ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Investors should carefully consider the risks described below before deciding whether to invest in our securities. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements made throughout this Annual Report a result of different factors, including the risks we face described below.
Risks Relating to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Pandemics, including the COVID-19 pandemic, could have a material adverse effect on our operations, liquidity, financial condition, and financial results.
A serious global pandemic, including the current COVID-19 pandemic and variants of COVID-19, can adversely impact, shock and weaken the global economy. These impacts can amplify other risk factors and could have a material impact on our operations, liquidity, financial conditions, and financial results.
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. COVID-19 pandemic-related risks that may impact our business include increased exposure to: global regulatory, geopolitical, and societal changes; rapid degradation of global economic conditions, creating an increase in the volatility and the timing and level of orders; supply chain disruptions, material shortages, and increases in the costs of components; changes in labor force availability, which could reduce our ability to operate across our business in development, sales and marketing, production, installation, and ongoing service and support; an increased risk of being subject to contract performance claims if we are unable to deliver according to the terms of our contracts or commitments and cannot claim force majeure to mitigate or eliminate our exposure to such claims; increased geographic work restrictions that could impact our ability to market, sell, manufacture and/or install our products; an increase in our exposure to claims or litigation relating to the pandemic; limitations on our ability to meet the terms of our bank credit agreements that cause restrictions on our ability to access the liquidity under such agreements; reduced access to and an increase in the cost of capital; reduced access to surety bonds or bank guarantees to secure customer orders; volatility and changes in foreign currency rates; delayed timing of collections and/or decreased collectability of receivables and contract assets; and a material reduction to the values of our assets including, but not limited to, inventory, deferred tax assets, goodwill, intangibles, and property and equipment.
To date, the COVID-19 pandemic has not had, but may in the future have, an unfavorable impact on certain areas of our business. The broader implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, financial condition and results of operations remain uncertain and will depend on certain developments, including the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic; the availability, distribution, and effectiveness of vaccines to address the COVID-19 virus; and any change in trends on how people gather. The impact on our customers and suppliers and the range of governmental and community reactions to the pandemic are uncertain. To the extent that our customers and suppliers are adversely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, this could reduce the availability, or result in delays in the delivery, of materials or supplies, or delays in customer payments and orders, which in turn could materially interrupt our business operations and/or impact our liquidity. Site closures or project delays have occurred and have required increased social distancing and health-related precautions in our manufacturing facilities and many work sites, which may cause additional project delays and additional costs to be incurred. COVID-19 could disrupt our operations due to absenteeism by infected or ill employees or other employees who elect not to come to work due to the illness or due to quarantines.
Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Capital Requirements
We have incurred losses for the years ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 and there can be no assurance that we will generate net income
For the years ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 we had a net loss of $6,250,956 and $24,434,336, respectively. There can be no assurance that our losses will not continue in the future, even if our revenues and expenditures for the products and solutions we sell and distribute increase. In addition, as of June 30, 2022, we had stockholders' deficit of approximately $2,231,189 and cash used in operations of approximately $1,178,009. These factors raise substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern.
Our historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to our ability to operate as a going concern.
We have incurred net losses and used significant cash in operating activities since inception, and we expect to continue to generate operating losses for the foreseeable future. As of June 30, 2022, we have an accumulated deficit of $54,182,084 and cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $300,899. These factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern and to satisfy our estimated liquidity needs for twelve months from the issuance of the consolidated financial statements. Our consolidated audited financial statements as of and for the year ended June 30, 2022 have been prepared under the assumption that we will continue as a going concern for the next twelve months. Our management concluded that our recurring losses from operations and the fact that we have not generated significant revenue or positive cash flows from operations raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months after issuance of our financial statements. Our auditors also included an explanatory paragraph in its report on our financial statements as of and for the year ended June 30, 2022 with respect to this uncertainty. If we continue to experience operating losses, and we are not able to generate additional liquidity through a capital raise or other cash infusion, we might need to secure additional sources of funds, which may or may not be available to us. If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may have to further scale back or discontinue the development of our product candidates or other research and development initiatives or initiate steps to cease operations.
We require funds to operate and expand our business
During the year ended June 30, 2022, our operating activities used net cash of $1,178,009 and our cash was $300,899 at June 30, 2022. During the year ended June 30, 2021, our operating activities used net cash of approximately $6,316,265 and our cash and cash equivalents was $541,591. As of June 30, 2022, our accumulated deficit totaled approximately $54,182,084 on a consolidated basis. Although we have been able to mitigate our losses in the past, we expect to incur additional operating losses in the future and therefore expect our cumulative losses to increase. We will require funds to purchase additional inventories, pay our vendors, and build our marketing and sales staff. If we do not succeed in raising additional funds on acceptable terms, we may be unable to expand our business and could default on our obligations. There can be no assurance that such financing will be available and that the equity interests of all of our stockholders would not be substantially diluted. Any additional sources of financing will likely involve the issuance of our equity or debt securities, which will have a dilutive effect on our stockholders. To the extent that we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience significant dilution. Any debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants that may impact our ability to conduct our business. Our ability to raise capital through the sale of securities may be limited by the rules of the SEC and the terms of the agreements that we enter into. We currently do not have any committed sources of financing other than our accounts receivable factoring agreement, which requires us to meet certain conditions to utilize and there can be no assurance that we will meet those conditions.
