• Valuation Cap:$25,000,000
  • Min. Investment:$250
  • Round Size:$4,624,000
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Upending 50 years
of operating system hegemony

NanoVMs runs Linux software faster and safer than Linux through unikernels.

Raised 3M
Revenue from 11 Countries
Multiple Grants 3 awarded
Patents Issued 4
NanoVMs is a Silicon Valley based deep-tech company that is creating a new server-side operating system designed for today’s generation of cloud infrastructure.

The OS was built for cloud-based computing like AWS and GCP utilizing a unikernel approach which takes up minimal resources and space, all while improving application speed and computer security. NanoVMs offers software solutions, subscription services, and technical support from industry experts.

Backed by Well Known Venture Capitalists

$1,440,855

100% of minimum goal raised

1441

Investors

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OVERVIEW
We shrink existing applications into small secure virtual machines

Breaches can cost even the best opsec teams $100MM

Solarwinds

Hackers broke in and infected more than 33,000 customers.

Colonial Pipeline

Colonial, controlling nearly half of the gas and jet fuel on the east coast shut down after a cyber attack and ended up paying $5M in ransomware.

Log4j

A simple logging utility that is embedded in over 95% of java applications might take years to fully fix.

Laspus$

British teenager hacked Nvidia, Samsung, Microsoft, and Okta and bragged about it publicly. Attack may have affected hundreds of Oktas customers that use it for centralized authentication.

The Server operating system has not changed in 50 years

1969

Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie created Unix in the late 1960s and early 1970s on machines like the PDP-7 and PDP-11. They cost half a million dollars and took up an entire wall so the operating system needed the ability to run many programs by many users.

1991

Linus Torvalds releases a 'free' Unix clone called Linux in 1991 which work on machines like the 286 and 386.

1999

Diane Greene and her husband found VMWare and bring commercialized virtualization to the market. Now machines can hold many virtual machines.

2005

In 2005 Amazon releases Amazon Web Services which is now called the "cloud" with an API for virtualization. Most tech companies now deploy software to the cloud but are still using a system designed from 50 years ago.

Run code faster

Nanos is fast. How fast you ask?

Our latest benchmarks show that Nanos serves static content almost twice as fast as Linux. ... and we are just getting started.

Start hacking →

Tested with Go (net/http) on Google Compute Engine (1 vCPU). Learn More

Docker / Kubernetes vs Unikernels

Some people think that Unikernels are just "containers 2.0" but the reality is that they are incredibly different technologies.

History of software infrastructure

The industry's biggest names are researching unikernels
but we have revenue from customers in production today.
Invest now
Our Team We've assembled a strong team of kernel experts

Ian is the founder and CEO of NanoVMs and a frequent speaker on the subject of unikernels. He holds 4 issued patents on unikernels and 2 more filed. Ian has won 3 grants on the topic of unikernels.

Ian Eyberg

CEO

Will is an outstanding principal kernel engineer. Will holds one patent on unikernels. He has attended Stanford, and worked at companies such as Cisco. Will was responsible for spearheading the effort to reverse engineer AWS instances and adding support to run Nanos on the AARCH64 platform.

Will Jhun

Principal Kernel Engineer

Justin attended the University of Georgia and has worked at companies like Coraid. Justin has extensive hypervisor, networking and SMP related work.

Justin Sanders

Sr. Kernel Engineer

Francesco is a highly talented kernel engineer that is capable of breaking down extremely technical problems and swiftly coding up solutions. Francesco was responsible for initial Firecracker integration and more.

Francesco Lavra

Sr. Kernel Engineer
What we sell

Nanos Support
Subscription

  • Business $600/mo
  • Small Team $300/mo
  • Individual Developer $30/mo
Get Started

Nanos C2 Product

  • Monthly Set $7/user
  • Annual Package $67.20/user
Get Started

NanoVMs Radar

  • Single User for
  • Developer $9/mo
  • Small Team $25/mo
Get Started

Pkghub Personal Subscription

  • One User
  • $5/month.
  • Unlimited Private Repos
  • 9x5 Phone/Skype/Email/Chat Support
Get Started

Pkghub Team Subscription

  • Multiple User
  • $7/user/month.
  • Packages Under Org Namespace
  • Unlimited Private Repos
  • 24x7 Phone/Skype/Email/Chat Support
Get Started

NanoVMs has revenue from 11 countries today with customers in production for over a year and half now including a $950M ID/IQ from the US Air Force.

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The Market Diving into the cybersecurity and DevOps market

The key audiences we’re targeting are developers and devops professionals. The DevOps market is expected to be worth $15 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 19.1%. This is a significant increase from the DevOps market worth in 2018, which was $3,708.1 million.

Meanwhile, the market for cybersecurity is already an existing $60 billion market. By 2025, the market is projected to grow to nearly $110.99 billion, and then to $182.32 billion by 2030.

This is an explosive category creator opportunity.
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The Solution

The unikernel, a cloud-based solution

NanoVMs uses unikernels, which are designed to run a single-program as an OS. Unikernels are single process machine images. Unlike the Windows or Linux OS, unikernels prevent multiple programs from running, which in turn prevents attackers from running their own software on your server.

