary income will be recognized and
the Spread will be measured on the date of exercise.
The
taxable income resulting from the exercise of
a non-qualified stock option will constitute wages for
employees and is generally subject to withholding. We will be
required to make whatever arrangements are necessary to ensure that
funds equaling the amount of tax required to be withheld, if any,
are available for payment, including the deduction of required
withholding amounts from the optionee’s other compensation
and requiring payment of withholding amounts as part of the
exercise price. The tax basis for the common stock acquired is the
option price plus the taxable income recognized. An optionee will
recognize gain or loss on the subsequent sale of shares acquired
upon exercise of a non-qualified stock option in an
amount equal to the difference between the amount realized and the
tax basis of such shares. Such gain or loss will be long-term or
short-term capital gain or loss, depending upon whether the shares
have been held for more than one year.
Incentive Stock
Options. There will
be no federal income tax consequences to us or the employee as a
result of the grant of an incentive stock option. The optionee also
will not recognize income when the incentive stock option is
exercised (subject to the alternative minimum tax rules discussed
below). Generally, we receive no deduction at the time of
exercise.
In
the event of a disposition of shares acquired upon exercise of an
incentive stock option, the tax consequences depend upon how long
the employee has held the shares. If the employee does not dispose
of the shares within two years after the incentive stock option was
granted, or within one year after the incentive stock option was
exercised and shares were purchased, then the employee must
recognize only a long-term capital gain or loss. We are not
entitled to any deduction under these circumstances.
If
the optionee fails to satisfy either of the foregoing holding
periods, then he or she must recognize ordinary income in the year
of disposition (referred to as a “disqualifying
disposition”). The amount of such ordinary income generally
is determined under the rules applicable
to non-qualifiedoptions (see above) based on the Spread at the
date of exercise. However, such ordinary income will in no event
exceed the amount of the gain realized on the sale, provided that
the disposition involves an arm’s-length sale or
exchange with an unrelated party. Any gain in excess of the amount
taxed as ordinary income will be treated as capital gain. In the
year of the disqualifying disposition, we are entitled to a
deduction equal to the amount of ordinary income recognized by the
optionee.
The Spread under an incentive stock option is
treated as an adjustment in computing alternative minimum taxable
income (“AMTI”) for the year of exercise. As a result,
the Spread on an incentive stock option will be included in income
for purposes of the alternative minimum tax even though it is not
included in taxable income for purposes of determining the regular
tax liability of an optionee. A subsequent disqualifying
disposition of shares acquired upon exercise of an incentive stock
option will eliminate the AMTI adjustment if the disposition occurs
in the same taxable year as the exercise. A disqualifying
disposition in a subsequent taxable year will not affect the
alternative minimum tax computation in the earlier
year.
Payment of Option Exercise
Price in Shares. To
the extent an optionee pays all or part of the option exercise
price of a non-qualified stock option by tendering shares
of common stock owned by the optionee, the tax consequences
described above apply except that the number of shares of common
stock received upon such exercise which is equal to the number of
shares surrendered in payment of the option price will have the
same tax basis and holding periods as the shares surrendered. The
additional shares of common stock received upon such exercise will
have a tax basis equal to the amount of ordinary income recognized
on such exercise and a holding period which commences on the day
following the date of recognition of such income. Under Treasury
regulations, if an optionee exercises an incentive stock option by
tendering shares of common stock previously acquired by the
exercise of an incentive stock option that have not satisfied
statutory holding period requirements, a disqualifying disposition
will occur and the optionee will recognize income and be subject to
other basis allocation and holding period
requirements.
Restricted Stock
Awards. Stock
granted under the Plan may, in the determination of the Committee,
be subject to rights of repurchase and other transfer restrictions.
The tax consequences of stock granted under the Plan depends on
whether the stock is subject to restrictions and if so, whether the
restrictions are deemed to create a “substantial risk of
forfeiture” under Code Section 83 (for example, stock
granted under the Plan which is subject to our right to repurchase
the stock at a price that is less than fair market value which
right lapses over a period of continued employment is considered a
“substantial risk of forfeiture” under Code
Section 83).