We have identified a material weakness in our internal controls, and we cannot provide assurances that this weakness will be effectively remediated or that additional material weaknesses will not occur in the future.
If our internal control over financial reporting or our disclosure controls and procedures are not effective, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results, prevent fraud, or file our periodic reports in a timely manner, which may cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and may lead to a decline in our stock price. Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over our financial reporting, as defined in Rule 13a- 15(f) under the Exchange Act. Our management concluded that there is a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. The material weakness relates to the fact that our management is relying on external consultants for purposes of preparing its financial reporting package; however, the officers may not be able to identify errors and irregularities in the financial reporting package before its release as a continuous disclosure document. Because of the material weakness described above, management concluded that, as of June 30, 2022 our internal control over financial reporting was not effective based on the criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by COSO (2013). There has been no change in our internal controls that occurred during our most recent fiscal period that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to affect, our internal controls.
Our failure to fulfill all our registration requirements in connection with our previously notes and warrants may cause us to suffer liquidated damages, which may be very costly.
Pursuant to the terms of the securities purchase rights agreement that we entered into in connection with our issuance in August 2022 of 12% promissory notes due August 31, 2023 and related warrants, we are required to (i) file a registration statement with respect to securities underlying the notes and warrants within thirty days following the later of: our consummation of an uplist offering (as deifned in the notes) or the maturity date of the notes; (ii) cause the registration statement to be declared effective within ninety days of its filing and (iii) maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement. The failure to do so could result in the payment of liquidated damages by us, which could be significant. There can be no assurance given that we will be able to cause any registration statement to be declared effective within ninety days of its filing or maintain the effectiveness of any registration statement, and therefore there can be no assurance that we will not incur damages with respect to such agreements.
Risks Related to our Business
We have pursued and may continue to pursue acquisitions, joint ventures, or other growth opportunities, which could present unforeseen integration obstacles or costs and could dilute our stockholders. We may also face competition in our acquisition strategy, and such competition may limit our number of proposed acquisitions, joint ventures, and other growth opportunities.
We intend to build our business through the acquisition of other businesses in our industry as we have done in the past. The process of integrating any acquired business may create unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures and is itself risky. Any future acquisitions, joint ventures or other growth opportunities will be subject to a number of challenges.
diversion of management time and resources as well as a shift of focus from operating the businesses to issues related to integration and administration, which could result in the potential disruption of our ongoing business;
the need to integrate each company’s accounting, management, information, human resources, and other administrative systems to permit effective management, and the lack of control if such integration is delayed or not implemented;
the need to implement controls, procedures, and policies appropriate for a larger public company at companies that prior to acquisition had lacked such controls, procedures, and policies;
difficulties in maintaining uniform standards, controls, procedures, and policies;
difficulties in managing operations in widely disparate time zones;
potential unknown liabilities associated with acquired businesses, including liability for activities of the acquired company before the acquisition, including violations of laws, rules and regulations, commercial disputes, tax liabilities and other known and unknown liabilities;
difficulty retaining key alliances on attractive terms with partners and suppliers;
declining employee morale and retention issues resulting from changes in compensation, or changes in management, reporting relationships, future prospects or the direction or culture of the business;
in the case of foreign acquisitions, the need to integrate operations across different cultures and languages and to address the particular economic, currency, political, and regulatory risks associated with specific countries; and
in some cases, the need to transition operations, end-users, and customers onto our existing platforms.
Failure to manage expansion effectively may affect our success in executing our business plan and may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operation. We may not realize the anticipated benefits of any or all of our acquisitions or may not realize them in the time frame expected. Future acquisitions or mergers may require us to issue additional equity securities, spend our cash, or incur debt, and amortization expenses related to intangible assets or write-offs of goodwill, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations.
We may have difficulty in entering and maintaining strategic alliances with third parties.
We have entered into and we may continue to enter into strategic alliances with third parties to gain access to new and innovative technologies and markets. These parties are often large, established companies. Negotiating and performing under these arrangements involves significant time and expense, and we may not have sufficient resources to devote to our strategic alliances, particularly those with companies that have significantly greater financial and other resources than we do. The anticipated benefits of these arrangements may never materialize and performing under these arrangements may adversely affect our results of operations.
Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations, which may cause our operating results to fluctuate from quarter-to-quarter and adversely affect our working capital and liquidity throughout the year.
We expect quarterly fluctuations in our revenues and operating results to continue. These fluctuations could result in volatility and adversely affect our cash flow, working capital and liquidity. As our business grows, we expect these seasonal fluctuations may become more pronounced. Traditionally, the bulk of expenditures by school districts occur in the second and third calendar quarters after receipt of budget allocations. Because our revenues and operating results are driven largely by the purchasing cycles of the educational market and normally fluctuate as a result of seasonal variations in our business sequential quarterly comparisons of our financial results may not provide an accurate assessment of our financial position.
Our working capital requirements and cash flows are subject to fluctuation, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition.
If we are unable to manage fluctuations in cash flow, our business, operating results, and financial condition may be materially adversely affected. Our working capital requirements and cash flows have historically been, and are expected to continue to be, subject to seasonal fluctuations, depending on several factors. Factors which could result in fluctuations in our working capital and cash flows include:
the quantity of product and service sales revenue achieved;
the margins achieved on sales of products and services;
the timing and collection of receivables;
the timing and size of inventory and related component purchases; and
the timing of payment on payables and accrued liabilities.