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In the News

Cryptojacking: The Newest Trick Up Hackers' Sleeves

We're all familiar with the threats of computer breaches and website crashes. But in recent months another, perhaps even more troubling, reason to keep a close eye on your company computer system and website has appeared: cryptojacking.

Read more ->

You'll Never Believe the Disruptive Innovation at VMworld

DevOps tooling seems to be in a never-ending state of self-transformation. The continuing evolution of infrastructure and the tools that go with it are forever creating new ecosystems. On the infrastructure side, we saw VMWare, Citrix and other companies bring to market massive virtualization in the late ’90s and early ’00s.

Read more ->

DeferPanic secures $1.5 M seed round to popularize unikernel concept

We’ve all probably heard of containers and virtual machines by now. Virtualization enabled IT to break down a single server into multiple machines. Containers allowed you take that concept and make it even smaller. DeferPanic wants to take another step with a technology called Unikernels. Today, the company announced its $1.5 million seed round.

Read more ->

NanoVMs Announces First Plug and Play Unikernel Tool

NanoVMs, the industry leader in unikernel technology development and deployment, announces the first unikernel tool for developers that loads any Linux application as a unikernel. The tool, called "Ops " is simple to use, requires no complex coding or configuration and only requires a simple command to execute.

Read more ->

Download the investor deck

and learn more about how NanoVMs is bringing unikernels to market.

