VYEY Victory Oilfield Tech Inc (PK)

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Our business is subject to a number of risks including, but not limited to, those described below:

Risks Related to Our Business, Industry, and Strategy

We have substantial liabilities that will require that we raise additional financing to continue operations. Such financing may be available on less advantageous terms, if at all. Additional financing may result in substantial dilution.

As of December 31, 2018, we had $76,746 of cash, current assets of $646,006, current liabilities of $2,801,248 and a working capital deficit of $2,155,242. Our current liabilities mainly include accounts payable and short-term notes payable. We are currently unable to pay our accounts payable. If any material creditor decides to commence legal action to collect from us, it could jeopardize our ability to continue in business.

We will be required to seek additional debt or equity financing in order to pay our current liabilities and to support our anticipated operations. We may not be able to obtain additional financing on satisfactory terms, or at all, and any new equity financing could have a substantial dilutive effect on our existing stockholders. If our cash on hand, cash flows from operating activities, and borrowings under our credit facility are not sufficient to fund our capital expenditures, we may be required to refinance or restructure our debt, if possible, sell assets, or reduce or delay acquisitions or capital investments, even if publicly announced. If we cannot obtain additional financing, we will not be able to conduct the operating activities that we need to generate revenue to cover our costs, and our results of operations would be negatively affected.

There is substantial uncertainty we will continue operations in which case you could lose your investment.

We have determined that there is substantial doubt that we can continue as an ongoing business for the next 12 months. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the uncertainty about our ability to continue in business. As such we may have to cease operations and you could lose your entire investment.

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming we will continue as a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. As presented in the financial statements, we have incurred losses of $27,309,510 and $20,720,286 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

The cash proceeds from new contributions to the Aurora partnership by Navitus, and loans from affiliates have allowed us to continue operations. We anticipate that operating losses will continue in the near term until we begin to operate as a technology focused oilfield services business.

Our ability to achieve and maintain profitability and positive cash flow is dependent upon:

Based upon current plans, we expect to incur operating losses in future periods as we will be incurring expenses and not generating significant revenues. We cannot guarantee that we will be successful in generating significant revenues in the future. Failure to generate revenues that are greater than our expenses could result in the loss of all or a portion of your investment.

We plan to operate in a highly competitive industry, with intense price competition, which may intensify as our competitors expand their operations.

The market for oilfield services in which we plan to operate is highly competitive and includes numerous small companies capable of competing effectively in our markets on a local basis, as well as several large companies that possess substantially greater financial resources than we do. Contracts are traditionally awarded on the basis of competitive bids or direct negotiations with customers. The principal competitive factors in our markets are product and service quality and availability, responsiveness, experience, equipment quality, reputation for safety and price. The competitive environment has intensified as recent mergers among exploration and production companies have reduced the number of available customers. The fact that drilling rigs and other vehicles and oilfield services equipment are mobile and can be moved from one market to another in response to market conditions heightens the competition in the industry. We may be competing for work against competitors that may be better able to withstand industry downturns and may be better suited to compete on the basis of price, retain skilled personnel and acquire new equipment and technologies, all of which could affect our revenue and profitability.

Downturns in the oil and gas industry, including the oilfield services business, may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

The oil and gas industry is highly cyclical and demand for most our future oilfield services and products will be substantially dependent on the level of expenditures by the oil and gas industry for the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas reserves, which are sensitive to oil and natural gas prices and generally dependent on the industry’s view of future oil and gas prices. There are numerous factors affecting the supply of and demand for our future services and products, which are summarized as:

The oil and gas industry has historically experienced periodic downturns, which have been characterized by diminished demand for oilfield services and products and downward pressure on pricing. A significant downturn in the oil and gas industry could result in a reduction in demand for oilfield services and could adversely affect our future operating results.

Our oilfield services business depends on domestic drilling activity and spending by the oil and natural gas industry in the United States. The level of oil and natural gas exploration and production activity in the United States is volatile and we may be adversely affected by industry conditions that are beyond our control.