We operate in a highly competitive industry.
The interactive learning technology industry in which we operate is highly competitive and characterized by frequent product introductions and rapid technological advances that have substantially increased the capabilities and use of interactive projectors, interactive whiteboards, and microcomputer-based logging technologies and combinations of them. We face substantial competition from developers, manufacturers and distributors of interactive learning products and solutions, including interactive projectors, interactive whiteboards, and microcomputer data logging products.
Many of these competitors have, and our potential competitors may have, significantly greater financial and other resources than we do and have spent, and may continue to spend, significant amounts of resources to try to enter or expand their presence in the market. These companies may manufacture and/or distribute new, disruptive or substitute products that compete for the pool of available funds that previously could have been spent on interactive displays and associated products. In addition, low-cost competitors have appeared in China and other countries. We may not be able to compete effectively against these current and future competitors. Increased competition or other competitive pressures have and may continue to result in price reductions, reduced margins, or loss of market share, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Some of our customers are required to purchase equipment by soliciting proposals from a number of sources and, in some cases, are required to purchase from the lowest bidder. While we attempt to price our products competitively based upon the relative features they offer, our competitors' prices and other factors, we are often not the lowest bidder and, in such cases, may lose sales. For example, we have observed sales of tablet computers by competitors to school districts in the U.S. whose technology budgets could otherwise have been used to purchase interactive displays.
Competitors may be able to respond to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements more effectively and faster than we can or devote greater resources to the development, promotion, and sale of products than we can. Current and potential competitors may establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with third parties, including through mergers or acquisitions, to increase the ability of their products to address the needs of customers. If these interactive display competitors or other substitute or alternative technology competitors acquire significantly increased market share, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
If we are unable to continually enhance our products and to develop, introduce and sell new technologies and products at competitive prices and in a timely manner, our business will be harmed.
Our future success will depend upon our ability to enhance our products and to develop, introduce and sell new technologies and products offering enhanced performance and functionality at competitive prices and in a timely manner and market acceptance of any new products. If we are unable, for any reason, to enhance, develop, introduce, and sell new products in a timely manner, or at all, in response to changing market conditions or customer requirements or otherwise, our business will be harmed.
The development of new technologies and products involves time, substantial costs, and risks. Our ability to successfully develop new technologies will depend in large measure on our ability to maintain a technically skilled research and development staff and to adapt to technological changes and advances in the industry. The success of new product introductions depends on a number of factors, including timely and successful product development, market acceptance, the effective management of purchase commitments and inventory levels in line with anticipated product demand, the availability of components in appropriate quantities and costs to meet anticipated demand, the risk that new products may have quality or other defects and our ability to manage distribution and production issues related to new product introductions. If we are unsuccessful in selling the new products that we develop and introduce, or any future products that we may develop, we may carry obsolete inventory and have reduced available working capital for the development of other new technologies and products.
We rely on highly skilled personnel, and, if we are unable to attract, retain or motivate qualified personnel, we may not be able to operate our business effectively.
If any of our employees leaves us, and we fail to effectively manage a transition to new personnel, or if we fail to attract and retain qualified and experienced professionals on acceptable terms, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. Our success depends in large part on continued employment of senior management and key personnel who can effectively operate our business, as well as our ability to attract and retain skilled employees. Competition for highly skilled management, technical, research and development and other employees is intense in the high-technology industry and we may not be able to attract or retain highly qualified personnel in the future. In making employment decisions, particularly in the high-technology industry, job candidates often consider the value of the equity awards they would receive in connection with their employment.
Inasmuch as our products are installed in many states throughout the United States, our employment needs include the hiring of skilled installers in several states and we are subject to the employment laws of many states. Our long-term incentive programs may not be attractive enough or perform sufficiently to attract or retain qualified personnel.
Our success also depends on our having highly trained financial, technical, recruiting, sales and marketing personnel. We will need to continue to hire additional personnel as our business grows. A shortage in the number of people with these skills or our failure to attract them to our company could impede our ability to increase revenues from our existing products and services, ensure full compliance with federal and state regulations, or launch new product offerings and would have an adverse effect on our business and financial results.
Our businesses are geographically concentrated and could be significantly affected by any adverse change in the regions in which we operate.
Historically, our business operations have been located primarily throughout the Southeast region of the United States. While we expand our business to new geographic areas, we are still highly concentrated in the United States. Because we derived all of our total revenues on a consolidated basis for the years ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 from our operations in the United States, our business is exposed to adverse regulatory and competitive changes, economic downturns and changes in political conditions in the United States. If we are unable to identify and successfully manage or mitigate these risks, our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially adversely affected.
For the years ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, we generated a significant portion of our revenue from a limited number of customers .
For the years ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, three customers that accounted for approximately 66% and two customers that accounted for approximately 50%, respectively of our revenue and 77% and 73%, respectively of our accounts receivable. If we were to lose either of these customers our business would be significantly adversely impacted.
We are dependent upon a limited number of third party manufacturers and key suppliers for the components used in our products. Our suppliers may not be able to always supply components or products to us on a timely basis and on favorable terms, and as a result, our dependency on third party suppliers has adversely affected our revenue and may continue to do so.
