Risks Related to the Company’s Business and Industry.
We rely on external financing to fund our operations.
We anticipate, based on our current proposed plans and assumptions relating to our operations (including the timetable of, and costs associated with, new product development) that, if the Minimum Amount is raised in this Offering, it will be sufficient to satisfy our contemplated cash requirements through approximately the end of 2025, assuming that we do not accelerate the development of other opportunities available to us, engage in an extraordinary transaction or otherwise face unexpected events, costs or contingencies, any of which could affect our cash requirements.
To date, we have not generated revenue, do not foresee generating any revenue in the near future and therefore rely on external financing.
We are a startup company and our business model currently focuses on building traffic to the website. The traffic will consist of potential franchisees looking to start a new franchise or purchase an existing franchise fill in focus and cash requirements] rather than generating revenue. While we intend to generate revenue in the future, we cannot assure you when or if we will be able to do so.
We expect capital outlays and operating expenditures to increase over the next several years as we expand our infrastructure, commercial operations, development activities and establish offices.
Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including but not limited to the following:
* The cost of expanding our operations;
* The financial terms and timing of any collaborations, licensing or other arrangements into which we may enter;
* The rate of progress and cost of development activities;
* The need to respond to technological changes and increased competition;
* The costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights;
* The cost and delays in product development that may result from changes in regulatory requirements applicable to our products;
* Sales and marketing efforts to bring these new product candidates to market;
* Unforeseen difficulties in establishing and maintaining an effective sales and distribution network; and
* Lack of demand for and market acceptance of our products and technologies.
We may have difficulty obtaining additional funding and we cannot assure you that additional capital will be available to us when needed, if at all, or if available, will be obtained on terms acceptable to us. If we raise additional funds by issuing additional debt securities, such debt instruments may provide for rights, preferences or privileges senior to the Securities. In addition, the terms of the debt securities issued could impose significant restrictions on our operations. If we raise additional funds through collaborations and licensing arrangements, we might be required to relinquish significant rights to our technologies or product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. If adequate funds are not available, we may have to delay, scale back, or eliminate some of our operations or our research development and commercialization activities. Under these circumstances, if the Company is unable to acquire additional capital or is required to raise it on terms that are less satisfactory than desired, it may have a material adverse effect on its financial condition.
We have a limited operating history upon which you can evaluate our performance, and accordingly, our prospects must be considered in light of the risks that any new company encounters.
We were incorporated under the laws of Florida on April 27, 2022. Accordingly, we have no history upon which an evaluation of our prospects and future performance can be made. Our proposed operations are subject to all business risks associated with a new enterprise. The likelihood of our creation of a viable business must be considered in light of the problems, expenses, difficulties, complications, and delays frequently encountered in connection with the inception of a business, operation in a competitive industry, and the continued development of advertising, promotions, and a corresponding client base. We anticipate that our operating expenses will increase for the near future. There can be no assurances that we will ever operate profitably. You should consider the Company’s business, operations and prospects in light of the risks, expenses and challenges faced as an early-stage company.
In order for the Company to compete and grow, it must attract, recruit, retain and develop the necessary personnel who have the needed experience.
Recruiting and retaining highly qualified personnel is critical to our success. These demands may require us to hire additional personnel and will require our existing management personnel to develop additional expertise. We face intense competition for personnel. The failure to attract and retain personnel or to develop such expertise could delay or halt the development and commercialization of our product candidates. If we experience difficulties in hiring and retaining personnel in key positions, we could suffer from delays in product development, loss of customers and sales and diversion of management resources, which could adversely affect operating results. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by third parties and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with third parties that may limit their availability to us.
The development and commercialization of our products/services is highly competitive.
We face competition with respect to any products that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future. Our competitors include major companies worldwide. Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial, technical and human resources than we have and superior expertise in research and development and marketing approved products/services and thus may be better equipped than us to develop and commercialize products/services. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified personnel and acquiring technologies. Smaller or early stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. Accordingly, our competitors may commercialize products more rapidly or effectively than we are able to, which would adversely affect our competitive position, the likelihood that our products/services will achieve initial market acceptance and our ability to generate meaningful additional revenues from our products.
We may implement new lines of business or offer new products and services within existing lines of business.
There are substantial risks and uncertainties associated with these efforts, particularly in instances where the markets are not fully developed. In developing and marketing new lines of business and/or new products and services, we may invest significant time and resources. Initial timetables for the introduction and development of new lines of business and/or new products or services may not be achieved and price and profitability targets may not prove feasible. We may not be successful in introducing new products and services in response to industry trends or developments in technology, or those new products may not achieve market acceptance. As a result, we could lose business, be forced to price products and services on less advantageous terms to retain or attract clients, or be subject to cost increases. As a result, our business, financial condition or results of operations may be adversely affected.