We depend on our future customers’ willingness to make expenditures to explore for and to develop and produce oil and natural gas in the United States. We cannot accurately predict which or what level of our future services and products our clients will need in the future. Our future customers’ willingness to undertake these activities depends largely upon prevailing industry conditions that are influenced by numerous factors over which management has no control, such as:

We expect that our revenues will be generated from customers or acquisition targets who are engaged in drilling for and producing oil and natural gas. Developments that adversely affect oil and natural gas drilling and production services could adversely affect our customers’ demand for our products and services, resulting in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Current and anticipated oil and natural gas prices, the related level of drilling activity, and general production spending in the areas in which we plan to have operations are the primary drivers of demand for our future services. The level of oil and natural gas exploration and production activity in the United States is volatile and this volatility could have a material adverse effect on the level of activity by our future customers. Any reduction by our future customers of activity levels may adversely affect the prices that we can charge or collect for our services. In addition, any prolonged substantial reduction in oil and natural gas prices would likely affect oil and natural gas production levels and, therefore, affect demand for the services we plan to provide. Moreover, a decrease in the development rate of oil and natural gas reserves in our acquisition targets’ market areas, whether due to increased governmental regulation of or limitations on exploration and drilling activity or other factors, may also have an adverse impact on our business, even in an environment of stronger oil and natural gas prices.

Our planned operations are subject to hazards inherent in the oil and natural gas industry.

The operational risks inherent in our industry could expose us to substantial liability for personal injury, wrongful death, property damage, loss of oil and natural gas production, pollution and other environmental damages. The frequency and severity of such incidents will affect our operating costs, insurability and relationships with customers, employees and regulators. In particular, our customers may elect not to retain our future services if they view our safety record as unacceptable, which could cause us to lose substantial revenue. We do not have insurance against all foreseeable risks, either because insurance is not available or because of the high premium costs. We evaluate certain of our risks and insurance coverage annually. After carefully weighing the costs, risks, and benefits of retaining versus insuring various risks, we occasionally opt to retain certain risks not covered by our insurance policies. The occurrence of an event not fully insured against, or the failure of an insurer to meet its insurance obligations, could result in substantial losses. In addition, we may not be able to maintain adequate insurance in the future at rates we consider reasonable and there can be no assurance that insurance will be available to cover any or all of these risks, or, even if available, that it will be adequate or that insurance premiums or other costs will not rise significantly in the future, so as to make such insurance costs prohibitive. In addition, our insurance is subject to coverage limits and some policies exclude coverage for damages resulting from environmental contamination.

We may not realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions or divestitures.

We continually seek opportunities to increase efficiency and value through various transactions, including purchases or sales of assets or businesses. We intend to pursue our U.S. oilfield services company acquisition initiative, aimed at companies who are already using one or more of the Armacor® brand of Liquidmetal® Coatings Products and/or who are recognized as a high- quality services provider to strategic customers in the major North American oil and gas basins. These transactions are intended to result in the offering of new services or products, the entry into new markets, the generation of income or cash, the creation of efficiencies or the reduction of risk. Whether we realize the anticipated benefits from an acquisition or any other transactions depends, in part, upon our ability to timely and efficiently integrate the operations of the acquired business, the performance of the underlying product and service portfolio, and the management team and other personnel of the acquired operations. Accordingly, our financial results could be adversely affected from unanticipated performance issues, legacy liabilities, transaction-related charges, amortization of expenses related to intangibles, charges for impairment of long-term assets, credit guarantees, partner performance and indemnifications. In addition, the financing of any future acquisition completed by us could adversely impact our capital structure or increase our leverage. While we believe that we have established appropriate and adequate procedures and processes to mitigate these risks, there is no assurance that these transactions will be successful. We also may make strategic divestitures from time to time. These transactions may result in continued financial involvement in the divested businesses, such as guarantees or other financial arrangements, following the transaction. Nonperformance by those divested businesses could affect our future financial results through additional payment obligations, higher costs or asset write- downs. Except as required by law or applicable securities exchange listing standards, which would only apply when, and if, we are listed on a national securities exchange, we do not expect to ask our shareholders to vote on any proposed acquisition or divestiture. Moreover, we generally do not announce our acquisitions or divestitures until we have entered into a definitive agreement for an acquisition or divestiture.