We are subject to disruptions in our operations if our limited supply contract manufacturers decrease or stop production of components and products, or if such suppliers and contract manufacturers do not produce components and products of sufficient quantity. We do not manufacture any of the raw materials for the products we sell and distribute and are dependent upon a limited number of suppliers for all products and components. We depend on obtaining adequate supplies of quality components on a timely basis with favorable terms, and some of those components, as well as certain complete products that we sell are provided to us by only one supplier or contract manufacturer. Alternative sources for our components are not always available. Approximately 60% of our products and components are manufactured overseas, so they have long lead times, and events such as local disruptions, natural disasters or political conflict may cause unexpected interruptions to the supply of our products or components.
For the years ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, we had three vendors that accounted for approximately 83% and 75% of purchases.
In addition, reliance on third-party manufacturers and suppliers entails risks to which we would not be subject if we manufactured the components for our products ourselves, including:
reliance on the third parties for regulatory compliance and quality assurance;
the possible breach of the manufacturing agreements by the third parties because of factors beyond our control or the insolvency of any of these third parties or other financial difficulties, labor unrest, natural disasters or other factors adversely affecting their ability to conduct their business; and
possibility of termination or non-renewal of the agreements by the third parties, at a time that is costly or inconvenient for us, because of our breach of the manufacturing agreement or based on their own business priorities.
If our contract manufacturer or its suppliers fail to deliver the required commercial quantities of our components required for our products on a timely basis and at commercially reasonable prices, and we are unable to find one or more replacement manufacturers or suppliers capable of production at a substantially equivalent cost, in substantially equivalent volumes and quality, and on a timely basis, we would likely be unable to meet demand for our products, and we would lose potential revenue. It may also take a significant period of time to establish an alternative source of supply for our components
Long lead times, supply shortages, and supply changes could disrupt our supply chain and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Meeting customer demand partially depends on our ability to obtain timely and adequate delivery of components for our products. As demand for our products increases, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have experienced temporary supply chain delays also related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the components that go into the manufacturing of our products are sourced from a limited number of third-party suppliers. Our manufacturers generally purchase these components on our behalf, subject to certain approved supplier lists, and neither we nor our manufacturers have long-term arrangements with most of our component suppliers. We are therefore subject to the risk of shortages and long lead times in the supply of these components and the risk that our suppliers discontinue or modify components used in our products. In addition, the lead times associated with certain components are lengthy and preclude rapid changes in design, quantities, and delivery schedules. We may in the future experience component shortages, and the predictability of the availability of these components may be limited. In the event of a component shortage or supply interruption from suppliers of these components, we may not be able to develop alternate sources in a timely manner. Developing alternate sources of supply for these components may be time-consuming, difficult, and costly and we may not be able to source these components on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all, which may undermine our ability to fill our orders in a timely manner. Any interruption or delay in the supply of any of these parts or components, or the inability to obtain these parts or components from alternate sources at acceptable prices and within a reasonable amount of time, would harm our ability to meet our scheduled product deliveries to our customers.
Moreover, volatile economic conditions may make it more likely that our suppliers may be unable to timely deliver supplies, or at all, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to timely locate alternative suppliers of comparable quality at an acceptable price. The loss of a significant supplier, an increase in component costs, or delays or disruptions in the delivery of components, could adversely impact our ability to generate future revenue and earnings and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.
We are currently subject to market prices for the components that we purchase, which are subject to fluctuation beyond our control. An increase in the price of components used in our products could result in an increase in costs to our customers and could have a material adverse effect on our revenues and demand for our products.
Interruptions in our ability to procure needed components for our systems, whether due to discontinuance by our suppliers, delays or failures in delivery, shortages caused by inadequate production capacity, the COVID-19 pandemic or unavailability, financial failure, manufacturing quality, or for other reasons, would adversely affect or limit our sales and growth. There is no assurance that we will continue to find qualified manufacturers on acceptable terms and, if we do, there can be no assurance that product quality will continue to be acceptable, which could lead to a loss of sales and revenues.
Our business is subject to the risks associated with doing business in China.
As a result of our reliance on third-party manufacturers and suppliers located in China, our results of operations, financial condition, and prospects are subject to a significant degree to economic, political, and legal developments in China including government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations that are applicable to us. China’s economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including with respect to the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate and control of foreign exchange, and allocation of resources. Since we rely on a third-party manufacturer located in China for certain of our parts, our business is subject to the risks associated with doing business in China, including:
adverse political and economic conditions, particularly those potentially negatively affecting the trade relationship between the United States and China;
trade protection measures, such as tariff increases, and import and export licensing and control requirements;
potentially negative consequences from changes in tax laws;
difficulties associated with the Chinese legal system, including increased costs and uncertainties associated with enforcing contractual obligations in China;
historically lower protection of intellectual property rights;
changes and volatility in currency exchange rates;
unexpected or unfavorable changes in regulatory requirements; and
difficulties in managing foreign relationships and operations generally.
These risks are likely to be exacerbated by our limited experience with our current products and manufacturing processes. If demand for our products materializes, we may have to invest additional resources to purchase materials, hire and train employees, and enhance our manufacturing processes. It may not be possible for us to manufacture our product at a cost or in quantities sufficient to make our product commercially viable. Any of these factors may affect our ability to manufacture our products and could reduce gross margins and profitability.