If
stock is not subject to a “substantial risk of
forfeiture,” the recipient normally will recognize taxable
ordinary income equal to the value of the stock in the year in
which the stock is granted less the amount paid for that stock. If
the stock is subject to a “substantial risk of
forfeiture,” the recipient normally will recognize taxable
ordinary income as and when the “substantial risk of
forfeiture” lapses in the amount of the fair market value of
the shares no longer subject to the “substantial risk of
forfeiture” less the amount paid for the stock. Upon
disposition of the stock, the recipient will recognize a capital
gain or loss equal to the difference between the selling price and
the sum of the amount paid for the stock plus any amount recognized
as ordinary income upon grant or vesting of the stock. The gain or
loss will be long or short-term depending on how long the recipient
held the stock. In general, the holding period for the stock
commences when the stock is no longer subject to a substantial risk
of forfeiture.
A
recipient of stock subject to a “substantial risk of
forfeiture” may make an election under Code
Section 83(b) to recognize ordinary income in the year the
recipient purchases the restricted stock, rather than waiting until
the “substantial risk of forfeiture” lapses. If the
stock recipient makes a Section 83(b) election, the recipient
will be required to recognize as ordinary income in the year the
recipient purchases the stock the difference, if any, between the
fair market value of the stock on the purchase date and the
purchase price paid. If the stock recipient makes a
Section 83(b) election, the recipient will not be required to
recognize any income when the “substantial risk of forfeiture
lapses.”
Generally,
with respect to employees, we are required to withhold from regular
wages or supplemental wage payments an amount based on the ordinary
income recognized. Subject to the requirement of reasonableness,
the provisions of Section 162(m) of the Code and the
satisfaction of a tax reporting obligation, we will generally be
entitled to a business expense deduction equal to the taxable
ordinary income realized by the stock recipient.
Stock Appreciation
Rights. Generally,
the recipient of a SAR will not recognize any taxable income at the
time the SAR is granted. With respect to stand-alone SARs, if the
holder receives the appreciation inherent in the SARs in cash, the
cash will be taxable as ordinary compensation income to the
employee at the time that it is received. If the holder receives
the appreciation inherent in the stand-alone SARs in stock, the
holder will recognize ordinary compensation income equal to the
excess of the fair market value of the stock on the day it is
received over any amounts paid by the holder for the
stock.
The
income recognized by the holder of a stand-alone SAR will generally
be subject to U.S. income tax withholding and employment
taxes.
In
general, we will not be entitled to a federal income tax deduction
upon the grant or termination of stand-alone SARs. However, upon
the exercise of a stand-alone SAR, we will be entitled to a
deduction for federal income tax purposes equal to the amount of
ordinary income that the holder is required to recognize as a
result of the exercise, provided that the deduction is not
otherwise disallowed under the Code.
Performance Compensation
Awards. Generally,
the recipient of a performance compensation award will not
recognize any taxable income at the time the award is made but will
generally recognize taxable income at the time the award is paid.
If the performance compensation award is payable in cash, the cash
will be taxable as ordinary compensation income to the participant
at the time that it is received. If the holder receives the
performance compensation award in stock, the participant will
recognize ordinary compensation income equal to the excess of the
fair market value of the stock on the day it is received over any
amounts paid by the holder for the stock.
The
income recognized by the holder of a performance compensation award
will generally be subject to U.S. income tax withholding and
employment taxes.
In
general, we will not be entitled to a federal income tax deduction
upon the grant or termination of performance compensation awards.
However, upon payment of a performance compensation award, we will
be entitled to a deduction for federal income tax purposes equal to
the amount of ordinary income that the participant is required to
recognize as a result of such payment, provided that the deduction
is not otherwise disallowed under the Code.
Limitations on
Deductions. Section 162(m) of the Code
denies a deduction to any publicly held corporation for
compensation paid to certain “covered employees” in a
taxable year to the extent that compensation to each covered
employee exceeds $1 million.