Form C

FAQs
1. Why invest in startups?
Crowdfunding allows investors to support startups and early-growth companies that they are passionate about. This is different from helping a company raise money on Kickstarter. With Regulation CF Offerings, you aren’t buying products or merchandise. You are buying a piece of a company and helping it grow.
2. How much can I invest?
Investors other than accredited investors are limited in the amounts they are allowed to invest in all Regulation Crowdfunding offerings (on this site and elsewhere) over the course of a 12-month period: If either of an investor’s annual income or net worth is less than $107,000, then the investor’s investment limit is $2,200, or 5 percent of the greater of the investor’s annual income or net worth, whichever is greater. If both an investor’s annual income and net worth are $107,000 or higher, then the investor’s limit is 10 percent of the greater of their annual income or net worth, or $107,000 whichever is greater. Accredited investors are not limited in the amount they can invest.
3. How do I calculate my net worth?
Calculating net worth involves adding up all your assets and subtracting all your liabilities (excluding the value of the person’s primary residence). The resulting sum is your net worth.
4. What are the tax implications of an equity crowdfunding investment?
We cannot give tax advice, and we encourage you to talk with your accountant or tax advisor before making an investment.
5. Who can invest in a Regulation CF Offering?
Individuals over 18 years of age can invest.
6. What do I need to know about early-stage investing? Are these investments risky?
Investing in startups and small businesses is inherently risky and standard company risk factors such as execution and strategy risk are often magnified at the early stages of a company. In the event that a company goes out of business, your ownership interest could lose all value. Furthermore, private investments in startup companies are illiquid instruments that typically take up to five and seven years (if ever) before an exit via acquisition, IPO, etc.
7. When will I get my investment back?
NanoVMs, Inc. is a privately held company, and its shares are not traded on a public stock exchange. As a result, the shares cannot be easily traded or sold. As an investor in a private company, you typically receive a return on your investment under the following two scenarios: The company gets acquired by another company. The company goes public (makes an initial public offering on the NASDAQ, NYSE, or another exchange). In those instances, you receive your pro-rata share of the distributions that occur, in the case of acquisition, or you can sell your shares on the exchange. It can take 5-7 years (or longer) to see a distribution or trading, as it takes years to build companies. In many cases, there will not be any return as a result of business failure. Investments in private placements and start-up investments in particular are speculative and involve a high degree of risk, and those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups. Companies seeking startup investments tend to be in earlier stages of development, and their business model, products and services may not yet be fully developed, operational or tested in the public marketplace. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. Additionally, investors on Regulation CF offerings will receive securities that are subject to holding period requirements. The most sensible investment strategy for start-up investing may include a balanced portfolio of different start-ups. Start-ups should only be part of your overall investment portfolio. Investments in startups are highly illiquid and those investors who cannot hold an investment for the long term (at least 5-7 years) should not invest.
8. Can I sell my shares?
Shares sold via Regulation Crowdfunding offerings have a one-year lock up period before those shares can be sold under certain conditions.
9. Exceptions to limitations on selling shares during the one-year lock up are transfers:
- to the company that issued the securities; - to an accredited investor; - to a family member (defined as a child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse or spousal equivalent, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, including adoptive relationships.); - in connection with your death or divorce or other similar circumstance;
10. What happens if a company does not reach their funding goal?
If a company does not reach their minimum funding goal, all funds will be returned to the investors after the closing of their offering.
11. How can I learn more about a company's offering?
All available financial information can be found on the offering pages for the company’s Regulation Crowdfunding offering.
12. What if I change my mind about investing?
You may cancel your investment at any time, for any reason until 48 hours prior to a closing occurring. If you have already funded your investment and your funds are in escrow, your funds will be promptly refunded to you upon cancellation. To submit a request to cancel your investment please email investors@nanovms.com.
Expand/Shrink
RISK FACTORS
Risks Related to the Company’s Business and Industry
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 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 and thus may be better equipped than us to develop and commercialize products. 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 will achieve initial market acceptance and our ability to generate meaningful additional revenues from our products.
We depend on third-party service providers and outsource providers for a variety of services and we outsource a number of our non-core functions and operations.
In certain instances, we rely on single or limited service providers and outsourcing vendors around the world because the relationship is advantageous due to quality, price, or lack of alternative sources. If production or service was interrupted and we were not able to find alternate third-party providers, we could experience disruptions in manufacturing and operations including product shortages, higher freight costs and re-engineering costs. If outsourcing services are interrupted or not performed or the performance is poor, this could impact our ability to process, record and report transactions with our customers and other constituents. Such interruptions in the provision of supplies and/or services could result in our inability to meet customer demand, damage our reputation and customer relationships and adversely affect our business.
We depend on third party providers, suppliers and licensors to supply some of the hardware, software and operational support necessary to provide some of our services.
We obtain these materials from a limited number of vendors, some of which do not have a long operating history, or which may not be able to continue to supply the equipment and services we desire. Some of our hardware, software and operational support vendors represent our sole source of supply or have, either through contract or as a result of intellectual property rights, a position of some exclusivity. If demand exceeds these vendors’ capacity or if these vendors experience operating or financial difficulties or are otherwise unable to provide the equipment or services we need in a timely manner, at our specifications and at reasonable prices, our ability to provide some services might be materially adversely affected, or the need to procure or develop alternative sources of the affected materials or services might delay our ability to serve our customers. These events could materially and adversely affect our ability to retain and attract customers, and have a material negative impact on our operations, business, financial results and financial condition.
Quality management plays an essential role in determining and meeting customer requirements, preventing defects, improving the Company’s products and services and maintaining the integrity of the data that supports the safety and efficacy of our products.