In the past, the U.S. Government has imposed tariffs on products manufactured in China and imported into the United States causing the prices for such products to increase. This could cause customer demand for our products to decrease.
Although the components of our products that are manufactured in China are currently exempt from the tariffs on products manufactured in China, if the exemption were to no longer be available to such products, the imposition of tariffs on our products would most likely cause prices to rise, which would generally increase the price for our products, potentially impact our gross margins, all of which may cause a reduction in demand.
Changes in general economic conditions, geopolitical conditions, domestic and foreign trade policies, monetary policies and other factors beyond our control may adversely impact our business and operating results.
Our operations and performance depend on global, regional and U.S. economic and geopolitical conditions. Russia’s invasion and military attacks on Ukraine have triggered significant sanctions from U.S. and European leaders. These events are currently escalating and creating increasingly volatile global economic conditions. Resulting changes in U.S. trade policy could trigger retaliatory actions by Russia, its allies and other affected countries, including China, resulting in a “trade war.” Furthermore, if the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues for a long period of time, or if other countries, including the U.S., become further involved in the conflict, we could face significant adverse effects to our business and financial condition.
The above factors, including a number of other economic and geopolitical factors both in the U.S. and abroad, could ultimately have material adverse effects on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, including the following:
effects of significant changes in economic, monetary and fiscal policies in the U.S. and abroad including currency fluctuations, inflationary pressures and significant income tax changes;
supply chain disruptions;
a global or regional economic slowdown in any of our market segments;
changes in government policies and regulations affecting the Company or its significant customers;
industrial policies in various countries that favor domestic industries over multinationals or that restrict foreign companies altogether;
new or stricter trade policies and tariffs enacted by countries, such as China, in response to changes in U.S. trade policies and tariffs;
postponement of spending, in response to tighter credit, financial market volatility and other factors;
rapid material escalation of the cost of regulatory compliance and litigation;
difficulties protecting intellectual property;
longer payment cycles;
credit risks and other challenges in collecting accounts receivable; and
the impact of each of the foregoing on outsourcing and procurement arrangements.
Our facilities and information systems and those of our key suppliers could be damaged as a result of disasters or unpredictable events, which could have an adverse effect on our business operations.
Our logistics are currently provided by our Toccoa, Georgia, our Broomfield, Colorado, our Peoria, Arizona and our Jacksonville, Florida facilities and multiple import and freight carriers throughout the United States. Our suppliers for original design manufacturing (“ODM”) and original equipment manufacturing (“OEM”) are located in the United States, China, and Taiwan. If major disasters such as earthquakes, fires, floods, wars, terrorist attacks, computer viruses, transportation disasters or other events occur in any of these locations, or our information systems or communications network or those of any of our key component suppliers breaks down or operates improperly as a result of such events, our facilities or those of our key suppliers may be seriously damaged, and we may have to stop or delay production and shipment of our products. We may also incur expenses relating to such damages. If production or shipment of our products or components is stopped or delayed or if we incur any increased expenses as a result of damage to our facilities, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
The loss of key management personnel could adversely affect our business.
Our business is significantly dependent upon Gary LeCroy and Magen McGahee, who are primarily responsible for our day-to-day operations and we believe our success depends in part on our ability to retain our executive officers, to compensate our executive officers at attractive levels, and to continue to attract additional qualified individuals to our management team. We cannot guarantee continued service by our key executive officers. The loss or limitation of the services of any of our executive officers or the inability to attract additional qualified management personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Our Chief Executive Officer and Director and our Chief Financial Officer and Director will have significant influence over us.
Our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operating Officer initially were issued 85% of our outstanding voting stock. Pursuant to the employment agreements that we entered into with each of them in January 2020, as amended, we issued to them 51 shares of Series G Preferred Stock collectively, such that they together maintain 51% of our outstanding voting securities. Therefore, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer will have the ability to control our business affairs.
Product liability, warranty, and recall claims may materially affect our financial condition and damage our reputation.
We are engaged in a business that exposes us to claims for product liability and warranty claims in the event our products actually or allegedly fail to perform as expected or the use of our products results, or is alleged to result, in property damage, personal injury or death. Although we maintain product and general liability insurance of the types and in the amounts that we believe are customary for the industry, we are not fully insured against all such potential claims. Any judgment or settlement for personal injury or wrongful death claims could be more than our assets and, even if not justified, could prove expensive to contest.
We may experience legal claims in excess of our insurance coverage or claims that are not covered by insurance, either of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Adverse determination of material product liability and warranty claims made against us could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and harm our reputation. In addition, if any of our products or components in our products are, or are alleged to be, defective, we may be required to participate in a recall of that product or component if the defect or alleged defect relates to safety. Any such recall and other claims could be costly to us and require substantial management attention.
Significant product repair and/or replacement due to product warranty claims or product recalls could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations .
We offer limited warranties on our products, ranging for 0 to 5 years against failure due to defective parts of workmanship. To date expenses due to warranty claims have been minimal.
Although we employ quality control procedures, sometimes a product is distributed that needs repair or replacement. The repair and replacement costs we could incur in connection with a recall could adversely affect our business. In addition, product recalls could harm our reputation and cause us to lose customers, particularly if recalls cause consumers to question the safety or reliability of our products.