Security breaches and other disruptions could compromise our information and expose us to liability, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer.
We collect and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, our proprietary business information and that of our customers, suppliers and business partners, and personally identifiable information of our customers and employees, in our data centers and on our networks. The secure processing, maintenance and transmission of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. Despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions. Any such breach could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Any such access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information, and regulatory penalties, disrupt our operations and the services we provide to customers, and damage our reputation, and cause a loss of confidence in our products and services, which could adversely affect our business/operating margins, revenues and competitive position.
An intentional or unintentional disruption, failure, misappropriation or corruption of our network and information systems could severely affect our business.
Such an event might be caused by computer hacking, computer viruses, worms and other destructive or disruptive software, "cyber attacks" and other malicious activity, as well as natural disasters, power outages, terrorist attacks and similar events. Such events could have an adverse impact on us and our customers, including degradation of service, service disruption, excessive call volume to call centers and damage to our plant, equipment and data. In addition, our future results could be adversely affected due to the theft, destruction, loss, misappropriation or release of confidential customer data or intellectual property. Operational or business delays may result from the disruption of network or information systems and the subsequent remediation activities. Moreover, these events may create negative publicity resulting in reputation or brand damage with customers.
The Company’s success depends on the experience and skill of the board of directors, its executive officers and key employees.
In particular, the Company is dependent on James St. Louis who is CEO of the Company. The Company has or intends to enter into employment agreements with James St. Louis although there can be no assurance that it will do so or that they will continue to be employed by the Company for a particular period of time. The loss of James St. Louis or any member of the board of directors or executive officer could harm the Company’s business, financial condition, cash flow and results of operations.
The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Offering for unspecified working capital.
This means that the Company has ultimate discretion to use the proceeds as it sees fit and has chosen not to set forth any specific uses for you to evaluate. The net proceeds from this Offering will be used for the purposes, which our management deems to be in our best interests in order to address changed circumstances or opportunities. As a result of the foregoing, our success will be substantially dependent upon our discretion and judgment with respect to application and allocation of the net proceeds of this Offering. The Company may choose to use the proceeds in a manner that you do not agree with and you will have no recourse. A use of proceeds that does not further the Company’s business and goals could harm the Company and its operations and ultimately cause an Investor to lose all or a portion of his or her investment.
Although dependent on certain key personnel, the Company does not have any key man life insurance policies on any such people.
The Company is dependent on James St. Louis in order to conduct its operations and execute its business plan, however, the Company has not purchased any insurance policies with respect to those individuals in the event of their death or disability. Therefore, if any of James St. Louis die or become disabled, the Company will not receive any compensation to assist with such person’s absence. The loss of such person could negatively affect the Company and its operations.
We are subject to income taxes as well as non-income based taxes, such as payroll, sales, use, value-added, net worth, property and goods and services taxes, in both the U.S. and various foreign jurisdictions.
Significant judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Although we believe that our tax estimates are reasonable: (i) there is no assurance that the final determination of tax audits or tax disputes will not be different from what is reflected in our income tax provisions, expense amounts for non-income based taxes and accruals and (ii) any material differences could have an adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations in the period or periods for which determination is made.
We are not subject to Sarbanes-Oxley regulations and lack the financial controls and safeguards required of public companies.
We do not have the internal infrastructure necessary, and are not required, to complete an attestation about our financial controls that would be required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. There can be no assurance that there are no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the quality of our financial controls. We expect to incur additional expenses and diversion of management’s time if and when it becomes necessary to perform the system and process evaluation, testing and remediation required in order to comply with the management certification and auditor attestation requirements.
The Company has indicated that it has engaged in certain transactions with related persons.
Please see the section of this Memorandum entitled "Transactions with Related Persons" for further details.
Changes in employment laws or regulation could harm our performance.
Various federal and state labor laws govern our relationship with our employees and affect operating costs. These laws include minimum wage requirements, overtime pay, healthcare reform and the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates, citizenship requirements, union membership and sales taxes. A number of factors could adversely affect our operating results, including additional government-imposed increases in minimum wages, overtime pay, paid leaves of absence and mandated health benefits, mandated training for employees, increased tax reporting and tax payment requirements for employees who receive tips, a reduction in the number of states that allow tips to be credited toward minimum wage requirements, changing regulations from the National Labor Relations Board and increased employee litigation including claims relating to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The Company’s business operations may be materially adversely affected by a pandemic such as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, which spread throughout other parts of the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic.” COVID-19 resulted in a widespread health crisis that adversely affected the economies and financial markets worldwide. The Company’s business could be materially and adversely affected. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts the Company’s business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extended period of time, the Company’s operations may be materially adversely affected.