Compliance with
Section 409A of the Code. Code Section 409A imposes
requirements on non-qualified deferred compensation
plans. The requirements include the timing of elections to defer,
the timing of distributions and prohibitions on the acceleration of
distributions. Failure to satisfy these requirements may result in
the immediate taxation of the arrangement, the imposition of an
additional 20% income tax on the participant and the possible
imposition of interest and penalties on the unpaid tax. Proposed
regulations generally provide that the type of equity incentives
provided under the Plan will not be
considered non-qualified deferred compensation. However,
some awards could be covered by Section 409A of the
Code. For example, the modification of a stock option or stock
appreciation right with an exercise price less than fair market
value of the underlying common stock could
constitute non-qualified deferred compensation. In such
event, the administrator normally would expect to design and
administer any such award in a manner that ordinarily should avoid
adverse federal income tax consequences under Section 409A of
the Code to any affected participant. In the event that an award
under the Plan is determined to
constitute “non-qualified deferred
compensation” that would be subject to additional tax under
Section 409A of the Code, the Committee may impose such
additional conditions as it deems necessary to avoid the imposition
of the additional tax.
Recognition of Compensation
Expense. In accordance
with ASC 718, Compensation-Stock
Compensation, the Company is
required to recognize compensation expense in its income statement
for the grant-date fair value of stock options and other
equity-based compensation issued to its employees and directors,
the amount of which can only be determined at the time of
grant.
Plan Benefits
Awards,
if any, that will be made to eligible persons under the Plan are
subject to the discretion of the Committee and, therefore, we
cannot currently determine the benefits or number of shares subject
to awards that may be granted in the future to our employees,
officers, directors and consultants under the Plan.
Compensation for our directors is
discretionary and is reviewed from time to time by our Board of
Directors. Any determinations with respect to Board compensation
are made by our Board of Directors. Since our second quarter of
2017, we have compensated all non-employee directors with a stipend
of $7,500 per quarter ($30,000 per year), payable quarterly in
stock. However, during 2019, non-employee directors received
quarterly stipends, payable in stock and cash, issued in arrears.
All stock granted to our directors are Stock Awards issued from the
Plan.
Typically, newly
elected non-employee directors receive 16,000 stock options upon
joining our Board of Directors, which vest over four years, which
will also be issued from the Plan.
Copy of Plan and Proposed Amendment
Set
forth below is where you can find a complete copy of the 2019
Equity Incentive Plan, along with the proposed
amendment:
2019
Equity Incentive Plan
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Appendix
A to Schedule 14A filed on April 30, 2019
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Amendment
No. 1
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Appendix
A to Schedule 14A filed on June 17, 2020
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Proposed
Amendment
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Appendix
A to this Schedule 14A
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Vote Required
The
vote required to approve the proposed amendment to the 2019
Equity Incentive Plan is the affirmative vote of the holders of a
majority of the votes cast at the Annual Meeting entitled to vote
on the matter. Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote
for each share held.
Recommendation of the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors recommends that the
stockholders vote “FOR” approval of the amendment to the 2019
Equity Incentive Plan.
PROPOSAL FOUR
ADVISORY VOTE TO APPROVE COMPENSATION OF NAMED EXECUTIVE
OFFICERS
We are asking our
stockholders to vote, on an advisory basis, to approve the
compensation of our named executive officers as described in this
Proxy Statement in
accordance with SEC rules. We believe that the
compensation policies for our named executive officers are designed
to attract, retain and motivate talented executives who are
critical for the continued growth and success of our Company and to
align the interests of these executives with those of our
stockholders. Stockholders are urged to read the Compensation
Discussion and Analysis section of this Proxy Statement, which
discusses in detail our 2020 executive compensation program and
decisions made by our Board of Directors.