There are risks relating to our acquisition strategy. If we are unable to successfully integrate and manage businesses that we plan to acquire in the future, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

One of our key business strategies is to acquire technologies, operations and assets that are complementary to our existing businesses. There are financial, operational and legal risks inherent in any acquisition strategy, including:

The success of any completed acquisition will depend on our ability to effectively integrate the acquired business into our existing operations. The process of integrating acquired businesses may involve unforeseen difficulties and may require a disproportionate amount of our managerial and financial resources. In addition, possible future acquisitions may be larger and for purchase prices significantly higher than those paid for earlier acquisitions. No assurance can be given that we will be able to continue to identify additional suitable acquisition opportunities, negotiate acceptable terms, obtain financing for acquisitions on acceptable terms or successfully acquire identified targets. Our failure to achieve consolidation savings, to incorporate the acquired businesses and assets into our existing operations successfully or to minimize any unforeseen operational difficulties could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operation.

If we are not successful in continuing to grow our oilfield services business, then we may have to scale back or even cease our ongoing business operations.

Our success is significantly dependent on our U.S. oilfield services company acquisition initiative, aimed at service companies who are already using one or more of the Armacor® brand of Liquidmetal® Coatings Products to service their customers and/or who are recognized as a high-quality services provider to strategic customers in the major North American oil and gas basins. When and if completed, these oilfield services company acquisitions are expected to provide immediate revenue from their current regional customer base, while also providing us with a foundation for channel distribution and product development of our amorphous alloy technology products. We may be unable to locate suitable companies or operate on a profitable basis. If our business plan is not successful, and we are not able to operate profitably, investors may lose some or all of their investment in our Company.

We depend on key management personnel and technical experts. The loss of key employees or access to third party technical expertise could impact our ability to execute our business.

If we lose the services of the senior management, or access to independent land men, geologists and reservoir engineers with whom we have strategic relationships during our transition period, our ability to function and grow could suffer, in turn, negatively affecting our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Effective April 17, 2019, Mr. Kenneth Hill resigned as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, interim Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, Treasurer and member of the Board of Directors. On April 23, 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors appointed Mr. Kevin DeLeon as interim Chief Executive Officer and interim Secretary of the Company until a permanent replacement is appointed. Mr. DeLeon has assumed the duties of these positions effective immediately. If we are not able to find a qualified permanent replacement for these positions, it could have a material adverse effect on our ability to effectively pursue our business strategy and our relationships with advertisers and content partners. Leadership transitions can be inherently difficult to manage and may cause uncertainty or a disruption to our business or may increase the likelihood of turnover of other key officers and employees.

Severe weather could have a material adverse effect on our future business.

Our business could be materially and adversely affected by severe weather. Our future clients or acquisition targets with oil and natural gas operations located in various parts of the United States may be adversely affected by hurricanes and storms, resulting in reduced demand for our future services. Furthermore, our future clients or acquisition targets may be adversely affected by seasonal weather conditions. Adverse weather can also directly impede our own future operations. Repercussions of severe weather conditions may include:

These constraints could delay our future operations and materially increase our operating and capital costs. Unusually warm winters may also adversely affect the demand for our services by decreasing the demand for natural gas.

We are subject to federal, state and local regulation regarding issues of health, safety and protection of the environment. Under these regulations, we may become liable for penalties, damages or costs of remediation. Any changes in laws and government regulations could increase our costs of doing business.

Our operations and the operations of our customers are subject to extensive and frequently changing regulation. More stringent legislation, regulation or taxation of drilling activity could directly curtail such activity or increase the cost of drilling, resulting in reduced levels of drilling activity and therefore reduced demand for our services. Numerous federal, state and local departments and agencies are authorized by statute to issue, and have issued, rules and regulations binding upon participants in the oil and gas industry. Our operations and the markets in which we participate are affected by these laws and regulations and may be affected by changes to such laws and regulations in the future, which may cause us to incur materially increased operating costs or realize materially lower revenue, or both.