We face risks related to health epidemics and other outbreaks, which could significantly disrupt the Company’s operations and could have a material adverse impact on us.
The outbreak of pandemics and epidemics could materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition, and results of operations. If a pandemic occurs in areas in which we have material operations or sales, the Company’s business activities originating from affected areas, including sales, materials, and supply chain related activities, could be adversely affected. Disruptive activities could include the temporary closure of facilities used in the Company’s supply chain processes, restrictions on the export or shipment of products necessary to run the Company’s business, business closures in impacted areas, and restrictions on the Company’s employees’ or consultants’ ability to travel and to meet with customers, vendors or other business relationships. The extent to which a pandemic or other health outbreak impacts the Company’s results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of a virus and the actions to contain it or treat its impact, among others. Pandemics can also result in social, economic, and labor instability which may adversely impact the Company’s business.
If the Company’s employees or employees of any of the Company’s vendors, suppliers or customers become ill or are quarantined and in either or both events are therefore unable to work, the Company’s operations could be subject to disruption.The extent to which a pandemic affects the Company’s results will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.
We face risks relating to public health conditions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which could adversely affect the Company’s customers, business, and results of operations.
Our business and prospects could be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic or recurrences of that or any other such disease in the future. Material adverse effects from COVID-19 and similar occurrences could result in numerous known and currently unknown ways including from quarantines and lockdowns which impair the Company’s business including: marketing and sales efforts, supply chain, etc. If the Company purchases materials from suppliers in affected areas, the Company may not be able to procure such products in a timely manner. The effects of a pandemic can place travel restrictions on key personnel which could have a material impact on the business. In addition, a significant outbreak of contagious diseases in the human population could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets of many countries, resulting in an economic downturn that could reduce the demand for the Company’s products and impair the Company’s business prospects including as a result of being unable to raise additional capital on acceptable terms to us, if at all.
We are subject to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or the Dodd-Frank Act, was signed into law on July 21, 2010. The Dodd-Frank Act significantly changes federal financial services regulation and affects, among other things, the lending, deposit, investment, trading, and operating activities of financial institutions and their holding companies. The Dodd-Frank Act requires extensive rulemaking by various regulatory agencies. The Dodd-Frank Act rulemaking process is ongoing and any changes resulting from such process, as well as any other changes in the laws or regulations applicable to us more generally, may negatively impact the profitability of our business activities, require us to change certain of our business practices, materially affect our business model, limit the activities in which we may engage, affect retention of key personnel, require us to raise additional regulatory capital, increase the amount of liquid assets that we hold, otherwise affect our funding profile or expose us to additional costs (including increased compliance costs). Any such changes may also require us to invest significant management attention and resources to make any necessary changes and may adversely affect our ability to conduct our business as previously conducted or our results of operations or financial condition. As such, we cannot predict and may not be able to anticipate all the effects of the Dodd-Frank Act on our financial condition or operations.
We operate in a highly regulated environment, and if we are found to be in violation of any of the federal, state, or local laws or regulations applicable to us, our business could suffer.
We are also subject to a wide range of federal, state, and local laws and regulations, such as local licensing requirements, and retail financing, debt collection, consumer protection, environmental, health and safety, creditor, wage-hour, anti-discrimination, whistleblower and other employment practices laws and regulations and we expect these costs to increase going forward. The violation of these or future requirements or laws and regulations could result in administrative, civil, or criminal sanctions against us, which may include fines, a cease and desist order against the subject operations or even revocation or suspension of our license to operate the subject business. As a result, we have incurred and will continue to incur capital and operating expenditures and other costs to comply with these requirements and laws and regulations.
The collection, processing, storage, use and disclosure of personal data could give rise to liabilities as a result of governmental regulation, conflicting legal requirements or differing views of personal privacy rights.
We receive, collect, process, transmit, store and use a large volume of personally identifiable information and other sensitive data from customers and potential customers. There are federal, state and foreign laws regarding privacy, recording telephone calls and the storing, sharing, use, disclosure and protection of personally identifiable information and sensitive data. Specifically, personally identifiable information is increasingly subject to legislation and regulations to protect the privacy of personal information that is collected, processed and transmitted. Any violations of these laws and regulations may require us to change our business practices or operational structure, address legal claims and sustain monetary penalties and/or other harms to our business.
The regulatory framework for privacy issues in the United States and internationally is constantly evolving and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future.
The interpretation and application of such laws is often uncertain, and such laws may be interpreted and applied in a manner inconsistent with our current policies and practices or require changes to the features of our platform. If either we or our third party service providers are unable to address any privacy concerns, even if unfounded, or to comply with applicable laws and regulations, it could result in additional costs and liability, damage our reputation and harm our business.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or CFPB is a new agency, and there continues to be uncertainty as to how the agency’s actions or the actions of any other new agency could impact our business or that of our issuing banks.