“Say-on-Pay” Vote
This advisory stockholder vote, commonly referred to as a
“say-on-pay” vote, gives stockholders the opportunity
to approve or not approve the compensation of our named executive
officers that is disclosed in this Proxy Statement by voting
“FOR” or “AGAINST” the following resolution
(or by abstaining with respect to the resolution):
RESOLVED, that the
Company’s stockholders approve, on an advisory basis, the
compensation of the Company’s named executive officers, as
disclosed in this Proxy Statement pursuant to the compensation
disclosure rules of the SEC, which disclosure includes the
Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the Summary Compensation
Table and the other related tables and disclosure in this Proxy
Statement.
This vote is not intended to address any specific item of
compensation, but rather the overall compensation of our named
executive officers and the philosophy, policies and practices
described in this Proxy Statement. Because your vote is advisory,
it will not be binding on our Board of Directors or the Company.
However, our Board of Directors values the opinions of our
stockholders and will take into account the outcome of the
stockholder vote on this proposal at our Annual Meeting when
considering future executive compensation
arrangements.
Vote Required
This
vote is an advisory vote and is therefore not binding on the
Company or the Board of Directors. The vote required for approval
of the compensation of our named executive officers is the
affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the votes cast at
the Annual Meeting entitled to vote on the matter. Each holder of
common stock is entitled to one vote for each share
held.
Recommendation of the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors recommends that the
stockholders vote “FOR” the approval of the compensation of our
named executive officers, as disclosed in this Proxy Statement
pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the
SEC.
STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR 2022 ANNUAL MEETING
In accordance with SEC Rule 14a-8, in order
for stockholder proposals to be included in our proxy
statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting, we must receive them at our
principal executive offices, 5001 Celebration Pointe Avenue, Suite
410, Gainesville, FL 32608, by December 31, 2021, being 120 days
prior to the date of the first anniversary of the date of our proxy
statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Stockholder proposals (including recommendations
of nominees for election to the board of directors),
other than a stockholder proposal
submitted pursuant to SEC Rule 14a-8, in order to
be voted on at the 2022 Annual Meeting, must be received by us not
earlier than February 17, 2022 and not later than March 19, 2022
being, respectively, 120 days and 90 days prior to the date of the
first anniversary of the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. In
the event that the 2022 Annual Meeting is called for a date that is
not within 30 days before or after the anniversary date of the 2021
Annual Meeting of Stockholders, notice by a stockholder in order to
be timely must be so received not later than the close of business
on the 10th day following the day on which such notice of the
date of the 2022 Annual Meeting is mailed or such public disclosure
of the date of the 2022 Annual Meeting is made, whichever first
occurs.
OTHER MATTERS
Our
Board of Directors knows of no other matters to be presented for
stockholder action at the Annual Meeting. However, if other matters
do properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournments or
postponements thereof, our Board of Directors intends that the
persons named in the proxies will vote upon such matters in
accordance with the best judgment of the proxy
holders.
Whether
or not you intend to be present at the meeting, you are urged to
fill out, sign, date and return the enclosed proxy at your earliest
convenience.
Gainesville,
FL
April
30, 2021
APPENDIX A
Amendment No. 2
to
SharpSpring, Inc. 2019 Equity Incentive Plan
The SharpSpring, Inc.
2019 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”)
is hereby amended as follows (capitalized terms used herein and not
defined herein shall have the respective meaning ascribed to such
terms in the Plan):
1.
Section 4.1 of the Plan shall be deleted in its entirety and
replaced with the following:
4.1 Subject to adjustment in accordance with
Section 11, no more than 1,275,000 shares of Common Stock plus
the number of shares of Common Stock underlying any award granted
under the 2010 Restated Employee Stock Plan that expires,
terminates or is canceled or forfeited under the terms of the 2010
Restated Employee Stock Plan shall be available for the grant of
Awards under the Plan (the "Total Share
Reserve"). During the terms of
the Awards, the Company shall keep available at all times the
number of shares of Common Stock required to satisfy such
Awards.