Our future success depends on our ability to maintain and continuously improve our quality management program. An inability to address a quality or safety issue in an effective and timely manner may also cause negative publicity, a loss of customer confidence in us or our current or future products, which may result in the loss of sales and difficulty in successfully launching new products. In addition, a successful claim brought against us in excess of available insurance or not covered by indemnification agreements, or any claim that results in significant adverse publicity against us, could have an adverse effect on our business and our reputation.
We plan to 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, and personally identifiable information of our 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.
The secure processing, maintenance and transmission of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy, and we devote significant resources to protecting our information by running our own software as unikernels. The expenses associated with protecting our information/ these steps could reduce our operating margins.
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 Ian Eyberg who is CEO of the Company. The Company has employment agreements with Ian Eyberg 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 Ian Eyberg 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.
We rely on various intellectual property rights, including patents and trademarks in order to operate our business.
Such intellectual property rights, however, may not be sufficiently broad or otherwise may not provide us a significant competitive advantage. In addition, the steps that we have taken to maintain and protect our intellectual property may not prevent it from being challenged, invalidated, circumvented or designed-around, particularly in countries where intellectual property rights are not highly developed or protected. In some circumstances, enforcement may not be available to us because an infringer has a dominant intellectual property position or for other business reasons, or countries may require compulsory licensing of our intellectual property. Our failure to obtain or maintain intellectual property rights that convey competitive advantage, adequately protect our intellectual property or detect or prevent circumvention or unauthorized use of such property, could adversely impact our competitive position and results of operations. We also rely on nondisclosure and noncompetition agreements with employees, consultants and other parties to protect, in part, trade secrets and other proprietary rights. There can be no assurance that these agreements will adequately protect our trade secrets and other proprietary rights and will not be breached, that we will have adequate remedies for any breach, that others will not independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information or that third parties will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or other proprietary rights.
As we expand our business, protecting our intellectual property will become increasingly important. The protective steps we have taken may be inadequate to deter our competitors from using our proprietary information. In order to protect or enforce our patent rights, we may be required to initiate litigation against third parties, such as infringement lawsuits. Also, these third parties may assert claims against us with or without provocation. These lawsuits could be expensive, take significant time and could divert management’s attention from other business concerns. The law relating to the scope and validity of claims in the technology field in which we operate is still evolving and, consequently, intellectual property positions in our industry are generally uncertain. We cannot assure you that we will prevail in any of these potential suits or that the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, would be commercially valuable.
From time to time, third parties may claim that one or more of our products or services infringe their intellectual property rights. Any dispute or litigation regarding patents or other intellectual property could be costly and time-consuming due to the complexity of our technology and the uncertainty of intellectual property litigation and could divert our management and key personnel from our business operations. A claim of intellectual property infringement could force us to enter into a costly or restrictive license agreement, which might not be available under acceptable terms or at all, could require us to redesign our products, which would be costly and time-consuming, and/or could subject us to an injunction against development and sale of certain of our products or services. We may have to pay substantial damages, including damages for past infringement if it is ultimately determined that our products infringe on a third party’s proprietary rights. Even if these claims are without merit, defending a lawsuit takes significant time, may be expensive and may divert management’s attention from other business concerns. Any public announcements related to litigation or interference proceedings initiated or threatened against us could cause our business to be harmed. Our intellectual property portfolio may not be useful in asserting a counterclaim, or negotiating a license, in response to a claim of intellectual property infringement. In certain of our businesses we rely on third party intellectual property licenses and we cannot ensure that these licenses will be available to us in the future on favorable terms or at all.
The amount of capital the Company is attempting to raise in this Offering is not enough to sustain the Company’s current business plan. In order to achieve the Company’s near and long-term goals, the Company will need to procure funds in addition to the amount raised in the Offering. There is no guarantee the Company will be able to raise such funds on acceptable terms or at all. If we are not able to raise sufficient capital in the future, we will not be able to execute our business plan, our continued operations will be in jeopardy and we may be forced to cease operations and sell or otherwise transfer all or substantially all of our remaining assets, which could 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 Ian Eyberg 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 Ian Eyberg 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.
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.
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. [give example of volatile product/service line.] 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 industry. Demand for these professionals tends to be tied to economic and business cycles. Increases in the unemployment rate, specifically in the technology 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 derive significant revenue and profit from commercial and federal government contracts awarded through competitive bidding processes, including renewals, which can impose substantial costs on us. Many of these contracts are extremely complex and require the investment of significant resources in order to prepare accurate bids and proposals. Competitive bidding imposes substantial costs and presents a number of risks, including: (i) the substantial cost and managerial time and effort that we spend to prepare bids and proposals for contracts that may or may not be awarded to us; (ii) the need to estimate accurately the resources and costs that will be required to implement and service any contracts we are awarded, sometimes in advance of the final determination of their full scope and design; (iii) the expense and delay that may arise if our competitors protest or challenge awards made to us pursuant to competitive bidding, and the risk that such protests or challenges could result in the requirement to resubmit bids, and in the termination, reduction, or modification of the awarded contracts; and (iv) the opportunity cost of not bidding on and winning other contracts we might otherwise pursue. Adverse events or developments in any of these bidding risks and uncertainties could materially and negatively impact our business and results of operations.
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.
The Company could be negatively impacted if found to have infringed on intellectual property rights.