The CFPB, which commenced operations in July 2011, has broad authority over the businesses in which we engage. This includes authority to write regulations under federal consumer financial protection laws, such as the Truth in Lending Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and to enforce those laws against and examine large financial institutions, such as our issuing banks, for compliance. The CFPB is authorized to prevent "unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices" through its regulatory, supervisory and enforcement authority. To assist in its enforcement, the CFPB maintains an online complaint system that allows consumers to log complaints with respect to various consumer finance products, including the loan products we facilitate. This system could inform future CFPB decisions with respect to its regulatory, enforcement or examination focus.
We are subject to the CFPB’s jurisdiction, including its enforcement authority.
The CFPB may request reports concerning our organization, business conduct, markets and activities. The CFPB may also conduct on-site examinations of our business on a periodic basis if the CFPB were to determine, through its complaint system, that we were engaging in activities that pose risks to consumers.
There continues to be uncertainty as to how the CFPB’s strategies and priorities, including in both its examination and enforcement processes, will impact our businesses and our results of operations going forward.
Our compliance costs and litigation exposure could increase materially if the CFPB or other regulators enact new regulations, change regulations that were previously adopted, modify, through supervision or enforcement, past regulatory guidance, or interpret existing regulations in a manner different or stricter than have been previously interpreted.
Our earnings may decrease because of changes in prevailing interest rates.
Our profitability is directly affected by changes in prevailing interest rates.
The following are certain material risks we face related to changes in prevailing interest rates:
* an increase in prevailing interest rates could generate an increase in delinquency, default and foreclosure rates resulting in an increase in both operating expenses and interest expense and could cause a reduction in the value of our assets;
* an increase in prevailing interest rates could adversely affect our loan originations volume because refinancing an existing loan would be less attractive for homeowners and qualifying for a purchase money loan may be more difficult for consumers;
* an increase in prevailing interest rates would increase the cost of servicing our outstanding debt, including our ability to finance servicing advances and loan originations;
* a decrease in prevailing interest rates may increase prepayment speeds causing our servicing fees to decline more rapidly than anticipated and we may record a decrease in the value of our MSRs;
* a decrease in prevailing interest rates may lead to higher compensating interest expense and increased amortization expense as we revise downward our estimate of total expected income as prepayment speeds increase; and a decrease in prevailing interest rates could reduce our earnings from our custodial deposit accounts.
Fluctuations in interest rates could negatively affect transaction volume.
All personal and nearly all small business loans facilitated through our marketplace are issued with fixed interest rates, and education and patient finance loans facilitated by our platform are issued with fixed or variable rates, depending on the type of loan. If interest rates rise, investors who have already committed capital may lose the opportunity to take advantage of the higher rates. Additionally, potential borrowers could seek to defer loans as they wait for interest rates to settle, and borrowers of variable rate loans through may be subject to increased interest rates. If interest rates decrease after a loan is made, borrowers through our marketplace may prepay their loans to take advantage of the lower rates. Investors through our marketplace would lose the opportunity to collect the above-market interest rate payable on the corresponding loan and may delay or reduce future loan investments. As a result, fluctuations in the interest rate environment may discourage investors and borrowers from participating in our marketplace and may reduce our loan originations, which may adversely affect our business.
As a registered investment advisor, our failure to comply with investment guidelines set by our clients or the provisions of the management agreement and other agreements to which we are a party could result in damage awards against us and a loss of assets under management (AUM), either of which could have an adverse effect on us.
As an investment adviser, each Adviser has a fiduciary duty to its clients. When clients retain an adviser to manage assets on their behalf, they may specify certain guidelines regarding investment allocation and strategy that such adviser is required to observe in the management of its portfolios. In addition, such adviser is required to comply with the obligations set forth in the management agreements and other agreements to which it is a party. Although each adviser utilizes procedures, processes and the services of experienced advisors to assist it in adhering to these guidelines and agreements, we cannot assure you that such precautions will protect us from potential liabilities. An adviser’s failure to comply with these guidelines or the terms of these agreements could have a material adverse effect on us.
Negative public opinion could damage our reputation and adversely affect our business.
Reputation risk, or the risk to our business from negative public opinion, is inherent in our business. Negative public opinion can result from our actual or alleged conduct in any number of activities, including lending and debt collection practices, corporate governance, and actions taken by government regulators and community organizations in response to those activities. Negative public opinion can also result from media coverage, whether accurate or not. Negative public opinion can adversely affect our ability to attract and retain customers and employees and can expose us to litigation and regulatory action.
Our business and operating results may be impacted by adverse economic conditions.