Laws protecting the environment generally have become more stringent over time and are expected to continue to do so, which could lead to material increases in costs for future environmental compliance and remediation. The modification or interpretation of existing laws or regulations, or the adoption of new laws or regulations, could curtail exploratory or developmental drilling for oil and natural gas and could limit well site services opportunities. Additionally, environmental groups have advocated increased regulation in certain areas in which we currently operate or in which we may operate in the future. These initiatives could lead to more stringent permitting requirements, increased regulation, possible enforcement actions against the regulated community, and a moratorium or delays on permitting, which could adversely affect our well site service opportunities.

Some environmental laws and regulations may impose strict liability, which means that in some situations we could be exposed to liability as a result of our conduct that was lawful at the time it occurred as a result of conduct of, or conditions caused by, prior operators or other third parties. Clean-up costs and other damages, arising as a result of environmental laws, and costs associated with changes in environmental laws and regulations could be substantial and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. In addition, the occurrence of a significant event not fully insured or indemnified against could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operations.

Increased regulation of hydraulic fracturing could result in reductions or delays in oil and gas production by our customers, which could adversely impact our revenue.

We anticipate that a significant portion of our customers’ oil and gas production will be developed from unconventional sources, such as shales, that require hydraulic fracturing as part of the completion process. Hydraulic fracturing involves the injection of water, sand and chemicals under pressure into the formation to stimulate production. We do not engage in any hydraulic fracturing activities ourselves although many of our customers may do so. If additional levels of regulation and permits were required through the adoption of new laws and regulations at the federal or state level that could lead to delays, increased operating costs and prohibitions for our customers, such regulations could reduce demand for our services and materially adversely affect our results of operations.

Climate change legislation, regulatory initiatives and litigation could result in increased operating costs and reduced demand for the services we provide.

In recent years, the U.S. Congress has considered legislation to restrict or regulate greenhouse gases (“GHGs”), such as carbon dioxide and methane that may be contributing to global warming. In addition, almost half of the states, either individually or through multi-state regional initiatives, have begun to address GHGs, primarily through the planned development of emission inventories or regional GHG cap and trade programs.

Although it is not possible at this time to accurately estimate how potential future laws or regulations addressing GHGs would impact our business, either directly or indirectly, any future federal or state laws or implementing regulations that may be adopted to address GHGs could require us to incur increased operating costs and could adversely affect demand for the natural gas our customers extract using our services. Moreover, incentives to conserve energy or use alternative energy sources could reduce demand for oil and natural gas, resulting in a decrease in demand for our services. We cannot predict with any certainty at this time how these possibilities may affect our operations.

Oilfield anti-indemnity provisions enacted by many states may restrict or prohibit a party’s indemnification of us.

We plan to enter into agreements with our customers governing the provision of our services, which usually will include certain indemnification provisions for losses resulting from operations. Such agreements may require each party to indemnify the other against certain claims regardless of the negligence or other fault of the indemnified party; however, many states place limitations on contractual indemnity agreements, particularly agreements that indemnify a party against the consequences of its own negligence. Furthermore, certain states have enacted statutes generally referred to as “oilfield anti-indemnity acts” expressly prohibiting certain indemnity agreements contained in or related to oilfield services agreements. Such oilfield anti-indemnity acts may restrict or void a party’s indemnification of us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Delays in obtaining permits by our future customers or acquisition targets for their operations could impair our business.

Our future customers or acquisition targets are required to obtain permits from one or more governmental agencies in order to perform drilling and/or completion activities. Such permits are typically required by state agencies but can also be required by federal and local governmental agencies. The requirements for such permits vary depending on the location where such drilling and completion activities will be conducted. As with all governmental permitting processes, there is a degree of uncertainty as to whether a permit will be granted, the time it will take for a permit to be issued and the conditions, which may be imposed in connection with the granting of the permit. Certain regulatory authorities have delayed or suspended the issuance of permits while the potential environmental impacts associated with issuing such permits can be studied and appropriate mitigation measures evaluated. Permitting delays, an inability to obtain new permits or revocation of our future customers’ or acquisition targets’ current permits could cause a loss of revenue and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Gas drilling and production operations require adequate sources of water to facilitate the fracturing process and the disposal of that water when it flows back to the wellbore. If our future customers or acquisition targets are unable to obtain adequate water supplies and dispose of the water we use or remove at a reasonable cost and within applicable environmental rules, it may have an adverse impact on our business.