Risks Related to our Industry and Regulations
Decreases in, or stagnation of, spending or changes in the spending policies or budget priorities for government funding of schools, colleges, universities, other education providers or government agencies may have a material adverse effect on our revenue.
Any decrease in, stagnation of or adverse change in national, federal, state, provincial or local funding for primary and secondary schools, colleges, universities, or other education providers or other industries that use our products could cause our current and prospective customers to reduce their purchases of our products, which could cause us to lose revenue. Our customers include primary and secondary schools, colleges, universities, other education providers which depend heavily on government funding. Many federal, state, and local governments have limited fiscal capacity and have experienced recent declines in tax revenues. Many of those governments have reacted to the decreases in tax revenues and could continue to react to the decreases in tax revenues by cutting funding to educational institutions. If our products are not a high priority expenditure for such institutions, or if such institutions allocate expenditures to substitute or alternative technologies, we could lose revenue. In addition, a specific reduction in governmental funding support for products such as ours could also cause us to lose revenue.
If our products fail to comply with consumer product or environmental laws, it could materially affect our financial performance.
If our products do not meet applicable safety or regulatory standards, we could experience lost sales, diverted resources and increased costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Our products are subject to environmental regulations in some jurisdictions in which we will do business, we are and will be required to comply with a variety of product safety, product testing and environmental regulations, including compliance with applicable laws and standards with respect to lead content and other child safety and environmental issues. Events that give rise to actual, potential or perceived product safety or environmental concerns could expose us to government enforcement action or private litigation and result in product recalls and other liabilities. In addition, negative consumer perceptions regarding the safety of our products could cause negative publicity and harm our reputation.
If we are unable to anticipate consumer preferences and successfully develop attractive products, we might not be able to maintain or increase our revenue or achieve profitability.
If we are unable to introduce new products or technologies in a timely manner or our new products or technologies are not accepted by our customers, our competitors may introduce more attractive products which would adversely impact our competitive position. Failure to respond in a timely manner to changing consumer preferences could lead to, among other things, lower revenues and excess inventory positions of outdated products. Our success depends on our ability to identify and originate product trends as well as to anticipate and react to change demands and preferences of customers in a timely manner.
We may be unable to keep pace with changes in technology as our business and market strategy evolves.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to respond successfully to technological change. We will need to respond to technological advances and emerging industry standards in a cost-effective and timely manner in order to remain competitive. The need to respond to technological changes may require us to make substantial, unanticipated expenditures.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property and Technology
We have limited protection for our intellectual property, which could impact our competitive position.
We intend to rely on a combination of common law copyright, patent, trademark, and trade secret laws and measures to protect our proprietary information. We currently have two issued patent and two pending patent applications; however, such protection does not prevent unauthorized use of such technology. Trademark and copyright protections may be limited, and enforcement could be too costly to be effective. It may also be possible for unauthorized third parties to copy aspects of, or otherwise obtain and use, our proprietary information without authorization, including, but not limited to, product design, software, customer and prospective customer lists, trade secrets, copyrights, patents and other proprietary rights and materials. Other parties can use and register confusingly similar business, product, and service names, as well as domain names, which could divert customers, resulting in a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.
Intellectual property rights may also be unavailable or limited in some foreign countries, which could make it easier for competitors to capture market share. Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property protection, , which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Many countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, the patent owner may have limited remedies, which could materially diminish the value of the relevant patent rights. If we are forced to grant a license to third parties with respect to any patents relevant to our business, our competitive position may be impaired, and our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may be adversely affected.
If we fail to successfully enforce our intellectual property rights, our competitive position could suffer, which could harm our operating results. Competitors may challenge the validity or scope of our patents or future patents we may obtain. In addition, our patents may not provide us with a meaningful competitive advantage. We may be required to spend significant resources to monitor and police our intellectual property rights. We may not be able to detect infringement and our competitive position may be harmed. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate, and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. In addition, competitors may design around our technology or develop competing technologies.
We may not be able to obtain patents or other intellectual property rights necessary to protect our proprietary technology and business.
Our commercial success depends to a significant degree upon our ability to develop new or improved technologies and products, and to obtain patents or other intellectual property rights or statutory protection for these technologies and products in the United States and other countries. We will seek to patent concepts, components, processes, designs and methods, and other inventions and technologies that we consider have commercial value or that will likely give us a technological advantage. Despite devoting resources to the research and development of proprietary technology, we may not be able to develop technology that is patentable or protectable. Patents may not be issued in connection with pending patent applications, and claims allowed may not be sufficient to allow us or our customers to use the inventions that created exclusively. Furthermore, any patents issued could be challenged, re-examined, held invalid or unenforceable or circumvented and may not provide sufficient protection or a competitive advantage. In addition, despite efforts to protect and maintain patents, competitors and other third parties may be able to design around our patents or develop products similar to our products that are not within the scope of our patents.
Finally, patents provide certain statutory protection only for a limited period of time that varies depending on the jurisdiction and type of patent. The statutory protection term of certain patents may expire and, thereafter, the underlying technology of such patents can be used by any third-party including competitors.