General economic factors and conditions in the United States or worldwide, including the general interest rate environment, unemployment rates and residential home values, may affect borrower willingness to seek loans and investor ability and desire to invest in loans. For example, during the 2008 financial crisis, banks severely constrained lending activities, which caused a decline in loan issuances. A similar crisis could negatively impact the willingness of investors and borrowers to participate on our marketplace. Although the U.S. and global economies have shown improvement, the recovery remains modest and uncertain. If present U.S. and global economic uncertainties persist, many of our investors may delay or reduce their investment in the loans facilitated through our marketplace. Adverse economic conditions could also reduce the number of individuals seeking to invest in loans facilitated on our marketplace, reduce the number of qualified borrowers seeking loans on our marketplace and result in borrowers being unable to make payments. Should any of these situations occur, our revenue and transactions on our marketplace would decline and our business would be negatively impacted.
Our business depends on our ability to successfully manage our credit risk, and failing to do so may result in high charge-off rates.
Our success depends on our ability to manage our credit risk while attracting new customers with profitable usage patterns. We select our customers, manage their accounts and establish terms and credit limits using proprietary scoring models and other analytical techniques that are designed to set terms and credit limits to appropriately compensate us for the credit risk we accept, while encouraging customers to use their available credit. The models and approaches we use to manage our credit risk may not accurately predict future charge-offs for various reasons discussed in the preceding risk factor. There can be no assurance that our credit underwriting and risk management strategies will enable us to avoid high charge-off levels or delinquencies, or that our allowance for loan losses will be sufficient to cover actual losses.
Our collection operations may not compete effectively to secure more of customers’ diminished cash flow than our competitors.
In addition, we may not identify customers who are likely to default on their payment obligations to us and reduce our exposure by closing credit lines and restricting authorizations quickly enough, which could have an adverse effect on our business. Our ability to manage credit risk also may be adversely affected by legal or regulatory changes (such as bankruptcy laws and minimum payment regulations) and collection regulations, competitors’ actions and consumer behavior, as well as inadequate collections staffing, techniques, models and performance of vendors such as collection agencies.
Our epay and money transfer businesses may be susceptible to fraud and/or credit risks occurring at the retailer and/or consumer level, which could adversely affect our business.
We contract with retailers that accept payment on our behalf, which we then transfer to a trust or other operating account for payment to content providers. In the event a retailer does not transfer to us payments that it receives for prepaid content sales, whether as a result of fraud, insolvency, billing delays or otherwise, we are responsible to the content provider for the cost of the product sold. We can provide no assurance that retailer fraud or insolvency will not increase in the future or that any proceeds we receive under our credit enhancement insurance policies will be adequate to cover losses resulting from retailer fraud, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our regulatory compliance programs and other enterprise risk management efforts cannot eliminate all systemic risk.
We have devoted significant time and energy to develop our enterprise risk management program, including substantially expanded regulatory compliance policies and procedures. We expect to continue to do so in the future. The goal of enterprise risk management is not to eliminate all risk, but rather to identify, assess and rank risk. The goal of regulatory compliance policies is to have formal written procedures in place that are intended to reduce the risk of inadvertent regulatory violations. Nonetheless, our efforts to identify, monitor and manage risks may not be fully effective. Many of our methods of managing risk and exposures depend upon the implementation of federal and state regulations and other policies or procedures affecting our customers or employees. Management of operational, legal and regulatory risks requires, among other things, policies and procedures, and these policies and procedures may not be fully effective in managing these risks.
While many of the risks that we monitor and manage are described in this Risk Factors section of this Memorandum, our business operations could also be affected by additional factors that are not presently described in this section or known to us or that we currently consider immaterial to our operations.
We may face competition from other companies that offer smart card technology, other innovative payment technologies and payment processing, which could result in loss of our existing business and adversely impact our ability to successfully market additional products and services.
Our primary competitors in the payment processing market include other independent processors, as well as financial institutions, independent sales organizations, and, potentially card networks. Many of our competitors are companies who are larger than we are and have greater financial and operational resources than we have. These factors may allow them to offer better pricing terms or incentives to customers, which could result in a loss of our potential or current customers or could force us to lower our prices as well. Either of these actions could have a significant effect on our revenues and earnings.
In addition to competition that our system faces from the use of cash, checks, credit and debit cards, existing payment systems and the providers of financial services and low cost bank accounts, there are a number of other products that use smart card technology in connection with a funds transfer system.
During the past several years, smart card technology has become increasingly prevalent. We believe that the most competitive product in this marketplace is EMV, a system that is promoted by most of the major card companies such as Visa, MasterCard, JCB and American Express. Also, governments and financial institutions are, to an increasing extent, implementing general-purpose reloadable prepaid cards as a low-cost alternative to provide financial services to the unbanked population. Moreover, while we see the acceptance over time of using a mobile phone to facilitate financial services as an opportunity, there is a risk that other companies will be able to introduce such services to the marketplace successfully and that customers may prefer those services to ours, based on technology, price or other factors.