New environmental regulations governing the withdrawal, storage and use of surface water or groundwater necessary for hydraulic fracturing of wells may increase our customers’ operating costs and cause delays, interruptions or termination of operations, the extent of which cannot be predicted, all of which could have an adverse effect on our operations and financial performance. Water that is used to fracture gas wells must be removed when it flows back to the wellbore. Our future customers’ or acquisition targets’ ability to remove and dispose of water will affect production and the cost of water treatment and disposal and may affect their profitability. The imposition of new environmental initiatives and regulations could include restrictions on our customers’ ability to conduct hydraulic fracturing or disposal of waste, including produced water, drilling fluids and other wastes associated with the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbons. This may have an adverse impact on our business.

If we are unable to obtain patents, licenses and other intellectual property rights covering our services and products, our operating results may be adversely affected.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to obtain patents, licenses and other intellectual property rights covering our services and products. On August 21, 2017, we entered into the Transaction Agreement with AVV, pursuant to which AVV granted to us a worldwide, perpetual, royalty free, fully paid up and exclusive sublicense to all of AVV’s owned and licensed intellectual property for use in the oilfield services industry, except for a tubular solutions company headquartered in France. In connection with the Transaction Agreement, we also entered into a trademark license agreement with LMCE, pursuant to which LMCE granted a license for the Liquidmetal® Coatings Products and Armacor® trademarks and service marks to us. To that end, we have obtained certain patents and intend to continue to seek patents on some of our inventions, services and products. While we have patented some of our key technologies, we do not patent all of our proprietary technology, even when regarded as patentable. The process of seeking patent protection can be long and expensive. There can be no assurance that patents will be issued from currently pending or future applications or that, if patents are issued, they will be of sufficient scope or strength to provide meaningful protection or any commercial advantage to us. In addition, effective copyright and trade secret protection may be unavailable or limited in certain countries. Litigation, which could demand significant financial and management resources, may be necessary to enforce our patents or other intellectual property rights. Also, there can be no assurance that we can obtain licenses or other rights to necessary intellectual property on acceptable terms.

If we are not able to develop or acquire new products or our products become technologically obsolete, our results of operations may be adversely affected.

The market for our future services and products is characterized by changing technology and product introduction. As a result, our success is dependent upon our ability to develop or acquire new services and products on a cost-effective basis and to introduce them into the marketplace in a timely manner. While we intend to continue committing substantial financial resources and effort to the development of new services and products, we may not be able to successfully differentiate our future services and products from those of our competitors. Our future clients may not consider our proposed services and products to be of value to them; or if the proposed services and products are of a competitive nature, our clients may not view them as superior to our competitors’ services and products. In addition, we may not be able to adapt to evolving markets and technologies, develop new products, or achieve and maintain technological advantages.

If we are unable to continue developing competitive products in a timely manner in response to changes in technology, our future business and operating results may be materially and adversely affected. In addition, continuing development of new products inherently carries the risk of inventory obsolescence with respect to our older products.

Our ability to conduct our business might be negatively impacted if we experience difficulties with outsourcing and similar third-party relationships.

We plan to outsource certain business and administrative functions and rely on third parties to perform certain services on our behalf. We may do so increasingly in the future. If we fail to develop and implement our outsourcing strategies, such strategies prove to be ineffective or fail to provide expected cost savings, or our third-party providers fail to perform as anticipated, we may experience operational difficulties, increased costs, reputational damage and a loss of business that may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to develop or maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results and prevent fraud. As a result, current and potential stockholders could lose confidence in our financial statements, which would harm the trading price of our common stock.

Companies that file reports with the SEC, including us, are subject to the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or SOX 404. SOX 404 requires management to establish and maintain a system of internal control over financial reporting and annual reports on Form 10-K filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, to contain a report from management assessing the effectiveness of a company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Separately, under SOX 404, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, public companies that are large accelerated filers or accelerated filers must include in their annual reports on Form 10-K an attestation report of their regular auditors attesting to and reporting on management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting. Non-accelerated filers and smaller reporting companies, like us, are not required to include an attestation report of their auditors in annual reports.