Technology companies, including many of the Company’s competitors, frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of patent infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. In addition, patent holding companies seek to monetize patents they have purchased or otherwise obtained. As the Company grows, the intellectual property rights claims against it will likely increase. The Company intends to vigorously defend infringement actions in court and before the U.S. International Trade Commission. The plaintiffs in these actions frequently seek injunctions and substantial damages. Regardless of the scope or validity of such patents or other intellectual property rights, or the merits of any claims by potential or actual litigants, the Company may have to engage in protracted litigation. If the Company is found to infringe one or more patents or other intellectual property rights, regardless of whether it can develop non-infringing technology, it may be required to pay substantial damages or royalties to a third-party, or it may be subject to a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting the Company from marketing or selling certain products. In certain cases, the Company may consider the desirability of entering into licensing agreements, although no assurance can be given that such licenses can be obtained on acceptable terms or that litigation will not occur. These licenses may also significantly increase the Company’s operating expenses.
Regardless of the merit of particular claims, litigation may be expensive, time-consuming, disruptive to the Company’s operations and distracting to management. In recognition of these considerations, the Company may enter into arrangements to settle litigation. If one or more legal matters were resolved against the Company’s consolidated financial statements for that reporting period could be materially adversely affected. Further, such an outcome could result in significant compensatory, punitive or trebled monetary damages, disgorgement of revenue or profits, remedial corporate measures or injunctive relief against the Company that could adversely affect its financial condition and results of operations.
Indemnity provisions in various agreements potentially expose us to substantial liability for intellectual property infringement and other losses.
Our agreements with advertisers, advertising agencies, customers and other third parties may include indemnification provisions under which we agree to indemnify them for losses suffered or incurred as a result of claims of intellectual property infringement, damages caused by us to property or persons, or other liabilities relating to or arising from our products, services or other contractual obligations. The term of these indemnity provisions generally survives termination or expiration of the applicable agreement. Large indemnity payments would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, any type of intellectual property lawsuit, whether initiated by us or a third party, would likely be time consuming and expensive to resolve and would divert management’s time and attention.
We rely heavily on our technology and intellectual property, but we may be unable to adequately or cost-effectively protect or enforce our intellectual property rights, thereby weakening our competitive position and increasing operating costs.
To protect our rights in our services and technology, we rely on a combination of copyright and trademark laws, patents, trade secrets, confidentiality agreements with employees and third parties, and protective contractual provisions. We also rely on laws pertaining to trademarks and domain names to protect the value of our corporate brands and reputation. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may copy aspects of our services or technology, obtain and use information, marks, or technology that we regard as proprietary, or otherwise violate or infringe our intellectual property rights. In addition, it is possible that others could independently develop substantially equivalent intellectual property. If we do not effectively protect our intellectual property, or if others independently develop substantially equivalent intellectual property, our competitive position could be weakened.
Effectively policing the unauthorized use of our services and technology is time-consuming and costly, and the steps taken by us may not prevent misappropriation of our technology or other proprietary assets. The efforts we have taken to protect our proprietary rights may not be sufficient or effective, and unauthorized parties may copy aspects of our services, use similar marks or domain names, or obtain and use information, marks, or technology that we regard as proprietary. We may have to litigate to enforce our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets, or to determine the validity and scope of others’ proprietary rights, which are sometimes not clear or may change. Litigation can be time consuming and expensive, and the outcome can be difficult to predict.
We rely on agreements with third parties to provide certain services, goods, technology, and intellectual property rights necessary to enable us to implement some of our applications.
Our ability to implement and provide our applications and services to our clients depends, in part, on services, goods, technology, and intellectual property rights owned or controlled by third parties. These third parties may become unable to or refuse to continue to provide these services, goods, technology, or intellectual property rights on commercially reasonable terms consistent with our business practices, or otherwise discontinue a service important for us to continue to operate our applications. If we fail to replace these services, goods, technologies, or intellectual property rights in a timely manner or on commercially reasonable terms, our operating results and financial condition could be harmed. In addition, we exercise limited control over our third-party vendors, which increases our vulnerability to problems with technology and services those vendors provide. If the services, technology, or intellectual property of third parties were to fail to perform as expected, it could subject us to potential liability, adversely affect our renewal rates, and have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We depend on profitable royalty-bearing licenses of our technology, and if we are unable to maintain and generate such license agreements, then we may not be able to sustain existing levels of revenue or increase revenue. We depend upon the identification, investment in and license of new patents for our revenues. If we are unable to maintain such license agreements and to continue to develop new license arrangements, then we may not have the resources to identify new technology-based opportunities for future patents and inventions in order to maintain sustainable revenue and growth.
Our current or future license agreements may not provide the volume or quality of royalty revenue to sustain our business. In some cases, other technology sources may compete against us as they seek to license and commercialize technologies. These and other strategies may reduce the number of technology sources and potential clients to whom we can market our services. Our inability to maintain current relationships and sources of technology or to secure new licensees, may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
If we fail to maintain or expand our relationships with our suppliers, in some cases single-source suppliers, we may not have adequate access to new or key technology necessary for our products, which may impair our ability to deliver leading-edge products. In addition to the technologies we develop, our suppliers develop product innovations at our direction that are requested by our customers. Further, we rely heavily on our component suppliers, such as Google, and Amazon, to provide us with leading-edge components that conform to required specifications or contractual arrangements on time and in accordance with a product roadmap. If we are not able to maintain or expand our relationships with our suppliers or continue to leverage their research and development capabilities to develop new technologies desired by our customers, our ability to deliver leading-edge products in a timely manner may be impaired and we could be required to incur additional research and development expenses. Also, disruption in our supply chain or the need to find alternative suppliers could impact the costs and/or timing associated with procuring necessary products, components and services. Similarly, suppliers have operating risks that could impact our business. These risks could create product time delays, inventory and invoicing problems, staging delays, and other operational difficulties.