If our payment processors and disbursement partners experience an interruption in service, our business and revenue would be harmed.
Our payment processors and disbursement partners have experienced service outages or an inability to connect with our processing systems and this may reoccur in the future. If a payment processor experiences a service outage or service interruption that results in our being unable to collect funds from customers, our liquidity could be harmed and we may not meet our capital requirements. We do not directly access the ACH system or payment card networks such as Visa and MasterCard, which systems enable our acceptance of bank account-funded transactions, credit cards and debit cards. As a result, we rely on banks and other payment processors and disbursement partners to process transactions. In the event of service outages in the payment card or ACH networks, or if our payment processors or disbursement partners were unable to access the payment card or ACH networks, our business would be harmed.
Fluctuations in the mix of customer demand for our various types of solution offerings could impact our financial performance and ability to forecast performance.
Due to fluctuations in customer needs, changes in customer industries, and general economic conditions, customer demand for the range of our offerings varies from time to time and is not predictable. In addition, our gross margins vary by customer and by segment and the mix of services provided to our customers could impact our results of operations as certain of our customers and segments have different gross margin profiles. Generally, the profitability of an account increases over time. As a result, the mix of solutions we provide to our customers varies at any given time, both within a quarter and from quarter-to-quarter. These variations in service mix impact gross margins and the predictability of gross margins for any period. You should not rely on the results of any one quarter as an indication of our future performance.
Our operating results may fluctuate due to factors that are difficult to forecast and not within our control.
Our past operating results may not be accurate indicators of future performance, and you should not rely on such results to predict our future performance. Our operating results have fluctuated significantly in the past, and could fluctuate in the future. Factors that may contribute to fluctuations include:
* changes in aggregate capital spending, cyclicality and other economic conditions, or domestic and international demand in the industries we serve;
* our ability to effectively manage our working capital;
* our ability to satisfy consumer demands in a timely and cost-effective manner;
* pricing and availability of labor and materials;
* our inability to adjust certain fixed costs and expenses for changes in demand;
* shifts in geographic concentration of customers, supplies and labor pools; and
* seasonal fluctuations in demand and our revenue.
If we fail to attract and retain enough sufficiently trained customer service associates and other personnel to support our operations, our business and results of operations will be seriously harmed.
We rely on customer service associates, and our success depends to a significant extent on our ability to attract, hire, train and retain qualified customer service associates. Companies in our industry, including us, experience high employee attrition. Our attrition rate for our customer service associates who remained with us following a 90-day training and orientation period was on average approximately 5% per month. A significant increase in the attrition rate among our customer service associates could decrease our operating efficiency and productivity. Our failure to attract, train and retain customer service associates with the qualifications necessary to fulfill the needs of our existing and future clients would seriously harm our business and results of operations.
Our ability to sell our products and services is dependent on the quality of our technical support services, and our failure to offer high quality technical support services would have a material adverse effect on our sales and results of operations.
Once our products are deployed within our end-customers’ operations, end-customers depend on our technical support services to resolve any issues relating to these products. If we do not effectively assist our customers in deploying these products, succeed in helping our customers quickly resolve post-deployment issues, and provide effective ongoing support, our ability to sell additional products and services to existing customers would be adversely affected and our reputation with potential customers could be damaged. As a result, our failure to maintain high quality support services would have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We may be adversely affected by cyclicality, volatility or an extended downturn in the United States or worldwide economy, or in or related to the industries we serve.
Our revenues are generated primarily from servicing customers seeking to hire qualified professionals in the technology, healthcare, hospitality and finance sectors and the energy industry. Demand for these professionals tends to be tied to economic and business cycles. Increases in the unemployment rate, specifically in the technology, healthcare, finance and other vertical industries we serve, cyclicality or an extended downturn in the economy could cause our revenues to decline. Therefore, our operating results, business and financial condition could be significantly harmed by an extended economic downturn or future downturns, especially in regions or industries where our operations are heavily concentrated. Further, we may face increased pricing pressures during such periods as customers seek to use lower cost or fee services, which may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to rapid technological change and dependence on new product development.
Our industry is characterized by rapid and significant technological developments, frequent new product introductions and enhancements, continually evolving business expectations and swift changes. To compete effectively in such markets, we must continually improve and enhance our products and services and develop new technologies and services that incorporate technological advances, satisfy increasing customer expectations and compete effectively on the basis of performance and price. Our success will also depend substantially upon our ability to anticipate, and to adapt our products and services to our collaborative partner’s preferences. There can be no assurance that technological developments will not render some of our products and services obsolete, or that we will be able to respond with improved or new products, services, and technology that satisfy evolving customers’ expectations. Failure to acquire, develop or introduce new products, services, and enhancements in a timely manner could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Also, to the extent one or more of our competitors introduces products and services that better address a customer’s needs, our business would be adversely affected.