A report of our management is included under Item 9A “Controls and Procedures.” We are a smaller reporting company and, consequently, are not required to include an attestation report of our auditor in our annual report. However, if and when we become subject to the auditor attestation requirements under SOX 404, we can provide no assurance that we will receive a positive attestation from our independent auditors.

During its evaluation of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2018, management identified material weaknesses. These material weaknesses were associated with our lack of sufficient segregation of duties within accounting functions. We are undertaking remedial measures, which measures will take time to implement and test, to address these material weaknesses. There can be no assurance that such measures will be sufficient to remedy the material weaknesses identified or that additional material weaknesses or other control or significant deficiencies will not be identified in the future. If we continue to experience material weaknesses in our internal controls or fail to maintain or implement required new or improved controls, such circumstances could cause us to fail to meet our periodic reporting obligations or result in material misstatements in our financial statements, or adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and, if required, annual auditor attestation reports. Each of the foregoing results could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and lead to a decline in our stock price. See Item 9A “Controls and Procedures” for more information.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

Because we did not timely comply with our SEC filing obligations, our common stock was dropped to the OTC Pink Market and is currently designated with a “stop sign,” which may limit our trading market and may adversely affected the liquidity of our common stock.

We did not timely file with the SEC this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, and we have not yet filed our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2019, June 30, 2019 and September 30, 2019.  As a consequence, our common stock has been moved from the OTCQB Venture Market to the OTC Pink Market, which is a more limited market than the OTCQB marketplace. Securities on the Pink Market are more volatile, and the risk to investors is greater.  Furthermore, our common stock is currently designated with a Pink Market “stop sign,” indicating that current public information about our Company is not available due to “delinquent SEC reporting.” The quotation of our common stock on such marketplace may result in a less liquid market available for existing and potential stockholders to trade shares of our common stock, could depress the trading price of our common stock and could have an adverse impact on our ability to raise capital in the future.

Once we are current with our SEC filing obligations and the “stop sign” is removed, we will need to reapply to the OTC Markets Group before our common stock can trade on the OTCQB, which application may or may not be approved. There can be no assurance that there will be a more active market for our shares of common stock either now or in the future or that stockholders will be able to liquidate their investment or liquidate it at a price that reflects the value of the business. As a result, our stockholders may not find purchasers for our securities should they to desire to sell them.

The price of our common stock could experience significant volatility.

The market price for our common stock could fluctuate due to various factors. In addition to other factors described in this section, these factors may include, among others:

In addition, the stock markets have, in recent years, experienced significant volume and price fluctuations. These fluctuations often have been unrelated to the operating performance of the specific companies whose stock is traded. Market prices and the trading volume of our stock may continue to experience significant fluctuations due to the matters described above, as well as economic and political conditions in the United States and worldwide, investors’ attitudes towards our business prospects, and changes in the interests of the investing community. As a result, the market price of our common stock has been and may continue to be adversely affected and our stockholders may not be able to sell their shares or to sell them at desired prices.

We may be subject to penny stock regulations and restrictions and you may have difficulty selling shares of our common stock.

The SEC has adopted regulations which generally define so-called “penny stocks” to be an equity security that has a market price less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exemptions. Our common stock is a “penny stock” and is subject to Rule 15g-9 under the Exchange Act. This rule imposes additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers that sell such securities to persons other than established customers and “accredited investors” (generally, individuals with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual incomes exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with their spouses). For transactions covered by Rule 15g-9, a broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and have received the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale. As a result, this rule may affect the ability of broker-dealers to sell our securities and may affect the ability of purchasers to sell any of our securities in the secondary market, thus possibly making it more difficult for us to raise additional capital.

For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the rules require delivery, prior to any transaction in penny stock, of a disclosure schedule prepared by the SEC relating to the penny stock market. Disclosure is also required to be made about sales commissions payable to both the broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, monthly statements are required to be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stock.

There can be no assurance that our common stock will qualify for exemption from this rule. In any event, even if our common stock were exempt from this rule, we would remain subject to Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act, which gives the SEC the authority to restrict any person from participating in a distribution of penny stock, if the SEC finds that such a restriction would be in the public interest.

Future sales or perceived sales of our common stock could depress our stock price.