We must acquire or develop new products, evolve existing ones, address any defects or errors, and adapt to technology change.
Technical developments, client requirements, programming languages, and industry standards change frequently in our markets. As a result, success in current markets and new markets will depend upon our ability to enhance current products, address any product defects or errors, acquire or develop and introduce new products that meet client needs, keep pace with technology changes, respond to competitive products, and achieve market acceptance. Product development requires substantial investments for research, refinement, and testing. We may not have sufficient resources to make necessary product development investments. We may experience technical or other difficulties that will delay or prevent the successful development, introduction, or implementation of new or enhanced products. We may also experience technical or other difficulties in the integration of acquired technologies into our existing platform and applications. Inability to introduce or implement new or enhanced products in a timely manner could result in loss of market share if competitors are able to provide solutions to meet customer needs before we do, give rise to unanticipated expenses related to further development or modification of acquired technologies as a result of integration issues, and adversely affect future performance.
Our failure to deliver high quality server solutions could damage our reputation and diminish demand for our products, and subject us to liability.
Our customers require our products to perform at a high level, contain valuable features and be extremely reliable. The design of our server solutions is sophisticated and complex, and the process for manufacturing, assembling and testing our server solutions is challenging. Occasionally, our design or manufacturing processes may fail to deliver products of the quality that our customers require. For example, a vendor may provide us with a defective component that failed under certain heavy use applications. As a result, our product would need to be repaired. The vendor may agree to pay for the costs of the repairs, but we may incur costs in connection with the recall and diverted resources from other projects. New flaws or limitations in our products may be detected in the future. Part of our strategy is to bring new products to market quickly, and first-generation products may have a higher likelihood of containing undetected flaws. If our customers discover defects or other performance problems with our products, our customers’ businesses, and our reputation, may be damaged. Customers may elect to delay or withhold payment for defective or underperforming products, request remedial action, terminate contracts for untimely delivery, or elect not to order additional products. If we do not properly address customer concerns about our products, our reputation and relationships with our customers may be harmed. In addition, we may be subject to product liability claims for a defective product. Any of the foregoing could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Cyclical and seasonal fluctuations in the economy, in internet usage and in traditional retail shopping may have an effect on our business. Both cyclical and seasonal fluctuations in internet usage and traditional retail seasonality may affect our business. Internet usage generally slows during the summer months, and queries typically increase significantly in the fourth quarter of each year. These seasonal trends may cause fluctuations in our quarterly results, including fluctuations in revenues.
The products we sell are advanced, and we need to rapidly and successfully develop and introduce new products in a competitive, demanding and rapidly changing environment.
To succeed in our intensely competitive industry, we must continually improve, refresh and expand our product and service offerings to include newer features, functionality or solutions, and keep pace with price-to-performance gains in the industry. Shortened product life cycles due to customer demands and competitive pressures impact the pace at which we must introduce and implement new technology. This requires a high level of innovation by both our software developers and the suppliers of the third-party software components included in our systems. In addition, bringing new solutions to the market entails a costly and lengthy process, and requires us to accurately anticipate customer needs and technology trends. We must continue to respond to market demands, develop leading technologies and maintain leadership in analytic data solutions performance and scalability, or our business operations may be adversely affected.
We must also anticipate and respond to customer demands regarding the compatibility of our current and prior offerings. These demands could hinder the pace of introducing and implementing new technology. Our future results may be affected if our products cannot effectively interface and perform well with software products of other companies and with our customers’ existing IT infrastructures, or if we are unsuccessful in our efforts to enter into agreements allowing integration of third-party technology with our database and software platforms. Our efforts to develop the interoperability of our products may require significant investments of capital and employee resources. In addition, many of our principal products are used with products offered by third parties and, in the future, some vendors of non-Company products may become less willing to provide us with access to their products, technical information and marketing and sales support. As a result of these and other factors, our ability to introduce new or improved solutions could be adversely impacted and our business would be negatively affected.
Industry consolidation may result in increased competition, which could result in a loss of customers or a reduction in revenue. Some of our competitors have made or may make acquisitions or may enter into partnerships or other strategic relationships to offer more comprehensive services than they individually had offered or achieve greater economies of scale. In addition, new entrants not currently considered to be competitors may enter our market through acquisitions, partnerships or strategic relationships. We expect these trends to continue as companies attempt to strengthen or maintain their market positions. The potential entrants may have competitive advantages over us, such as greater name recognition, longer operating histories, more varied services and larger marketing budgets, as well as greater financial, technical and other resources. The companies resulting from combinations or that expand or vertically integrate their business to include the market that we address may create more compelling service offerings and may offer greater pricing flexibility than we can or may engage in business practices that make it more difficult for us to compete effectively, including on the basis of price, sales and marketing programs, technology or service functionality. These pressures could result in a substantial loss of our customers or a reduction in our revenue.
Our business could be negatively impacted by cyber security threats, attacks and other disruptions.
Like others in our industry, we continue to face advanced and persistent attacks on our information infrastructure where we manage and store various proprietary information and sensitive/confidential data relating to our operations. These attacks may include sophisticated malware (viruses, worms, and other malicious software programs) and phishing emails that attack our products or otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities. These intrusions sometimes may be zero-day malware that are difficult to identify because they are not included in the signature set of commercially available antivirus scanning programs. Experienced computer programmers and hackers may be able to penetrate our network security and misappropriate or compromise our confidential information or that of our customers or other third-parties, create system disruptions, or cause shutdowns. Additionally, sophisticated software and applications that we produce or procure from third-parties may contain defects in design or manufacture, including "bugs" and other problems that could unexpectedly interfere with the operation of the information infrastructure. A disruption, infiltration or failure of our information infrastructure systems or any of our data centers as a result of software or hardware malfunctions, computer viruses, cyber attacks, employee theft or misuse, power disruptions, natural disasters or accidents could cause breaches of data security, loss of critical data and performance delays, which in turn could adversely affect our business.