Failure to obtain new clients or renew client contracts on favorable terms could adversely affect results of operations.
We may face pricing pressure in obtaining and retaining our clients. Our clients may be able to seek price reductions from us when they renew a contract, when a contract is extended, or when the client’s business has significant volume changes. They may also reduce services if they decide to move services in-house. On some occasions, this pricing pressure results in lower revenue from a client than we had anticipated based on our previous agreement with that client. This reduction in revenue could result in an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Further, failure to renew client contracts on favorable terms could have an adverse effect on our business. Our contracts with clients generally run for several years and include liquidated damage provisions that provide for early termination fees. Terms are generally renegotiated prior to the end of a contract’s term. If we are not successful in achieving a high rate of contract renewals on favorable terms, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We may rely on subcontractors and partners to provide customers with a single-source solution or we may serve as a subcontractor to a third party prime contractor.
From time to time, we may engage subcontractors, teaming partners or other third parties to provide our customers with a single-source solution for a broader range of service needs. Similarly, we are and may in the future be engaged as a subcontractor to a third party prime contractor. Subcontracting arrangements pose unique risks to us because we do not have control over the customer relationship, and our ability to generate revenue under the subcontract is dependent on the prime contractor, its performance and relationship with the customer and its relationship with us. While we believe that we perform appropriate due diligence on our prime contractors, subcontractors and teaming partners and that we take adequate measures to ensure that they comply with the appropriate laws and regulations, we cannot guarantee that those parties will comply with the terms set forth in their agreements with us (or in the case of a prime contractor, their agreement with the customer), or that they will be reasonable in construing their contractual rights and obligations, always act appropriately in dealing with us or customers, provide adequate service, or remain in compliance with the relevant laws, rules or regulations. We may have disputes with our prime contractors, subcontractors, teaming partners or other third parties arising from the quality and timeliness of work being performed, customer concerns, contractual interpretations or other matters. We may be exposed to liability if we lose or terminate a subcontractor or teaming partner due to a dispute, and subsequently have difficulty engaging an appropriate replacement or otherwise performing their functions in-house, such that we fail to fulfill our contractual obligations to our customer. In the event a prime contract, under which we serve as a subcontractor, is terminated, whether for non-performance by the prime contractor or otherwise, then our subcontract will similarly terminate and we could face contractual liability and the resulting contract loss could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Our business and financial condition may be impacted by military actions, global terrorism, natural disasters and political unrest.
Military actions in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, global terrorism, natural disasters and political unrest in the Middle East and other countries are among the factors that may adversely impact regional and global economic conditions and our clients’ ability, capacity and need to invest in our services. Additionally, hurricanes or other unanticipated catastrophes, both in the U.S. and globally, could disrupt our operations and negatively impact our business as well as disrupt our clients’ businesses, which may result in a further adverse impact on our business. As a result, significant disruptions caused by such events could materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.
Risks Related to the Securities
The Securities will not be freely tradable until one year from the initial purchase date.
Although the Securities Stock may be tradable under federal securities law, state securities regulations may apply and each Purchaser should consult with his or her attorney.
You should be aware of the long-term nature of this investment.
There is not now and likely will not be a public market for the Securities. Because the Securities have not been registered under the Securities Act or under the securities laws of any state or non-United States jurisdiction, the Securities have transfer restrictions and cannot be resold in the United States except pursuant to Rule 501 of Regulation CF and under the terms of the Company’s Operating Agreement. It is not currently contemplated that registration under the Securities Act or other securities laws will be effected. Limitations on the transfer of the Securities may also adversely affect the price that you might be able to obtain for the Securities in a private sale. Purchasers should be aware of the long-term nature of their investment in the Company. Each Purchaser in this Offering will be required to represent that it is purchasing the Securities for its own account, for investment purposes and not with a view to resale or distribution thereof.
Neither the Offering nor the Securities have been registered under federal or state securities laws, leading to an absence of certain regulation applicable to the Company.
No governmental agency has reviewed or passed upon this Offering, the Company or any Securities of the Company. The Company also has relied on exemptions from securities registration requirements under applicable state securities laws. Investors in the Company, therefore, will not receive any of the benefits that such registration would otherwise provide. Prospective investors must therefore assess the adequacy of disclosure and the fairness of the terms of this Offering on their own or in conjunction with their personal advisors.
No Guarantee of Return on Investment
There is no assurance that a Purchaser will realize a return on its investment or that it will not lose its entire investment. For this reason, each Purchaser should read the Form C and all Exhibits carefully and should consult with its own attorney and business advisor prior to making any investment decision.
The Company has the right to extend the Offering deadline.