Prosecution and protection of the rights sought in patent applications and patents can be costly and uncertain, often involve complex legal and factual issues and consume significant time and resources. In addition, the breadth of claims allowed in our patents, their enforceability, and our ability to protect and maintain them cannot be predicted with any certainty. The laws of certain countries may not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Even if our patents are held to be valid and enforceable in a certain jurisdiction, any legal proceedings that we may initiate against third parties to enforce such patents will likely be expensive, take significant time and divert management's attention from other business matters. We cannot assure that any of the issued patents or pending patent applications will provide any protectable, maintainable, or enforceable rights or competitive advantages to us.
In addition to patents, we will rely on a combination of copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and other related laws and confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to protect, maintain and enforce our proprietary technology and intellectual property rights. However, our ability to protect our brands by registering certain trademarks may be limited. In addition, while we will generally enter into confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements with our employees, consultants, contract manufacturers, distributors, and resellers and with others to attempt to limit access to and distribution of our proprietary and confidential information, it is possible that:
misappropriation of our proprietary and confidential information, including technology, will nevertheless occur;
our confidentiality agreements will not be honored or may be rendered unenforceable;
third parties will independently develop equivalent, superior, or competitive technology or products;
disputes will arise with our current or future strategic licensees, customers or others concerning the ownership, validity, enforceability, use, patentability or registrability of intellectual property; or
unauthorized disclosure of our know-how, trade secrets or other proprietary or confidential information will occur.
We cannot assure that we will be successful in protecting, maintaining or enforcing our intellectual property rights. If we are unsuccessful in protecting, maintaining, or enforcing our intellectual property rights, then our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected, which could:
adversely affect our relationships with current or future distributors and resellers of our products;
adversely affect our reputation with customers;
be time-consuming and expensive to evaluate and defend;
cause product shipment delays or stoppages;
divert management’s attention and resources;
subject us to significant liabilities and damages;
require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements; or
require us to cease certain activities, including the sale of products.
If it is determined that we have infringed, violated or are infringing or violating a patent or other intellectual property right of any other person or if we are found liable in respect of any other related claim, then, in addition to being liable for potentially substantial damages, we may be prohibited from developing, using, distributing, selling or commercializing certain of our technologies and products unless we obtain a license from the holder of the patent or other intellectual property right. We cannot assure that we will be able to obtain any such license on a timely basis or on commercially favorable terms, or that any such licenses will be available, or that workarounds will be feasible and cost-efficient. If we do not obtain such a license or find a cost-efficient workaround, our business, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected, and we could be required to cease related business operations in some markets and restructure our business to focus on our continuing operations in other markets.
Our business may suffer if it is alleged or determined that our technology or another aspect of our business infringes the intellectual property of others.
The markets in which we will compete are characterized by the existence of a large number of patents and trade secrets and by litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. Moreover, in recent years, individuals and groups have purchased patents and other intellectual property assets for the purpose of making claims of infringement to extract settlements from companies like ours. Also, third parties may make infringement claims against us that relate to technology developed and owned by one of our suppliers for which our suppliers may or may not indemnify us. Even if we are indemnified against such costs, the indemnifying party may be unable to uphold its contractual obligations and determining the extent such of such obligations could require additional litigation. Claims of intellectual property infringement against us or our suppliers might require us to redesign our products, enter into costly settlements or license agreements, pay costly damage awards or face a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting us from marketing or selling our products or services. If we cannot or do not license the infringed intellectual property on reasonable terms or at all, or substitute similar intellectual property from another source, our revenue and operating results could be adversely impacted. Additionally, our customers and distributors may not purchase our offerings if they are concerned that they may infringe third party intellectual property rights. Responding to such claims, regardless of their merit, can be time consuming, costly to defend in litigation, divert management's attention and resources, damage our reputation, and cause us to incur significant expenses. The occurrence of any of these events may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
Future sales of our common stock could adversely affect our share price, and any additional capital raised by us through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities may dilute your ownership in us and may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
We intend, from time to time, to seek additional equity or debt financing to finance working capital requirements, continue our expansion, develop new products, or make acquisitions or other investments. In addition, we have issued convertible securities that are convertible into shares of our common stock. In addition, if our business plans change, general economic, financial or political conditions in our industry change, or other circumstances arise that have a material effect on our cash flow, the anticipated cash needs of our business, as well as our conclusions as to the adequacy of our available sources of capital, could change significantly. Any of these events or circumstances could result in significant additional funding needs, requiring us to raise additional capital. If additional funds are raised through the issuance of equity shares, preferred shares or debt securities, the terms of such securities could impose restrictions on our operations and would reduce the percentage ownership of our existing stockholders. If financing is not available on satisfactory terms, or at all, we may be unable to expand our business or to develop new business at the rate desired and our results of operations may suffer.
The market price of our common stock may be volatile, which could cause the value of your investment to fluctuate and possibly decline significantly.
The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations. Our financial performance, government regulatory action, tax laws and market conditions in general could have a significant impact on the future market price of our common stock. Investors may not be able to resell your shares at or above the current price due to a number of factors such as those listed under this "Risk Factors" section. Some of the factors that could negatively affect our share price or result in fluctuations in the price of our stock include:
our operating and financial performance and prospects;
our quarterly or annual earnings or those of other companies in our industry;
the public’s reaction to our press releases, our other public announcements and our filings with the SEC;
the failure of analysts to cover our common stock;
strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions or restructurings;
announcements by us, our competitors or our vendors of significant contracts, acquisitions, joint marketing relationships, joint ventures, or capital commitments;
new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to our business;
changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;
announcements by third parties or governmental entities of significant claims or proceedings against us;
new laws and governmental regulations, or other regulatory developments, applicable to our industry;
changes in general conditions in the United States and global economies or financial markets, including those resulting from war, incidents of terrorism or responses to such events;
changes in government spending levels on education;
changes in key personnel;
sales of common stock by us, members of our management team or our stockholders;
the granting or exercise of employee stock options or other equity awards;
the volume of trading in our common stock; and
the realization of any risks described in this section under the caption “Risk Factors.”