If we do not respond to technological changes or upgrade our websites and technology systems, our growth prospects and results of operations could be adversely affected.
To remain competitive, we must continue to enhance and improve the functionality and features of our websites and technology infrastructure. As a result, we will need to continue to improve and expand our hosting and network infrastructure and related software capabilities. These improvements may require greater levels of spending than we have experienced in the past. Without such improvements, our operations might suffer from unanticipated system disruptions, slow application performance or unreliable service levels, any of which could negatively affect our reputation and ability to attract and retain customers and contributors. Furthermore, in order to continue to attract and retain new customers, we are likely to incur expenses in connection with continuously updating and improving our user interface and experience. We may face significant delays in introducing new services, products and enhancements. If competitors introduce new products and services using new technologies or if new industry standards and practices emerge, our existing websites and our proprietary technology and systems may become obsolete or less competitive, and our business may be harmed. In addition, the expansion and improvement of our systems and infrastructure may require us to commit substantial financial, operational and technical resources, with no assurance that our business will improve.
We currently obtain components from single or limited sources, and are subject to significant supply and pricing risks.
Many components, including those that are available from multiple sources, are at times subject to industry-wide shortages and significant commodity pricing fluctuations. While the Company has entered into agreements for the supply of many components, there can be no assurance that we will be able to extend or renew these agreements on similar terms, or at all. A number of suppliers of components may suffer from poor financial conditions, which can lead to business failure for the supplier or consolidation within a particular industry, further limiting our ability to obtain sufficient quantities of components. The follow-on effects from global economic conditions on our suppliers, also could affect our ability to obtain components. Therefore, we remain subject to significant risks of supply shortages and price increases.
Our products often utilize custom components available from only one source. Continued availability of these components at acceptable prices, or at all, may be affected for any number of reasons, including if those suppliers decide to concentrate on the production of common components instead of components customized to meet our requirements. The supply of components for a new or existing product could be delayed or constrained, or a key manufacturing vendor could delay shipments of completed products to us adversely affecting our business and results of operations.
The Company depends on the performance of distributors, carriers and other resellers.
The Company distributes its products through cellular network carriers, wholesalers, national and regional retailers, and value-added resellers, many of whom distribute products from competing manufacturers. The Company also sells its products and third-party products in most of its major markets directly to education, enterprise and government customers, and consumers and small and mid-sized businesses through its online and retail stores.
Many resellers have narrow operating margins and have been adversely affected in the past by weak economic conditions. Some resellers have perceived the expansion of the Company’s direct sales as conflicting with their business interests as distributors and resellers of the Company’s products. Such a perception could discourage resellers from investing resources in the distribution and sale of the Company’s products or lead them to limit or cease distribution of those products. The Company has invested and will continue to invest in programs to enhance reseller sales, including [staffing selected resellers’ stores with Company employees and contractors, and] improving product placement displays. These programs could require a substantial investment while providing no assurance of return or incremental revenue. The financial condition of these resellers could weaken, these resellers could stop distributing the Company’s products, or uncertainty regarding demand for the Company’s products could cause resellers to reduce their ordering and marketing of the Company’s products.
Risks Related to the Securities
The Units of Crowd SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) will not be freely tradable until one year from the initial purchase date. Although the Units of Crowd SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) 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 Units of Crowd SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity). Because the Units of Crowd SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) have not been registered under the Securities Act or under the securities laws of any state or non-United States jurisdiction, the Units of Crowd SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) have transfer restrictions and cannot be resold in the United States except pursuant to Rule 501 of Regulation CF. It is not currently contemplated that registration under the Securities Act or other securities laws will be effected. Limitations on the transfer of the Units of Crowd SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) may also adversely affect the price that you might be able to obtain for the Units of Crowd SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) 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.
A majority of the Company is owned by a small number of owners. Prior to the Offering the Company’s current owners of 20% or more beneficially own up to 63.8% of the Company. Subject to any fiduciary duties owed to our other owners or investors under Delaware law, these owners may be able to exercise significant influence over matters requiring owner approval, including the election of directors or managers and approval of significant Company transactions, and will have significant control over the Company’s management and policies. Some of these persons may have interests that are different from yours. For example, these owners may support proposals and actions with which you may disagree. The concentration of ownership could delay or prevent a change in control of the Company or otherwise discourage a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of the Company, which in turn could reduce the price potential investors are willing to pay for the Company. In addition, these owners could use their voting influence to maintain the Company’s existing management, delay or prevent changes in control of the Company, or support or reject other management and board proposals that are subject to owner approval.
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.
Purchasers will not become equity holders until the Company decides to convert the Securities into CF Shadow Securities or until an IPO or sale of the Company.
Purchasers will not have an ownership claim to the Company or to any of its assets or revenues for an indefinite amount of time, and depending on when and how the Securities are converted, the Purchasers may never become equity holders of the Company. Purchasers will not become equity holders of the Company unless the Company receives a future round of financing great enough to trigger a conversion and the Company elects to convert the Securities. The Company is under no obligation to convert the Securities into CF Shadow Securities (the type of equity Securities Purchasers are entitled to receive upon such conversion). In certain instances, such as a sale of the Company, an IPO or a dissolution or bankruptcy, the Purchasers may only have a right to receive cash, to the extent available, rather than equity in the Company.