The Company may extend the Offering deadline beyond what is currently stated herein. This means that your investment may continue to be held in escrow while the Company attempts to raise the Minimum Amount even after the Offering deadline stated herein is reached. Your investment will not be accruing interest during this time and will simply be held until such time as the new Offering deadline is reached without the Company receiving the Minimum Amount, at which time it will be returned to you without interest or deduction, or the Company receives the Minimum Amount, at which time it will be released to the Company to be used as set forth herein. Upon or shortly after release of such funds to the Company, the Securities will be issued and distributed to you.
The Company has the right to end the Offering early.
The Company may also end the Offering early. If the Offering reaches the Minimum Amount after 30 calendar days but before the Offering deadline, the Company can end the Offering with five business days’ notice. This means your failure to participate in the Offering in a timely manner, may prevent you from being able to participate – it also means the Company may limit the amount of capital it can raise during the Offering by ending it early.
Your ownership of the shares of stock will be subject to dilution.
Owners of do not have preemptive rights. If the Company conducts subsequent Offerings of or Securities convertible into , issues shares pursuant to a compensation or distribution reinvestment plan or otherwise issues additional shares, investors who purchase shares in this Offering who do not participate in those other stock issuances will experience dilution in their percentage ownership of the Company’s outstanding shares. Furthermore, shareholders may experience a dilution in the value of their shares depending on the terms and pricing of any future share issuances (including the shares being sold in this Offering) and the value of the Company’s assets at the time of issuance.
The Securities will be equity interests in the Company and will not constitute indebtedness.
The Securities will rank junior to all existing and future indebtedness and other non-equity claims on the Company with respect to assets available to satisfy claims on the Company, including in a liquidation of the Company. Additionally, unlike indebtedness, for which principal and interest would customarily be payable on specified due dates, there will be no specified payments of dividends with respect to the Securities and dividends are payable only if, when and as authorized and declared by the Company and depend on, among other matters, the Company’s historical and projected results of operations, liquidity, cash flows, capital levels, financial condition, debt service requirements and other cash needs, financing covenants, applicable state law, federal and state regulatory prohibitions and other restrictions and any other factors the Company’s board of directors deems relevant at the time. In addition, the terms of the Securities will not limit the amount of debt or other obligations the Company may incur in the future. Accordingly, the Company may incur substantial amounts of additional debt and other obligations that will rank senior to the Securities.
There can be no assurance that we will ever provide liquidity to Purchasers through either a sale of the Company or a registration of the Securities.
There can be no assurance that any form of merger, combination, or sale of the Company will take place, or that any merger, combination, or sale would provide liquidity for Purchasers. Furthermore, we may be unable to register the Securities for resale by Purchasers for legal, commercial, regulatory, market-related or other reasons. In the event that we are unable to effect a registration, Purchasers could be unable to sell their Securities unless an exemption from registration is available.
The Company does not anticipate paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future.
The Company currently intends to retain future earnings, if any, for the foreseeable future, to repay indebtedness and to support its business. The Company does not intend in the foreseeable future to pay any dividends to holders of its shares of .
The Company has the right to conduct multiple closings during the Offering.
If the Company meets certain terms and conditions an intermediate close of the Offering can occur, which will allow the Company to draw down on a portion of the proceeds of the Offering committed and captured during the relevant period. The Company may choose to continue the Offering thereafter. Purchasers should be mindful that this means they can make multiple investment commitments in the Offering, which may be subject to different cancellation rights. For example, if an intermediate close occurs and later a material change occurs as the Offering continues, Purchasers previously closed upon will not have the right to re-confirm their investment as it will be deemed completed.
In addition to the risks listed above, businesses are often subject to risks not foreseen or fully appreciated by the management.
It is not possible to foresee all risks that may affect us. Moreover, the Company cannot predict whether the Company will successfully effectuate the Company’s current business plan. Each prospective Purchaser is encouraged to carefully analyze the risks and merits of an investment in the Securities and should take into consideration when making such analysis, among other, the Risk Factors discussed above.
THE SECURITIES OFFERED INVOLVE A HIGH DEGREE OF RISK AND MAY RESULT IN THE LOSS OF YOUR ENTIRE INVESTMENT. ANY PERSON CONSIDERING THE PURCHASE OF THESE SECURITIES SHOULD BE AWARE OF THESE AND OTHER FACTORS SET FORTH IN THIS FORM C AND SHOULD CONSULT WITH HIS OR HER LEGAL, TAX AND FINANCIAL ADVISORS PRIOR TO MAKING AN INVESTMENT IN THE SECURITIES. THE SECURITIES SHOULD ONLY BE PURCHASED BY PERSONS WHO CAN AFFORD TO LOSE ALL OF THEIR INVESTMENT.