Furthermore, the stock market has recently experienced volatility that, in some cases, has been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance.
In the past, following periods of market volatility, stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation. If we were involved in securities litigation, it could have a substantial cost and divert resources and the attention of executive management from our business regardless of the outcome of such litigation.
The exercise or conversion of currently outstanding debt, warrants or preferred stock would further dilute holders of our common stock.
We currently have outstanding debt that could convert into shares of our common stock, preferred stock that converts into shares of our common stock and warrants exercisable for shares of our common stock. Our Series F Preferred Stock is convertible into shares of Common Stock at the fixed price of $0.37 per share, subject to adjustments. Our Board of Directors has authority, without action or vote of our shareholders, to issue shares of common and preferred stock. Our outstanding notes contain provisions that provide for the adjustment of the conversion price under certain circumstances. In addition, the securities purchase agreement that we entered into also provides for the issuance of additional commitment shares under certain circumstances. We may issue shares of our common stock or preferred stock to complete a business combination or to raise capital. Such stock issuances could be made at a price that reflects a discount from the then-current trading price of our common stock. These conversions and issuances would dilute our stockholders' ownership interest, which among other things would have the effect of reducing their influence on matters on which our stockholders vote. In addition, our stockholders and prospective investors may incur additional dilution if holders of stock options and warrants, whether currently outstanding or subsequently granted, exercise their options or warrants to purchase shares of our common stock or if our convertible debt holders convert their debt.
Future sales of common stock by our officers and directors and principal stockholders or others of our common stock, or the perception that such sales may occur, could depress the market price of our common stock.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock, particularly sales by our directors, executive officers and principal stockholders could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and may make it more difficult to sell common stock at a time and price that you deem appropriate.
Certain Provisions of Nevada law may have anti-takeover effects.
Certain provisions of Nevada law applicable to our company could also delay or make more difficult a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving our Company, including Sections 78.411 through 78.444 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, which prohibit a Nevada corporation from engaging in any business combination with any “interested stockholder” (as defined in the statute) for a period of two years unless certain conditions are met. In addition, our senior management is entitled to certain payments upon a change in control and certain of the restricted shares we have granted provide for the acceleration of vesting in the event of a change in control of our Company.
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents, and under Nevada law, could make an acquisition of our company more difficult, limit attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management and limit the market price of our common stock.
Provisions in our amended and restated articles of incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control or changes in our management. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws will include provisions that:
authorize our board of directors to issue, without further action by the stockholders, shares of preferred stock with terms, rights, and preferences determined by our board of directors that may be senior to our common stock;
specify that special meetings of our stockholders can be called only by a majority of our board of directors;
prohibit cumulative voting in the election of directors; and
provide that vacancies on our board of directors may be filled only by a majority of directors then in office, even though less than a quorum.
Any of the foregoing provisions could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock, and they could deter potential acquirers of our company, thereby reducing the likelihood that you would receive a premium for your shares of our common stock in an acquisition.
Our amended and restated articles of incorporation and bylaws provide for indemnification of officers and directors at our expense, which may result in a major cost to us and hurt the interests of our stockholders because corporate resources may be expended for the benefit of officers or directors.
Our amended and restated articles of incorporation and bylaws provide that any person who was or is a party or was or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending, or completed action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative by reason of the fact that he is or was a director, officer, employee, or agent of the Company, or is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, or other enterprise, shall be entitled to be indemnified by the Company to the fullest extent then permitted by the laws of the State of Nevada against reasonably incurred expenses of suit, litigation or other proceedings which is specifically permissible under applicable law, except with respect to matters as to which it is adjudged that such person was liable to the Company for negligence or misconduct in the performance of his duty. These indemnification obligations may result in a major cost to us and hurt the interests of our stockholders because corporate resources may be expended for the benefit of officers or directors.
We have been advised that, in the opinion of the SEC, indemnification for liabilities arising under federal securities laws is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification for liabilities arising under federal securities laws, other than the payment by us of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding, is asserted by a director, officer or controlling person in connection with our activities, we will (unless in the opinion of our counsel, the matter has been settled by controlling precedent) submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction, the question whether indemnification by us is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. The legal process relating to this matter if it were to occur is likely to be very costly and may result in us receiving negative publicity, either of which factors is likely to materially reduce the market and price for our shares.
We do not intend to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. As a result, your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our common stock.
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings for use in the operation of our business and do not anticipate paying any dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors. Consequently, your only opportunity to achieve a return on your investment in our company will be if the market price of our common stock appreciates and you sell your shares at a profit. For additional information about our dividend policy, see the section entitled “Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchase of Equity—Dividend Policy” elsewhere in this Annual Report.
ITEM1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
None.