Purchasers will not have voting rights, even upon conversion of the Securities into CF Shadow Securities.
Purchasers will not have the right to vote upon matters of the Company even if and when their Securities are converted into CF Shadow Securities. Upon such conversion and pursuant to a provision in the Crowd SAFE, CF Shadow Securities holders will grant an irrevocable proxy to the Company’s CEO to vote the underlying securities that will be acquire upon conversion on all matters coming before the shareholders for a vote. The CEO does not have any fiduciary duty to you to vote shares in a manner that is in your best interests. Accordingly, the CEO may vote its proxy in a manner that may not be in the best interests of you as a security holder. For example, the CEO may vote the proxy in favor of an amendment to our charter that adversely affects the rights of the holders of your class of securities in order to allow for a new investment to occur where the new investor requires senior rights.
Purchasers will not be entitled to any inspection or information rights other than those required by Regulation CF.
Purchasers will not have the right to inspect the books and records of the Company or to receive financial or other information from the Company, other than as required by Regulation CF. Other security holders may have such rights. Regulation CF requires only the provision of an annual report on Form C and no additional information. This lack of information could put Purchasers at a disadvantage in general and with respect to other security holders.
In a dissolution or bankruptcy of the Company, Purchasers will be treated the same as common equity holders.
In a dissolution or bankruptcy of the Company, Purchasers of Securities which have not been converted will be entitled to distributions as if they were common stockholders. This means that such Purchasers will be at the lowest level of priority and will only receive distributions once all creditors as well as holders of more senior securities, including any preferred stockholders, have been paid in full. If the Securities have been converted into CF Shadow Securities, the Purchasers will have the same rights and preferences (other than the ability to vote) as the holders of the Securities issued in the equity financing upon which the Securities were converted.
Purchasers will be unable to declare the Security in "default" and demand repayment.
Unlike convertible notes and some other securities, the Securities do not have any "default" provisions upon which the Purchasers will be able to demand repayment of their investment. The Company has ultimate discretion as to whether or not to convert the Securities upon a future equity financing and Purchasers have no right to demand such conversion. Only in limited circumstances, such as a liquidity event, may the Purchasers demand payment and even then, such payments will be limited to the amount of cash available to the Company.
The Company may never elect to convert the Securities or undergo a liquidity event.
The Company may never receive a future equity financing or elect to convert the Securities upon such future financing. In addition, the Company may never undergo a liquidity event such as a sale of the Company or an IPO. If neither the conversion of the Securities nor a liquidity event occurs, the Purchasers could be left holding the Securities in perpetuity. The Securities have numerous transfer restrictions and will likely be highly illiquid, with no secondary market on which to sell them. The Securities are not equity interests, have no ownership rights, have no rights to the Company’s assets or profits and have no voting rights or ability to direct the Company or its actions.
The Securities do not have a discount rate.
The Securities do not have a discount rate, which would be applied to the conversion price of the Securities based on the price of a future equity financing. Convertible securities often provide a discount rate, which is applied to the price of the future financing to determine the conversion price. For instance, if the future equity financing were priced at $10 per share, convertible securities that incorporated a discount rate might be convertible at $8 per share. Such discount rate benefits the convertible security holders, who receive more securities from the conversion than the purchase price of their convertible securities would suggest. The Securities do not have a discount rate and thus, will be convertible at the price established by the future equity financing regardless of the price of such future securities or the future valuation of the Company.
The Securities do not accrue interest or otherwise compensate Investors for the period in which the Company uses proceeds from the Offering. The Securities will accrue no interest and have no maturity date. Therefore, Investors will not be compensated for the time in which the Company uses the proceeds from the Offering before a possible Equity Financing or Liquidity Event that could result in the conversion of the Security, to the benefit of the Investor.
When forecasting the hypothetical value of their holdings in different liquidity event scenarios, Investors should consider the overall valuation of the Company in addition to their individual return. When forecasting the hypothetical value of their holdings in different liquidity event scenarios, Investors should consider the overall valuation of the Company in addition to their individual return. In a liquidity event in which the value of an Investor’s stake is determined by the discount method (that being situations where applying the Valuation Cap results in a lower return for such Investor), the Investor’s individual return will be the same regardless of the Company’s valuation. As an example, a $1,000-dollar investment in Crowd SAFE units of a hypothetical company with a valuation cap of $10 million would result in the same return upon a liquidity event in which the company is valued at either $5 million or $10 million. However, Investors should consider that an ownership stake in a higher-valued company is generally preferable to an ownership stake with the same absolute value in a lower-valued company. The higher-valued company will have been assessed by the market to be worth more and will have additional funding with which to pursue its goals and is therefore more likely to produce greater returns to the Investor over the longer term.
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.
DealMaker Securities LLC, a registered broker-dealer, and member of FINRA | SIPC, located at 105 Maxess Road, Suite 124, Melville, NY 11747, is the Intermediary for this offering and is not an affiliate of or connected with the Issuer. Please check our background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.
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DealMaker Securities LLC is NOT vetting or approving the information provided by the Issuer or the Issuer itself.
Equity crowdfunding investments in private placements, and start-up investments in particular, are speculative and involve a high degree of risk and those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups. Companies seeking startup investment through equity crowdfunding tend to be in earlier stages of development and their business model, products and services may not yet be fully developed, operational or tested in the public marketplace. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. Further, investors may receive illiquid and/or restricted stock that may be subject to holding period requirements and/or liquidity concerns.
Contact information below is provided for Investors to make inquiries and requests to DealMaker Securities LLC regarding Regulation CF in general, or the status of such investor’s submitted documentation, specifically. DealMaker Securities LLC may direct Investors to specific sections of the Offering Circular to locate information or answers to their inquiry but does not opine or provide guidance on issuer related matters.