2. Section
4.3 of the Plan shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with
the following:
4.3 Subject to adjustment in accordance with
Section 11, no more than
1,275,000 shares of Common Stock plus the number of shares of
Common Stock underlying any award granted under the 2010 Restated
Employee Stock Plan that expires, terminates or is canceled or
forfeited under the terms of the 2010 Restated Employee Stock Plan
may be issued in the aggregate pursuant to the exercise of
Incentive Stock Options (the "ISO Limit").
3.
All other provisions of the Plan remain in full force and effect,
other than any provision that conflicts with the terms and spirit
of this amendment.
Adopted by the Board of Directors on April 28, 2021
Adopted by the Stockholders on _____________
SHARPSPRING, INC.
THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
ANNUAL
MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS – JUNE 17, 2021 AT 10:00 AM LOCAL
TIME
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CONTROL ID:
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REQUEST ID:
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The
undersigned hereby appoint(s) Richard Carlson and/or Aaron Jackson
with the power of substitution and resubstitution to vote any and
all shares of capital stock of SharpSpring, Inc. (the "Company")
which the undersigned would be entitled to vote as fully as the
undersigned could do if personally present at the Annual Meeting of
the Company, to be held on Thursday, June 17, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.
local time, and at any adjournments thereof, hereby revoking any
prior proxies to vote said stock, upon the following items more
fully described in the notice of any Proxy Statement for the Annual
Meeting (receipt of which is hereby acknowledged).
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(CONTINUED AND TO BE SIGNED ON REVERSE SIDE.)
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VOTING INSTRUCTIONS
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If you vote by phone, fax or internet, please DO NOT mail your
proxy card.
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MAIL:
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Please
mark, sign, date, and return this Proxy Card promptly using the
enclosed envelope.
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FAX:
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Complete
the reverse portion of this Proxy Card and Fax to 202-521-3464.
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INTERNET:
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https://www.iproxydirect.com/SHSP
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PHONE:
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1-866-752-VOTE(8683)
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ANNUAL MEETING OF THE STOCKHOLDERS OF SHARPSPRING,
INC.
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PLEASE COMPLETE, DATE, SIGN AND RETURN PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED
ENVELOPE. PLEASE MARK YOUR VOTE IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS SHOWN
HERE: ☒
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PROXY
SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Proposal
1
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FOR ALL
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WITHHOLD
ALL
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FOR ALL
EXCEPT
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Election
of Directors
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☐
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☐
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Steven
A. Huey
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☐
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Richard
Carlson
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☐
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CONTROL
ID:
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Scott
Miller
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☐
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REQUEST
ID:
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Savneet
Singh
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☐
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Jason
Costi
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☐
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Proposal
2
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FOR
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AGAINST
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ABSTAIN
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Ratification
of the appointment of Cherry Bekaert LLP to serve as the
Company’s Independent Registered Public Accounting firm for
fiscal year 2021.
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☐
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☐
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☐
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Proposal
3
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FOR
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AGAINST
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ABSTAIN
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Approval
of the amendment to the 2019 Equity Incentive Plan.
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☐
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☐
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☐
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Propsal 4
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FOR
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AGAINST
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ABSTAIN
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Approval of
the compensation of Named Executive Officers
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☐
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☐
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☐
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NOTE:
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In
their discretion, the Proxies are authorized to vote upon such
other business as may properly come before the
meeting.
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MARK “X” HERE IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THE MEETING:
☐
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MARK
HERE FOR ADDRESS CHANGE ☐ New Address (if applicable):
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
IMPORTANT: Please sign exactly as your name or names appear
on this Proxy. When shares are held jointly, each holder should
sign. When signing as executor, administrator, attorney, trustee or
guardian, please give full title as such. If the signer is a
corporation, please sign full corporate name by duly authorized
officer, giving full title as such. If signer is a partnership,
please sign in partnership name by authorized person.
Dated:
________________________, 2021
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(Print
Name of Stockholder and/or Joint Tenant)
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(Signature
of Stockholder)
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(Second
Signature if held jointly)
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