If the holders of shares of our common stock were to attempt to sell a substantial amount of their holdings at once, our stock price could decline. Moreover, the perceived risk of this potential dilution could cause stockholders to attempt to sell their shares and investors to short the shares, a practice in which an investor sells shares that he or she does not own at prevailing market prices, hoping to purchase shares later at a lower price to cover the sale. As each of these events would cause the number of shares being offered for sale to increase, our stock price would likely further decline. All of these events could combine to make it very difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem appropriate.

Issuance of shares of our common stock upon the exercise of options or warrants will dilute the ownership interest of our existing stockholders and could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

As of December 31, 2018, we had outstanding stock options to purchase an aggregate of 221,713 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase an aggregate of 2,713,103 shares of common stock. The exercise of the stock options and warrants and the sales of stock issuable pursuant to them would further reduce a stockholder’s percentage voting and ownership interest. Further, the stock options and warrants are likely to be exercised when our common stock is trading at a price that is higher than the exercise price of these options and warrants and we would be able to obtain a higher price for our common stock than we would receive under such options and warrants. The exercise, or potential exercise, of these options and warrants could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and the terms on which we could obtain additional financing. The ownership interest of our existing stockholders may be further diluted through adjustments to certain outstanding warrants under the terms of their anti-dilution provisions.

Concentration of ownership of management and directors may reduce the control by other stockholders over our Company.

Our executive officers and directors own or exercise full or partial control over approximately 89% of our outstanding common stock. Thus, other investors in our common stock may not have much influence on corporate decision-making. In addition, the concentration of control over our common stock in the executive officers and directors could prevent a change in control of our Company.

Our future capital needs could result in dilution of your investment.

Our Board of Directors may determine from time to time that there is a need to obtain additional capital through the issuance of additional shares of our common stock or other securities. These issuances would likely dilute the ownership interests of our current investors and may dilute the net tangible book value per share of our common stock. Investors in subsequent offerings may also have rights, preferences and privileges senior to our current stockholders, which may adversely impact our current stockholders.

We have not paid dividends in the past and our Board of Directors does not expect to pay dividends in the future.

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all future earnings for the operation and expansion of our business and, therefore, do not anticipate declaring or paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

The payment of dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our results of operations, capital requirements, financial condition, prospects, contractual arrangements, any limitations on payments of dividends present in any of our future debt agreements and other factors our Board of Directors may deem relevant. If we do not pay dividends, a return on your investment will only occur if our stock price appreciates.

Securities analysts may not initiate coverage for our common stock or may issue negative reports and this may have a negative impact on the market price of our common stock.

The trading market for our common stock may be affected in part by the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. It may be difficult for companies such as us, with smaller market capitalizations, to attract a sufficient number of securities analysts that will cover our common stock. If one or more of the analysts who elect to cover our Company downgrades our stock, our stock price would likely decline rapidly. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our Company, we could lose visibility in the market, which in turn could cause our stock price to decline. This could have a negative effect on the market price of our stock.

Nevada law and our charter documents contain provisions that could delay or prevent actual and potential changes in control, even if they would benefit stockholders.

Our articles of incorporation authorize the issuance of preferred shares, which may be issued with dividend, liquidation, voting and redemption rights senior to our common stock without prior approval by the stockholders. The preferred stock may be issued for such consideration as may be fixed from time to time by our Board of Directors. Our Board may issue such shares of preferred stock in one or more series, with such designations, preferences and rights or qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof as shall be stated in the resolution of resolutions.

The issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of common stock. Preferred stock may be issued quickly with terms calculated to discourage, make more difficult, delay or prevent a change in control of our Company or make removal of management more difficult. As a result, our Board of Directors’ ability to issue preferred stock may discourage the potential hostile acquirer, possibly resulting in beneficial negotiations. Negotiating with an unfriendly acquirer may result in, among other things, terms more favorable to us and our stockholders. Conversely, the issuance of preferred stock may adversely affect any market price of, and the voting and other rights of the holders of the common stock.

These and other provisions in the Nevada corporate statutes and our charter documents could delay or prevent actual and potential changes in control, even if they would benefit our stockholders.